Owen Cortner
@ocortner.bsky.social
Reposted by Owen Cortner
Billionaires added record $2.2tn in wealth in 2025
Billionaires added record $2.2tn in wealth in 2025
Just eight billionaires accounted for a quarter of the gains, led by Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison and Larry Page
The richest 500 individuals in the world added a record $2.2tn to their wealth in 2025, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with just eight billionaires accounting for a quarter of the gains.
The gains increased their collective net worth to $11.9tn, bolstered by billionaire Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory and booming markets in cryptocurrencies, equities and metals. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Billionaires added record $2.2tn in wealth in 2025
You know you’ve heard the death knell of a franchise when a character says, “I was a postdoc under Alan Grant.” @jurassicworldd.bsky.social #jurassicworld
October 19, 2025 at 1:21 AM
You know you’ve heard the death knell of a franchise when a character says, “I was a postdoc under Alan Grant.” @jurassicworldd.bsky.social #jurassicworld
The Federal Farm Policy Trap: Why Some Farmers Are Stuck Raising Crops That No Longer Thrive michiganadvance.com/2025/09/09/t...
The Federal Farm Policy Trap: Why Some Farmers Are Stuck Raising Crops That No Longer Thrive • Michigan Advance
This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. R...
michiganadvance.com
September 12, 2025 at 1:12 AM
The Federal Farm Policy Trap: Why Some Farmers Are Stuck Raising Crops That No Longer Thrive michiganadvance.com/2025/09/09/t...
Reposted by Owen Cortner
Now’s a good time to share one of several recent @planetmoney.bsky.social episodes about the importance of Federal Reserve independence from partisan electoral politics.
www.npr.org/2025/04/23/1...
www.npr.org/2025/04/23/1...
A primer on the Federal Reserve's independence : Planet Money
President Donald Trump has been loudly critical of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for years now. Since January, the President has accused him of playing politics by keeping interest rates high. T...
www.npr.org
August 26, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Now’s a good time to share one of several recent @planetmoney.bsky.social episodes about the importance of Federal Reserve independence from partisan electoral politics.
www.npr.org/2025/04/23/1...
www.npr.org/2025/04/23/1...
Reposted by Owen Cortner
Who will audit the auditors?
This article showcases the really depressing reality about carbon offset markets. We either need to find ways to truly fix this or move on to other approaches.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
This article showcases the really depressing reality about carbon offset markets. We either need to find ways to truly fix this or move on to other approaches.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Auditors can’t save carbon offsets
The theory behind carbon offset projects is appealing: Instead of an organization cutting its own emissions, it can fund lower-cost carbon-reducing projects elsewhere to “offset” its emissions. The re...
www.science.org
July 13, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Who will audit the auditors?
This article showcases the really depressing reality about carbon offset markets. We either need to find ways to truly fix this or move on to other approaches.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
This article showcases the really depressing reality about carbon offset markets. We either need to find ways to truly fix this or move on to other approaches.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Owen Cortner
🧪 Really important thread. If you want to help save science funding in America, please call your senators & tell them!!!
#ScienceMatters
#ScienceMatters
DO NOT GIVE UP!
Our advocacy is working.
A key Senate committee has indicated that it will reject Trump’s proposed cuts to science agencies including NASA and the NSF.
Keep speaking up and calling your electeds 🗣️🗣️🗣️
Our advocacy is working.
A key Senate committee has indicated that it will reject Trump’s proposed cuts to science agencies including NASA and the NSF.
Keep speaking up and calling your electeds 🗣️🗣️🗣️
July 11, 2025 at 11:12 PM
🧪 Really important thread. If you want to help save science funding in America, please call your senators & tell them!!!
#ScienceMatters
#ScienceMatters
Reposted by Owen Cortner
The foundation of science and engineering in America is being eroded, badly.
This does NOT save us money, and it certainly doesn't make us “great again”. It hands the leadership of 21st century to China, on a silver platter.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
This does NOT save us money, and it certainly doesn't make us “great again”. It hands the leadership of 21st century to China, on a silver platter.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Scientists warn US will lose a generation of talent because of Trump cuts
Political interference and chaotic cuts to staff, programs and grants at the National Science Foundation are producing ‘devastating consequences’
www.theguardian.com
July 3, 2025 at 5:07 PM
The foundation of science and engineering in America is being eroded, badly.
This does NOT save us money, and it certainly doesn't make us “great again”. It hands the leadership of 21st century to China, on a silver platter.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
This does NOT save us money, and it certainly doesn't make us “great again”. It hands the leadership of 21st century to China, on a silver platter.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Trash policy being pushed to privatize Western public lands w/o helping housing crisis. Call Western governors & Dept. of Interior. #sprawl cbdnet.info/portal/apps/...
cbdnet.info
June 23, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Trash policy being pushed to privatize Western public lands w/o helping housing crisis. Call Western governors & Dept. of Interior. #sprawl cbdnet.info/portal/apps/...
Reposted by Owen Cortner
"The proposal would require the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service to identify and sell between 2.2 million and 3.3 million acres of public lands across 11 Western states to build housing."
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/12/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/12/c...
A G.O.P. Plan to Sell Public Land Is Back. This Time, It’s Millions of Acres.
www.nytimes.com
June 12, 2025 at 5:46 PM
"The proposal would require the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service to identify and sell between 2.2 million and 3.3 million acres of public lands across 11 Western states to build housing."
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/12/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/12/c...
Reposted by Owen Cortner
I'm late to the party but this is very good and worth your time.
This took a while to get done, but I've chronicled my day among the protesters in Los Angeles, and the idea that this is anything but a celebration of cultural heritage and a firm, nonviolent demand to protect family, friends and neighbors is totally ridiculous.
prospect.org/justice/crie...
prospect.org/justice/crie...
Cries of Defiance and Songs of Joy in Los Angeles
The protesters are being called unspeakably violent by the Trump administration. I mostly saw clergy sit-ins and Tejano bands.
prospect.org
June 11, 2025 at 9:56 PM
I'm late to the party but this is very good and worth your time.
Reposted by Owen Cortner
🔥 New article, led by our founder:
Trump’s Fool’s Gold Science EO lets political appointees loyal to him label research they don’t like as misconduct — and punish scientists who don’t fall in line with his agenda.
The time to take action is NOW. (1/2)➡️
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Trump’s Fool’s Gold Science EO lets political appointees loyal to him label research they don’t like as misconduct — and punish scientists who don’t fall in line with his agenda.
The time to take action is NOW. (1/2)➡️
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Trump’s new ‘gold standard’ rule will destroy American science as we know it | Colette Delawalla
The new executive order allows political appointees to undermine research they oppose, paving the way to state-controlled science
www.theguardian.com
May 29, 2025 at 1:33 PM
🔥 New article, led by our founder:
Trump’s Fool’s Gold Science EO lets political appointees loyal to him label research they don’t like as misconduct — and punish scientists who don’t fall in line with his agenda.
The time to take action is NOW. (1/2)➡️
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Trump’s Fool’s Gold Science EO lets political appointees loyal to him label research they don’t like as misconduct — and punish scientists who don’t fall in line with his agenda.
The time to take action is NOW. (1/2)➡️
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
This was 1986. Now the news reporters can’t pronounce regular adult vocabulary and Gen Z parents find reading to their kids “boring”.
Carl Sagan in 1986 on the problems with media and science literacy.
June 5, 2025 at 4:16 PM
This was 1986. Now the news reporters can’t pronounce regular adult vocabulary and Gen Z parents find reading to their kids “boring”.
“Optional suffering is often confused with solidarity; it's not, and taking care of yourself so you can take care of the larger realms is foundational to being a sustained and sustainable activist.” - Rebecca Solnit www.meditationsinanemergency.com/staying-with...
Staying with the Trouble (Is Not Necessarily About Geography)
I've always been annoyed by those people who, when they didn't like the outcome of a presidential election, announced they were moving to Canada. Those declarations seemed to be about comfortable peop...
www.meditationsinanemergency.com
June 2, 2025 at 1:59 PM
“Optional suffering is often confused with solidarity; it's not, and taking care of yourself so you can take care of the larger realms is foundational to being a sustained and sustainable activist.” - Rebecca Solnit www.meditationsinanemergency.com/staying-with...
Reposted by Owen Cortner
The unavoidable truth is that Republicans’ core priority with this legislation was to benefit the wealthy at the expense of everyone else, and that is exactly what their bill does.
beyer.house.gov/news/documen...
7/7
beyer.house.gov/news/documen...
7/7
Republicans Advance Bill That Hikes Taxes For Working People And Cuts Taxes For Billionaires
beyer.house.gov
May 14, 2025 at 11:44 PM
The unavoidable truth is that Republicans’ core priority with this legislation was to benefit the wealthy at the expense of everyone else, and that is exactly what their bill does.
beyer.house.gov/news/documen...
7/7
beyer.house.gov/news/documen...
7/7
Reposted by Owen Cortner
Exclusive: NSF faces radical shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Exclusive: NSF faces radical shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions
Changes seen as a response to presidential directives on what research to fund
www.science.org
May 8, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Exclusive: NSF faces radical shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Owen Cortner
NM Stand Up for Science organizers canvassed UNM's campus on the last day of classes for the spring semester, hoping to engage undergraduate and graduate students in organizing against federal cuts against research.
UNM post-docs forewarn threats to research at Stand Up for Science event • Source New Mexico
New Mexico Stand Up for Science tabled at the University of New Mexico, to organize against federal defunding of science research.
buff.ly
May 9, 2025 at 10:34 PM
NM Stand Up for Science organizers canvassed UNM's campus on the last day of classes for the spring semester, hoping to engage undergraduate and graduate students in organizing against federal cuts against research.
Reposted by Owen Cortner
Emily Feiner was forcibly removed from GOP Rep. Mike Lawler's town hall after she asked her so-called "moderate" congressman to stand up to Donald Trump's authoritarian power grab.
There's a great pushback happening across the entire country — even in Republican held districts.
There's a great pushback happening across the entire country — even in Republican held districts.
May 6, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Emily Feiner was forcibly removed from GOP Rep. Mike Lawler's town hall after she asked her so-called "moderate" congressman to stand up to Donald Trump's authoritarian power grab.
There's a great pushback happening across the entire country — even in Republican held districts.
There's a great pushback happening across the entire country — even in Republican held districts.
Reposted by Owen Cortner
While you highlight it, please note is the product of local journalism, which has been carrying a lot of the burden in an environment where national outlets simply can't cover everything everywhere all at once. Support your local journalists!
Please highlight this story.
ICE stormed into the wrong house, trashed the place, and made women/girls stand outside in the rain in their underwear. ICE also stole phones, laptops, and cash savings from the family, who moved to OKC two weeks ago.
kfor.com/news/local/w...
ICE stormed into the wrong house, trashed the place, and made women/girls stand outside in the rain in their underwear. ICE also stole phones, laptops, and cash savings from the family, who moved to OKC two weeks ago.
kfor.com/news/local/w...
'We're citizens!': Oklahoma City family traumatized after ICE raids home, but they weren't suspects
A woman says her family’s fresh start in Oklahoma turned into a nightmare after federal immigration agents raided their home, taking their phones, laptops, and life savings – even though they were …
kfor.com
April 29, 2025 at 4:26 PM
While you highlight it, please note is the product of local journalism, which has been carrying a lot of the burden in an environment where national outlets simply can't cover everything everywhere all at once. Support your local journalists!
Reposted by Owen Cortner
🚨Report your NSF grant terminations! 🚨
We are starting to collect information on NSF grant terminations to create a shared resource as we have for NIH. The more information we collect, the more we can organize, advocate, and fight back! Please share widely!
airtable.com/appGKlSVeXni...
We are starting to collect information on NSF grant terminations to create a shared resource as we have for NIH. The more information we collect, the more we can organize, advocate, and fight back! Please share widely!
airtable.com/appGKlSVeXni...
April 19, 2025 at 12:11 AM
🚨Report your NSF grant terminations! 🚨
We are starting to collect information on NSF grant terminations to create a shared resource as we have for NIH. The more information we collect, the more we can organize, advocate, and fight back! Please share widely!
airtable.com/appGKlSVeXni...
We are starting to collect information on NSF grant terminations to create a shared resource as we have for NIH. The more information we collect, the more we can organize, advocate, and fight back! Please share widely!
airtable.com/appGKlSVeXni...
Reposted by Owen Cortner
If you're an NSF grantee who receives notice of cancellation per today's announcement, please get in touch here or via Signal mzahneis.09.
April 18, 2025 at 8:12 PM
If you're an NSF grantee who receives notice of cancellation per today's announcement, please get in touch here or via Signal mzahneis.09.
Reposted by Owen Cortner
Good job, Stanford admin. More of this.
“America’s univs are a source of great national strength, creating knowledge and driving innovation and economic growth,” they also wrote. “This strength has been built on government investment but not government control.“
stanforddaily.com/2025/04/15/l...
“America’s univs are a source of great national strength, creating knowledge and driving innovation and economic growth,” they also wrote. “This strength has been built on government investment but not government control.“
stanforddaily.com/2025/04/15/l...
Stanford president and provost back Harvard in funding fight
The president and provost said Harvard’s rejection of government demands was “rooted in the American tradition of liberty.”
stanforddaily.com
April 15, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Good job, Stanford admin. More of this.
“America’s univs are a source of great national strength, creating knowledge and driving innovation and economic growth,” they also wrote. “This strength has been built on government investment but not government control.“
stanforddaily.com/2025/04/15/l...
“America’s univs are a source of great national strength, creating knowledge and driving innovation and economic growth,” they also wrote. “This strength has been built on government investment but not government control.“
stanforddaily.com/2025/04/15/l...
Reposted by Owen Cortner
If climate justice had a formula, it could be:
one tenacious lawyer + 2,500 determined senior women = a ruling that reinvents climate accountability
With science, law, and relentless determination, Cordelia Bähr didn’t just fight for justice—she redefined it.
Read more:
one tenacious lawyer + 2,500 determined senior women = a ruling that reinvents climate accountability
With science, law, and relentless determination, Cordelia Bähr didn’t just fight for justice—she redefined it.
Read more:
Cordelia Bähr: The 100 Most Influential People of 2025
Find out why Cordelia Bähr is on this year’s list
time.com
April 16, 2025 at 1:01 PM
If climate justice had a formula, it could be:
one tenacious lawyer + 2,500 determined senior women = a ruling that reinvents climate accountability
With science, law, and relentless determination, Cordelia Bähr didn’t just fight for justice—she redefined it.
Read more:
one tenacious lawyer + 2,500 determined senior women = a ruling that reinvents climate accountability
With science, law, and relentless determination, Cordelia Bähr didn’t just fight for justice—she redefined it.
Read more:
If you'd like to lead a passionate, talented staff to support land stewardship in the American West, this is for you. quiviracoalition.org/executive-di... #job #opportunity #agriculture #environment
April 8, 2025 at 2:31 PM
If you'd like to lead a passionate, talented staff to support land stewardship in the American West, this is for you. quiviracoalition.org/executive-di... #job #opportunity #agriculture #environment