Alec Luhn
@alecluhn.bsky.social
Pulitzer Center 🌊 reporting fellow | Kavli, Schmidt & Covering Climate Now 🏆 | 2x Emmy nominee | non-beefeater 🐄
Pinned
Alec Luhn
@alecluhn.bsky.social
· Nov 14
Why Are Alaska's Rivers Turning Orange?
Streams in Alaska are turning orange with iron and sulfuric acid. Scientists are trying to figure out why
www.scientificamerican.com
'Why Are Alaska's Rivers Turning Orange?' won a Kavli 🙌
I'm humbled & thankful to AAAS to be recognized with the oldest US science journalism award.
Covering climate science feels more high-stakes than ever before...
sjawards.aaas.org/news/2024-aa...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...
I'm humbled & thankful to AAAS to be recognized with the oldest US science journalism award.
Covering climate science feels more high-stakes than ever before...
sjawards.aaas.org/news/2024-aa...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
Formula 1 cars have been the fastest road vehicles for the past 50 years. But electric vehicles may soon become the quickest on earth, as the battery-powered cars of the upstart Formula E racing championship are making huge technological strides.
Could electric race cars soon be faster than Formula 1?
www.newscientist.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Formula 1 cars have been the fastest road vehicles for the past 50 years. But electric vehicles may soon become the quickest on earth, as the battery-powered cars of the upstart Formula E racing championship are making huge technological strides.
Formula E beat Formula 1 in a race? Depends on how long the race is.
But it's still wild that electric race cars have come within touching distance of combustion engines in a mere 11 years. www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
But it's still wild that electric race cars have come within touching distance of combustion engines in a mere 11 years. www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
Could electric race cars soon be faster than Formula 1?
The electic cars of the Formula E racing championship can accelerate faster than Formula 1 cars and their top speeds are catching up – but battery capacity would let them down in a head-to-head
www.newscientist.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Formula E beat Formula 1 in a race? Depends on how long the race is.
But it's still wild that electric race cars have come within touching distance of combustion engines in a mere 11 years. www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
But it's still wild that electric race cars have come within touching distance of combustion engines in a mere 11 years. www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
Our ancestors at "cradle of humanity" Lake Turkana faced more earthquakes & volcanoes after it got drier & water levels fell.
"Like loosening the cork on a champagne bottle,” less water unleashes fault slips & magma in rift systems. Climate can affect tectonics! www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
"Like loosening the cork on a champagne bottle,” less water unleashes fault slips & magma in rift systems. Climate can affect tectonics! www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
When rift lakes dry up it can cause earthquakes and eruptions
Lake Turkana in Kenya, known as the cradle of humanity, has shrunk in recent millennia – and the loss of water has led to increased seismic activity, which could have impacted our ancient ancestors
www.newscientist.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Our ancestors at "cradle of humanity" Lake Turkana faced more earthquakes & volcanoes after it got drier & water levels fell.
"Like loosening the cork on a champagne bottle,” less water unleashes fault slips & magma in rift systems. Climate can affect tectonics! www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
"Like loosening the cork on a champagne bottle,” less water unleashes fault slips & magma in rift systems. Climate can affect tectonics! www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
One of the cool things about living in UK is you can wake up one day & find out you reside 300 yards from an ancient Roman road. (h/t @davidho.bsky.social)
A high-resolution digital map allows people to plan their routes along the ancient roads of the Roman Empire
go.nature.com/4nHZmoM
go.nature.com/4nHZmoM
‘Google Maps’ for Roman roads reveals vast extent of ancient network
Nature - A high-resolution digital map nearly doubles the known length of the ancient road network.
go.nature.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:44 AM
One of the cool things about living in UK is you can wake up one day & find out you reside 300 yards from an ancient Roman road. (h/t @davidho.bsky.social)
Drax received logs from cutblocks in BC containing 90% old growth forest, a Canadian investigation found.
So it’s receiving £2m a day in UK green energy subsidies to burn old growth forest 🤔 www.theguardian.com/business/202...
So it’s receiving £2m a day in UK green energy subsidies to burn old growth forest 🤔 www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Drax still burning 250-year-old trees sourced from forests in Canada, experts say
Exclusive: report by Stand.earth says subsidiary of power plant received truckloads of whole logs at biomass pellet sites
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Drax received logs from cutblocks in BC containing 90% old growth forest, a Canadian investigation found.
So it’s receiving £2m a day in UK green energy subsidies to burn old growth forest 🤔 www.theguardian.com/business/202...
So it’s receiving £2m a day in UK green energy subsidies to burn old growth forest 🤔 www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
The Vietnamese Bach Ma Mountain Peak station recorded one-day rainfall of 1,739 mm - close to the global one-day record and perhaps a new record for the northern hemisphere. It is part of a deluge Viet Nam has seen in October, shattering 35 precip records. e.vnexpress.net/news/news/en...
Vietnam sees 35 rainfall records broken in October - VnExpress International
Vietnam's northern and central regions saw a total of 35 rain records broken in October alone as two storms, Matmo and Fengshen, caused unprecedented downpours.
e.vnexpress.net
November 7, 2025 at 9:00 PM
The Vietnamese Bach Ma Mountain Peak station recorded one-day rainfall of 1,739 mm - close to the global one-day record and perhaps a new record for the northern hemisphere. It is part of a deluge Viet Nam has seen in October, shattering 35 precip records. e.vnexpress.net/news/news/en...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
This week's column is on Billionaire Brain: the condition which seems to prevent extremely rich people from perceiving the utterly bleeding obvious.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I wish we could ignore Bill Gates on the climate crisis. But he’s a billionaire, so we can’t | George Monbiot
Money talks – and his essay denouncing ‘near-term emissions goals’ at Cop30 mostly argues the case for letting the ultra-rich off the hook
www.theguardian.com
November 8, 2025 at 8:19 AM
This week's column is on Billionaire Brain: the condition which seems to prevent extremely rich people from perceiving the utterly bleeding obvious.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
“But man's capacities have never been measured; nor are we to judge of what he can do by any precedents, so little have been tried.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden or, Life in the Woods
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden or, Life in the Woods
November 8, 2025 at 10:11 AM
“But man's capacities have never been measured; nor are we to judge of what he can do by any precedents, so little have been tried.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden or, Life in the Woods
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden or, Life in the Woods
If the UK is “backing the transition to EVs,” then why is it considering a tax on miles driven in an EV, to be paid for the year in advance!?
The whole point of an EV is it costs slightly more but is cheaper to operate. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The whole point of an EV is it costs slightly more but is cheaper to operate. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
EV drivers could face new tax in Budget - BBC News
The BBC understands there have been "conversations" within government about the possibility of a new levy on EVs.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 12:48 PM
If the UK is “backing the transition to EVs,” then why is it considering a tax on miles driven in an EV, to be paid for the year in advance!?
The whole point of an EV is it costs slightly more but is cheaper to operate. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The whole point of an EV is it costs slightly more but is cheaper to operate. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The UK failing to invest any money in the forest fund *it helped to create* because of domestic political pressures is so, so 2025 www.edp24.co.uk/news/nationa...
UK will not invest in Brazilian tropical forest fund at Cop30
Britain will not commit public money as Rachel Reeves grapples with balancing the books ahead of the Budget.
www.edp24.co.uk
November 5, 2025 at 9:38 PM
The UK failing to invest any money in the forest fund *it helped to create* because of domestic political pressures is so, so 2025 www.edp24.co.uk/news/nationa...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
Absolutely nuts for Norwegian media to report on Brazil's 'hypocrisy' without mentioning Equinor SPINNING UP THE LARGEST FIELD IN BRAZIL SINCE 2000 - literally days after Equinor celebrated its production start
Another day in the petrostate!!!!! COP30's going to be cool
www.nrk.no/klima/krafti...
Another day in the petrostate!!!!! COP30's going to be cool
www.nrk.no/klima/krafti...
November 2, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Absolutely nuts for Norwegian media to report on Brazil's 'hypocrisy' without mentioning Equinor SPINNING UP THE LARGEST FIELD IN BRAZIL SINCE 2000 - literally days after Equinor celebrated its production start
Another day in the petrostate!!!!! COP30's going to be cool
www.nrk.no/klima/krafti...
Another day in the petrostate!!!!! COP30's going to be cool
www.nrk.no/klima/krafti...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
The remarkable thing about enshittification isn’t that it happens, but that people keep using the products. Ahem…Twitter.
Enshittification is a term coined by Cory Doctorow in 2022. In his new book, Doctorow lays out how tech companies have made our lives progressively worse, finds Matthew Sparkes
Has life today been enshittified? Cory Doctorow's new book explores
Enshittification is a term coined by Cory Doctorow in 2022. In his new book, Doctorow lays out how tech companies have made our lives progressively worse, finds Matthew Sparkes
www.newscientist.com
November 2, 2025 at 9:57 AM
The remarkable thing about enshittification isn’t that it happens, but that people keep using the products. Ahem…Twitter.
Reposted by Alec Luhn
In just six months, China added 256 gigawatts (GW) of new #solar capacity — more than the entire solar infrastructure ever built by the United States. That’s enough clean energy to power over 40 million homes, marking the fastest renewable expansion in human history.
November 2, 2025 at 10:10 AM
In just six months, China added 256 gigawatts (GW) of new #solar capacity — more than the entire solar infrastructure ever built by the United States. That’s enough clean energy to power over 40 million homes, marking the fastest renewable expansion in human history.
Reposted by Alec Luhn
Really interesting analysis - you don't have to be big to make money on Substack, which unlike so many other platforms is not winner-takes-all components.news/the-desire-d...
October 31, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Really interesting analysis - you don't have to be big to make money on Substack, which unlike so many other platforms is not winner-takes-all components.news/the-desire-d...
That's odd—the carbon footprint of your flight is 5x higher than the airline industry's been telling you, according to researchers ... www.newscientist.com/article/2502...
Your flight emissions are way higher than carbon calculators suggest
Existing tools that work out the carbon footprint of flights greatly underestimate their warming impact, say the makers of a new calculator
www.newscientist.com
November 1, 2025 at 10:41 AM
That's odd—the carbon footprint of your flight is 5x higher than the airline industry's been telling you, according to researchers ... www.newscientist.com/article/2502...
Preach, Professor Jones! www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Harrison Ford says Trump’s assault on climate policy ‘scares the shit out of me’
Indiana Jones star calls US president one history’s greatest criminals for attacks on science and boosting of fossil fuels
www.theguardian.com
October 31, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Preach, Professor Jones! www.theguardian.com/environment/...
This year Halloween is especially grim
Indoor trick-or-treat events. Candy dropoffs. Neighbors patrolling with whistles.
This is how Chicagoans are helping kids have a safe and ICE-free Halloween this year: blockclubchi.co/47qJSzi.
This is how Chicagoans are helping kids have a safe and ICE-free Halloween this year: blockclubchi.co/47qJSzi.
October 30, 2025 at 6:08 PM
This year Halloween is especially grim
Reposted by Alec Luhn
Who needs Halloween when America is an actual horror-show?
October 30, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Who needs Halloween when America is an actual horror-show?
The problem with Bill Gates climate reframing, @katharinehayhoe.com says: “People often think of climate change as a separate bucket at the end of a long row of other buckets of problems … The reason we care about climate change is that it's the hole in every bucket." www.axios.com/2025/10/30/b...
Bill Gates' pivot on climate change escalates debate with scientists
Some say Gates is highlighting an "overdue" political reality.
www.axios.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:57 PM
The problem with Bill Gates climate reframing, @katharinehayhoe.com says: “People often think of climate change as a separate bucket at the end of a long row of other buckets of problems … The reason we care about climate change is that it's the hole in every bucket." www.axios.com/2025/10/30/b...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
Been up all night and struggling to concentrate this morning? Your brain may be desperately trying to get clean www.newscientist.com/article/2501...
Can't focus after a bad's night sleep? Your dirty brain is to blame
During sleep, your brain cleans itself by flushing through cerebrospinal fluid to prevent damage to brain cells. If you're lacking in sleep, this happens when you are awake - and seems to cause moment...
www.newscientist.com
October 29, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Been up all night and struggling to concentrate this morning? Your brain may be desperately trying to get clean www.newscientist.com/article/2501...
Big oil being given as much as is being taken from us: "Governments gave out $2.5bn a day in direct subsidies to fossil fuels companies...while people lost about the same amount because of high temperatures preventing them from working on farms and building sites" www.theguardian.com/environment/...
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
www.theguardian.com
October 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Big oil being given as much as is being taken from us: "Governments gave out $2.5bn a day in direct subsidies to fossil fuels companies...while people lost about the same amount because of high temperatures preventing them from working on farms and building sites" www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Yale researchers: Elon Musk's "polarizing and partisan actions” cost Tesla 1-1.26 million US car sales. This despite the valiant efforts of obnoxious Cybertruck buyers … www.axios.com/2025/10/28/e...
Elon Musk's political foray cost Tesla huge sales, Yale study finds
Some industry analysts reacted with skepticism to the figures.
www.axios.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Yale researchers: Elon Musk's "polarizing and partisan actions” cost Tesla 1-1.26 million US car sales. This despite the valiant efforts of obnoxious Cybertruck buyers … www.axios.com/2025/10/28/e...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
fund real journalism, restore media consolidation limits, teach media literacy, and back public media, dumbasses
October 28, 2025 at 1:54 PM
fund real journalism, restore media consolidation limits, teach media literacy, and back public media, dumbasses
Reposted by Alec Luhn
Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm, is forecast to bring catastrophic damage to parts of the Caribbean
The mountains of Jamaica could receive 1 metre of rain, resulting in life-threatening flash flooding and landslides
Destructive winds and storm surges are also likely
The mountains of Jamaica could receive 1 metre of rain, resulting in life-threatening flash flooding and landslides
Destructive winds and storm surges are also likely
October 27, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm, is forecast to bring catastrophic damage to parts of the Caribbean
The mountains of Jamaica could receive 1 metre of rain, resulting in life-threatening flash flooding and landslides
Destructive winds and storm surges are also likely
The mountains of Jamaica could receive 1 metre of rain, resulting in life-threatening flash flooding and landslides
Destructive winds and storm surges are also likely
It’s a double win: wind generates power more cheaply than gas, & it forces gas producers to cut their prices. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Wind power has cut £104bn from UK energy costs since 2010, study finds
Reduction comes from energy generated from windfarms and lower cost of gas owing to lower demand
www.theguardian.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:31 AM
It’s a double win: wind generates power more cheaply than gas, & it forces gas producers to cut their prices. www.theguardian.com/environment/...