#publicgood — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #publicgood, aggregated by home.social.
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Reuters: Trump administration threatens to cut federal agencies’ support for Smithsonian. “President Donald Trump’s administration has threatened to cut federal agencies’ support for the Smithsonian, marking its latest escalation against the institution.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/09/06/reuters-trump-administration-threatens-to-cut-federal-agencies-support-for-smithsonian/ -
Reuters: Trump administration threatens to cut federal agencies’ support for Smithsonian. “President Donald Trump’s administration has threatened to cut federal agencies’ support for the Smithsonian, marking its latest escalation against the institution.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/09/06/reuters-trump-administration-threatens-to-cut-federal-agencies-support-for-smithsonian/ -
Reuters: Trump administration threatens to cut federal agencies’ support for Smithsonian. “President Donald Trump’s administration has threatened to cut federal agencies’ support for the Smithsonian, marking its latest escalation against the institution.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/09/06/reuters-trump-administration-threatens-to-cut-federal-agencies-support-for-smithsonian/ -
Reuters: Trump administration threatens to cut federal agencies’ support for Smithsonian. “President Donald Trump’s administration has threatened to cut federal agencies’ support for the Smithsonian, marking its latest escalation against the institution.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/09/06/reuters-trump-administration-threatens-to-cut-federal-agencies-support-for-smithsonian/ -
Reuters: Trump administration threatens to cut federal agencies’ support for Smithsonian. “President Donald Trump’s administration has threatened to cut federal agencies’ support for the Smithsonian, marking its latest escalation against the institution.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/09/06/reuters-trump-administration-threatens-to-cut-federal-agencies-support-for-smithsonian/ -
The Lens: Meta’s data center will be the biggest in the U.S., but no one knows who they’re hiring. “Research shows that AI data center facilities are landing in Black and low-income communities already treated as environmental sacrifice zones. In Louisiana, the two neighboring towns have a majority Black population, but residents fear that the jobs are not reaching them.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/09/06/the-lens-metas-data-center-will-be-the-biggest-in-the-u-s-but-no-one-knows-who-theyre-hiring/ -
The Lens: Meta’s data center will be the biggest in the U.S., but no one knows who they’re hiring. “Research shows that AI data center facilities are landing in Black and low-income communities already treated as environmental sacrifice zones. In Louisiana, the two neighboring towns have a majority Black population, but residents fear that the jobs are not reaching them.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/09/06/the-lens-metas-data-center-will-be-the-biggest-in-the-u-s-but-no-one-knows-who-theyre-hiring/ -
The Lens: Meta’s data center will be the biggest in the U.S., but no one knows who they’re hiring. “Research shows that AI data center facilities are landing in Black and low-income communities already treated as environmental sacrifice zones. In Louisiana, the two neighboring towns have a majority Black population, but residents fear that the jobs are not reaching them.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/09/06/the-lens-metas-data-center-will-be-the-biggest-in-the-u-s-but-no-one-knows-who-theyre-hiring/ -
The Lens: Meta’s data center will be the biggest in the U.S., but no one knows who they’re hiring. “Research shows that AI data center facilities are landing in Black and low-income communities already treated as environmental sacrifice zones. In Louisiana, the two neighboring towns have a majority Black population, but residents fear that the jobs are not reaching them.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/09/06/the-lens-metas-data-center-will-be-the-biggest-in-the-u-s-but-no-one-knows-who-theyre-hiring/ -
The Lens: Meta’s data center will be the biggest in the U.S., but no one knows who they’re hiring. “Research shows that AI data center facilities are landing in Black and low-income communities already treated as environmental sacrifice zones. In Louisiana, the two neighboring towns have a majority Black population, but residents fear that the jobs are not reaching them.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/09/06/the-lens-metas-data-center-will-be-the-biggest-in-the-u-s-but-no-one-knows-who-theyre-hiring/ -
Trump, Paxton, The Founders, And America’s Long Excuse For Powerful Men
Stop assuming corruption defeats MAGA. America’s history shows powerful men, from slaveholding founders to corporate-backed authoritarianism, get a pass unless people organize for accountability.
#abolitionists #Accountability #AmericanExceptionalism #AmericanHistory #authoritarianism #corporatePower #CorporateWelfare #democracy #DemocraticSocialism #DonaldTrump #FoundingFathers #Healthcare #hiroshima #Inequality #KenPaxton #MAGA #MedicareForAll #moralityInPolitics #nagasaki #nuclearWeapons #Patients #politicalHypocrisy #PoliticsDoneRight #ProgressivePolitics #publicGood #publicOwnership #RepublicanCorruption #SallyHemings #selectiveAccountability #slavery #socialJustice #socialism #texasPolitics #ThomasJefferson #workers https://wp.me/p1OjMZ-p79 -
A quotation from Bertrand Russell
All the governments of the world adopt elaborate methods of concealing truths which they consider undesirable, and inflict various forms of penalty upon those who spread knowledge which is thought bad for the population This applies especially to knowledge of the kind which is considered seditious, and the kind which is considered obscene. I shall not give instances, since, if I did, I should myself fall under the ban of the law.
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Education and the Social Order [Education and the Modern World], ch. 1 “The Individual versus the Citizen” (1932)More about this quote: wist.info/russell-bertrand/853…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #bertrandrussell #censorship #control #freepress #freespeech #government #knowledge #obscenity #pornography #publicgood #sedition #suppression #treason #truth
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Associated Press: YouTube joins Meta in appealing a jury verdict that faulted them for users’ social media addiction. “YouTube has appealed the verdict of a landmark social media addiction lawsuit in Los Angeles, seeking to challenge the jury’s determination that the company designed its platform to hook young users without concern for their well-being.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/07/17/associated-press-youtube-joins-meta-in-appealing-a-jury-verdict-that-faulted-them-for-users-social-media-addiction/ -
Watching A #NOAA #Webinar on Flash Droughts
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https://noaaresearch.webex.com/wbxmjs/joinservice/sites/noaaresearch/meeting/download/9b3e684d45ca47fc9469070eabd9a142?MTID=m2fa4a8af7bd8647fc48619af5eeecb5a <-- shared NOAA Summer Science Series individual webinar
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https://www.drought.gov/what-is-drought/flash-drought <-- shared NOAA overview technical article
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https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/star/NOAAScienceSeminars.php <-- subscribe to the NOAA Summer Science Series
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-024-00618-0 <-- shared paper
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https://communities.springernature.com/posts/the-prevalent-life-cycle-of-agricultural-flash-droughts <-- shared technical article (derived from paper above)
H/T @Jeffrey Basara PhD, MBA | Chair and Professor - Department of Environmental, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell | Co-Founder - American Prime Sustainable Solutions
[Flash floods? not TOO hard to conceptualise.
Flash drought? harder to 'get my head around', but H/T / presenter does an excellent job!]
"Not all droughts are the same. In some cases, drought rapidly intensifies at subseasonal to seasonal scales with significant impacts to agriculture and water resources along with the increased propensity for heatwaves and wildfires. Like all droughts, flash drought begins with a precipitation deficit. However, both evaporative demand and soil moisture are critical flash drought variables, and identifying and monitoring the desiccation of the terrestrial surface is key for determining flash drought development and associated impacts. While recent advances in knowledge and monitoring of flash drought have occurred, fundamental questions remain in the state of the science. What are the overall mechanistic relationships between atmospheric demand, evaporative stress, terrestrial desiccation, and precipitation that drive the progression of flash drought? Do regional characteristics of the environment impact the evolution of flash drought? What are the scales of predictability for flash drought? Finally, how will flash drought frequency and intensity evolve in a changing climate system"
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"Flash drought intensifies rapidly due to changes in precipitation, temperature, wind, and radiation. These changes in the weather increase evapotranspiration and lower soil moisture. Flash droughts can cause extensive damage to agriculture, economies, and ecosystems if they are not predicted and discovered early..."
#water #hydrology #fedscience #publicgood #hydrologicdrought #waterdeficit #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #watersecurity #risk #hazard #humanimpacts #streamflow #riverflow #groundwater #surfacewater #climate #weather #climatechange #extremeweather #atmosphere #metrology #regional #global #farming #agriculture #fluvial #pluvial #rainfall #precipitation #cloudcover #energy #heat #temperature #ET #evapotranspiration #farming #agriculture #foodsecurity #waterresources #dynamicsystems #watermanagement #flashdrought #drought #susceptibility #monitoring #prediction #model #modeling
@noaa -
If Acts Happened Today, Would We Call It Communism?
For many, "communism" has become less a political philosophy and more a conversation stopper. But is every effort to use our shared resources to care for the poor, the sick, and the vulnerable really communism? This article examines the difference between political labels and biblical principles, comparing the teachings of the early Church with today's political rhetoric. -
Internet Archive Blog: Preserving the First Draft of History: Reflections from the National Summit on Local News Preservation. “According to the Pew Research Center, 38% of webpages that existed in 2013 are already gone and nearly a quarter of news webpages contain at least one broken link. The local record of our communities is vanishing in real time. This urgent challenge is what brought two […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/07/01/preserving-the-first-draft-of-history-reflections-from-the-national-summit-on-local-news-preservation-internet-archive-blog/ -
The United States Magnetotelluric Array And The National Impedance Map
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https://doi.org/10.1029/2024RG000850 <-- shared paper
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https://eos.org/features/magnetic-storms-induction-hazards <-- shared ‘overview’ EOS 2014 technical article
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https://doi.org/10.3389/fspas.2025.1742847 <-- shared technical editorial
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #spaceweather #US #magnetotelluric #stations #monitoring #network #array #USMTArray #opendata #instrumentation #qualitycontrol #dataprocessing #archiving #electricalconductivity #3D #model #modeling #geology #geomagnetism #crust #mantle #CONUS #visualisation #geomagnetic #infrastructure #electricity #electricalgrid #utilities #publicgood #fedscience #fedservice #risk #hazard #mitigation #impacts #geothermal #mineralresources #exploration #magneticstorm #geoelectrichazard #earthscience #NationalImpedanceMap #conductivity #research -
Reuters: Meta faces New Mexico trial that could force changes to Facebook, other platforms. “The case, which will be tried before a judge in Santa Fe, stems from a lawsuit filed by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, a Democrat, accusing the social media giant of designing its products to addict young users and failing to protect children from sexual exploitation on its platforms.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/05/02/reuters-meta-faces-new-mexico-trial-that-could-force-changes-to-facebook-other-platforms/ -
Associated Press: Jurors wade through daunting evidence in high-stakes Meta trial about social media risks to children. “A daunting stream of testimony and evidence has been presented in a New Mexico case that explores what the social media conglomerate Meta knew about the effects of its platforms on children.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/03/21/associated-press-jurors-wade-through-daunting-evidence-in-high-stakes-meta-trial-about-social-media-risks-to-children/ -
Associated Press: Lawyers in landmark social media addiction trial make final appeals to the jury. “After about a month of hearing from addiction experts, therapists, platform engineers and executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, 12 jurors heard closing arguments before deciding whether social media companies should be liable for harms caused to children using their platforms.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/03/13/associated-press-lawyers-in-landmark-social-media-addiction-trial-make-final-appeals-to-the-jury/ -
The Seismometers At The End Of The Earth Have Names [Antarctica]
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https://www.npr.org/2026/02/08/nx-s1-5691843/the-seismometers-at-the-end-of-the-earth-have-names <-- shared radio interview (audio and transcript)
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https://www.usgs.gov/news/science-snippet/loneliest-seismometers-earth <-- shared #USGS page
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https://www.usgs.gov/news/science-snippet/loneliest-seismometers-earth <-- shared USGS overview video
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#radio #NPR #AllThingsConsidered #interview #IceCube #Antarctica #seismometer #SouthPole #globa; #earthquake #monitoring #remotesensing #seismic #GlobalSeismographicNetwork #fedscience #publicgood #publicsafety #earthscience #geology #structuralgeology #spatialanalysis #interdisciplinary #collaboration #geophysics #research #ScienceSnippet
@Npr @USGS @NSF -
From Space To Field - Putting satellite insights into growers’ hands [OpenET]
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https://irrigationtoday.org/features/from-space-to-field/ <-- shared technical media article
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https://etdata.org/ <-- shared OpenET home page
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https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/openet-satellite-based-water-data-resource/ <-- shared NASA technical article
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https://youtu.be/Rbobf6aurLs?si=Q0kN9eiZH0gT8O5m <-- shared OpenET overview video
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#OpenET #openscience #opendata #publicgood #publicservice #nonprofit #fedscience #fedservice #evapotranspiration #ET #Landsat #OLI #OperationalLandImager #groundwater #water #hydrology #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #agriculture #USA #farming #waterresources #watermanagement #planning #watersecurity #satellite #remotesensing #earthobservation #model #modeling #irrigation #metrology #raster #cost #economics #efficiency #foodproduction #mobileapp #FARMS #view #download #usecase #reporting
#OpenET #USGS #USDA @NASA #USGS_EROS -
Virtue and Simplicity of Manners, are indispensably necessary in a Republic, among all orders and Degrees of Men. But there is So much Rascallity, so much Venality and Corruption, so much Avarice and Ambition, such a Rage for Profit and Commerce among all Ranks and Degrees of Men even in America, that I sometimes doubt whether there is public Virtue enough to support a Republic.
John Adams (1735-1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797-1801)
Letter (1776-01-08) to Mercy Otis WarrenMore about this quote: wist.info/adams-john/12527/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #johnadams #ambition #America #avarice #class #corruption #democracy #dishonesty #greed #humancondition #humannature #manners #profit #publicgood #publicvirtue #rank #republic #selfishness #virtue
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Public Virtue cannot exist in a Nation without private, and public Virtue is the only Foundation of Republics. There must be a possitive Passion for the public good, the public Interest, Honour, Power, and Glory, established in the Minds of the People, or there can be no Republican Government, nor any real Liberty. And this public Passion must be Superiour to all private Passions. Men must be ready, they must pride themselves, and be happy to sacrifice their private Pleasures, Passions, and Interests, nay their private Friendships and dearest Connections, when they Stand in Competition with the Rights of society.
John Adams (1735-1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797-1801)
Letter (1776-04-16) to Mercy Otis WarrenMore about this quote: wist.info/adams-john/28404/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #johnadams #citizen #citizenship #civicduty #civicvirtue #commongood #commonwealth #democracy #goodcitizen #politician #publicgood #publicvirtue #republic #virtue
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Sentinel-2 Based Estimates Of Rangeland Fractional Cover And Canopy Gap Class For The Western United States
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-06160-9 <-- shared paper
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https://rangelands.app/products/rap10m/ <-- shared 10 metre Range Analysis platform overview
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[aside & totally anecdotal - I have ridden on the road in that last picture - near Sheridan, WY]
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #fedscience #fedservice #feddata #opendata #usecase #publicgood #rangeland #ecosystems #monitoring #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #US #USA #vegetation #satellite #remotesensing #earthobservation #Sentenial #Sentenial2 #canopy #fractionalcover #canopygap #landcover #landuse #grass #pinyon #juniper #opendata #raster #USWest #WesternStates #landsurface #tools #fielddata #model #modeling #BLM #USDA #statistics #geostatistics #RangelandAnalysisPlatform
@USDA @BLM -
The Value of Open Source Software [Harvard]
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https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/24-038_51f8444f-502c-4139-8bf2-56eb4b65c58a.pdf <-- link to paper / study [PDF]
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#opensource #software #publicgood #economics #flexibility #responsiveness #cost #economics #marketshare #COTS #globalpublicgood #assessment #ecomomy #sharing #engagement #OSS #costbenefit ##supplyside #demandside #usercommunity #socialvalue #costs #programming #development #developers
@harvardhci -
Why Geological Maps Are The Best Investment You’ve Never Heard Of - Investments In Geological Mapping Paid Off Big Time For Americans.
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https://www.zmescience.com/science/geology/why-geological-maps-are-the-best-investment-youve-never-heard-of/ <-- shared opinion piece
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https://profession.americangeosciences.org/reports/geological-mapping-economics/ <-- shared technical cost-benefit analysis
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https://www.geosociety.org/GSA/gsa/positions/position3.aspx <-- shared 2003 GSA appraisal
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[I am, of course, biased in this regard, but I also like well-presented metrics – and use cases being met are my favourite!]
#geology #value #cost #mapping #cartography #cartographic #USA #costbenefit #geologicmapping #metrics #usecase #fedscience #appliedscience #engineeringgeology #spatial #GIS #construction #resources #naturalresources #engineering #risk #hazard #naturaldisasters #payoff #investment #massmovement #groundwater #waterresources #water #hydrology #rareearth #minerals #mining #oilandgas #exploration #underground #money #economics #publicgood #publicvalue #investment -
@seasharp
2/3… partners with #megaCorporates via #PPP (#PublicPrivatePartnerships) to provide #uselessJobs that wouldn't be feasible under normal market circumstances. We're forced to #invest in #corporations we hate because its a hedge against the #moneyPrinting/#inflation.The #corporatist doesn't pay tax. They claim *they are* the #publicGood and get #BigGovt funding to #virtueSignal to us.