Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
juanpab.bsky.social
Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
@juanpab.bsky.social
Climate journalist @grist.org and @wbez.org
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
Keeping human-introduced carp out of the Great Lakes

Today's SciFri podcast: "Can A Billion-Dollar Barricade Keep Carp Out Of The Great Lakes?" with Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco (@juanpab.bsky.social), WBEZ environment reporter, and Dr. Cory Suski, U of Illinois.

www.sciencefriday.com/segments/inv...
Can A Billion-Dollar Barricade Keep Carp Out Of The Great Lakes?
A giant infrastructure project aims to block invasive carp from entering Lake Michigan, but Chicago’s polluted water already keeps them out.
www.sciencefriday.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
Shortly after Trump took office, DHS wiped from its website a policy regulating facial recognition use.

Face rec tools — like Clearview AI, which Illinois cops are barred from using, and Mobile Fortify — are now being used to support Trump’s deportation campaign.

www.wbez.org/immigration/...
ICE has powerful facial recognition app Illinois cops are barred from using — with little apparent oversight
The Trump administration has contracts with Clearview AI, a firm banned from doing business with Illinois police agencies. “This is what dystopian nightmares are made of, this kind of continual expans...
www.wbez.org
November 2, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
David Koschman’s long-grieving mother dies 21 years after her son was killed by Mayor Daley's nephew

“She never got back to normal. She just wanted to be with David and [her late husband] Bob.”

chicago.suntimes.com/koschman/202...
Nanci Koschman, long-grieving mother, dies 21 years after her son was killed by Mayor Daley's nephew
In the face of a Chicago police cover-up, she couldn't get answers until a Sun-Times investigation prompted the appointment of a special prosecutor and Richard J. "R.J." Vanecko's conviction.
chicago.suntimes.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica are bracing for Hurricane Melissa. The storm is expected to quickly grow into a powerful category 3 or stronger hurricane. n.pr/4orMwfH
Hurricane Melissa threatens catastrophic flooding in Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba
The storm's slow movement is expected to bring a deluge of rain to multiple countries in the Caribbean, and prolong its dangerous impacts over a period of several days.
n.pr
October 27, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
CHICAGO! I'll be downtown to talk about our food and our planet on Tuesday evening, at an event sponsored by
@paulsoninstitute.bsky.social. I tried to be polite when the book came out, but these days I'm feeling spicier, please check it out! Info & RSVP here: partiful.com/e/HYP2nDeX6Q...
RSVP to Michael Grunwald: "We Are Eating the Earth" | Partiful
Join us for a thought-provoking conversation with NYT bestselling author and award-winning journalist Michael Grunwald as he presents his groundbreaking new book, "We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to...
partiful.com
October 23, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
Another step forward for the Brandon Road Interbasin Project.

We’ll continue our work protecting the Great Lakes and easing the burden on Illinoisans.
Illinois one step closer to keeping invasive carp out of Great Lakes
For decades, officials have worried the fish could wreak disaster on the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem and the multibillion-dollar tourism, boating and fishing industries that rely on it. Now, ...
www.wbez.org
October 21, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
Chicago people! I’ll be talking about the earth, particularly the eating of it, on October 28 at the Merchandise Mart. Register here, Chicago takes food seriously right?

partiful.com/e/HYP2nDeX6Q...
RSVP to Michael Grunwald: "We Are Eating the Earth" | Partiful
Join us for a thought-provoking conversation with NYT bestselling author and award-winning journalist Michael Grunwald as he presents his groundbreaking new book, "We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to...
partiful.com
October 20, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
Corals are disappearing, pushing Earth to its first major ‘tipping point’

A new report says Earth has reached a dire milestone with the widespread death of warm-water coral reefs. But it's not too late to save what remains.

grist.org/oceans/coral...

#Coral #Ocean #Climate #Science #GreenSky
Corals are disappearing, pushing Earth to its first major ‘tipping point’
A new report says Earth has reached a dire milestone with the widespread death of warm-water coral reefs. It's not too late to save what remains.
grist.org
October 13, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
#BREAKING The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals PARTIALLY grants the stay sought by the Trump Administration.

The stay is GRANTED as to federalization of the National Guard.

But it is DENIED as to deployment.

So deployment still BLOCKED, but troops "do not need to return to their home states."
October 11, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
ICE regularly held immigrants far beyond the hours they set for the Broadview processing center, data through July shows. Immigrants held there say there are no beds, limited food and toilets are out in the open with no soap or toothpaste.
trib.al/um8BERF
ICE's Broadview facility has become a de facto detention center, minus the rules and oversight
ICE regularly held immigrants far beyond the hours they set for the Broadview processing center, data through July shows. Immigrants held there say there are no beds, limited food and toilets are out in the open.
trib.al
October 1, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
BREAKING: Gov. JB Pritzker said the IL National Guard obtained a DHS memo stating it was seeking the deployment of 100 military troops to Illinois “claiming a need for the protection of ICE personnel and facilities.”

From @tinasfon.bsky.social
Gov. Pritzker says DHS will deploy 100 'military troops' to Illinois, citing need to protect ICE officers
Pritzker said the Illinois National Guard obtained a memo that DHS sent to the Defense Department which sought to request 100 military personnel for Illinois.
chicago.suntimes.com
September 29, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
Since 2023, the city has drawn between $70 million and $90 million of an approximately $325 million federal loan for lead service line replacements that expires next year

via @keertigopal.bsky.social and @juanpab.bsky.social grist.org/economics/ch...
September 23, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
The neat thing about the ultra-viral Czech beaver dam story is that it’s just a particularly vivid example of what legions of unsung beavers do every day — help us solve our environmental problems without our gratitude or acknowledgment, and in spite of our attempts to kill them! Beavers gonna beav.
imagine if a family of beavers randomly showed up right now and finished whatever thing you've been putting off
September 23, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
A cool new Q&A with @juanpab.bsky.social in @grist.org: "How Do We Feed Billions While Saving the Planet?"

grist.org/food-and-agr...
How do we feed billions without wrecking the planet? A Q&A about our food systems.
In his latest book, Michael Grunwald explores innovative solutions to boost food production while protecting the planet.
grist.org
September 11, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
Out today—a new interactive I worked on with @compatibilism.bsky.social mapping lead pipes in Chicago. You can use this tool to check any water service line in the city for lead, and explore how lead exposure overlaps with race and class. Check out the full piece: grist.org/accountabili...
August 28, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
Excellent service!
We got big project out today about Chicago’s lead pipes. The news is we mapped them all. The big idea is that Chicago residents are living through a public health crisis, and we wanted to help them visualize their place in it.
@grist.org @wbez.org @insideclimatenews.org @chicago.suntimes.com
August 28, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
Chicago has most the lead pipes in the country.

A team of excellent reporters and I mapped them all on a searchable tool.

Huge s/o to @juanpab.bsky.social @keertigopal.bsky.social @peteraldhous.com and @compatibilism.bsky.social for this monumental effort. Relevant links threaded below!
August 28, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
Chicago has the most lead service lines of any city in the county. We mapped out which neighborhoods are hit hardest. Mega collab out today from me, @peteraldhous.com @juanpab.bsky.social @compatibilism.bsky.social + @amyqin.bsky.social

insideclimatenews.org/news/2808202...
Chicago Has a Huge Lead Pipe Problem—and We Mapped It - Inside Climate News
Lead water service lines are all over the city. But majority Black and Latino neighborhoods bear the biggest burden, our analysis finds.
insideclimatenews.org
August 28, 2025 at 1:11 PM
We got big project out today about Chicago’s lead pipes. The news is we mapped them all. The big idea is that Chicago residents are living through a public health crisis, and we wanted to help them visualize their place in it.
@grist.org @wbez.org @insideclimatenews.org @chicago.suntimes.com
August 28, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
Grist is looking for an Upper Great Lakes reporter to cover climate impacts, environmental health, and solutions to the climate crisis, primarily for a local and regional audience. #journalismjobs

Apply here: job-boards.greenhouse.io/grist/jobs/4...
Regional Reporter, Interlochen
Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan
job-boards.greenhouse.io
August 18, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
I say this all the time, but it's local NPR affiliates that are nearly single-handedly covering disaster recoveries in the long term. If you can support yours, you should!
July 24, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
Eight months past a federal deadline, >90% of at-risk Chicagoans haven't been warned that their water may be contaminated with lead. 2nd story in our summer lead pipes series is out @insideclimatenews.org @grist.org @wbez.org, from me + @juanpab.bsky.social

insideclimatenews.org/news/1407202...
Chicago Was Supposed to Warn Residents About Toxic Lead Pipes. It’s Barely Started - Inside Climate News
This story is a partnership between Grist, Inside Climate News and WBEZ. This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Grist and WBEZ, a public radio station serving the Chicago metropo...
insideclimatenews.org
July 14, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
Great @juanpab.bsky.social piece on my friend and former Star Tribune enviro reporter Josephine Marcotty's new book on the decimation of America's prairie.
How America's prairie was nearly destroyed — and why it should be restored
A new book traces how the American prairie was nearly destroyed and why its return is so necessary for our future.
grist.org
June 18, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Reposted by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
There it is. The first ever Heat Advisory issued in Alaska. This is the first year it has been an option. @alaskawx.bsky.social
June 13, 2025 at 4:48 AM