Michael Parks
@jurassicparks.bsky.social
Journalist learning and writing about grasslands. Also a dad / husband in new mexico.
Reposted by Michael Parks
New OA paper today! This one is very important to me as is the culmination of over a decade of incredibly intensive field work in KS prairies. I will walk you through the take-homes...
1/n
#Tallgrass #GRSP #LTER #Konza #PopulationEcology #Rain
dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
1/n
#Tallgrass #GRSP #LTER #Konza #PopulationEcology #Rain
dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
Climatic Variability Threatens Population Growth and Persistence of a Declining Grassland Songbird
Determining the factors responsible for population change in threatened populations and the degree to which changing climates might put those populations at risk is one of the most pressing roles of ...
dx.doi.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:06 PM
New OA paper today! This one is very important to me as is the culmination of over a decade of incredibly intensive field work in KS prairies. I will walk you through the take-homes...
1/n
#Tallgrass #GRSP #LTER #Konza #PopulationEcology #Rain
dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
1/n
#Tallgrass #GRSP #LTER #Konza #PopulationEcology #Rain
dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
love that the conclusion of this very erudite thread is: just as likely that people in the past sometimes just didn't know what they were doing
The paleo wood biologist niche is small so maybe I should elaborate.
First, finding 15 dugout canoes in a single lake boggles my mind. That is amazing and does not need another hook/lede.
Second, it IS initially surprising that a substantial portion of these are from the red oak group.
First, finding 15 dugout canoes in a single lake boggles my mind. That is amazing and does not need another hook/lede.
Second, it IS initially surprising that a substantial portion of these are from the red oak group.
I find this incredibly unlikely.
I cannot imagine a way red oaks could be injured up and down the length of the tree to induce extensive tyloses formation over years to decades without also inducing extensive decay.
www.jsonline.com/story/news/l...
I cannot imagine a way red oaks could be injured up and down the length of the tree to induce extensive tyloses formation over years to decades without also inducing extensive decay.
www.jsonline.com/story/news/l...
November 24, 2025 at 4:10 AM
love that the conclusion of this very erudite thread is: just as likely that people in the past sometimes just didn't know what they were doing
"Sharing the abundant wealth of an AI economy that is socially generated through the use of our data is so sensible a concept that it would, in time, become as normal and accepted a condition of doing business as paying into Social Security and Medicare."
www.noemamag.com/address-affo...
www.noemamag.com/address-affo...
Address ‘Affordability’ By Spreading AI Wealth Around | NOEMA
The emergent “coalition of the precariat” should embrace the idea of universal basic capital.
www.noemamag.com
November 23, 2025 at 5:07 PM
"Sharing the abundant wealth of an AI economy that is socially generated through the use of our data is so sensible a concept that it would, in time, become as normal and accepted a condition of doing business as paying into Social Security and Medicare."
www.noemamag.com/address-affo...
www.noemamag.com/address-affo...
"This will require that the contemporary conservation paradigm envision pastoralists as an asset rather than a threat to biodiversity conservation and recognize grazing and fire as ecological disturbances vital to the maintenance of biodiversity"
academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
Pastoralism Can Mitigate Biodiversity Loss on Global Rangelands
Abstract. Sustainable pastoralism represents a primary strategy for supporting goals of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Sixty-seven per
academic.oup.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:39 AM
"This will require that the contemporary conservation paradigm envision pastoralists as an asset rather than a threat to biodiversity conservation and recognize grazing and fire as ecological disturbances vital to the maintenance of biodiversity"
academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
Reposted by Michael Parks
What happens when you have a prescribed fire at the end of the dry season, fire of high severity with T>700ºC? The Cerrado blooms! 45 days post-fire and a high proportion of the spp flowering and fruiting. Isn’t that amazing? #Cerrado #FireEcology @leveg.bsky.social @programabiota.bsky.social
November 20, 2025 at 10:06 PM
What happens when you have a prescribed fire at the end of the dry season, fire of high severity with T>700ºC? The Cerrado blooms! 45 days post-fire and a high proportion of the spp flowering and fruiting. Isn’t that amazing? #Cerrado #FireEcology @leveg.bsky.social @programabiota.bsky.social
Having lived in / spent time in Mongolia and Argentina...it's wild that the U.S. is on par
November 18, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Having lived in / spent time in Mongolia and Argentina...it's wild that the U.S. is on par
Coooool. What I really want see, though, is a Columbian mammoth. Generally taller and more massive than African elephants, which is very hard to imagine
Mammoth spotted in South Poland!
Actually, a to-scale model by Studio Kamyk for the Jegiellonian University Nature Education Centre, Krakow. 😍
Actually, a to-scale model by Studio Kamyk for the Jegiellonian University Nature Education Centre, Krakow. 😍
November 14, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Coooool. What I really want see, though, is a Columbian mammoth. Generally taller and more massive than African elephants, which is very hard to imagine
Talking with Indigenous people about bison, I've heard stories about how remembrance of history (famine due to govt policy) is informing a drive toward food sovereignty. And lo and behold...
www.nytimes.com/card/2025/11...
www.nytimes.com/card/2025/11...
When Food Cuts Loomed, This Tribe Turned to Bison
In one of its largest harvests ever, the Blackfeet tribe turned to its herd to help feed its members, who rely heavily on federal food assistance.
www.nytimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Talking with Indigenous people about bison, I've heard stories about how remembrance of history (famine due to govt policy) is informing a drive toward food sovereignty. And lo and behold...
www.nytimes.com/card/2025/11...
www.nytimes.com/card/2025/11...
kind of a dumb story, but interesting to know this millennial baroness is related to the "Mad Baron of Mongolia" - a White Russian who thought he was Genghis Khan reincarnated, notorious for cruelty
personally, I'd think I'd be ditching the family name
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/s...
personally, I'd think I'd be ditching the family name
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/s...
November 10, 2025 at 3:05 PM
kind of a dumb story, but interesting to know this millennial baroness is related to the "Mad Baron of Mongolia" - a White Russian who thought he was Genghis Khan reincarnated, notorious for cruelty
personally, I'd think I'd be ditching the family name
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/s...
personally, I'd think I'd be ditching the family name
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/s...
Self-fulfilling prophecy if ever I heard one.
i think this is key. taking the deal would amount to taking the blame. it would turn a clear political victory into an unambiguous defeat.
If the Dems blink after all of this, for a deal that all but ensures no ACA subsidies in 2026 anyway, then what was the purpose of letting the shutdown go for 40 days in the first place?
November 10, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Self-fulfilling prophecy if ever I heard one.
Reposted by Michael Parks
No health care, no deal.
November 10, 2025 at 1:33 AM
No health care, no deal.
Reposted by Michael Parks
History time settlers-November 8th is #IndigenousVeteransDay, and you may ask why there’s a separate day-because our brave were never given the same respect or honours as non-indigenous soldiers.
We asked for this as part of reconciliation, and it matters.
Our soldiers weren’t given veterans….
We asked for this as part of reconciliation, and it matters.
Our soldiers weren’t given veterans….
November 8, 2025 at 10:29 AM
History time settlers-November 8th is #IndigenousVeteransDay, and you may ask why there’s a separate day-because our brave were never given the same respect or honours as non-indigenous soldiers.
We asked for this as part of reconciliation, and it matters.
Our soldiers weren’t given veterans….
We asked for this as part of reconciliation, and it matters.
Our soldiers weren’t given veterans….
Reposted by Michael Parks
The most incredible library in the world, @bodleian.ox.ac.uk opened to OTD 1602, through the energy, money & commitment of Sir Thomas Bodley. It began with 5k books, & now more than 22m, with 2m+reader visits a year, & multi-million online users across the globe. Privilged to be its 25th librarian!
November 8, 2025 at 7:20 AM
The most incredible library in the world, @bodleian.ox.ac.uk opened to OTD 1602, through the energy, money & commitment of Sir Thomas Bodley. It began with 5k books, & now more than 22m, with 2m+reader visits a year, & multi-million online users across the globe. Privilged to be its 25th librarian!
Reposted by Michael Parks
Find myself thinking about Jim Corbett a lot lately. Any other Goatwalking fans out there?
granta.com/goat-herd-er...
granta.com/goat-herd-er...
Goat-Herd Errant: Jim Corbett and the American borderlands
‘The book is a manifesto for the revival of pastoral nomadism – leading goats from pasture to pasture and surviving on their milk and wild plants.’ William Atkins on Jim Corbett’s Goatwalking.
granta.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Find myself thinking about Jim Corbett a lot lately. Any other Goatwalking fans out there?
granta.com/goat-herd-er...
granta.com/goat-herd-er...
Reposted by Michael Parks
Do groundwater rights retirement programs work? There is certainly demand for them in Nevada. For KNPR and the Daily Yonder, I talked to irrigators about their experiences with a pilot program in areas where aquifers are being depleted faster than they are replenished. knpr.org/desert-compa...
Well Into the Future
A Nevada program addressed overallocation of groundwater by paying farmers to use less. Is it working?
knpr.org
November 7, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Do groundwater rights retirement programs work? There is certainly demand for them in Nevada. For KNPR and the Daily Yonder, I talked to irrigators about their experiences with a pilot program in areas where aquifers are being depleted faster than they are replenished. knpr.org/desert-compa...
Reposted by Michael Parks
Keep thinking its significant that many ranchers dislike CAFOs / want to break up break up meatpacker concentration and mainstream enviros have decided to run with "grass fed beef is the worst of all sins"
Really seems like making enemies out of allies
Really seems like making enemies out of allies
November 7, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Keep thinking its significant that many ranchers dislike CAFOs / want to break up break up meatpacker concentration and mainstream enviros have decided to run with "grass fed beef is the worst of all sins"
Really seems like making enemies out of allies
Really seems like making enemies out of allies
Reposted by Michael Parks
I fully believe in the corporate death penalty and believe we would be a better world if OpenAI lost its corporate charter and was forcibly dissolved.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
ChatGPT encouraged college graduate to commit suicide, family claims in lawsuit against OpenAI | CNN
A 23-year-old man killed himself in Texas after ChatGPT ‘goaded’ him to commit suicide, his family says in a lawsuit.
www.cnn.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:12 AM
I fully believe in the corporate death penalty and believe we would be a better world if OpenAI lost its corporate charter and was forcibly dissolved.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
Reposted by Michael Parks
I helped make a film, out this week, called “Rovina’s Choice,” about the deaths this man without conscience or accountability has caused — already 600,000, ⅔ of them children.
November 6, 2025 at 10:34 PM
I helped make a film, out this week, called “Rovina’s Choice,” about the deaths this man without conscience or accountability has caused — already 600,000, ⅔ of them children.
I just saw in author in a book do a cool move on big number understanding...namely just using the actual written out number
For instance, Elon Musk will now have 900,000,000,000 more dollars that all SNAP recipients receive in a year
For instance, Elon Musk will now have 900,000,000,000 more dollars that all SNAP recipients receive in a year
I know most of my followers probably know this, but just in context:
A billion is a thousand million.
A trillion is a thousand billion.
A billion is a thousand million.
A trillion is a thousand billion.
November 6, 2025 at 11:43 PM
I just saw in author in a book do a cool move on big number understanding...namely just using the actual written out number
For instance, Elon Musk will now have 900,000,000,000 more dollars that all SNAP recipients receive in a year
For instance, Elon Musk will now have 900,000,000,000 more dollars that all SNAP recipients receive in a year
Reposted by Michael Parks
Yes, the #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge trailer is out today...
Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age — Season 3 Official Trailer | Apple TV
YouTube video by Apple TV
www.youtube.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Yes, the #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge trailer is out today...
It's funny that people might travel to Mongolia and think its, like, artisanal herding. Quite a few individuals and families with 3 - 10,000 head in mixed species herds. Friend told me the largest might be 40,000 under one individual. This is v. large even by American standards.
November 6, 2025 at 8:14 PM
It's funny that people might travel to Mongolia and think its, like, artisanal herding. Quite a few individuals and families with 3 - 10,000 head in mixed species herds. Friend told me the largest might be 40,000 under one individual. This is v. large even by American standards.
Looking forward to airline profiteering on high demand for fewer flights!
November 6, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Looking forward to airline profiteering on high demand for fewer flights!