Lawrence Culver
@lawrencecphd.bsky.social
Historian of environment/climate/disaster/cities/culture. SLC via AL and LA; UCLA Bruin. Book: The Frontier of Leisure: SoCal and the Shaping of Modern America; currently writing a book about climate and history in the US and North America.
Reposted by Lawrence Culver
Gingerbread 2025 Dumpster 🔥
December 26, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Gingerbread 2025 Dumpster 🔥
“Around the globe, people are seeing more dramatic swings between dry-to-wet and wet-to-dry weather whiplash. Scientists say more such episodes of “hydroclimate whiplash” are anticipated worldwide because of human-caused global warming.”
Behind SoCal's wettest Christmas holiday ever, an intensifying drought-to-deluge cycle
Behind SoCal's wettest Christmas holiday ever, an intensifying drought-to-deluge cycle
Scientists attribute these extreme weather swings to climate change, warning of intensifying "hydroclimate whiplash" patterns globally.
www.latimes.com
December 26, 2025 at 4:09 PM
“Around the globe, people are seeing more dramatic swings between dry-to-wet and wet-to-dry weather whiplash. Scientists say more such episodes of “hydroclimate whiplash” are anticipated worldwide because of human-caused global warming.”
“Despite focus on the climate crisis drifting away among many politicians and activists, many Americans are grasping the connection between rising temperatures and rising bills.”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
US voters linking climate crisis to rising bills despite Trump’s ‘green scam’ claims
New polling shows 65% of registered US voters believe global heating is affecting cost of living
www.theguardian.com
December 26, 2025 at 3:05 PM
“Despite focus on the climate crisis drifting away among many politicians and activists, many Americans are grasping the connection between rising temperatures and rising bills.”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Still the best version of this scene, due to Edward Woodward & George C. Scott, and also because Charles Dickens, writing in 1843, understood the vanities, anxieties, and insecurities of the new middle class and new elites of capital and industry better than almost any other writer ever has.
December 26, 2025 at 5:04 AM
Still the best version of this scene, due to Edward Woodward & George C. Scott, and also because Charles Dickens, writing in 1843, understood the vanities, anxieties, and insecurities of the new middle class and new elites of capital and industry better than almost any other writer ever has.
Reposted by Lawrence Culver
NORAD Santa tracker is Woke
December 25, 2025 at 2:28 AM
NORAD Santa tracker is Woke
The massive California floods in 1862 are not well known or remembered, but warn us that a place prone to drought is also prove to huge flooding events, and will experience them again in the future.
Christmas Eve 1861: Rain began to pour across Southern California and lasted deep into January 1862. #LARain
From the Los Angeles Star (January 1862): “The Los Angeles River, already brimful, overflowed its banks, and became a fierce and destructive flood.” cdnc.ucr.edu?a=d&d=LASTAR...
From the Los Angeles Star (January 1862): “The Los Angeles River, already brimful, overflowed its banks, and became a fierce and destructive flood.” cdnc.ucr.edu?a=d&d=LASTAR...
December 25, 2025 at 12:19 AM
The massive California floods in 1862 are not well known or remembered, but warn us that a place prone to drought is also prove to huge flooding events, and will experience them again in the future.
Cherokee Removal, racial violence, confederate poets, real estate schemes, dead recreationalists, and a drought disaster waiting to happen, Lake Lanier, Atlanta’s only big reservoir, has the southern history & southern gothic to earn its foreboding reputation.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
‘Haunted and cursed’: Lake Lanier has a deadly reputation. A darker tale hides beneath the surface
After years of fatalities and bizarre incidents, the Georgia reservoir has spawned countless ghost stories. Are they merely legend or the after-effects of a history steeped in racial trauma?
www.theguardian.com
December 24, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Cherokee Removal, racial violence, confederate poets, real estate schemes, dead recreationalists, and a drought disaster waiting to happen, Lake Lanier, Atlanta’s only big reservoir, has the southern history & southern gothic to earn its foreboding reputation.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
Oscars attendees always leave with gift bags…But in 2025, they received a grimmer gift: a yearlong subscription to a white-glove disaster recovery service called Bright Harbor, which has grown popular in the wake of the wildfires that devastated Los Angeles last January.
grist.org/economics/wh...
grist.org/economics/wh...
What happens when disaster recovery becomes a luxury good
As federal services deteriorate, a patchwork of private companies is taking their place — for better or for worse.
grist.org
December 23, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Oscars attendees always leave with gift bags…But in 2025, they received a grimmer gift: a yearlong subscription to a white-glove disaster recovery service called Bright Harbor, which has grown popular in the wake of the wildfires that devastated Los Angeles last January.
grist.org/economics/wh...
grist.org/economics/wh...
Soskin shared her personal experiences and those of African American workers during the war at Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, CA: “What gets remembered is a function of who’s in the room doing the remembering.”
www.kqed.org/news/1206821...
www.kqed.org/news/1206821...
Betty Reid Soskin, Oldest U.S. Park Ranger and Trailblazing Historian, Dies at 104 | KQED
Betty Reid Soskin, the nation’s oldest National Park Service ranger and a pioneering historian at Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park, devoted her life to preserving Black histo...
www.kqed.org
December 22, 2025 at 5:41 AM
Soskin shared her personal experiences and those of African American workers during the war at Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, CA: “What gets remembered is a function of who’s in the room doing the remembering.”
www.kqed.org/news/1206821...
www.kqed.org/news/1206821...
Almost Australian-style summer Xmas incoming for much of the USA🎄🥵🎄
The North American temperature anomaly forecast map for around XMas is something to behold!
December 21, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Almost Australian-style summer Xmas incoming for much of the USA🎄🥵🎄
“The monster conflagrations of 2025 proved that despite the deep archive of local calamity, the spectacular topography of peril and the convergence of climate change and wildland intrusion, equal doses of distraction and denial kept us unprepared for the inevitable.”
www.latimes.com/after-the-fi...
www.latimes.com/after-the-fi...
After the Fires: L.A.'s double disaster left thousands of scars, and the healing will take years
The Eaton and Palisades fires tragically exposed L.A.’s vulnerability. The Times looks back at a devastating year, scrutinizes official response and makes the case for being better prepared next time.
www.latimes.com
December 21, 2025 at 4:10 PM
“The monster conflagrations of 2025 proved that despite the deep archive of local calamity, the spectacular topography of peril and the convergence of climate change and wildland intrusion, equal doses of distraction and denial kept us unprepared for the inevitable.”
www.latimes.com/after-the-fi...
www.latimes.com/after-the-fi...
These TCM remembrances of people in film are always good, but this one is an exceptionally lovely meditation on an especially sad year.
As the year comes to a close, TCM remembers the actors, filmmakers and creatives we lost this year.
Gone, but never forgotten: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF8_...
Song title and artist: "In the Western Wind and the Sunrise" by Dave Simonett and the Sunrise.
Gone, but never forgotten: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF8_...
Song title and artist: "In the Western Wind and the Sunrise" by Dave Simonett and the Sunrise.
December 20, 2025 at 4:54 AM
These TCM remembrances of people in film are always good, but this one is an exceptionally lovely meditation on an especially sad year.
Gift article.
Cities built on the assumption of limitless growth are confronting reality: Las Vegas & Phoenix…are now debating moratoria, tighter planning rules & growth management. Water scarcity has exposed the costs of assuming that physical limits don’t apply.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/o...
Cities built on the assumption of limitless growth are confronting reality: Las Vegas & Phoenix…are now debating moratoria, tighter planning rules & growth management. Water scarcity has exposed the costs of assuming that physical limits don’t apply.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/o...
Opinion | How Did a City of 10 Million People Nearly Run Out of Water?
www.nytimes.com
December 19, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Gift article.
Cities built on the assumption of limitless growth are confronting reality: Las Vegas & Phoenix…are now debating moratoria, tighter planning rules & growth management. Water scarcity has exposed the costs of assuming that physical limits don’t apply.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/o...
Cities built on the assumption of limitless growth are confronting reality: Las Vegas & Phoenix…are now debating moratoria, tighter planning rules & growth management. Water scarcity has exposed the costs of assuming that physical limits don’t apply.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/o...
“Experts said the water systems in Pacific Palisades and Altadena were never designed for wildfires that rage through entire neighborhoods, or for infernos intensified by climate change…their design effectively guaranteed that hydrants would lose pressure and fail during a giant fire.”
The wildfires revealed the limitations of California’s water systems. When L.A.’s overtaxed systems lost pressure, fire hydrants ran dry. A year later, residents and experts are weighing solutions that would make more water available for firefighting. www.latimes.com/environment/...
L.A.'s hydrants ran dry during the fires. Residents are still demanding solutions
Nearly a year after the devastating fires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena, residents and experts say the water problems that hindered firefighting leave several lessons.
www.latimes.com
December 19, 2025 at 2:35 AM
“Experts said the water systems in Pacific Palisades and Altadena were never designed for wildfires that rage through entire neighborhoods, or for infernos intensified by climate change…their design effectively guaranteed that hydrants would lose pressure and fail during a giant fire.”
Edison is now offering to directly pay fire victims for their losses if they give up their right to file a lawsuit…
But [is] Edison’s program forcing the victims who are the most desperate for financial support to give up their legal right to fair compensation?
www.latimes.com/environment/...
But [is] Edison’s program forcing the victims who are the most desperate for financial support to give up their legal right to fair compensation?
www.latimes.com/environment/...
Eaton fire survivors ask Edison for emergency housing relief
A coalition of Eaton fire survivors and community groups on Tuesday called on Southern California Edison to provide immediate housing assistance to the thousands of people who lost their homes in the ...
www.latimes.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Edison is now offering to directly pay fire victims for their losses if they give up their right to file a lawsuit…
But [is] Edison’s program forcing the victims who are the most desperate for financial support to give up their legal right to fair compensation?
www.latimes.com/environment/...
But [is] Edison’s program forcing the victims who are the most desperate for financial support to give up their legal right to fair compensation?
www.latimes.com/environment/...
Reposted by Lawrence Culver
NEVADA CURRENT: California, the biggest water user in the basin, pitches Colorado River framework mavensnotebook.com/2025/12/17/n...
NEVADA CURRENT: California, the biggest water user in the basin, pitches Colorado River framework
by Jeniffer Solis, Nevada Current California’s biggest water districts presented their own framework Tuesday for how to share the Colorado River’s dwindling water supply, including a commitment to con...
mavensnotebook.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:07 PM
NEVADA CURRENT: California, the biggest water user in the basin, pitches Colorado River framework mavensnotebook.com/2025/12/17/n...
UNC, once a storied R1 uni & a reason the Research Triangle is in North Carolina, is eliminating 14 research and teaching centers and institutes, cuts projected to reduce $7 million in total expenses over several years. This at an institution happy to pay a losing football coach $10 million a year.
Area Studies Centers at UNC shuttered due to insufficient "return on investment," unclear "metrics of success," and non-alignment with the chancellor's "priorities."
One day (soon), we will look back on the miracle of the public research university and will scarcely believe that it ever existed.
One day (soon), we will look back on the miracle of the public research university and will scarcely believe that it ever existed.
December 18, 2025 at 5:46 AM
UNC, once a storied R1 uni & a reason the Research Triangle is in North Carolina, is eliminating 14 research and teaching centers and institutes, cuts projected to reduce $7 million in total expenses over several years. This at an institution happy to pay a losing football coach $10 million a year.
“Climate change is real, but the work of NCAR goes far beyond climate science. NCAR delivers data around severe weather events like fires and floods that help our country save lives and property, and prevent devastation for families.”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Trump administration to dismantle key climate research center in Colorado
Governor Jared Polis warned that breaking up Boulder’s NCAR would put ‘public safety at risk’
www.theguardian.com
December 17, 2025 at 7:51 PM
“Climate change is real, but the work of NCAR goes far beyond climate science. NCAR delivers data around severe weather events like fires and floods that help our country save lives and property, and prevent devastation for families.”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Glaciers in the Alps are likely to reach their peak rate of extinction in only 8 years, with more than 100 due to melt away permanently by 2033. Glaciers in the western US and Canada are forecast to reach their peak year of loss less than a decade later, with more than 800 disappearing each year.
Glaciers set to reach peak rate of extinction in the Alps in eight years
- #climatecrisis forecast to wipe out thousands of glaciers a year globally, threatening water supplies and cultural heritage
Research by @landervt.bsky.social et el
Story by me
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
- #climatecrisis forecast to wipe out thousands of glaciers a year globally, threatening water supplies and cultural heritage
Research by @landervt.bsky.social et el
Story by me
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Glaciers to reach peak rate of extinction in the Alps in eight years
Climate crisis forecast to wipe out thousands of glaciers a year globally, threatening water supplies and cultural heritage
www.theguardian.com
December 15, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Glaciers in the Alps are likely to reach their peak rate of extinction in only 8 years, with more than 100 due to melt away permanently by 2033. Glaciers in the western US and Canada are forecast to reach their peak year of loss less than a decade later, with more than 800 disappearing each year.
Gift article. Climate change makes snow more rare and fleeting, and zoom means kids don’t even get school snow days anymore. (Boooooo!)
This article recalls the joys of snow in NYC; it was even more rare and wondrous in my Alabama childhood.
Remember Snow Days? www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/s...
This article recalls the joys of snow in NYC; it was even more rare and wondrous in my Alabama childhood.
Remember Snow Days? www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/s...
Remember Snow Days?
www.nytimes.com
December 14, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Gift article. Climate change makes snow more rare and fleeting, and zoom means kids don’t even get school snow days anymore. (Boooooo!)
This article recalls the joys of snow in NYC; it was even more rare and wondrous in my Alabama childhood.
Remember Snow Days? www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/s...
This article recalls the joys of snow in NYC; it was even more rare and wondrous in my Alabama childhood.
Remember Snow Days? www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/s...
“Terrible, but hopefully less apocalyptic than originally feared” may sum up our climatic moment: “The history of the last 10 years in climate politics is one of glaring contradictions, forward leaps followed by backsliding, and cooperation attended by fracture.”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘A shift no country can ignore’: where global emissions stand, 10 years after the Paris climate agreement
The watershed summit in 2015 was far from perfect, but its impact so far has been significant and measurable
www.theguardian.com
December 13, 2025 at 7:06 AM
“Terrible, but hopefully less apocalyptic than originally feared” may sum up our climatic moment: “The history of the last 10 years in climate politics is one of glaring contradictions, forward leaps followed by backsliding, and cooperation attended by fracture.”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
TIL Steve Bannon was the CEO of Biosphere 2. (Admittedly, I only kind of hazily remember the whole thing from the early 90s, but 🤯 nevertheless.)
People like Steve Bannon are fully capable of being rational. The extremism is just a grift. Here he is as acting CEO at Biosphere 2, discussing the global change research being conducted there.
December 12, 2025 at 11:02 PM
TIL Steve Bannon was the CEO of Biosphere 2. (Admittedly, I only kind of hazily remember the whole thing from the early 90s, but 🤯 nevertheless.)
“Also gone is a website quantifying the physical and economic risks. The effect is to isolate climate change from the issues that affect people’s lives, Gehrke said: “It’s specifically targeting the information about why we should care.”
The EPA website got the basics of climate science right. Until last week.
The EPA website got the basics of climate science right. Until last week.
The Trump administration purged 80 pages of facts about climate change — including that it's caused by humans.
dlvr.it
December 12, 2025 at 6:28 PM
“Also gone is a website quantifying the physical and economic risks. The effect is to isolate climate change from the issues that affect people’s lives, Gehrke said: “It’s specifically targeting the information about why we should care.”
“Gehry’s houses looked like nothing else in Los Angeles, but they were in the spirit of the city’s greatest art form: its houses. They made Gehry famous, though six decades later, none of us lives in anything like them. Instead, fame gave Gehry monuments to build.”
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
Contributor: How Frank Gehry put his stamp on L.A., and how he didn't
The architect's houses were quintessentially Los Angeles, but they did not change how Angelenos build or live.
www.latimes.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:10 PM
“Gehry’s houses looked like nothing else in Los Angeles, but they were in the spirit of the city’s greatest art form: its houses. They made Gehry famous, though six decades later, none of us lives in anything like them. Instead, fame gave Gehry monuments to build.”
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
If you want any books on the history of the Civil War, Civil Rights, slavery, Native Americans, westward expansion, science, and presumably much more, you soon won’t be able to buy many of them at a national park.
apnews.com/article/nati...
apnews.com/article/nati...
US national park gift shops ordered to purge merchandise promoting DEI
The Trump administration is expanding its crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion by ordering national parks to remove certain items from gift shops.
apnews.com
December 11, 2025 at 11:03 PM
If you want any books on the history of the Civil War, Civil Rights, slavery, Native Americans, westward expansion, science, and presumably much more, you soon won’t be able to buy many of them at a national park.
apnews.com/article/nati...
apnews.com/article/nati...