News I've Come Across Recently

Antarctic ice gained about 108 gigatons each year from 2021-2023, offsetting sea level rise by 0.33 mm/yr. But it lost 4,780 Gt of ice since 1979, until 2023. (Gt=billion metric tons)

Greenland lost 6,529 Gt ice from 1979 to 2023. 

That's 11,309 Gt together, a total contribution of 31.4 mm of sea level rise. 3.14 cm. 1.24 inches.

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Berkeley Earth also found this past August as the warmest August in their records, since 1849. The August global temperature anomaly was 1.71 ± 0.11°C (3.07 ± 0.20 °F) above the 1850–1900 average. And it's the second warmest among all months in their record. They wrote:

Roughly 10.2% of Earth's surface saw its warmest August on record — 9.1% of land and 10.7% of ocean. 75 countries set national August records, and continent-wide August records were set for Africa and North America.

They also wrote:

With eight months of data in hand, a record annual average now looks probable. We calculate roughly a 93% chance that 2026 becomes the warmest year on record, up from about 69% in the July update and 12% in June. The most likely alternative is a 2nd-place finish.

Lots of graphs are on the same page. 

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Robert F Kennedy Jr says the department of Health and Human Services, which he's in charge of, is investigating chemtrails. Which don't exist. Spending time on conspiracies while Americans are having an ever more difficult time accessing affordable healthcare. I'd be infuriating if I expected anything out of the US government, but not anymore.

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The Trump administration has started calling bike (bicycle) lanes "DEI bike lanes." DEI stands for "diversity, equity, and inclusion"--being sure to care about minority groups of whatever sort. It "boasts of cutting $1.73bn already allocated for cycling improvements to city streets," says The Guardian. 

Why?? They don't burn gasoline! And Trump licks the bottoms of the fossil fuel industry because they gave him $219 million for his campaign in 2024. The Guardian:

The Trump administration’s plans to stymie and defund bike lane plans in the US, on the unusual basis that they are DEI tools, will hurt efforts to improve roadway safety, non-motorized transportation advocates say.

The transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, posted on X this month that he had redirected $1.73bn allocated for “Biden-era DEI pet projects” to “America’s actual backbone: ROADS, BRIDGES, AND SHIPPING PORTS”.

It's difficult impossible for me to imagine the ignorance and malevolence that went into this decision. It's very clear by now that Trump has no interest in running the government for the benefit of ordinary people. We see it in so many areas: health care, energy, climate change, tariffs, AI, the National Park system, foreign relations and many more. It's disgusting and I only hope there is enough left by the time he leaves office--I hope every morning when I first look at my phone--that these policies can be rebuilt for the good of the people and the country.