David Arias
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davidaarias.bsky.social
David Arias
@davidaarias.bsky.social
I write about climate, migration to the U.S., and human rights, centering Indigenous voices from Central America to examine systems of power. Science writer @ UC Davis | Dual citizen: Guatemala and U.S. | https://www.david-arias.com/
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I work in science communications at UC Davis, telling stories about Earth and climate research. I also manage a bilingual newsletter on climate, migration, and human rights, centering Indigenous voices.

Read it here → torchline.substack.com
Torchline | David Arias | Substack
Torchline is a bilingual newsletter analyzing climate, migration to the U.S., and human rights, centering Indigenous voices from Central America to explore and challenge systems of power. Click to rea...
torchline.substack.com
"I feel like something valuable was lost knowing my kids didn’t learn Mam growing up."

Carlos Pablo Ramos, a Maya Mam father in Oakland, navigates language, migration, and family across borders. My latest story explores his journey and how Indigenous languages survive in diaspora.
Between borders, a Maya Mam father bridges generations
How one Indigenous Guatemalan preserves language and family ties between Oakland and Guatemala
torchline.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 4:34 PM
I work in science communications at UC Davis, telling stories about Earth and climate research. I also manage a bilingual newsletter on climate, migration, and human rights, centering Indigenous voices.

Read it here → torchline.substack.com
Torchline | David Arias | Substack
Torchline is a bilingual newsletter analyzing climate, migration to the U.S., and human rights, centering Indigenous voices from Central America to explore and challenge systems of power. Click to rea...
torchline.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 5:47 AM
Reposted by David Arias
Likely don't need to worry about getting people...in a few years all these people will be looking for a place to live when theirs becomes unlivable.

Climate Change Will Create 1.5 Billion Migrants by 2050 and We Have No Idea Where They’ll Go

www.vice.com/en/article/c...
Climate Change Will Create 1.5 Billion Migrants by 2050 and We Have No Idea Where They'll Go
The climate crisis has already created millions of invisible refugees and could create up to 1.5 billion more in the next 30 years. But under international law no country is obliged to take them in.
www.vice.com
April 3, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Reposted by David Arias
The enforcement-first rhetoric put forth by this administration and its supporters is dangerous for the violence it exacts on immigrants and citizens alike.
Sensible Immigration Policy Begins With Understanding, Not Gaslighting
​Seriously addressing this country's ongoing immigration crisis will require policy change, and to get to that point, there needs to be a narrative shift in this country away from indiscriminately criminalizing all undocumented people to humanizing them.
www.commondreams.org
February 4, 2026 at 1:38 PM
Reposted by David Arias
Judge rules Department of Energy's climate working group was illegal arstechnica.com/science/2026...
Judge rules Department of Energy's climate working group was illegal
Meant to undercut EPA regulations, the group tried to work in secret.
arstechnica.com
February 2, 2026 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by David Arias
A judge ruled that the Trump administration's preposterously fake climate science panel violated federal law, flouting public meeting and open record requirements: www.latimes.com/environment/... via @hayleysmith.bsky.social
Trump administration's climate skepticism effort violated federal law, judge rules
The administration staffed up a new group that published a report downplaying the severity of global warming. The EPA leaned on that report in its proposal to repeal the endangerment finding.
www.latimes.com
February 3, 2026 at 12:54 AM
Did you know tidal creeks in Cameroon’s mangrove estuaries play a huge, long-ignored role in global carbon cycling? #Carbon #Climate
February 4, 2026 at 6:39 PM
Had the privilege of writing about Claris Sunjo, whose research in Cameroon’s Wouri Estuary shows tidal creeks play a major, long-ignored role in global carbon cycling. A reminder of how much climate science still depends on data from tropical systems historically understudied.
Investigating Carbon Cycling in Tropical Mangrove Estuaries
Anchored in Cameroon’s Wouri Estuary, where rivers, tides, and ships converge, Claris Sunjo leans over the side of her boat. She’s twenty-four hours into collecting water from a tidal creek, a narrow ...
eps.ucdavis.edu
February 4, 2026 at 6:30 PM
For Millennials and Gen Z, the impacts of climate inaction will unfold in their lifetime. Floods, droughts, and extreme weather are uprooting communities in the Global South, yet “climate migrants" have no legal recognition.

Source: www.commondreams.org/opinion/clim...
January 29, 2026 at 8:18 PM
In 2025, droughts and hurricanes in Honduras devastated crops, deepening hunger, and forcing women in the “Dry Corridor” into greater risk of violence. Climate change worsens these crises, yet stories from this region rarely reach global attention.
The 10 most under-reported humanitarian crises of 2025 - CARE
Report highlights trends in global media coverage and lack of attention paid to specific humanitarian crises.
www.care.org
January 29, 2026 at 6:21 PM
Reposted by David Arias
While the Trump administration’s immigration blitz hit Midwestern cities like Chicago and Minneapolis, a quieter escalation unfolded in San Diego late last year with agents making thousands of arrests in and around the city. bit.ly/3NEmCrw

📸 John Gastaldo
January 29, 2026 at 5:00 PM
AI is a migration engine. Energy-hungry data centers, mining for minerals, and local environmental strain are quietly shaping who moves, who stays, and which communities become politically and socially destabilized in the Global South.
AI is repeating the fast-food playbook
This time, the cost of convenience is mass climate displacement
torchline.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by David Arias
Human rights groups say that southern Mexico — particularly the city of Villahermosa — has become a landing place for migrants being expelled from the U.S.
on.nbcboston.com/RzyAJRl
Deported migrants describe perilous journey to southern Mexico
Human rights groups say that southern Mexico has become a landing place for migrants being expelled from the U.S.
on.nbcboston.com
January 25, 2026 at 5:20 AM
Reposted by David Arias
Drawing on her family’s Maya Ch’orti’ and Zapatac heritage, her scientific training, and experience working with urban restoration work with tribes in Seattle, she explores the history of environmental colonialism and neocolonialism-- (2/12)
January 14, 2026 at 11:17 PM
Latino GDP growth is the engine behind California as the world’s 4th largest economy. This highlights how structural contributions can shift an entire state’s economic standing.
Opinion | Latino GDP skyrocketed, boosting California’s economy to 4th largest in the world

Latinos’ share of California’s economic productivity grew twice as fast — and the workforce grew 15 times faster — than non-Latinos’.
Opinion | Latino GDP skyrocketed, boosting California’s economy to 4th largest in the world
Latinos’ share of California’s economic productivity grew twice as fast — and the workforce grew 15 times faster — than non-Latinos’.
bit.ly
January 29, 2026 at 4:36 AM
An explanation on how ICE is running recruitment advertising. Through geotargeting at gun shows, UFC fights, NASCAR races, and military bases, they improve chances of reaching those with an affinity for "soldier" type roles.
www.democracynow.org/2026/1/28/ic...
ICE “Wartime” Recruiting Effort Targets Gun & Military Lovers Using White Nationalist Messaging
As outrage grows across the country over the Trump administration’s deadly immigration crackdown in Minnesota, we speak with reporter Drew Harwell, who recently reported on the government’s effort to ...
www.democracynow.org
January 29, 2026 at 4:34 AM
Reposted by David Arias
Federal immigration officers wear a bewildering array of labels, tactical gear and clothing accessories from different agencies, often wearing masks and refusing to identify themselves.

It's sometimes not possible to know which agency an individual works for.

This visual guide can help ⬇️
January 28, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Just 32 companies were responsible for over half of global fossil fuel carbon emissions in 2024. Exxon, Chevron, Shell, ConocoPhillips, and BP led the pack, while many of the largest producers keep expanding output and blocking climate action.
Half of Fossil Fuel Carbon Emissions in 2024 Came From 32 Companies - Inside Climate News
As fossil fuel-based carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise to record levels, a new analysis shows that a majority of these emissions can be traced back to a shrinking number of large corporate ent...
insideclimatenews.org
January 29, 2026 at 4:23 AM
ICE and federal enforcement actions aren't just impacting undocumented communities. They are also threatening public health, safety, and trust in U.S. institutions.
Nurse practitioner Justin Gill writes from the frontlines about the killing of Alex Pretti and why nurses nationwide are sounding the alarm on federal enforcement actions, public health, and human rights. Essential reading. www.meidasplus.com/p/meidas-hel...
Meidas Helps Nurses Stand Up and Speak Out
By Justin Gill
www.meidasplus.com
January 27, 2026 at 9:57 PM
Hundreds gathered at Harry Bridges Plaza before marching down Market Street, showing solidarity with Minneapolis and calling for an end to state violence while advocating for immigrant rights.
January 26, 2026 at 6:47 PM
Reposted by David Arias
The Trump-Vance-Noem-Bovino Message to Americans: Obey or Die | Good and Pretti weren’t accidents, and they weren’t about immigration: these murders were unambiguous messages as clear as could be: “Get in our way and we will kill you, and nobody will do anything about it​."
The Trump-Vance-Noem-Bovino Message to Americans: Obey or Die
Good and Pretti weren’t accidents, and they weren’t about immigration: these murders were unambiguous messages as clear as could be: “Get in our way and we will kill you, and nobody will do anything about it."
www.commondreams.org
January 26, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Reposted by David Arias
DHS has shot 12 people during immigration enforcement operations since September:
January 25, 2026 at 4:27 PM
“It has been 53 deaths now under ICE detainment since the year began. Shame!.”

Ramsey Robinson, California gubernatorial candidate, spoke at a Bay Area rally in San Francisco following the ICE shooting of Alex Pretti.
Bay Area Rally Condemns ICE After Minneapolis Shooting of Alex Pretti
Activists and residents call for accountability, grassroots mobilization, and systemic change
open.substack.com
January 25, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Typhoon Halong wiped out homes and displaced residents in the Alaska Native village of Kipnuk. Researchers later linked the storm’s impacts to climate change.
NEW: Typhoon Halong’s destruction in Kipnuk, Alaska, adds an exclamation point to long-simmering fears about the future of coastal villages facing climate change.

Which town will be wiped away next? Should their former homes be rebuilt?

w/ @adn.com
Documenting an Alaska Village, Before and After the Storm That Destroyed It
The story of Typhoon Halong’s destruction in Kipnuk adds an exclamation point to long-simmering fears about the future of Alaska coastal villages facing down climate change.
www.propublica.org
January 25, 2026 at 4:40 PM
My coverage from Harry Bridges Plaza: Hundreds rallied in San Francisco after the fatal shooting of nurse Alex Pretti. Speakers including Ramsey Robinson and Sanika Mahajan called for grassroots action and an end to ICE enforcement.
Bay Area Rally Condemns ICE After Minneapolis Shooting of Alex Pretti
Activists and residents call for accountability, grassroots mobilization, and systemic change
torchline.substack.com
January 25, 2026 at 5:44 AM