The world we are fighting for is already here

Image credit: Lamiot, CC BY-SA 3.0

Happy belated International Day of Women and Girls in Science! Even amidst continuing horrors in the US and abroad, we must find ways to celebrate occasions big and small and there are few things we love more than celebrating women and girls in science! So let's start by acknowledging all the amazing women and gender diverse folks in our lives who’ve got a love for science and who are pushing boundaries in science and beyond 💪🏼💪🏼💜💜💜

It's been a week, y’all. Another Epstein files drop, still a fraction of what was supposed to be released, and it’s heavy. While I could dwell on the list of powerful people who have sucked up to Epstein and committed absolute horrors against young women and girls, I also can’t get over the hundreds of children held in ICE detention centers all over the US, often in absolutely horrible conditions. And lest we forget the children killed in Sudan, Gaza, Ukraine, and beyond. As James Baldwin famously wrote, “the children are always ours.”    

I gotta be honest, I am slipping in and out of despair on an hourly basis.  But as AOC recently wrote, “the world we are fighting for is already here. It exists in small spaces, places, and communities.”  Let's find those spaces, places, and communities and help them grow.

take action

  • Virtual Action Hour with Union of Concerned Scientists (2/17 2-3 PM Eastern) to resist the deregulation surge across the US Federal government

bookmark this

  • A running list of the known people ICE has harmed or killed in the last year.

weekly win

  • China’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for the last 21 months, a huge deal for decarbonization and for the planet.

weekly wonders

  • The physics behind the ice skating quadruple jump and other Olympic marvels. 

  • At its core, the Earth is just oceans of hydrogen, which helps explain a long-debated discrepancy in the Earth’s density. 

check it out

  • Did you know that most abortion care in the US is provided by independent clinics? These clinics are under huge strain to provide healthcare for an increasing population amidst state bans and funding cuts. Find an independent clinic in your area and help support their critical work! 

  • FYI ICE is expanding infrastructure across the US, buying up warehouses and properties. Check out the locations and organize locally to oppose them! 

  • The EPA rescinded its own endangerment finding and undercut the ability of the agency to regulate GHG emissions. FYI the science of climate change has not changed.

around the world

more of this please

  • Moldovan president rejected the Nobel Prize nomination, stating that Ukrainian soldiers deserve it instead.

  • High school students all over the US walked out to protest ICE

  • Athletes at the Winter Olympics have been speaking out about the threat of climate change for the sports they love (Bea Kim, Ukaleq Slettemark).

  • Lets all acknowledge and celebrate US mathematician Dr. Gladys Mae West, who helped develop GPS technology and radar altimetry that was integral for orbiting satellites, among other incredible accomplishments.

  • The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) state offices spotlighting women leading science-driven work 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 We see you Wyoming, Idaho, and New Mexico!

book nook

all ears

watch this!

…by the way

  • Time to unring that bell. If you’ve got a ring camera at home, FYI the cameras are used as surveillance dragnets. Even though ring has cancelled its partnership with Flock Safety (decidedly not safe, but essentially an expanded surveillance police state), ring has a history of doing this; following a backlash, ring promises to cancel problematic use of data, then reinstates said problematic use of data.

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