Tom Langen
@calocitta.bsky.social
parent, birder, story teller, ecologist, academic
Some excellent first reflections about the life of James Watson, from one of America's finest historians of biology, who happens to have a book coming out about JW next year.
Okay, here are some first reflections on Watson.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
November 9, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Some excellent first reflections about the life of James Watson, from one of America's finest historians of biology, who happens to have a book coming out about JW next year.
Reposted by Tom Langen
Last month I featured @calocitta.bsky.social, @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social, and more!
#envhist #envhum
#envhist #envhum
This autumn has been ROUGH for parenting/work balance, and thus, I'm just sitting down to promote my @nichecanada.bsky.social #EnvHist worth reading list for September! New list out next Friday.
niche-canada.org/2025/10/11/e...
niche-canada.org/2025/10/11/e...
#EnvHist Worth Reading: September 2025
Find historical ecology, a chicken tax, and living rivers in the September list of environmental history worth reading from Jessica DeWitt.
niche-canada.org
November 7, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Last month I featured @calocitta.bsky.social, @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social, and more!
#envhist #envhum
#envhist #envhum
Be careful! With the time change, you risk of hitting a deer with your vehicle goes up, at a time of the year when the risk his highest (the rut). 🦊🌿🦤
theconversation.com/another-prob...
theconversation.com/another-prob...
Another problem with daylight saving time: The time change raises your risk of hitting deer on the road
Dusk is a dangerous time of day for hitting wildlife on the road, and the one-hour time change means more drivers are out while deer are at their most active and visibility is dropping.
theconversation.com
November 2, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Be careful! With the time change, you risk of hitting a deer with your vehicle goes up, at a time of the year when the risk his highest (the rut). 🦊🌿🦤
theconversation.com/another-prob...
theconversation.com/another-prob...
Burkina Faso lives up to its name and stands up to the vindictive US government - it refuses to be used as a prison camp for US deportees from around the world, and the US retaliates.
Washington sanctions Ouagadougou for refusing to accept deportees from the United States
Following Ouagadougou’s refusal to accept migrants deported from the United States, Washington has resolved to send Burkinabé visa applicants to Togo.
globalvoices.org
November 1, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Burkina Faso lives up to its name and stands up to the vindictive US government - it refuses to be used as a prison camp for US deportees from around the world, and the US retaliates.
October 26, 2025 at 7:08 PM
The leaves are gold and scarlet,
The sky is as grey as lead.
It’s time to turn the compost,
And put the garden to bed.
The air smells of woodsmoke,
Old fruit, dead leaves, and bread,
It’s time to turn the compost,
And put the garden to bed.
🌿🌱#Poetry
The sky is as grey as lead.
It’s time to turn the compost,
And put the garden to bed.
The air smells of woodsmoke,
Old fruit, dead leaves, and bread,
It’s time to turn the compost,
And put the garden to bed.
🌿🌱#Poetry
October 25, 2025 at 6:21 PM
The leaves are gold and scarlet,
The sky is as grey as lead.
It’s time to turn the compost,
And put the garden to bed.
The air smells of woodsmoke,
Old fruit, dead leaves, and bread,
It’s time to turn the compost,
And put the garden to bed.
🌿🌱#Poetry
The sky is as grey as lead.
It’s time to turn the compost,
And put the garden to bed.
The air smells of woodsmoke,
Old fruit, dead leaves, and bread,
It’s time to turn the compost,
And put the garden to bed.
🌿🌱#Poetry
HHS Secretary Kennedy "is planning to investigate climate and weather control, and is expected to create a task force that will recommend possible federal action," 🧪
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a chemtrail? A new conspiracy theory finds traction at Kennedy’s HHS | CNN
The idea that airplane vapors are toxic to people or that there are ongoing efforts to intentionally change the climate made the social media rounds. Now, it has found advocates at the Department of H...
www.cnn.com
October 25, 2025 at 3:05 AM
HHS Secretary Kennedy "is planning to investigate climate and weather control, and is expected to create a task force that will recommend possible federal action," 🧪
The trouble with Canada geese. 🦉🌎🌿
Nobody Loves a Goose - Offrange
Why the overabundance of Canada geese are causing environmental, health, and crop issues far and wide.
ambrook.com
October 25, 2025 at 2:34 AM
The trouble with Canada geese. 🦉🌎🌿
I am proud to have published an article in this journal.
R.I.P. Journal of Fish & Wildlife Management. Deceased not because of a lack of need or demand, but as an intentional political program to eliminate scientific research from the federal government functions. 🧪🌎🦤
R.I.P. Journal of Fish & Wildlife Management. Deceased not because of a lack of need or demand, but as an intentional political program to eliminate scientific research from the federal government functions. 🧪🌎🦤
TWS Journals
Click on the article title to read more.
wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:04 PM
I am proud to have published an article in this journal.
R.I.P. Journal of Fish & Wildlife Management. Deceased not because of a lack of need or demand, but as an intentional political program to eliminate scientific research from the federal government functions. 🧪🌎🦤
R.I.P. Journal of Fish & Wildlife Management. Deceased not because of a lack of need or demand, but as an intentional political program to eliminate scientific research from the federal government functions. 🧪🌎🦤
An excellent piece on the A2A (Adirondack to Algonquin) biological corridor and the need for wildlife passage structures over some major highways. 🦤🌎
New infrastructure could help wildlife traverse a corridor that spans from Ontario to the ADKs
As the Ontario Ministry of Transportation plans to expand Highway 401, the A2A Collaborative is proposing new wildlife over and underpasses to help animals migrate.
www.northcountrypublicradio.org
October 22, 2025 at 3:47 AM
An excellent piece on the A2A (Adirondack to Algonquin) biological corridor and the need for wildlife passage structures over some major highways. 🦤🌎
Well, some universities, at least, are refusing to sign away their core principles. Arizona, Brown, Dartmouth, MIT, Penn, USC and Virginia are doing the right thing.
#AcademicSky
#AcademicSky
University of Arizona becomes seventh US college to reject Trump’s ‘compact’
Administration has pushed nine universities to sign a deal that seeks to make changes in line with conservative ideas
www.theguardian.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Well, some universities, at least, are refusing to sign away their core principles. Arizona, Brown, Dartmouth, MIT, Penn, USC and Virginia are doing the right thing.
#AcademicSky
#AcademicSky
Reposted by Tom Langen
Hero’s of the day - In a small town of Beckley, WV, Kendra Sullivan staged a one-woman No Kings protest. She was confronted, had the police called on her, but stood her ground. She was physically threatened. Police came more than once and protected her right to protest. This is how we do it.
October 19, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Hero’s of the day - In a small town of Beckley, WV, Kendra Sullivan staged a one-woman No Kings protest. She was confronted, had the police called on her, but stood her ground. She was physically threatened. Police came more than once and protected her right to protest. This is how we do it.
Many universities are swiftly, even eagerly slipping into the wave of repression against free speech and press. U. of Indiana and Purdue U. are two of those. Bravo on the Purdue Exponent for coming to the support of IU's beleaguered student newspaper. Makes this alumnus proud.
#AcademicSky
#AcademicSky
Purdue student journalists deliver special 'solidarity' newspaper to IU Bloomington campus
The special edition blasted across town features columns from IDS and Exponent editors, alongside QR codes to support both student papers.
www.yahoo.com
October 19, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Many universities are swiftly, even eagerly slipping into the wave of repression against free speech and press. U. of Indiana and Purdue U. are two of those. Bravo on the Purdue Exponent for coming to the support of IU's beleaguered student newspaper. Makes this alumnus proud.
#AcademicSky
#AcademicSky
Reposted by Tom Langen
🔥 When Indiana silenced its student press, Purdue broke the silence. Rivalry became rebellion as students printed the forbidden paper and carried it through the night to Bloomington. This is what freedom looks like when courage refuses permission.
October 18, 2025 at 10:45 PM
🔥 When Indiana silenced its student press, Purdue broke the silence. Rivalry became rebellion as students printed the forbidden paper and carried it through the night to Bloomington. This is what freedom looks like when courage refuses permission.
Ungraded homeworks pile high and you drink hot coffee black,
When frost is on the windshield and dec’rative holiday crap is back.
When frost is on the windshield and dec’rative holiday crap is back.
October 16, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Ungraded homeworks pile high and you drink hot coffee black,
When frost is on the windshield and dec’rative holiday crap is back.
When frost is on the windshield and dec’rative holiday crap is back.
Excellent timely piece on how climate change is changing winter on the Laurentian Great Lakes, and the need for winter limnological research across the region.
🧪🌎🌿
🧪🌎🌿
Warmer weather is leading to vanishing winters in North America’s Great Lakes
Warming winters are impacting lakes globally. However, most monitoring in the Great Lakes occurs during warmer, calmer weather. A new report highlights how policymakers can improve winter monitoring.
theconversation.com
October 16, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Excellent timely piece on how climate change is changing winter on the Laurentian Great Lakes, and the need for winter limnological research across the region.
🧪🌎🌿
🧪🌎🌿
Reposted by Tom Langen
Plant Science Research Weekly -- Lessons from 138 bryophyte genomes (Nature Genetics) (Summary by Mary Williams @PlantTeaching.bsky.social) buff.ly/AfoaxtF
#PlantaePSRW
#PlantaePSRW
Lessons from 138 bryophyte genomes | Plantae
Pangenomes are amazing resources that provide glimpses into evolution that no single genome can capture. This new article by Dong et al. is a treat, as it describes the findings from a compilation of…
buff.ly
October 14, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Plant Science Research Weekly -- Lessons from 138 bryophyte genomes (Nature Genetics) (Summary by Mary Williams @PlantTeaching.bsky.social) buff.ly/AfoaxtF
#PlantaePSRW
#PlantaePSRW
Reposted by Tom Langen
Here is the students' @idsnews.bsky.social report out of Indiana University, where the student media director was fired today. www.idsnews.com/article/2025...
LETTER FROM THE EDITORS: IU fires student media director after he refused to censor the IDS
Indiana University directed the IDS to stop printing news.
www.idsnews.com
October 15, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Here is the students' @idsnews.bsky.social report out of Indiana University, where the student media director was fired today. www.idsnews.com/article/2025...
Academic freedom is not negotiable. MIT & Dartmouth have affirmed this, as have these student leaders from seven universities. One hopes that this is only a start of a resistance to federal government over-reach on academic curriculum and governance.
October 13, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Academic freedom is not negotiable. MIT & Dartmouth have affirmed this, as have these student leaders from seven universities. One hopes that this is only a start of a resistance to federal government over-reach on academic curriculum and governance.
Greater noctule bats prey on migrating European robins and other birds!
EXTREMELY COOL BAT STUFF: A study out in Science today found that the greater noctule bat, Europe's largest, hunts and catches *migrating birds* while in flight. In at least one case, a bat climbed to more than 1200 feet, then chased a robin downward FAST until it caught it near the ground.
Greater noctule bats prey on and consume passerines in flight
Despite billions of passerines seasonally migrating during the night at high altitudes, only three bat species have been found to consistently tap into this rich prey resource. However, it remains unk...
www.science.org
October 9, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Greater noctule bats prey on migrating European robins and other birds!
Do you care about the water you drink and recreate in? Here is a long article about PFAS and local water quality in the North Country of New York . It is excellent local environmental reporting by the Watertown Daily Times. 🌎
Watertown takes in millions of gallons of landfill runoff. Environmental groups worry that’s bringing in toxic PFAS chemicals
WATERTOWN — Each year, thousands of trucks filled with the liquid runoff collected at major landfills across New York are driven into Watertown, taken to the city’s sewage treatment plant,
www.nny360.com
October 5, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Do you care about the water you drink and recreate in? Here is a long article about PFAS and local water quality in the North Country of New York . It is excellent local environmental reporting by the Watertown Daily Times. 🌎
The Gullah communities were first neglected, and then had their land stolen by 'quasi-legal' and criminal means all along the coast of South Carolina, Georgia, and northern Florida. It's nice to read about a win, for once.
Georgia supreme court sides with Gullah Geechee residents fighting to protect land
Decision reversed lower court ruling that weakened zoning restrictions put in place decades ago to preserve lands
www.theguardian.com
October 2, 2025 at 11:54 PM
The Gullah communities were first neglected, and then had their land stolen by 'quasi-legal' and criminal means all along the coast of South Carolina, Georgia, and northern Florida. It's nice to read about a win, for once.
Important news. Sadly, a change in the requirements will exclude a great number of graduate students who had planned to submit a proposal to the program in their second year of graduate studies.
September 28, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Important news. Sadly, a change in the requirements will exclude a great number of graduate students who had planned to submit a proposal to the program in their second year of graduate studies.
The first big skeins of geese are coming in from the North to my area of New York now. Here's my article on how they know when to migrate. 🦉🌿
How do geese know how to fly south for the winter?
Geese honk loudly and point their bills toward the sky when they’re ready to start the migration. Here’s how they know it’s time, how they navigate and how they conserve energy on the grueling trip.
theconversation.com
September 28, 2025 at 1:56 PM
The first big skeins of geese are coming in from the North to my area of New York now. Here's my article on how they know when to migrate. 🦉🌿
I led a walk to this place today - Rainbow Falls in the Adirondack Park. 🌿
September 27, 2025 at 10:29 PM
I led a walk to this place today - Rainbow Falls in the Adirondack Park. 🌿