Scott Gianelli
@smg58.bsky.social
I am a physics professor at Suffolk County Community College on Long Island (east of New York City). I previously spent sixteen years at Columbia University and the NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies. I'm also into music and games.
Some really super ones this year.
The best science images of 2025 — Nature’s picks
The Sun’s fiery surface, a tattooed tardigrade, rare red lightning and more.
www.nature.com
December 19, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Some really super ones this year.
Reposted by Scott Gianelli
December 4, 2025 at 3:09 PM
"Guterres added that “every fraction of a degree higher means more hunger, displacement and loss”. That obviously speaks to the urgency of action. But it’s also a reminder that every fraction of a degree of warming we prevent means tremendous amounts of avoided damage."
Bill Gates’s climate comments are a dangerous distraction
People do not have to dismiss or exaggerate the climate threat to justify concerted action.
www.nature.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:30 PM
"Guterres added that “every fraction of a degree higher means more hunger, displacement and loss”. That obviously speaks to the urgency of action. But it’s also a reminder that every fraction of a degree of warming we prevent means tremendous amounts of avoided damage."
Humility doesn't sell.
AI hallucinates because it’s trained to fake answers it doesn’t know
Teaching chatbots to say “I don’t know” could curb hallucinations. It could also break AI’s business model
www.science.org
November 13, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Humility doesn't sell.
Progress.
New England Says Goodbye to Coal as Merrimack Station Powers Down - Inside Climate News
After decades of operation, Merrimack Station’s closure marks the region’s final exit from coal—and the start of a new chapter in renewable energy development.
insideclimatenews.org
October 22, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Progress.
Reposted by Scott Gianelli
On June 24, I began my Election Night speech by quoting Mandela: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” That's the spirit of this campaign, and our city.
This is "Until It’s Done,” a new series about New Yorkers who refused to accept that a worthy goal was impossible.
This is "Until It’s Done,” a new series about New Yorkers who refused to accept that a worthy goal was impossible.
September 16, 2025 at 2:01 PM
On June 24, I began my Election Night speech by quoting Mandela: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” That's the spirit of this campaign, and our city.
This is "Until It’s Done,” a new series about New Yorkers who refused to accept that a worthy goal was impossible.
This is "Until It’s Done,” a new series about New Yorkers who refused to accept that a worthy goal was impossible.
The title is based on a quote from a Swiss journalist covering the French Revolution. France in the 1790s, Zimbabwe over the last 40 years, and America now have very different contexts. But this song has been stuck in my brain since Charlie Kirk's killer was identified.
The Revolution Will Eat Its Children
YouTube video by Johnny Clegg - Topic
www.youtube.com
September 13, 2025 at 5:02 PM
The title is based on a quote from a Swiss journalist covering the French Revolution. France in the 1790s, Zimbabwe over the last 40 years, and America now have very different contexts. But this song has been stuck in my brain since Charlie Kirk's killer was identified.
Reposted by Scott Gianelli
The storm formerly known as Erin is still a potent low and almost across the Atlantic.
August 26, 2025 at 2:05 AM
The storm formerly known as Erin is still a potent low and almost across the Atlantic.
Reposted by Scott Gianelli
The IEA’s 2025 outlook makes it clear: clean energy is eating fossil fuels’ lunch. ⚡ Renewables, grids, storage & electrification now draw double the cash of oil, gas & coal—despite IEA’s erratic underestimates for over a decade. The age of electricity isn’t coming, it’s here. 🌍 #EnergyTransition
August 17, 2025 at 10:07 PM
The IEA’s 2025 outlook makes it clear: clean energy is eating fossil fuels’ lunch. ⚡ Renewables, grids, storage & electrification now draw double the cash of oil, gas & coal—despite IEA’s erratic underestimates for over a decade. The age of electricity isn’t coming, it’s here. 🌍 #EnergyTransition
The good news, of course, is that floods like this will stop once the glaciers disappear entirely.
Why Glacial Lake Outbursts like the One in Alaska May Happen More Often
Meltwater from a glacial lake outburst is flooding Juneau, Alaska. Such events are likely to happen more often as climate change destabilizes ice and glacial lakes fill with more meltwater
www.scientificamerican.com
August 14, 2025 at 2:21 PM
The good news, of course, is that floods like this will stop once the glaciers disappear entirely.
Challenge: post your last photo taken in DC to show what a hell-hole it is.
August 11, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Challenge: post your last photo taken in DC to show what a hell-hole it is.
My father went from a BS in physics to a PhD in philosophy because questions like this one interested him. I think that, for a while at least, he thought he would live long enough to see this question answered. I don't think I will live that long. But the question is still worth asking.
Even Physicists Don't Agree on What Quantum Mechanics Says about Reality
A survey of more than 1,000 physicists finds deep disagreements in what quantum theories mean in the real world
www.scientificamerican.com
August 9, 2025 at 2:15 PM
My father went from a BS in physics to a PhD in philosophy because questions like this one interested him. I think that, for a while at least, he thought he would live long enough to see this question answered. I don't think I will live that long. But the question is still worth asking.
Reposted by Scott Gianelli
A little good news: So far Leo is turning out to be just as much, if not more, of a climate pope as Francis
www.euronews.com/green/2025/0...
www.euronews.com/green/2025/0...
Vatican strikes solar farm deal to become first carbon neutral state
A controversial radio site north of Rome is set to become a solar farm as the Vatican pushes its green transition.
www.euronews.com
August 8, 2025 at 6:26 PM
A little good news: So far Leo is turning out to be just as much, if not more, of a climate pope as Francis
www.euronews.com/green/2025/0...
www.euronews.com/green/2025/0...
We need more people of his background in Washington.
He Was a Meteorologist for 22 Years—Now He’s Battling Political Storms in Washington, D.C.
Representative Eric Sorensen of Illinois shares how his meteorology roots drive his fight to protect climate science and push back against political interference.
www.scientificamerican.com
August 8, 2025 at 2:35 PM
We need more people of his background in Washington.
Reposted by Scott Gianelli
1. This week, the FBI released its comprehensive crime report for 2024, which revealed that both VIOLENT CRIME and PROPERTY CRIME reached their LOWEST LEVELS SINCE THE 1960s
This a massive story. But you might not have heard about it, even if you follow the news closely.
Here's why.
This a massive story. But you might not have heard about it, even if you follow the news closely.
Here's why.
Why you might not know that 2024 was America's safest year since the 1960s
An overwhelming majority of Americans, 64 percent, believe that crime increased across the country in 2024, according to a Gallup survey conducted late last year.
popular.info
August 7, 2025 at 1:35 PM
1. This week, the FBI released its comprehensive crime report for 2024, which revealed that both VIOLENT CRIME and PROPERTY CRIME reached their LOWEST LEVELS SINCE THE 1960s
This a massive story. But you might not have heard about it, even if you follow the news closely.
Here's why.
This a massive story. But you might not have heard about it, even if you follow the news closely.
Here's why.
Because why should the authors of a government report understand what they cite?
How the DOE and EPA used and misused my research
Elevating contrarian views while burying the actual science
www.theclimatebrink.com
August 3, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Because why should the authors of a government report understand what they cite?
Reposted by Scott Gianelli
It’s hot enough to cook a turkey in Turkey.
Turkey sets new record of 50.5 degrees as Europe swelters – DW – 07/27/2025
Turkey is hit by a record high temperature of 50.5 degrees as southeastern Europe reels under a heat wave and battles wildfires.
www.dw.com
July 27, 2025 at 7:40 PM
It’s hot enough to cook a turkey in Turkey.
So basically the standardized tests show no difference before school starts, and then differences start almost immediately.
Boys surpass girls in maths in the first year of school
A gender gap in mathematical ability arises shortly after children begin school — irrespective of the type of school they attend and their socio-economic background.
www.nature.com
July 27, 2025 at 6:11 PM
So basically the standardized tests show no difference before school starts, and then differences start almost immediately.
Reposted by Scott Gianelli
When you strip away humanity
July 26, 2025 at 11:31 AM
When you strip away humanity
Reposted by Scott Gianelli
Happy Birthday #EuniceFoote! 🎂
She would be 206 years old today!
She would be 206 years old today!
Her published results even allowed @earthsciinfo.bsky.social and @rolandjackson.bsky.social to calculate how much the world would warm if atmospheric CO2 doubled, 170 years later.
Eunice: www.proquest.com/openview/c37...
Joe & Roland: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10....
Eunice: www.proquest.com/openview/c37...
Joe & Roland: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10....
Understanding Eunice Foote's 1856 experiments: heat absorption by atmospheric gases | Notes and Records: the Royal Society Journal of the History of Science
The contribution of Eunice Foote (1819–1888) to early understanding of the relationship
between atmospheric gases and climate change has become a focus of interest in the
scholarly community and more ...
royalsocietypublishing.org
July 17, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Happy Birthday #EuniceFoote! 🎂
She would be 206 years old today!
She would be 206 years old today!
Reposted by Scott Gianelli
Has renewable energy reduced electricity prices? As I discuss over at The Climate Brink, empirical evidence over the past 24 years in the US points to yes: www.theclimatebrink....
Here is the change in non-hydro utility scale renewables and electricity prices for each state.
Here is the change in non-hydro utility scale renewables and electricity prices for each state.
July 15, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Has renewable energy reduced electricity prices? As I discuss over at The Climate Brink, empirical evidence over the past 24 years in the US points to yes: www.theclimatebrink....
Here is the change in non-hydro utility scale renewables and electricity prices for each state.
Here is the change in non-hydro utility scale renewables and electricity prices for each state.
Some interesting physics here, employing the very recent discovery that materials can be made to absorb and emit at different strengths.
How breaking the ‘reciprocity law’ could improve green energy
A material that emits less energy than it absorbs has the potential to save some of the sunlight wasted by solar collectors.
www.nature.com
July 14, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Some interesting physics here, employing the very recent discovery that materials can be made to absorb and emit at different strengths.