Dr Wernerehl
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Dr Wernerehl
@drwernerehl.bsky.social
Retired State Botanist of Massachusetts. Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program. Plant ecology, sandplain grasslands, species distribution & abundance, plant taxonomy, iNaturalist.
Well said!
The people who have to insure our homes and cars know that climate change is real, because it affects their bottom line. It's not that regulating emissions is bad for business; it's just bad for a small number of industries that happen to be very powerful.
The American Academy of Actuaries warns that dismantling NCAR would degrade the catastrophe models insurers depend on to price climate risk—driving up premiums and threatening coverage availability nationwide.
"Uncertainty carries a positive cost."
www.riskmarketnews.com/trumps-clima...
February 17, 2026 at 12:16 PM
Wow. Well done Adam!
Authoritarian’s best friend…
February 17, 2026 at 11:59 AM
Reposted by Dr Wernerehl
February 17, 2026 at 1:16 AM
The actual source: Who Was Noah's Wife? - CSMonitor.com share.google/2wT4oLrD7RLw...
February 17, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Open access paper, looks like static or declining regional species pools are limiting turnover which will degrade native plant communities over time. This was somewhat unexpected as climate change might predict higher turnover. Nearly 5 million species occurrences used in this study.

rdcu.be/e4iMO
Widespread slowdown in short-term species turnover despite accelerating climate change
Nature Communications - Change in the species composition of ecological communities is often attributed to environmental change. Here, the authors reveal a widespread slowdown in short-term species...
rdcu.be
February 17, 2026 at 1:17 AM
Very clever and cute #botany Valentine cards.
Asked my Intro Plant Bio students to make Valentine's day plant meme using what they learned in class so far, and dang, it gives me SO MUCH joy seeing all the submissions.
Some of my favs here: #valentinesday #ib103 #iamabotanist #plantjoy @botsocamerica.bsky.social l @plantteaching.bsky.social
February 16, 2026 at 12:41 PM
Reminder that plants do great things. Clever poem. #botany #photosynthesis
roses are red
violets are blue
both make sugars
from atmospheric CO2

🌹🌹🌹
February 16, 2026 at 12:39 PM
Gift article. No paywall. Conservation effort by descendant of Ted Roosevelt."...President Theodore Roosevelt, his great-grandfather, would have been “appalled” by an effort by House Republicans to allow mining near an expanse of wilderness in Minnesota"
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/c...
Teddy Roosevelt’s Family Urges G.O.P. to Protect Public Lands
www.nytimes.com
February 16, 2026 at 12:22 PM
Some great human ancestry research based on an article in Nature, which is often behind multiple paywalls. This story is free to read. Careful, exact science in dating of human remains to precisely 773,000 years ago. #archeology #paleoanthropology. www.thebrighterside.news/post/773000-...
773,000-year-old Moroccan cave fossils reveal human and neandertal evolutionary split
New Nature study dates Morocco hominin fossils to 773,000 years, offering clues near the shared roots of humans and Neandertals.
www.thebrighterside.news
February 15, 2026 at 12:46 PM
A rare bit of non-political humor for a change. This would no doubt happen to me if I tried Luge.
theonion.com/keys-spare-c...
Keys, Spare Change Fly Out Of Luge Athlete’s Pocket On First Turn
theonion.com
February 14, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Ha ha, good one!
My wife: How late were you out last night?

Me: The DOW is over $50,000!
February 14, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Stunning number. Reuters review of court records. This is not fake news or just an estimate. 4400 (four thousand, four hundred) cases they ruled against ICE. Yet it keeps going. They must be stopped. In every state!
February 14, 2026 at 5:37 PM
My driveway has an odd random patch of pavement that when the snow melts around it, it forms a heart shape. And with that, I wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day.
February 14, 2026 at 1:13 PM
This is true.
Trump's second term has been a disgusting cesspool of non-stop grift and corruption 👇

"In August 2025, I reported that the President and his family had made $3.4 billion by leveraging his position. After his first year back in office, the number has ballooned."

Read more: https://bit.ly/4tmtni0
February 14, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Reposted by Dr Wernerehl
The fact that the rules of air defense "had to be relearned over a major American city next to a large international airport should concern anyone who understands how quickly accidents become tragedies."
The El Paso Balloon Incident Could Have Been a Disaster
Shooting experimental lasers next to a major airport without telling anyone—what could go wrong?
lnk.thebulwark.com
February 14, 2026 at 3:30 AM
Reposted by Dr Wernerehl
When will Republicans, veterans organizations, & retired military officers speak up about this? No president in the history of the Republic has done this. Yet Trump, Vance, & Hegseth do it constantly. It betrays the most important core value of our military-no partisan politics.
February 14, 2026 at 11:59 AM
Yes. They did indeed shut down the El Paso (population 700,000) airport because the Pentagon insisted on testing an unauthorized laser weapon on a drone but instead shot down a metallic party balloon. Total incompetence! Gift article. No paywall.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/u...
Inside the Debacle That Led to the Closure of El Paso’s Airspace
www.nytimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Precisely! Clever, timely one by Rick McKee. Sad but true department.
February 13, 2026 at 6:28 PM
The current completely disorganized and incompetent administration.
Pete Hegseth used an untested laser system powerful enough to down drones, blind pilots & damage planes without notifying the FAA, forcing Sean Duffy to shut down airspace over El Paso, all because they thought we were under attack by what turned out to be… party balloons?!

Are you f’ng kidding me?
February 13, 2026 at 12:24 PM
Reposted by Dr Wernerehl
She didn’t turn around. She didn’t look at them.

They were right there.

She could have arranged to get their contact information.

She could have shown a scrap of sympathy.

But Pam Bondi wouldn’t even look them in the eye.

And that was a defining moment.

open.substack.com/pub/charlies...
The Dark Truth About Pam Bondi
Arrogance, insults, indifference, and nonfeasance
open.substack.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by Dr Wernerehl
While others are stepping back on climate, Project Drawdown is stepping up!

We’re proud to announce the Climate Science Serving America Fellowship to support U.S.-based Ph.D.-level scientists & engineers focused on climate solutions for the public good.

drawdown.org/news/project...
Project Drawdown launches Climate Science Serving America Fellowship to support scientists working in the public good
Fellowship seeks early- to mid-career researchers based in America who are committed to science and public expertise
drawdown.org
February 12, 2026 at 5:34 PM
Reposted by Dr Wernerehl
Republicans are still trying to pass the SAVE Act—a bill that would make it harder to vote and disenfranchise millions of Americans. Join @redistrictingaction.org and tell your member of Congress to vote no: act.redistrictingaction.org/a/natl-saveact-cte
February 11, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Representative Thomas Massie is a Republican for Kentucky's 4th Congressional District. Note the comments and replies. No one uses the word "bitch" and they don't need to. The use of that word was much discussed elsewhere in the anti-misogynist posts.
Massie: "Here is an email that was sent by the victims' lawyers to the DOJ. It was a list of names not to release. What did the DOJ do with this email? They released it! Literally the worst thing you could do the survivors you did."
February 12, 2026 at 11:45 AM