Amy W. Ando
awando.bsky.social
Amy W. Ando
@awando.bsky.social

Personal account only. Professor and Chair of applied econ department at Ohio State; AERE Fellow and AAEA Fellow; studies conservation, restoration, valuation. Fan of cats and nature. Former X handles: AmyEcon and AndoAW

Economics 40%
Environmental science 36%

Reposted by Amy W. Ando

12/12 Deep sea wonders
2025 revealed first-ever footage of the elusive colossal squid; whole new ‘chemosynthetic' ecosystems that survive beyond the reach of sunlight; iridescent armoured worms and carnivorous "deathball" sponges - 2 of the 30 new species spotted in the Southern Ocean depths.
This Christmas, I have just one wish for you:
Take a moment to really see the older people in your life.
Let them know they’re loved, valued, and never invisible.
Share a smile with an elder you don’t know.
Offer a warm holiday greeting.
Small gestures carry enormous power.
Love,

Lynda 🎄✨

Any trends?

A few months ago, the duplex a few streets away from us had a big flag next to each doorway.

The cars in front of the house are the same, but now there is only one flag. Noted without comment.

More goodness.
The actor Michael Sheen used all his money to start a fake debt collecting business, buy 900 people in Wales's debt, and excused it. If Musk bought ALL $194 billion in medical debt in the U.S. and excused it in the same way, he'd still be the world's riches man by hundreds of billions of dollars.
Michael Sheen spent his own money to write off $1.3 million of neighbors’ debts | CNN
Actor Michael Sheen has bought $1.3 million of his neighbors’ debts and written them off using $129,000 of his own money.
www.cnn.com
The actor Michael Sheen used all his money to start a fake debt collecting business, buy 900 people in Wales's debt, and excused it. If Musk bought ALL $194 billion in medical debt in the U.S. and excused it in the same way, he'd still be the world's riches man by hundreds of billions of dollars.
Michael Sheen spent his own money to write off $1.3 million of neighbors’ debts | CNN
Actor Michael Sheen has bought $1.3 million of his neighbors’ debts and written them off using $129,000 of his own money.
www.cnn.com

Please don’t rely on this technology for anything important. And double checking AI is always required.

Reposted by Amy W. Ando

In a world of greed and cruelty, be like Rick Steves.
It’s the “season of love and giving”…but this year, doesn’t it seem more like a “season of fear and taking”? Like many of you, I’ve been saddened by the human impact of draconian government budget cuts and how angry many housed Americans are at unhoused Americans.

🧵 1 of 9

A good project for the late December sales. Plan ahead for joy
One day something will happen — a wedding, a graduation, a job promotion, Jake Paul getting knocked out, Andrew Tate getting knocked out the next day — and you’ll want the right outfit to celebrate. Buy that special outfit now, so you’re ready when that next unexpected moment arrives.
One day something will happen — a wedding, a graduation, a job promotion, Jake Paul getting knocked out, Andrew Tate getting knocked out the next day — and you’ll want the right outfit to celebrate. Buy that special outfit now, so you’re ready when that next unexpected moment arrives.
It’s the “season of love and giving”…but this year, doesn’t it seem more like a “season of fear and taking”? Like many of you, I’ve been saddened by the human impact of draconian government budget cuts and how angry many housed Americans are at unhoused Americans.

🧵 1 of 9

Hey friends - Snowy is here to say you are doing a great job, and just hang in there. #Caturday
My 14-yo-son has recreated the climax of Back to the Future in gingerbread and I thought you should know.

Reposted by Amy W. Ando

Me too!
Me: “I’m going to finish my admin work, finish all my grading, and comment on three chapters!”
Brain: LOL

Dreamer

Last night during the weekly jazz hour at our local brewery, there were elderly folks dressed with Santa hats offering candy canes to everyone who arrived. Not employees - just patrons having a lark. Very wholesome

To brighten your Friday…
The most brutal way of telling someone they’re a few sandwiches short of a picnic that I’ve heard in French is t’es pas la truite la plus oxygénée de la rivière. It means “you’re not the most oxygenated trout in the river.”

* read on for similar insults from around the world (a thread)…

Would love a link to a paper that’s a good example of that phenomenon. Fascinating
The most brutal way of telling someone they’re a few sandwiches short of a picnic that I’ve heard in French is t’es pas la truite la plus oxygénée de la rivière. It means “you’re not the most oxygenated trout in the river.”

* read on for similar insults from around the world (a thread)…

I’m grading. Need the focus of my cats this morning:

Reposted by Amy W. Ando

Some light on Stac Pollaidh from a wonderful roadside viewpoint.

#Scotland #Highlands #CanonR5ii

I only use Firefox because it has less AI and snooping. Will drop it if that changes
Mozilla has a new CEO and he just announced that Firefox will evolve into a modern AI browser. This is a good example of how management doesn’t understand its own user base and why they go out of their way to install Firefox on Windows, Android, iOS and other devices blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/l...
Mozilla has a new CEO and he just announced that Firefox will evolve into a modern AI browser. This is a good example of how management doesn’t understand its own user base and why they go out of their way to install Firefox on Windows, Android, iOS and other devices blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/l...

Reposted by Daniel W. Drezner

Thank you, @dandrezner.bsky.social, for this tribute to a great creator and human

Reposted by Amy W. Ando

this was a weekend of unrelenting horrors, but if you had a small nice thing happen I would like to hear about it

maybe you read a great book or saw a cute dog walking down the street or your soup turned out really good? please share

Reposted by Amy W. Ando

There's a lot going on right now but I decided to write about Rob Reiner. danieldrezner.substack.com/p/rob-reiner...
Rob Reiner R.I.P.
A legend leaves too early.
danieldrezner.substack.com

We’ve gutted our ability to identify great scientific ideas to invest in. Tragic for America.
NSF plans to streamline merit review to heal self-inflicted staffing wound www.science.org/content/arti...
NSF pares down grant-review process, reducing influence of outside scientists
Memo cites overburdened staff, but some say move also aims to elevate White House priorities
www.science.org