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Andrew Revkin 🌎 ✍🏼 🪕 ☮️ Profile picture
Andrew Revkin 🌎 ✍🏼 🪕 ☮️
@Revkin
#SustainWhat webcaster & 40 years of prize-winning 🌎 journalism, mainly @nytimes https://t.co/J6oq9DfxYw | Social, books, songs https://t.co/hspsXMSCoB
Sep 29 • 8 tweets • 6 min read
I’ve seen some assertions that it’s unprecedented to have hurricane impacts as far inland as those of #helene.

Case study- The massive losses in the great Vermont flood of November 1927
@NWS background:


A late season hurricane moved up the Atlantic coast in early November 1927 and proceeded to move up through the Connecticut River valley. The storm dumped generally 3-4 inches of rain through much of southern New England. However, as the system reached the higher altitudes in Vermont, the tropical system stalled due to the presence of two cold, high pressures areas just to the east and west. The result was widespread areas of 6 inches or more of rainfall during the period of November 2-5, with reports received of up to 15 inches of rainfall. In addition, October had been a very wet month, with rainfall generally about 150% of normal for the month.weather.gov/nerfc/hf_novem…Image
Image My heart goes out to those affected across the South by Hurricane Helene. At the same time, those calling this calamity (particularly the North Carolina devastation) "unprecedented" are exhibiting either amnesia or irresponsible conscious disregard for past tropical-storm-driven extreme floods there. There were double-storm flood disasters in 2004 and - particularly awful - 1916. Here's a trailer for David Weintraub's film on the centennial of the earlier disaster, with lots more in the 🧵, Here's his website: 1/saveculture.org/project/great-…
Aug 21 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Global warming is a serious problem (as I've reported since 1988). But... "Experts and skippers say" is a warning sign in stories like this @reuters article straining to find a #climatechange angle in a tragic fatal yacht sinking in a freak windstorm in Sicily. A #singlesource clue. The one climatologist may be a fine researcher but is not "experts." 🧵Image
Image Bigger problem? No reference to the @IPCC_CH, the bedrock source for what climate science says. These reports should be the first stop for any journalist @CoveringClimate and seeking clarity on a particular hazard and region. There are lots of recent and projected changes with warming, but... 2/Image
May 30 • 8 tweets • 4 min read
Boy is this climate paper, finding substantial prompt heating effects from the 2020-onward cuts in 🚢🌋-style pollution, is stirring up all kinds of reactions - criticism from some climate modelers and "we told you so long ago" from those centering on shipping emissions over the last couple of years. As always, it's important to avoid #singlestudysyndrome, but that doesn't mean @tianle_yuan et al are wrong. Some reactions in 🧵 below as I come across them. And feel free to reply with others! 1/Image The @dpcarrington story has a remarkably definitive headline considering the caveats: "‘Termination shock’: cut in ship pollution sparked global heating spurt"
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May 9 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
One problem with this bill is that Vermont is among northeastern states identified in a 2002 study as seeing a rising pattern of extreme scouring precipitation/flooding on time scales long predating fossil fuel emissions. I covered that paper (Noren, Bierman, Steig et al) in the @nytimes. (Video is of the November 1927 great flood event from a fading tropical system).Image Here's the @nytimes story and the @nature paper: "Millennial-scale storminess variability in the northeastern United States during the Holocene epoch" nytimes.com/2002/10/25/us/…
uvm.edu/~pbierman/clas…
Apr 21 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
There are a zillion book clubs, and online book chats, but how many communities put on dramatic readings drawing from a nonfiction climate book?
Thrilled to discover that our tiny Maine town is one. A packed house at Lamoine Grange today for a show built on The Treeline by @BenRawlence 1/lamoinearts.orgImage
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Image The performers took on the roles of Saami herders and Siberian villagers and scientists confronting rapid climatic and ecological disruptions, building on the reporting of Rawlence and reminding me repeatedly of the fieldwork of Kari Norgaard. 2/ us.macmillan.com/books/97812502…

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Apr 18 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
So is there an international criminal investigation under way given that an Ecuador-based company added lead to cinnamon that ended up poisoning American (and other) kids?

"It was eventually determined that the lead was from contaminated cinnamon purchased from a third-party supplier. The FDA has reported that the lead was likely added to the cinnamon to increase its weight and therefore its commercial value." @bmarler.

So what company did this?! Some details from @Coral_TheBeach in @foodsafetynews 1/Image "Sold under the brands Wanabana, Schnucks, and Weis, the applesauce was made at an Austrofoods facility in Ecuador using cinnamon from Negasmart." "The @US_FDA deputy commissioner for its Human Foods Program, Jim Jones, has said that he believes the cinnamon was intentionally contaminated with lead. Lead can increase the weight of foods." More: foodsafetynews.com/2023/12/offici…
foodsafetynews.com/2023/11/compan…Image
Oct 4, 2023 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
The prime factor in #sikkimflood appears to be a glacial-lake outburst flood (#GLOF). Get used to that acronym. #climatechange is changing Himalayan ice dynamics in big ways. Vulnerability downstream is enormous. More on another risk factor: increasing dam construction on these meltwater rivers: Pulling together a #sustainwhat discussion with @icimod (and hopefully Rajeev) with help from @kashishds 1/
And the #GLOF threat is not restricted to the Himalayas. Remember August, when a #GLOF surge on the Mendenhall River caused flooding in Juneau, Alaska? A @USGS webcam caught the astonishing build, build, build, flush dynamic. 2/
Dec 23, 2022 • 15 tweets • 5 min read
As the Siberian cold spreads, I'm thinking back to how Russia, more than most countries, has weaponized winter - almost always in defense. So much so that foes spoke of "General Winter" as a leader of Russian forces. Now, by destroying so much of Ukraine's energy infrastructure in his invasion, Putin is using winter cold as an offensive weapon. #PutinWarCrimes
Dec 22, 2022 • 4 tweets • 5 min read
I would like to run a @columbiaclimate #sustainwhat conversation on #atrocityprevention building on this post and conversations I've held on #fragilestates and the #page21effect (where intelligence briefs list risks, but with no clear prioritization) revkin.substack.com/p/as-russian-a… 1/ Can the U.S. Go From Responding to Fragility to Spreading Resilience? @MathewABarlow, Linda Robinson of @RANDCorporation, @MickeyGlantz @RodSchoonover..
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Dec 21, 2022 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
Because @evan_greer will be on my show Wednesday 2pm in part to explore his @OpenAI #ChatGPT Christmas tunes, I had to commission a song as well. My prompt: "Write a country song about Vladimir Putin's dreams for the world." 🧵🎶⤵️ Verse 1: He's the leader of the land of snow and ice, Where the mighty bear roams free. He's the one they call Vladimir Putin, He's got big dreams for you and me....
Sep 3, 2021 • 4 tweets • 4 min read
A #sustainwhat takeaway from NY's tragic #FlashFloodEmergency, inspired by a listener who said her phone alert came with no call to action. Is it time for #flashflood "#DryOut" training in flood-risk regions akin to quake states' #shakeout work? pscp.tv/Revkin/1BdxYYq… 1/ One reason: Flash floods pose a distinctly different threat compared to coastal flooding. As @wxpizza notes, they can happen almost anywhere and are local. The response challenge is similar to that with tornadoes. @climatesociety & @NASA working on this. 2'
Sep 3, 2021 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
New: LIVE 1:30 pm ET! How Did Dozens Die from Hurricane Ida's Predicted Northeast Blow @wxpizza of @columbiaclimate No signup. Click to watch three ways: earth.columbia.edu/videos/view/ho… Image First there was the excellent forecasting of extreme rain risk, as early as Monday evening via many like @burgwx 1/
Aug 1, 2021 • 10 tweets • 9 min read
With only nine or so vaquitas left in Mexican waters with little control on deadly nets set for a black-market fish, silence is replacing this tiny porpoise's vocalizations. Extinction looms. But the next 6 weeks can make a real difference. Read. Share: revkin.bulletin.com/41778589089738… 1/ Last week I was poised to write game over - that the conservation community should conserve resources for other efforts. I'd kept track via my @nytimes #dotearth blog for years, as numbers plunged from a couple hundred to a handful. China, particularly, seemed immovable. 2/
Apr 23, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
In the 19th century, gravity + water at West Point Foundry equaled steam engine components, cannon barrels. Now simply this. Thanks to @scenichudson, the outdoor museum here always illuminates. Some other views of what amounts to a @longnow outdoor museum of industry history and landscape recovery: West Point Foundry Preserve. Here's a snapping turtle walking past the one intact structure.
Apr 22, 2021 • 5 tweets • 4 min read
Noon Eastern - Keeping the #earthday vibe without the greenwash, also with @maggiekb1 of @FiveThirtyEight, @profadamsobel of @columbiaclimate & @JohnMoralesNBC6! earth.columbia.edu/videos/view/ta… John and Adam have related essays in @BulletinAtomic 1/⤵️ 2/ @JohnMoralesNBC6 Corporate greenwash stains Earth Day
thebulletin.org/2021/04/corpor…
Apr 22, 2021 • 8 tweets • 7 min read
An #EarthDay jam of highlights from the first #COVID19 #EarthWeek through this one (yes, the pandemic is not remotely over..). Here's @DarWilliamsTour singing "The Hudson" on our @columbiaclimate song swap a year ago: pscp.tv/Revkin/1mrGmQR… 1/ And #EarthDay music includes songs about corporations focused on dollars more than wellbeing. So another tune from last year's #earthweek @columbiaclimate show from The Nestlers, singing, "The banks are made of marble, with a guard at every door..." pscp.tv/Revkin/1mrGmQR… 2/
Feb 18, 2021 • 7 tweets • 6 min read
There's a logic fail in my old friend @billmckibben's effort to derail @DKeithClimate's plan to loft a balloon in Sweden. Arguing even this tiny step toward assessing #SRM must wait until '30 misses how long it takes to do anything related to climate. newyorker.com/news/annals-of… Every facet of the global climate challenge is super tough and requires years (generations even) of effort. Today's photovoltaic, LED, and battery successes did not arise from Musk-style entrepreneurship. They started with grinding basic study, like lofting a first balloon. 2/
Feb 17, 2021 • 4 tweets • 5 min read
Vital coverage of the social/xenophobic drivers of a climate catastrophe by @ColumbiaJournMA team/@stillsarita.1/⤵️ Would love to host a @columbia @earthinstitute #sustainwhat session with the @columbiajourn team like the one we did with @AbrahmL @sciandmedia @watersecurity @agmunozs on climate and migration.. pscp.tv/Revkin/1DXxyAl… 2/⤵️
Feb 11, 2021 • 10 tweets • 7 min read
There are many avenues you can take to pursue #climateaction at the intersection of the arts, science and society.

The first step to sanity and impact? Realize the prismatic #climatecrisis has many facets. Cutting vulnerability? Huge. Cutting emissions? Huge. Pick one.⤵️ 2. I guarantee there is one issue or problem at the interface between climate and society that suits your passions and skills best. Energy innovation? Vulnerability reduction? Community building? Political engagement? Global? Local? Glocal? All are needed. Choose your sweet spot.
Oct 9, 2020 • 9 tweets • 9 min read
Amazing @earthinstitute #sustainwhat chat started with Larry Altman covering @VP candidate Eagleton pulling out of '72 race over undisclosed depression treatment, ended exploring @DrMarcSiegel's plan to give @potus a #COVID19 checkup live on @TuckerCarlson tonight. Links below⤵️ Watch @Laurie_Garrett @nytimes' 40-year veteran presidential-health reporter Larry Altman, & @deborahblum of @KSJatMIT: Periscope pscp.tv/w/1jMJgXpOQqPxL
Oct 9, 2020 • 7 tweets • 7 min read
Rare chance to AMA Larry Altman, 1pm ET. Hard to find anyone with deeper perspective in a week with a @POTUS, the press & an exhausted public flailing amid a pandemic. He edited @CDCMMWR early days, covered presidents' health 40 years for @NYTimes -joined by two Pulitzer winners! You really have to meet Larry Altman, who's currently a global fellow at @TheWilsonCenter but wore a fascinating hat in the CDC smallpox unit in '65 (pic via @JHSPH_CHS) and did the first presidential interview on health with Reagan for @nytimes in '80: j.mp/larryaltman 1/