Chris Lewis
@chrislewis.bsky.social
Writing about food security in a hot and stormy world. PhD student at UW-Madison. https://toughgrowing.substack.com/
This article from @drjeffmasters.bsky.social has stuck with me.
There's lots of great climate science out there, but far fewer attempts to synthesize it into real narratives about what our near future may look like.
There's lots of great climate science out there, but far fewer attempts to synthesize it into real narratives about what our near future may look like.
When will climate change turn life in the U.S. upside down? » Yale Climate Connections
Intensifying extreme weather events and an insurance crisis are likely to cause significant economic and political disruption in the U.S. sometime in the next 15 years.
yaleclimateconnections.org
December 17, 2025 at 4:44 PM
This article from @drjeffmasters.bsky.social has stuck with me.
There's lots of great climate science out there, but far fewer attempts to synthesize it into real narratives about what our near future may look like.
There's lots of great climate science out there, but far fewer attempts to synthesize it into real narratives about what our near future may look like.
Reposted by Chris Lewis
still think usaid is the biggest story of the year
NEW: Without USAID funding to help buy food for refugees, the World Food Program rushed to prioritize families based on need, determining that only half the population would get food.
Refugees learned which half they were in from a number stamped on the back of their ration card.
Refugees learned which half they were in from a number stamped on the back of their ration card.
After Trump Officials Cut Food Aid to Kenya, Children Starved to Death
“Brutal and traumatizing”: Interviews and a trove of internal documents show government officials and aid workers desperately tried to warn Trump advisers about impending disaster and death.
www.propublica.org
December 17, 2025 at 2:29 PM
still think usaid is the biggest story of the year
Reposted by Chris Lewis
Fresh dystopian hell from Samsung fridges with ads.
November 13, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Fresh dystopian hell from Samsung fridges with ads.
Back from Guatemala now and trying to snatch up anything in the yard that's still harvestable.
December 11, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Back from Guatemala now and trying to snatch up anything in the yard that's still harvestable.
Hard not to see some elements of 4 too, but overall I agree
Soooo what say you climate peeps? What path are we actually on so far in the 21st century? Seems like maybe somewhere between SSP2 and SSP3?
December 11, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Hard not to see some elements of 4 too, but overall I agree
More carbon in the atmosphere means more carbon in your food. More carbon in your food means fewer nutrients. At 550ppm of CO2, for example, it means 38% less zinc in chickpeas.
theconversation.com/climate-chan...
theconversation.com/climate-chan...
Climate change is affecting your food – and not in your favour
Our food is becoming more calorifc, less nutritious – and possibly more toxic.
theconversation.com
December 10, 2025 at 7:51 PM
More carbon in the atmosphere means more carbon in your food. More carbon in your food means fewer nutrients. At 550ppm of CO2, for example, it means 38% less zinc in chickpeas.
theconversation.com/climate-chan...
theconversation.com/climate-chan...
Something I find curious is how much time "popularists" like @mattyglesias.bsky.social spend talking about nuclear power and fossil fuels--and how much time they spend urging Democrats to talk about them.
www.pewresearch.org/science/2025...
www.pewresearch.org/science/2025...
December 4, 2025 at 3:20 AM
Something I find curious is how much time "popularists" like @mattyglesias.bsky.social spend talking about nuclear power and fossil fuels--and how much time they spend urging Democrats to talk about them.
www.pewresearch.org/science/2025...
www.pewresearch.org/science/2025...
Many of us have well-justified biases against the Waymos of the world. Myself included. It's totally reasonable to be sceptical of technological fixes proferred by big corporations.
But it's worth also admitting that this is a case where that scepticism might lead you astray.
But it's worth also admitting that this is a case where that scepticism might lead you astray.
Early indications (yes, from Waymo) are that self-driving cars are WAY safer than human-driven cars.
People will hate and fear them anyway, because our perception is that risks we're not in control of are scarier.
If you're driving, you think you're in control.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/o...
People will hate and fear them anyway, because our perception is that risks we're not in control of are scarier.
If you're driving, you think you're in control.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/o...
December 2, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Many of us have well-justified biases against the Waymos of the world. Myself included. It's totally reasonable to be sceptical of technological fixes proferred by big corporations.
But it's worth also admitting that this is a case where that scepticism might lead you astray.
But it's worth also admitting that this is a case where that scepticism might lead you astray.
Reposted by Chris Lewis
Everything you hear about climate change making things uninsurable is not some inevitable force but actually about this: the politics of housing , tax bases and the FIRE (finance insurance real estate) sector. bsky.app/profile/volt...
Lol, Zillow tried to rate the climate risks facing individual properties. The real estate industry *hated* it, precisely because it worked -- it made selling risky properties more difficult. So they rebelled & Zillow caved.
Don't look up!
Don't look up!
Zillow Removes Climate Risk Scores From Home Listings
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Everything you hear about climate change making things uninsurable is not some inevitable force but actually about this: the politics of housing , tax bases and the FIRE (finance insurance real estate) sector. bsky.app/profile/volt...
Looking west from near El Durazno, Chiquimula last night at sunset.
November 30, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Looking west from near El Durazno, Chiquimula last night at sunset.
Amazingly well put. Has @whstancil.bsky.social read this?
at the 'stack, I continue to worry around some of my issues with Data Guyism ... backofmind.substack.com/p/ways-of-vi...
ways of vibing
treatments and responses in the real world
backofmind.substack.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Amazingly well put. Has @whstancil.bsky.social read this?
Reposted by Chris Lewis
this is what ten years of obsession with "wokeness" in the media was trying to get to btw bsky.app/profile/mari...
November 25, 2025 at 4:04 PM
this is what ten years of obsession with "wokeness" in the media was trying to get to btw bsky.app/profile/mari...
Reposted by Chris Lewis
TRUMP [after spending 5 minutes with Zohran]: surplus value, it’s a very wonderful thing, very wonderful, and they’re stealing it. Can you believe that?
We’re going to be looking very strongly at the bourgeoisie, what they’re up to
We’re going to be looking very strongly at the bourgeoisie, what they’re up to
November 21, 2025 at 9:25 PM
TRUMP [after spending 5 minutes with Zohran]: surplus value, it’s a very wonderful thing, very wonderful, and they’re stealing it. Can you believe that?
We’re going to be looking very strongly at the bourgeoisie, what they’re up to
We’re going to be looking very strongly at the bourgeoisie, what they’re up to
The leading Senate Dem won't say whether he'll vote for his party's nominee for mayor of the city he lives in.
If the 2028 nominee is contentious, some people will remember this.
If the 2028 nominee is contentious, some people will remember this.
"Schumer’s abstention only serves as yet another illustration of how detached Democratic leadership has become from the desires of their base, who crave drastic change." newrepublic.com/post/202554/...
Chuck Schumer Walks Out Rather Than Say if He’s Voting for Zohran
The Senate minority leader says he’s still talking with Zohran Mamdani, despite the election being just days away.
newrepublic.com
November 2, 2025 at 11:41 PM
The leading Senate Dem won't say whether he'll vote for his party's nominee for mayor of the city he lives in.
If the 2028 nominee is contentious, some people will remember this.
If the 2028 nominee is contentious, some people will remember this.
Wisconsin frosts starting to roll in but we've still been bringing in a few more bits and bobs from the yard.
November 2, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Wisconsin frosts starting to roll in but we've still been bringing in a few more bits and bobs from the yard.
Along the Oaxaca coast, there is evidence on ongoing gene exchange between peppers and their wild relatives. Bell peppers, cayennes, and others maintain their genetic diversity in part through infusions of DNA from their wild relatives. People and nature working together to make the next jalapeño?
October 23, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Along the Oaxaca coast, there is evidence on ongoing gene exchange between peppers and their wild relatives. Bell peppers, cayennes, and others maintain their genetic diversity in part through infusions of DNA from their wild relatives. People and nature working together to make the next jalapeño?
With the right practices, "we can transition our food production practices from a source of emissions to a sink."
"Either food systems remain engines of ecological collapse & inequality, or they become the foundation for a healthy, just and sustainable future, feeding 9.6 billion people nutritiously by 2050.
It falls on those in the world’s wealthy countries to do the most to change their consumption patterns"
It falls on those in the world’s wealthy countries to do the most to change their consumption patterns"
"We can feed 10 billion people nutritiously by mid-century without breaching critical planetary boundaries if we make decisive shifts in the way we produce & consume food", states PIK director Johan Rockström in @reuters.com on latest EAT-Lancet report. Read more www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
October 9, 2025 at 3:23 PM
With the right practices, "we can transition our food production practices from a source of emissions to a sink."
Quite excited for the newest additions to the household cocktail roster:
1) Rum aged in Spanish wine barrels.
2) Guatemalan gin—no juniper, but instead orange, lime, bay leaf, cardamom, allspice and Mexican tarragon.
1) Rum aged in Spanish wine barrels.
2) Guatemalan gin—no juniper, but instead orange, lime, bay leaf, cardamom, allspice and Mexican tarragon.
October 7, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Quite excited for the newest additions to the household cocktail roster:
1) Rum aged in Spanish wine barrels.
2) Guatemalan gin—no juniper, but instead orange, lime, bay leaf, cardamom, allspice and Mexican tarragon.
1) Rum aged in Spanish wine barrels.
2) Guatemalan gin—no juniper, but instead orange, lime, bay leaf, cardamom, allspice and Mexican tarragon.
Reposted by Chris Lewis
This video of Chicagoans intervening to save a man from being abducted off the streets by ICE is making the rounds on Instagram.
Community action works.
Source: www.instagram.com/reel/DPZL2AL...
Community action works.
Source: www.instagram.com/reel/DPZL2AL...
October 5, 2025 at 5:24 PM
This video of Chicagoans intervening to save a man from being abducted off the streets by ICE is making the rounds on Instagram.
Community action works.
Source: www.instagram.com/reel/DPZL2AL...
Community action works.
Source: www.instagram.com/reel/DPZL2AL...
Here in Guatemala, I’m hearing lots of stories of declining crop yields due to climate change, so I thought I’d see what trends show up in FAO data.
Not good! It’s possible that these trends prove to be short-lived, just like past dips. But the last few years are not an encouraging sign.
Not good! It’s possible that these trends prove to be short-lived, just like past dips. But the last few years are not an encouraging sign.
September 28, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Here in Guatemala, I’m hearing lots of stories of declining crop yields due to climate change, so I thought I’d see what trends show up in FAO data.
Not good! It’s possible that these trends prove to be short-lived, just like past dips. But the last few years are not an encouraging sign.
Not good! It’s possible that these trends prove to be short-lived, just like past dips. But the last few years are not an encouraging sign.
Really seems like we might be at a watershed moment for this.
Good news. I've come to think of social media as our generation's version of tobacco: Cigarettes for your brain. I'm trying to cut back too.
Good news. I've come to think of social media as our generation's version of tobacco: Cigarettes for your brain. I'm trying to cut back too.
In all seriousness, I believe that algorithmic social media is addictive & diminishes our attention span & critical thinking. It's given rise to an online information ecosystem hyper optimized to drive division & trigger emotional reactions, at the expense of facts, fairness & a shared reality.
September 18, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Really seems like we might be at a watershed moment for this.
Good news. I've come to think of social media as our generation's version of tobacco: Cigarettes for your brain. I'm trying to cut back too.
Good news. I've come to think of social media as our generation's version of tobacco: Cigarettes for your brain. I'm trying to cut back too.
Dying to meet the person who planted maize on their unbuilt lot in this partially-constructed subdivision.
Most of Chiquimula, Guatemala is densely packed concrete streets. But on the city’s edges, you’ll occasionally see a plot like this.
Most of Chiquimula, Guatemala is densely packed concrete streets. But on the city’s edges, you’ll occasionally see a plot like this.
September 18, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Dying to meet the person who planted maize on their unbuilt lot in this partially-constructed subdivision.
Most of Chiquimula, Guatemala is densely packed concrete streets. But on the city’s edges, you’ll occasionally see a plot like this.
Most of Chiquimula, Guatemala is densely packed concrete streets. But on the city’s edges, you’ll occasionally see a plot like this.
Reposted by Chris Lewis
It's not your imagination: Wildfire smoke in the U.S. has dramatically worsened since 2019. According to a new study, it's already killing 41,000 people a year - and it's poised to get much worse.
new from me @johnmuyskens.bsky.social and @sadbumblebee.buzz
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
new from me @johnmuyskens.bsky.social and @sadbumblebee.buzz
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
Record wildfire smoke kills more people each year than car crashes. It’s about to get worse.
The past six summers have been the smokiest on record. New research shows that smoke could become the costliest consequence of climate change for Americans.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 18, 2025 at 3:25 PM
It's not your imagination: Wildfire smoke in the U.S. has dramatically worsened since 2019. According to a new study, it's already killing 41,000 people a year - and it's poised to get much worse.
new from me @johnmuyskens.bsky.social and @sadbumblebee.buzz
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
new from me @johnmuyskens.bsky.social and @sadbumblebee.buzz
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
Three core disagreements in food and ag:
-Do we need to increase crop yields 50% by 2050?
-Does industrial agriculture actually feed the world?
-Does "land sparing" work?
news.berkeley.edu/2025/05/30/b...
-Do we need to increase crop yields 50% by 2050?
-Does industrial agriculture actually feed the world?
-Does "land sparing" work?
news.berkeley.edu/2025/05/30/b...
Berkeley Talks: A debate on how to feed the world without ‘eating the earth’ - Berkeley News
UC Berkeley Professor Timothy Bowles and journalist Michael Grunwald discuss the impact of our current agricultural methods and debate the ways we can ramp up food production without causing more harm...
news.berkeley.edu
September 14, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Three core disagreements in food and ag:
-Do we need to increase crop yields 50% by 2050?
-Does industrial agriculture actually feed the world?
-Does "land sparing" work?
news.berkeley.edu/2025/05/30/b...
-Do we need to increase crop yields 50% by 2050?
-Does industrial agriculture actually feed the world?
-Does "land sparing" work?
news.berkeley.edu/2025/05/30/b...
“In the UK, climate change added £360 [$482] to the average household food bill across 2022 and 2023 alone.”
(I’ve only read the news article and not the underlying study, so I don’t know how they derived this number. But it seems like a hard thing to calculate.)
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/...
(I’ve only read the news article and not the underlying study, so I don’t know how they derived this number. But it seems like a hard thing to calculate.)
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/...
Climate crisis causing food price spikes around the world, scientists say
Report finds extreme climate events linked to price hikes for rice, corn, cocoa, coffee, potatoes and other food items.
www.aljazeera.com
September 9, 2025 at 4:42 PM
“In the UK, climate change added £360 [$482] to the average household food bill across 2022 and 2023 alone.”
(I’ve only read the news article and not the underlying study, so I don’t know how they derived this number. But it seems like a hard thing to calculate.)
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/...
(I’ve only read the news article and not the underlying study, so I don’t know how they derived this number. But it seems like a hard thing to calculate.)
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/...