Maddie Stone
@themadstone.bsky.social
Earth science PhD-turned journalist. I write about clean energy, tech sustainability, and the science of science fiction.
Website: maddiestonewriting.com
Newsletter: sciof.fi
Website: maddiestonewriting.com
Newsletter: sciof.fi
On Earth, minerals like neodymium and gallium are becoming the currency of power. The same, apparently, is true for the Star Wars galaxy, at least according to Andor’s fabulous 2nd season.
Please read my latest on why Andor is the best of Star Wars: www.importantnotimportant.com/p/andor-show...
Please read my latest on why Andor is the best of Star Wars: www.importantnotimportant.com/p/andor-show...
Andor Shows the Power and Peril of High-Tech Minerals
As the quest for Ghorman “kalkite” reveals, access to minerals can make or break empires, while raining riches or curses on mining communities.
www.importantnotimportant.com
September 30, 2025 at 2:48 AM
On Earth, minerals like neodymium and gallium are becoming the currency of power. The same, apparently, is true for the Star Wars galaxy, at least according to Andor’s fabulous 2nd season.
Please read my latest on why Andor is the best of Star Wars: www.importantnotimportant.com/p/andor-show...
Please read my latest on why Andor is the best of Star Wars: www.importantnotimportant.com/p/andor-show...
Reposted by Maddie Stone
Exciting times ahead! Kaiju science is fascinating—did you know Godzilla's radiation reflects nuclear anxieties? 🌍💥 What real-world actions are you considering? 🪐📚 #SciFi #Kaiju
Big news in my little corner of the multiverse! The Science of Fiction has a new home over at @important.bsky.social!
That means more posts, plus steps to translate articles on Kaiju science into real-world action.
Sign up here: www.importantnotimportant.com/the-science-...
That means more posts, plus steps to translate articles on Kaiju science into real-world action.
Sign up here: www.importantnotimportant.com/the-science-...
Important, Not Important
Because you give a sh*t. News, essays, and Action Steps so you can understand and help unfuck the world.
www.importantnotimportant.com
September 11, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Exciting times ahead! Kaiju science is fascinating—did you know Godzilla's radiation reflects nuclear anxieties? 🌍💥 What real-world actions are you considering? 🪐📚 #SciFi #Kaiju
Big news in my little corner of the multiverse! The Science of Fiction has a new home over at @important.bsky.social!
That means more posts, plus steps to translate articles on Kaiju science into real-world action.
Sign up here: www.importantnotimportant.com/the-science-...
That means more posts, plus steps to translate articles on Kaiju science into real-world action.
Sign up here: www.importantnotimportant.com/the-science-...
Important, Not Important
Because you give a sh*t. News, essays, and Action Steps so you can understand and help unfuck the world.
www.importantnotimportant.com
September 11, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Big news in my little corner of the multiverse! The Science of Fiction has a new home over at @important.bsky.social!
That means more posts, plus steps to translate articles on Kaiju science into real-world action.
Sign up here: www.importantnotimportant.com/the-science-...
That means more posts, plus steps to translate articles on Kaiju science into real-world action.
Sign up here: www.importantnotimportant.com/the-science-...
Nice piece by @emorwee.bsky.social on the former Microsoft employees demanding the company hold itself accountable for its oil contracts.
Astounding that a year after I reported a similar story for @grist.org and @drilledmedia.bsky.social, MFST has no comment!
heated.world/p/he-helped-...
Astounding that a year after I reported a similar story for @grist.org and @drilledmedia.bsky.social, MFST has no comment!
heated.world/p/he-helped-...
He helped Microsoft build AI to help the climate. Then Microsoft sold it to Big Oil.
A former Microsoft product manager reveals how the tech giant is using AI to help Big Oil drill—and how he and his partner are now pushing for change.
heated.world
July 22, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Nice piece by @emorwee.bsky.social on the former Microsoft employees demanding the company hold itself accountable for its oil contracts.
Astounding that a year after I reported a similar story for @grist.org and @drilledmedia.bsky.social, MFST has no comment!
heated.world/p/he-helped-...
Astounding that a year after I reported a similar story for @grist.org and @drilledmedia.bsky.social, MFST has no comment!
heated.world/p/he-helped-...
Reposted by Maddie Stone
I'm delighted to share a new guest post from one of my favorite humans, @themadstone.bsky.social. Nobody thinks more clearly about the intersection of sci-fi and how it impacts the real world.
Making our fossil record a better place www.importantnotimportant.com/p/making-our...
Making our fossil record a better place www.importantnotimportant.com/p/making-our...
Making our fossil record a better place
A Science of Fiction debut!
www.importantnotimportant.com
June 13, 2025 at 7:51 PM
I'm delighted to share a new guest post from one of my favorite humans, @themadstone.bsky.social. Nobody thinks more clearly about the intersection of sci-fi and how it impacts the real world.
Making our fossil record a better place www.importantnotimportant.com/p/making-our...
Making our fossil record a better place www.importantnotimportant.com/p/making-our...
Imagine, hundreds of millions of years from now, aliens landing on Earth and digging up the fossil remains of an ancient industrial society. What kind of story will our rock record tell?
I lay out some ideas in my latest Science of Fiction piece! www.importantnotimportant.com/p/making-our...
I lay out some ideas in my latest Science of Fiction piece! www.importantnotimportant.com/p/making-our...
Making our fossil record a better place
A Science of Fiction debut!
www.importantnotimportant.com
June 13, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Imagine, hundreds of millions of years from now, aliens landing on Earth and digging up the fossil remains of an ancient industrial society. What kind of story will our rock record tell?
I lay out some ideas in my latest Science of Fiction piece! www.importantnotimportant.com/p/making-our...
I lay out some ideas in my latest Science of Fiction piece! www.importantnotimportant.com/p/making-our...
When your government calls for rapidly boosting domestic mineral supplies while rolling back policy support for clean energy, what does it mean on balance?
That’s the existential question US battery recycling companies are asking right now.
My latest for @grist: grist.org/technology/t...
That’s the existential question US battery recycling companies are asking right now.
My latest for @grist: grist.org/technology/t...
Trump's second term is creating 'a limbo moment' for US battery recyclers
The president hasn't directly targeted the nascent industry, but his clean energy rollbacks could hurt it.
grist.org
June 11, 2025 at 12:06 AM
When your government calls for rapidly boosting domestic mineral supplies while rolling back policy support for clean energy, what does it mean on balance?
That’s the existential question US battery recycling companies are asking right now.
My latest for @grist: grist.org/technology/t...
That’s the existential question US battery recycling companies are asking right now.
My latest for @grist: grist.org/technology/t...
Reposted by Maddie Stone
Here's my SimEarth interview with James Lovelock — 10 years ago — just before he died:
slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com/technology/2...
May 30, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Here's my SimEarth interview with James Lovelock — 10 years ago — just before he died:
slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com/technology/2...
35 years ago, game studio Maxis released the planet simulator SimEarth. It taught 7-year-old me the basics of Earth science, evolution, and human-caused climate change.
For my latest Science of Fiction newsletter, the forgotten history of this truly one-of-a-kind game: www.sciof.fi/how-a-videog...
For my latest Science of Fiction newsletter, the forgotten history of this truly one-of-a-kind game: www.sciof.fi/how-a-videog...
How a videogame taught my generation that Earth is alive
Like many environmental scientists, early exposure to nature sparked my interest in the field. But so did the 1990 video game SimEarth, game studio Maxis's first release after SimCity. SimEarth was mo...
www.sciof.fi
May 30, 2025 at 2:19 PM
35 years ago, game studio Maxis released the planet simulator SimEarth. It taught 7-year-old me the basics of Earth science, evolution, and human-caused climate change.
For my latest Science of Fiction newsletter, the forgotten history of this truly one-of-a-kind game: www.sciof.fi/how-a-videog...
For my latest Science of Fiction newsletter, the forgotten history of this truly one-of-a-kind game: www.sciof.fi/how-a-videog...
Attn Earth & planetary science folks: I’m trying to get in touch with researchers who work at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies to learn how the lab’s imminent shutdown is impacting them.
Can grant anonymity. Please share if you can and DM me if you’d like to talk.
#climate #NASA
Can grant anonymity. Please share if you can and DM me if you’d like to talk.
#climate #NASA
May 28, 2025 at 1:38 PM
How did I not know that season 2 of Andor is basically an allegory for the Trump admin’s energy policy, complete with a critical minerals mining subplot?? I must catch up immediately!
May 14, 2025 at 9:54 PM
How did I not know that season 2 of Andor is basically an allegory for the Trump admin’s energy policy, complete with a critical minerals mining subplot?? I must catch up immediately!
From Ohio to Texas, Republican lawmakers are pushing bills that would cut carbon emissions, eliminate toxic waste and curb rampant consumerism.
They’re just not talking about them that way.
My latest, for @grist, on the conservative case for the right to repair: grist.org/politics/rig...
They’re just not talking about them that way.
My latest, for @grist, on the conservative case for the right to repair: grist.org/politics/rig...
The environmental policy backed by free-market Republicans
Several years ago, Louis Blessing’s wife asked for his help replacing the battery in her laptop. An electrical engineer by training, Blessing figured it would be a quick fix. But after swapping out th...
grist.org
April 20, 2025 at 12:34 AM
From Ohio to Texas, Republican lawmakers are pushing bills that would cut carbon emissions, eliminate toxic waste and curb rampant consumerism.
They’re just not talking about them that way.
My latest, for @grist, on the conservative case for the right to repair: grist.org/politics/rig...
They’re just not talking about them that way.
My latest, for @grist, on the conservative case for the right to repair: grist.org/politics/rig...
If you missed Grist’s mining issue earlier this week, its a phenomenal collection of stories about the materials needed to build a low-carbon economy and the thorny trade offs involved in extracting them. Great weekend reading! grist.org/series/unear...
Unearthed: The Mining Issue
The world needs massive amounts of critical minerals to power the transition to clean energy. Can all of this extraction be done without the same environmental and human costs associated with fossil f...
grist.org
March 28, 2025 at 1:46 PM
If you missed Grist’s mining issue earlier this week, its a phenomenal collection of stories about the materials needed to build a low-carbon economy and the thorny trade offs involved in extracting them. Great weekend reading! grist.org/series/unear...
Reposted by Maddie Stone
My colleague Peter Cook weighs in for this @gristnews.bsky.social @themadstone.bsky.social piece on EarthMRI federal critical mineral mapping efforts at the USGS:
“This is a program that has survived both the Trump and Biden administrations.”
grist.org/energy/criti...
“This is a program that has survived both the Trump and Biden administrations.”
grist.org/energy/criti...
Why Biden and Trump both support this federal mineral mapping project
A U.S. Geological Survey effort to find underground deposits of clean energy metals has gotten bipartisan support.
grist.org
March 27, 2025 at 6:39 PM
My colleague Peter Cook weighs in for this @gristnews.bsky.social @themadstone.bsky.social piece on EarthMRI federal critical mineral mapping efforts at the USGS:
“This is a program that has survived both the Trump and Biden administrations.”
grist.org/energy/criti...
“This is a program that has survived both the Trump and Biden administrations.”
grist.org/energy/criti...
Reposted by Maddie Stone
Many Biden-era climate & energy programs are still in limbo following Trump's freeze on BIL and IRA-funded initiatives.
But as I report for the first time in @gristnews.bsky.social, one infrastructure-law funded program got an early greenlight to proceed: grist.org/energy/criti...
But as I report for the first time in @gristnews.bsky.social, one infrastructure-law funded program got an early greenlight to proceed: grist.org/energy/criti...
Why Biden and Trump both support this federal mineral mapping project
A U.S. Geological Survey effort to find underground deposits of clean energy metals has gotten bipartisan support.
grist.org
March 26, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Many Biden-era climate & energy programs are still in limbo following Trump's freeze on BIL and IRA-funded initiatives.
But as I report for the first time in @gristnews.bsky.social, one infrastructure-law funded program got an early greenlight to proceed: grist.org/energy/criti...
But as I report for the first time in @gristnews.bsky.social, one infrastructure-law funded program got an early greenlight to proceed: grist.org/energy/criti...
Many Biden-era climate & energy programs are still in limbo following Trump's freeze on BIL and IRA-funded initiatives.
But as I report for the first time in @gristnews.bsky.social, one infrastructure-law funded program got an early greenlight to proceed: grist.org/energy/criti...
But as I report for the first time in @gristnews.bsky.social, one infrastructure-law funded program got an early greenlight to proceed: grist.org/energy/criti...
Why Biden and Trump both support this federal mineral mapping project
A U.S. Geological Survey effort to find underground deposits of clean energy metals has gotten bipartisan support.
grist.org
March 26, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Many Biden-era climate & energy programs are still in limbo following Trump's freeze on BIL and IRA-funded initiatives.
But as I report for the first time in @gristnews.bsky.social, one infrastructure-law funded program got an early greenlight to proceed: grist.org/energy/criti...
But as I report for the first time in @gristnews.bsky.social, one infrastructure-law funded program got an early greenlight to proceed: grist.org/energy/criti...
Just read Trump's latest EO on critical minerals and unless I've come unglued clean energy technologies—including, gasp, wind!—are defined as 'mineral production projects' that can be expedited using wartime powers.
Which renegade staffer snuck THAT one in? www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Which renegade staffer snuck THAT one in? www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
March 21, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Just read Trump's latest EO on critical minerals and unless I've come unglued clean energy technologies—including, gasp, wind!—are defined as 'mineral production projects' that can be expedited using wartime powers.
Which renegade staffer snuck THAT one in? www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Which renegade staffer snuck THAT one in? www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Reposted by Maddie Stone
Hearing this morning that NASA has just laid off their chief scientist, among others….
March 10, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Hearing this morning that NASA has just laid off their chief scientist, among others….
It’s like America is in a dick measuring contest with itself heatmap.news/climate/natu...
Nature Conservancy Allegedly Told to Say ‘Gulf of America’ or Lose Federal Funding
A leaked internal memo reveals why the environmental group adopted President Trump’s new name.
heatmap.news
March 7, 2025 at 10:03 PM
It’s like America is in a dick measuring contest with itself heatmap.news/climate/natu...
New, by me for @gristnews.bsky.social: for Americans to fully embrace EVs, we need reliable public chargers. The Biden admin had a plan to build them — and ensure they are maintained & repaired — but Trump’s funding freeze has thrown it into disarray. grist.org/transportati...
Biden had a plan to keep America's EV chargers in good working order. Trump pulled the plug.
For Americans to adopt electric cars, many experts believe that charging a battery needs to be as convenient as filling a gas tank.
grist.org
March 7, 2025 at 8:00 PM
New, by me for @gristnews.bsky.social: for Americans to fully embrace EVs, we need reliable public chargers. The Biden admin had a plan to build them — and ensure they are maintained & repaired — but Trump’s funding freeze has thrown it into disarray. grist.org/transportati...
I was wondering why I’d never heard about Ukraine’s vast rare earth wealth before the last few weeks.
It’s because there is no actual scientific evidence it exists.
Great reporting: heatmap.news/economy/trum...
It’s because there is no actual scientific evidence it exists.
Great reporting: heatmap.news/economy/trum...
The Big Question Hanging over Trump’s Minerals Deal with Ukraine
Are these minerals even economically viable?
heatmap.news
February 28, 2025 at 1:19 PM
I was wondering why I’d never heard about Ukraine’s vast rare earth wealth before the last few weeks.
It’s because there is no actual scientific evidence it exists.
Great reporting: heatmap.news/economy/trum...
It’s because there is no actual scientific evidence it exists.
Great reporting: heatmap.news/economy/trum...
Can anyone explain why Trump wants the US to both control vast rare earth resources and stop building offshore wind, expected to be the biggest future demand driver after electric vehicles?
February 26, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Can anyone explain why Trump wants the US to both control vast rare earth resources and stop building offshore wind, expected to be the biggest future demand driver after electric vehicles?
It’s no longer politically smart for oil companies to greenwash. Ditto for Big Tech & most other economic sectors. Expect to see a lot of masks slipping over the coming months.
As expected: BP will be giving up on greenwashing and misleading targets and instead be honest about its long-term, long-held strategy to expand the sale and use of fossil fuels
BP to raise oil and gas spending to $10bn a year in pivot away from green goals
Firm confirms plans to scale back green energy efforts and ‘fundamentally reset’ strategy
www.theguardian.com
February 26, 2025 at 3:49 PM
It’s no longer politically smart for oil companies to greenwash. Ditto for Big Tech & most other economic sectors. Expect to see a lot of masks slipping over the coming months.
Reposted by Maddie Stone
Happy Friday! As an antidote *gestures everywhere,* I bring you an exclusive interview with Star Trek's science advisor on how the quantum reality drive from Lower Decks allows ships to explore the multiverse.
Enjoy and please share with your physics/Trek nerd friends!
www.sciof.fi/quantum-real...
Enjoy and please share with your physics/Trek nerd friends!
www.sciof.fi/quantum-real...
The real science behind Star Trek: Lower Decks 'quantum reality drive'
Star Trek's official science advisor offers a behind-the-scenes look at warp drive's wacky new cousin.
www.sciof.fi
February 21, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Happy Friday! As an antidote *gestures everywhere,* I bring you an exclusive interview with Star Trek's science advisor on how the quantum reality drive from Lower Decks allows ships to explore the multiverse.
Enjoy and please share with your physics/Trek nerd friends!
www.sciof.fi/quantum-real...
Enjoy and please share with your physics/Trek nerd friends!
www.sciof.fi/quantum-real...
Reposted by Maddie Stone
Hey look! Some Star Trek Lower Decks science for you as a Friday treat!
Happy Friday! As an antidote *gestures everywhere,* I bring you an exclusive interview with Star Trek's science advisor on how the quantum reality drive from Lower Decks allows ships to explore the multiverse.
Enjoy and please share with your physics/Trek nerd friends!
www.sciof.fi/quantum-real...
Enjoy and please share with your physics/Trek nerd friends!
www.sciof.fi/quantum-real...
The real science behind Star Trek: Lower Decks 'quantum reality drive'
Star Trek's official science advisor offers a behind-the-scenes look at warp drive's wacky new cousin.
www.sciof.fi
February 21, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Hey look! Some Star Trek Lower Decks science for you as a Friday treat!