Notices by Andrew Dessler (andrewdessler@mastodon.world)

I know discussions of university overhead sound boring but, hang with me, they're important. I wrote something about why, if you care about science in America, you should care about overhead.

https://thebulletin.org/2025/04/make-china-great-again-how-trumps-attacks-on-universities-will-backfire/

The gov't is slashing university research overhead rates, claiming it saves money. Overhead funds essential infrastructure that enables research: HVAC, IT support, lab construction, and admin - not waste. Cutting this means that univ. will be unable to afford to conduct research.

The likely result? Critical research will relocate to "China, Europe, and other regions with rational research funding models." This policy will surrender America's competitive edge and benefit our economic, intellectual, and military competitors. Like China.

My new post on The Climate Brink: LA fire's toxic legacy: When wildfires turn cities into smoke. It talks about air pollution from wildfires, the connection to climate change, and Table 12.12 from the last IPCC report.

https://www.theclimatebrink.com/p/las-toxic-legacy-when-wildfires-turn

Siri, show me a headline I'll be seeing for the rest of my life

Many of these people are former colleagues from when I worked on the stratosphere. About 10 years ago, I thought that the stratosphere was done — all of the interesting questions had been answered.

But nature has conspired to prove me wrong.

The last few years have proven me wrong. Probably the most amazing was the eruption of Hunga Tonga, but there were also fires dumping combustion products deep into the stratosphere, and some extreme ozone hole events.

This article also identifies one of the most important stratospheric issues. Over the last few years, my estimate of the odds that we'll engage in solar radiation management has gone from "no way" to "yeah, I can really see this happening".

Worryingly, some rogue actor might start geoengineering without any kind of global agreement. See, e.g., the book Termination Shock for a surprisingly plausible scenario. Or the bozos at Make Sunsets.

That would be a supremely dangerous thing to do.

Very interesting article from the NYTimes about scientists on the front lines of monitoring the stratosphere to detect if someone starts geoengineering.

gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/28/climate/geoengineering-early-warning-system.html?unlocked_article_code=1.dk4.YeJq.j_KyZdhpgSze&smid=url-share

Nice article about 1.5C target, which is the news today.
https://heated.world/p/15c-is-dead-the-climate-fight-isnt?r=27daj&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

To be clear, I've never thought that 1.5C was an achievable target. My view is that it's a stretch goal to motivate us.

But I think we can still achieve 2C. The rest of the world (e.g., China) is moving on from fossil fuels as fast as they can.

This is what gives me hope.

a good breakdown on the techniques that bad actors will use to try to cast doubt on the legitimacy of tomorrow's election. be prepared.

https://www.platformer.news/x-election-elon-musk-voter-fraud-misinformation/?ref=platformer-newsletter

h/t TAMU faculty listserv

It's a good thing DeSantis did this. If he hadn't, Florida might be suffering the wrath of climate-enhanced hurricanes.

I was asked by a reporter to comment on Marjorie Taylor Greene's statement that humans control the weather. Here is what I said.

[Very Nordhaus voice] “Because most economic activity occurs indoors, warming of several degrees Celsius will have a minimal impact on our economy.”

Just to be clear, this is a joke. Of course, renewable energy is not responsible for the destruction of Hurricane Helene. Instead, we know that fossil fuels are making the hurricane more damaging.

Renewable energy ruins the landscape