John Poulsen

Opinion | Trump Is Making Jimmy Carter’s Mistake on Iran and Oil

Reducing dependency on oil is good for the environment, especially mitigating climate change, and security - a win-win!

Trump Is Making Jimmy Carter’s Mistake on Iran and Oil www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/o...

Or is it just a display of power?

Opinion | The Reality of Living With Wolves, Bears and Mountain Lions

Conservation and management of large animals, especially predators, is complicated when the habitat is diminished and fragmented. We need a comprehensive strategy that includes all possible partners (not a few private individuals bearing the brunt).

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/o...

Rising heat kills one person a minute worldwide, major report reveals Biggest analysis of its kind finds millions are dying each year because of failure to tackle climate crisis

Lancet report: extreme heat kills ~550,000 people annually - one person per minute.

Same day outlets report that Bill Gates doesn’t think climate change is a threat to humanity.

Maybe the extinction of humanity shouldn’t be the standard of judgement?

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

How a radical experiment to bring a forest into a preschool transformed children’s health In Finland, kindergartens are exposing children to more mud, wild plants and moss - and finding changes to their health that show how crucial biodiversity is to wellbeing

Thank you, Mom, for making me weed the garden as a kid! A year of playing in “green kindergartens” children had less disease-causing bacteria – such as Streptococcus – on their skin, and stronger immune defences. #Biodiversity #Health

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Videos From the Amazon Reveal an Unexpected Animal Friendship

I love this article, describing an Ecosphere paper, because it highlights the complexity of nature. We too often assume predator-prey interactions, but species also cooperate.

Videos From the Amazon Reveal an Unexpected Animal Friendship www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/s...

Opinion | We Warned About the First China Shock. The Next One Will Be Worse.

Takeaway: if we want to be successful, do the opposite of everything the government is doing now.

We Warned About the First China Shock. The Next One Will Be Worse. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/o...

‘Could become a death spiral’: scientists discover what’s driving record die-offs of US honeybees Experts scrambling to understand losses in hives across the country are finally identifying the culprits. And the damage to farmed bees is a sign of trouble for wild bees too

Biodiversity not important? Mites develop resistance to the only insecticide against them and increase spread of viruses that kill bees that we depend on for our food supply.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Flavour of gin and tonic could be impacted by climate change, study finds Volatile weather patterns may be altering taste of juniper berries – a key botanical in the spirit – scientists say

Here’s an impact of climate change that should get everyone concerned and onboard for climate mitigation!

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Opinion | Red-State Universities Will Get Hit by Trump’s Cuts, Too

Universities and the science and technology they produce are economic engines. Their diminishment will hurt red states as much as blue states.

Red-State Universities Will Get Hit by Trump’s Cuts, Too www.nytimes.com/2025/06/12/o...

Opinion | OpenAI Seems to Be Making a Very Familiar, Very Cynical Choice Wait for the part where they tell us they’re doing it for our sake.

Keep ads out of chatbots!

OpenAI Seems to Be Making a Very Familiar, Very Cynical Choice www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/o...

Fulbright Board Quits, Accusing Trump Administration of Political Interference The board of the prestigious program told the State Department it had no right to cancel scholarships for nearly 200 American professors and researchers.

Another big setback for science and research and building skills, education, and capacity.

Fulbright Board Resigns After Accusing Trump Aides of Political Interference www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/u...

Trump Targets Key Lifeline for Africa: Money Sent Home by Immigrants

Retreating from Africa is retreat from the future - 60% of the population is below 25. The US should be investing, not retreating.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/w...

‘Half the tree of life’: ecologists’ horror as nature reserves are emptied of insects A new point in history has been reached, entomologists say, as climate-led species’ collapse moves up the food chain even in supposedly protected regions free of pesticides

Description of extinction being driven mostly by climate change from an icon of tropical ecology, Dan Janzen.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

White House Health Report Included Fake Citations

Gold standard in science??? Did someone us AI without checking (fake citations)?

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/w...

Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades The lag in funding extends far beyond D.E.I. initiatives, affecting almost every area of science: chemistry, computing, engineering, materials and more.

Understand science funding cuts and their consequences … Economists have warned that cutting federal funding for scientific research could, in the long run, damage the U.S. economy by an amount equivalent to a major recession.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Fires drove record loss of world’s forests last year, ‘frightening’ data shows Burning, worsened by global heating, overtook farming and logging as biggest cause of destruction of tropical forests

Nearly half of primary tropical forest loss last year was caused by fire - these are ecosystems that traditionally do not burn!

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

The Professors Are Using ChatGPT, and Some Students Aren’t Happy About It

The ‘offending’ professor in this article said at a ‘glance’ his AI-generated slides looked good. That is the problem, AI-generated output always needs checked, evaluated and revised! Yes to AI, no to irresponsible use of AI.

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/t...

The World Is Wooing U.S. Researchers Shunned by Trump

This article says salaries are lower in Europe, but maybe worth it to go where you are valued?

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/b...

Farmers Sued Over Deleted Climate Data. So the Government Will Put It Back.

Good to have farmers on the side of science and data!

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/c...

U.S. Government to Stop Tracking the Costs of Extreme Weather

Good idea?

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/c...

AI firms warned to calculate threat of super intelligence or risk it escaping human control AI safety campaigner calls for existential threat assessment akin to Oppenheimer’s calculations before first nuclear test

We should move forward with eyes wide open.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

National Climate Assessment Authors Are Dismissed by Trump Administration The Trump administration told researchers it was “releasing” them from their roles. It puts the future of the assessment, which is required by Congress, in doubt.

Hmmm….

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/28/c...

A siege on science: How Trump is undoing an American legacy In its first 100 days, the Trump administration has slashed federal agencies, canceled national reports, and yanked university funding.

Critical reading… and with science leaders like my boss, Katharine Hayhoe, and friend, Max Holmes.

grist.org/science/amer...

Rattlesnake venom evolves and adapts to specific prey, study finds Surprising new evidence challenges longstanding ideas about evolution

Fascinating study about the evolution of rattlesnake venom - potentially niche partitioning (although no evidence of competition driving specialization).

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Dr.Katharine Hayhoe - How to Talk About Climate Change YouTube video by Halton Environmental Network

Great pointers for talking about climate change from Katherine Hayhoe www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP2D...

US Imperiled species and the five drivers of biodiversity loss Abstract. We synthesized reported threats to US imperiled species to identify which of the five predominant drivers of biodiversity loss—climate change, in

Here is the 1st article with results indicating climate change is the leading threat to US imperiled species listed under the Endangered Species Act.

academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...

There is such a diversity of characteristics of autism. I, of course, know my son’s. Thanks for sharing!

Opinion | Sorry, R.F.K.: There Is No Autism Mystery Greater awareness, not vaccines, has driven an increase in diagnoses.

I’m a proud father of a son with autism. Everyone should read this great article.

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/o...

Elephants and rhinos at increased risk of poaching due to Trump funding cuts, groups say Trump administration has frozen funding for key conservation programs to protect vulnerable species

Politics does endanger elephants and other threatened species as the US used to help critically important eco guards.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...