Olivia Gieger
@oliviagieger.bsky.social
Health reporter for VTDigger; covering environment across New England.
Pinned
Copley Hospital weighs closing its birthing center amid statewide effort to curb health care costs - VTDigger
Community members and staff advocate against losing the midwife-led center they say is a pillar of the region.
vtdigger.org
One of my favorite pieces for @vtdigger.bsky.social -- on the true costs of rural healthcare & on what one community stands to lose with the closure of a midwife-led birthing center:
vtdigger.org/2025/06/02/c...
vtdigger.org/2025/06/02/c...
Taking a look at how the national instability of Medicare Advantage is hitting close to home for Vermonters @vtdigger.bsky.social
vtdigger.org/2025/10/13/v...
vtdigger.org/2025/10/13/v...
Vermont Blue Advantage will not sell plans at all in 2026 - VTDigger
The Medicare Advantage plans sold by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont will not be available for employers who provide retiree benefits or on the individual market.
vtdigger.org
October 14, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Taking a look at how the national instability of Medicare Advantage is hitting close to home for Vermonters @vtdigger.bsky.social
vtdigger.org/2025/10/13/v...
vtdigger.org/2025/10/13/v...
Reposted by Olivia Gieger
Well worth reading this entire list (if you can bear it):
What's in the Senate Version of Trump's Big Policy Bill? (Gift Article)
The legislation includes tax cuts as well as big cuts to Medicaid, food benefits and other programs, and it would add more than $3 trillion to the national debt.
www.nytimes.com
June 30, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Well worth reading this entire list (if you can bear it):
ICYMI, I wrote about how Vermont officials are weighing a world without FEMA. TLDR, it doesn't look good for the brave little state:
vtdigger.org/2025/05/29/w...
vtdigger.org/2025/05/29/w...
June 12, 2025 at 2:40 PM
ICYMI, I wrote about how Vermont officials are weighing a world without FEMA. TLDR, it doesn't look good for the brave little state:
vtdigger.org/2025/05/29/w...
vtdigger.org/2025/05/29/w...
"If you were to blindfold naturalists from New England and take them into some of the forests in Queens, they might think they were back home, as opposed to mere yards from Grand Central Parkway" -- What a wonderful look at NYC's urban forests in @nymag.com
www.curbed.com/article/beec...
www.curbed.com/article/beec...
Good News About Beech Leaf Disease
The city’s forests may be in trouble, but scientists have developed some ingenious ways to save them.
www.curbed.com
June 9, 2025 at 8:30 PM
"If you were to blindfold naturalists from New England and take them into some of the forests in Queens, they might think they were back home, as opposed to mere yards from Grand Central Parkway" -- What a wonderful look at NYC's urban forests in @nymag.com
www.curbed.com/article/beec...
www.curbed.com/article/beec...
A story about arctic relocation and institutions' failure to provide for people who have been failed time and time again by the US gov -- a really essential read as the reality of relocation comes into finer focus for many coastal communities
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
Forced to relocate by climate change, Alaskan villagers found a new crisis
The relocation highlights America’s failure to prepare for the ways climate change is making some places uninhabitable.
www.washingtonpost.com
June 6, 2025 at 1:50 PM
A story about arctic relocation and institutions' failure to provide for people who have been failed time and time again by the US gov -- a really essential read as the reality of relocation comes into finer focus for many coastal communities
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
One of my favorite pieces for @vtdigger.bsky.social -- on the true costs of rural healthcare & on what one community stands to lose with the closure of a midwife-led birthing center:
vtdigger.org/2025/06/02/c...
vtdigger.org/2025/06/02/c...
Copley Hospital weighs closing its birthing center amid statewide effort to curb health care costs - VTDigger
Community members and staff advocate against losing the midwife-led center they say is a pillar of the region.
vtdigger.org
June 5, 2025 at 8:16 PM
One of my favorite pieces for @vtdigger.bsky.social -- on the true costs of rural healthcare & on what one community stands to lose with the closure of a midwife-led birthing center:
vtdigger.org/2025/06/02/c...
vtdigger.org/2025/06/02/c...
Yesterday the DOJ challenged both New York and Vermont's climate superfund lawsuits in federal court. It's a move that proponents of the law have long been expecting. Now they're gearing up: vtdigger.org/2025/05/01/t...
Trump takes Vermont’s climate superfund law to court - VTDigger
Following an Executive Order, the Justice Department has filed a complaint against the state’s climate superfund, among a suite of suits against other state climate actions.
vtdigger.org
May 2, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Yesterday the DOJ challenged both New York and Vermont's climate superfund lawsuits in federal court. It's a move that proponents of the law have long been expecting. Now they're gearing up: vtdigger.org/2025/05/01/t...
a great read about what happens when we manufacture environments and then dictate what is native to it or not --
therevelator.org/invasive-swa...
therevelator.org/invasive-swa...
We Can't Kill Our Way Out of a Problem • The Revelator
As ecologists debate what to do about “invasive” swans in New York City, volunteers fight to keep them alive.
therevelator.org
April 30, 2025 at 2:16 PM
a great read about what happens when we manufacture environments and then dictate what is native to it or not --
therevelator.org/invasive-swa...
therevelator.org/invasive-swa...
such a lovely piece by @neeldhanesha.com about how the ethos that guides our response to climate change can be the same ethos that saves the industry reporting on it.
(and about how good things happen when journalists go drinking together)
www.niemanlab.org/2025/04/a-co...
(and about how good things happen when journalists go drinking together)
www.niemanlab.org/2025/04/a-co...
A conference of twin crises
At the Society of Environmental Journalists’ annual conference, one question reigned: How do you cover an existential threat when your industry is facing an existential threat of its own?
www.niemanlab.org
April 30, 2025 at 12:07 AM
such a lovely piece by @neeldhanesha.com about how the ethos that guides our response to climate change can be the same ethos that saves the industry reporting on it.
(and about how good things happen when journalists go drinking together)
www.niemanlab.org/2025/04/a-co...
(and about how good things happen when journalists go drinking together)
www.niemanlab.org/2025/04/a-co...
A big one today -- on the end of FEMA's BRIC program and where that leaves Vermonters looking for ways to prepare for the worst and prevent further damage from future floods and disasters
vtdigger.org/2025/04/23/f...
vtdigger.org/2025/04/23/f...
FEMA ended a grant program designed to help communities prevent disaster damages. Here’s where that leaves Vermont. - VTDigger
While some projects can move forward, more recent proposals are left seeking other sources of funding.
vtdigger.org
April 24, 2025 at 12:03 AM
A big one today -- on the end of FEMA's BRIC program and where that leaves Vermonters looking for ways to prepare for the worst and prevent further damage from future floods and disasters
vtdigger.org/2025/04/23/f...
vtdigger.org/2025/04/23/f...
Reposted by Olivia Gieger
Minnesota's forests are changing fast. Development and climate change are pushing them to the brink. Scientists predict that the northern part of the state will soon feel like the southern part, which is why researchers are collecting seeds to reforest the region.
Planting Trees in Minnesota Is Harder Than It Sounds
As climate change threatens trees across the state, foresters have a plan. The missing piece? Seed collectors.
www.sierraclub.org
April 7, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Minnesota's forests are changing fast. Development and climate change are pushing them to the brink. Scientists predict that the northern part of the state will soon feel like the southern part, which is why researchers are collecting seeds to reforest the region.
Plus, check out my story on climate corridors and miles and miles of undeveloped wilderness in Western Maine -- come for the photos, stay for the trout and tales of 1800s logging practices
insideclimatenews.org/news/1304202...
insideclimatenews.org/news/1304202...
Lakes Region Restoration Project Aims to Link Conservation Lands From Maine to New Hampshire - Inside Climate News
Conservationists and a logging company will work together to protect Maine’s Magalloway River ecosystem, which offers a rich habitat for brook trout and wildlife.
insideclimatenews.org
April 15, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Plus, check out my story on climate corridors and miles and miles of undeveloped wilderness in Western Maine -- come for the photos, stay for the trout and tales of 1800s logging practices
insideclimatenews.org/news/1304202...
insideclimatenews.org/news/1304202...
ICYMI -- Last week, Trump signed an executive order targeting state climate laws, including VT's landmark superfund. What that changes, for now, is not much, the state AG told me last week.
Read about what changes - and what stays the same - here
vtdigger.org/2025/04/09/t...
Read about what changes - and what stays the same - here
vtdigger.org/2025/04/09/t...
Trump executive order targets Vermont’s first-in-the-nation ‘climate superfund’ - VTDigger
As it stands, the order does not require Vermont officials to change course on implementing the law.
vtdigger.org
April 15, 2025 at 1:33 PM
ICYMI -- Last week, Trump signed an executive order targeting state climate laws, including VT's landmark superfund. What that changes, for now, is not much, the state AG told me last week.
Read about what changes - and what stays the same - here
vtdigger.org/2025/04/09/t...
Read about what changes - and what stays the same - here
vtdigger.org/2025/04/09/t...
Have you heard of Small Nuclear Reactors? Neither had I.
But I suspect you + I both will hear about them a lot more, as renewables face more obstacles and states like VT strive for low-carbon energy.
My latest on New England on the precipice of this nuclear tech
vtdigger.org/2025/04/01/g...
But I suspect you + I both will hear about them a lot more, as renewables face more obstacles and states like VT strive for low-carbon energy.
My latest on New England on the precipice of this nuclear tech
vtdigger.org/2025/04/01/g...
Gov. Phil Scott and New England governors explore cutting-edge nuclear technology - VTDigger
Vermont law sets out a path to phase out nuclear power entirely in the next decade, but the Scott administration sees small nuclear reactors as a promising new source of carbon-free electricity.
vtdigger.org
April 2, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Have you heard of Small Nuclear Reactors? Neither had I.
But I suspect you + I both will hear about them a lot more, as renewables face more obstacles and states like VT strive for low-carbon energy.
My latest on New England on the precipice of this nuclear tech
vtdigger.org/2025/04/01/g...
But I suspect you + I both will hear about them a lot more, as renewables face more obstacles and states like VT strive for low-carbon energy.
My latest on New England on the precipice of this nuclear tech
vtdigger.org/2025/04/01/g...
My latest for @vtdigger.bsky.social on just how much is at stake for Vermont's forests with cuts to federal grant funding
vtdigger.org/2025/03/24/f...
vtdigger.org/2025/03/24/f...
State and municipal forestry projects in limbo after Trump administration freezes funding - VTDigger
The suspension of grants comes as threats to forest health increase.
vtdigger.org
March 27, 2025 at 8:59 PM
My latest for @vtdigger.bsky.social on just how much is at stake for Vermont's forests with cuts to federal grant funding
vtdigger.org/2025/03/24/f...
vtdigger.org/2025/03/24/f...
Reposted by Olivia Gieger
🚨This week, many Columbia scientists lost grants that funded over half their annual income. Others will no longer be able to do research that helps treat thousands of sick patients across the US.
"It hurts," they told me.
My story for @nature.com 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
"It hurts," they told me.
My story for @nature.com 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
‘My career is over’: Columbia University scientists hit hard by Trump team’s cuts
The US government has begun slashing US$400 million in research grants at Columbia University over pro-Palestinian campus protests.
www.nature.com
March 14, 2025 at 5:11 PM
🚨This week, many Columbia scientists lost grants that funded over half their annual income. Others will no longer be able to do research that helps treat thousands of sick patients across the US.
"It hurts," they told me.
My story for @nature.com 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
"It hurts," they told me.
My story for @nature.com 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
some much-needed, even-keeled wisdom for navigating whiplash
“I think, frankly, the environmental community and the Democrats in the supermajority overestimated what they thought was doable. And now I fear that they’re going to go completely the other way and say, ‘Well, nothing’s doable.’”
Q&A: Environmental scholar Patrick Parenteau calls for ‘steady progress’ on climate - VTDigger
“I think, frankly, the environmental community and the Democrats in the supermajority overestimated what they thought was doable. And now I fear that they're going to go completely the other way and s...
vtdigger.org
March 11, 2025 at 1:03 AM
some much-needed, even-keeled wisdom for navigating whiplash
My latest for @insideclimatenews.org on how New York's passage of a climate superfund is fueling a growing trend of polluters-pay climate legislation
insideclimatenews.org/news/1101202...
insideclimatenews.org/news/1101202...
New York Climate Superfund Becomes Law - Inside Climate News
The state’s legislation is the second in a growing coalition of Northeast states requiring polluters pay for climate damages. Big Oil is already fighting back.
insideclimatenews.org
January 11, 2025 at 10:26 PM
My latest for @insideclimatenews.org on how New York's passage of a climate superfund is fueling a growing trend of polluters-pay climate legislation
insideclimatenews.org/news/1101202...
insideclimatenews.org/news/1101202...
really lovely piece about a fascinating land agreement from @chloewilliams.bsky.social
Nearly 380,000 square kilometres of the N.W.T. will be protected by a landmark Indigenous-led conservation agreement, which uses a Wall Street-inspired approach to conservation financing thenarwhal.ca/nwt-pfp-agre...
$375-million Indigenous-led conservation deal signed in N.W.T. | The Narwhal
Nearly 380,000 square kilometres of lands and inland waters in the Northwest Territories could be protected by the agreement
thenarwhal.ca
November 29, 2024 at 11:12 PM
really lovely piece about a fascinating land agreement from @chloewilliams.bsky.social
opening the @hels.bsky.social gift guide every year is every bit as exciting as opening up gifts themselves on Christmas
November 24, 2024 at 6:10 PM
opening the @hels.bsky.social gift guide every year is every bit as exciting as opening up gifts themselves on Christmas
Making the overdue pivot to Bluesky, and what better way to do so than to share my most recent piece about a massive tribal land return in the far reaches of Maine. Check it out in @insideclimatenews.org
insideclimatenews.org/news/1711202...
insideclimatenews.org/news/1711202...
insideclimatenews.org
November 23, 2024 at 10:26 PM
Making the overdue pivot to Bluesky, and what better way to do so than to share my most recent piece about a massive tribal land return in the far reaches of Maine. Check it out in @insideclimatenews.org
insideclimatenews.org/news/1711202...
insideclimatenews.org/news/1711202...
Reposted by Olivia Gieger
@kanakarajanphd.bsky.social sat down with @oliviagieger.bsky.social to discuss how art can help explain complex ideas without diluting the science.
www.thetransmitter.org/craft-and-ca...
www.thetransmitter.org/craft-and-ca...
How neuroscience comics add KA-POW! to the field: Q&A with Kanaka Rajan
The artistic approach can help explain complex ideas frame by frame without diluting the science, Rajan says.
www.thetransmitter.org
October 9, 2024 at 1:48 PM
@kanakarajanphd.bsky.social sat down with @oliviagieger.bsky.social to discuss how art can help explain complex ideas without diluting the science.
www.thetransmitter.org/craft-and-ca...
www.thetransmitter.org/craft-and-ca...
Reposted by Olivia Gieger
Ketamine's affinity for overactive cells in the “anti-reward” region may help explain its rapid and long-lasting results.
By @oliviagieger.bsky.social
www.thetransmitter.org/ketamine/ket...
By @oliviagieger.bsky.social
www.thetransmitter.org/ketamine/ket...
Ketamine targets lateral habenula, setting off cascade of antidepressant effects
The drug’s affinity for overactive cells in the “anti-reward” region may help explain its rapid and long-lasting results.
www.thetransmitter.org
September 4, 2024 at 1:10 PM
Ketamine's affinity for overactive cells in the “anti-reward” region may help explain its rapid and long-lasting results.
By @oliviagieger.bsky.social
www.thetransmitter.org/ketamine/ket...
By @oliviagieger.bsky.social
www.thetransmitter.org/ketamine/ket...
Reposted by Olivia Gieger
@oliviagieger.bsky.social sits down with Pei Yuan Zhang to discuss life outside the lab, which for Zhang includes filming documentaries that challenge her love of data and order.
www.thetransmitter.org/craft-and-ca...
www.thetransmitter.org/craft-and-ca...
Seeing research through a new lens: Q&A with Pei Yuan Zhang
When she’s not in the lab, the cognitive scientist films documentaries that challenge her love of data and order.
www.thetransmitter.org
September 20, 2024 at 1:00 PM
@oliviagieger.bsky.social sits down with Pei Yuan Zhang to discuss life outside the lab, which for Zhang includes filming documentaries that challenge her love of data and order.
www.thetransmitter.org/craft-and-ca...
www.thetransmitter.org/craft-and-ca...