#publicgood — Public Fediverse posts

Chicago Reader: Chicago has abundant water. Data center developers want a taste. “Waterways in Chicago and northern Illinois have supported industrial activity for more than a century, and now those same bodies of water are drawing an influx of proposed data centers that would tap into the region’s plentiful resources. These proposals have drawn considerable scrutiny, with experts and […]

Chicago Reader: Chicago has abundant water. Data center developers want a taste. “Waterways in Chicago and northern Illinois have supported industrial activity for more than a century, and now those same bodies of water are drawing an influx of proposed data centers that would tap into the region’s plentiful resources. These proposals have drawn considerable scrutiny, with experts and […]

Chicago Reader: Chicago has abundant water. Data center developers want a taste. “Waterways in Chicago and northern Illinois have supported industrial activity for more than a century, and now those same bodies of water are drawing an influx of proposed data centers that would tap into the region’s plentiful resources. These proposals have drawn considerable scrutiny, with experts and […]

Chicago Reader: Chicago has abundant water. Data center developers want a taste. “Waterways in Chicago and northern Illinois have supported industrial activity for more than a century, and now those same bodies of water are drawing an influx of proposed data centers that would tap into the region’s plentiful resources. These proposals have drawn considerable scrutiny, with experts and […]

Chicago Reader: Chicago has abundant water. Data center developers want a taste. “Waterways in Chicago and northern Illinois have supported industrial activity for more than a century, and now those same bodies of water are drawing an influx of proposed data centers that would tap into the region’s plentiful resources. These proposals have drawn considerable scrutiny, with experts and […]

The Verge: Is this the future of America?. ” Within the past few years, data centers have been elevated from an unremarkable part of daily life in Loudoun to something that many residents now think about every day. For some, it’s the constant hum they hear from their decks; for others, it’s the transmission towers that loom over their favorite green space, or the surprise call from their […]

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.

The Conversation: It may be almost impossible to make data centers pay their ‘fair share’ of electricity costs. “So while every state’s consumer advocate is concerned with keeping the utility’s costs as low as possible, they may be barred by law from adopting a position on how those costs should be allocated. This lack of representation in this aspect of rate-setting for average […]

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?

https://polymathchristian.wordpress.com/2026/07/12/if-acts-happened-today-would-we-call-it-communism-4/

National Water Availability Assessment Data Companion Launches Interactive Map
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https://water.usgs.gov/nwaa-data/ <-- shared USGS resource link
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https://water.usgs.gov/nwaa-data/interactive-map/ <-- shared USGS webmap
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H/T @USGS NWDC
“The National Water Availability Assessment Data Companion (NWDC) delivers national-scale modeled water data underlying the National Water Availability Assessment Report. The NWDC will be continuously updated to include new data used in future National Water Availability Assessment Reports, with planned reports in 2026 and 2030.
The NWDC also serves information on underlying model methodologies, strengths, and limitations to enable proper use of the data…
USGS scientific teams develop NWDC models to analyze and represent the complexities of water systems. These models fill gaps where USGS observations are unavailable, covering the conterminous United States (lower 48 states) and soon extending to Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.
All NWDC datasets currently cover past conditions over multiple decades, and are standardized to 12-digit [WBD] hydrologic unit code (HUC12) watersheds and monthly timesteps…”
#opendata #monitoring #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #fedscience #publicgood #water #hydrology #waterresources #watermanagement #change #model #modeling #USA #NationalWaterAvailabilityAssessment #NWDC #CONUS #USGS #USGS_water
@USGS

📲 Our privacy and choice are slowly eroded by the profit-seeking technology.

#privacy #privacymatters #mentalprivacy #physicalprivacy #biotech #freedomofchoice #publicgood #privatisation

📲 Our privacy and choice are slowly eroded by the profit-seeking technology.

#privacy #privacymatters #mentalprivacy #physicalprivacy #biotech #freedomofchoice #publicgood #privatisation

📲 Our privacy and choice are slowly eroded by the profit-seeking technology.

#privacy #privacymatters #mentalprivacy #physicalprivacy #biotech #freedomofchoice #publicgood #privatisation

📲 Our privacy and choice are slowly eroded by the profit-seeking technology.

#privacy #privacymatters #mentalprivacy #physicalprivacy #biotech #freedomofchoice #publicgood #privatisation

📲 Our privacy and choice are slowly eroded by the profit-seeking technology.

#privacy #privacymatters #mentalprivacy #physicalprivacy #biotech #freedomofchoice #publicgood #privatisation

Reuters: Big Tech turns to Sesame Street, Girl Scouts to deflect scrutiny over kids’ screen time. “Meta and Google enlisted trusted children’s brands such as Sesame Street, Girl Scouts and Highlights magazine to teach kids to use technology in moderation – even as the companies designed apps that made it difficult for those same young users to unplug, public statements and internal documents […]

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

Happy US Public Service Recognition Week!
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https://2026.ourpublicservice.org/public-service-recognition-week
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To every #publicservant that contributes to the #public’s #wellbeing and #prosperity, at every level of #government - be that #industry, #science, #agriculture, #fisheries, #ecology, #naturalresources, #environmental, #qualityoflife, #publicsafety, #publichealth, #wastedisposal, #waterresources, #foodsecurity, #planning, #policy, and SO much more…
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“Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) 2026 takes place May 3–9, celebrating federal, state, county, local, and tribal government employees who strengthen communities. It honors dedicated professionals—from first responders and teachers to public administrators—who provide essential services…”
#publicservice #publicgood #fedservice #opendata #taxpayervalue #publicsupport #farming #GIS #spatial #mapping #nation #national #USA

All humanity should benefit from Helium-3, our new 'petroleum.' If, for example, SpaceX became the elite with the infrastructure, they should handle responsibility, accountability, and very high criticism, especially if SpaceX became the sole miner of the Moon because no others did.

#Helium3 #SpaceX #Moon #Energy #Accountability #Monopoly #Future #Science #Ethics #Policy #Sustainability #SpaceEconomy #Technology #Justice #Resources #Cosmos #Innovation #Society #Global #PublicGood #ClimateChange

School Library Journal: Librarians Must Step Up As Data Disappears. “Public data underpins research, journalism, policy, and civic understanding. It functions much like a public library. Quiet. Foundational. Often unnoticed until constrained. If shared facts depend on institutional stability, then protecting public data is not a technical concern. It is a civic obligation. When the reference […]

School Library Journal: Librarians Must Step Up As Data Disappears. “Public data underpins research, journalism, policy, and civic understanding. It functions much like a public library. Quiet. Foundational. Often unnoticed until constrained. If shared facts depend on institutional stability, then protecting public data is not a technical concern. It is a civic obligation. When the reference […]

School Library Journal: Librarians Must Step Up As Data Disappears. “Public data underpins research, journalism, policy, and civic understanding. It functions much like a public library. Quiet. Foundational. Often unnoticed until constrained. If shared facts depend on institutional stability, then protecting public data is not a technical concern. It is a civic obligation. When the reference […]

School Library Journal: Librarians Must Step Up As Data Disappears. “Public data underpins research, journalism, policy, and civic understanding. It functions much like a public library. Quiet. Foundational. Often unnoticed until constrained. If shared facts depend on institutional stability, then protecting public data is not a technical concern. It is a civic obligation. When the reference […]

School Library Journal: Librarians Must Step Up As Data Disappears. “Public data underpins research, journalism, policy, and civic understanding. It functions much like a public library. Quiet. Foundational. Often unnoticed until constrained. If shared facts depend on institutional stability, then protecting public data is not a technical concern. It is a civic obligation. When the reference […]

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

U.S. Geological Survey [#USGS] Geomagnetic Variometer Data - Capitalizing On Seismic Infrastructure
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https://doi.org/10.1785/0220250185 <-- shared paper
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#geomagnetic #geomagnetism #USGS #USA #CONUS #seismology #seismograph #measurement #spatialanalysis #spatial #stations #SeismographicNetwork #magneticfield #readings #spatiotemporal #magnetometer #collabration #spaceweather #risk #hazard #colocation #magneticstorm #earthquake #interdisciplinary #research #sampling #multidisciplinary #fielddata #mapping #GIS #cohosted #corrleation #sampling #fedscience #fedservice #publicgood
#USGS

New USGS Map Offers An Interactive Look At The Rocks Beneath Our Feet
The Cooperative National Geologic Map is an interactive tool that builds on both cutting-edge technology and decades of mapping by geoscientists.
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https://eos.org/articles/new-usgs-map-offers-an-interactive-look-at-the-rocks-beneath-our-feet <-- shared EOS-source technical article
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https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/nationalgeology/#lat=37.0000&lng=-97.5000&zoom=5&theme=esurf&symbology=synthesis <-- shared @USGS resource
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[recognising that I posted something similar earlier ~smile~]
#GIS #spatial #mapping #data #fedopendata #fedscience #geologicmap #geology #webmap #geologicdata #energy #minerals #mining #waterresources #hydrology #risk #hazard #landuse #infrastructure #planning #realestate #insurance #rock #sediment #mapunits #compilation #criticalminerals #economicgeology #nation #mobile #fieldwork #interactivewebtool #publicgood #online #state #federal #map #usecase #energy #resources #CooperativeNationalGeologicMap #USGS #mainland #CONUS
@USGS

Spotted on LinkedIn: Adopt a Station. From the front page: “Congress has voted to rescind public media’s funding. Help preserve independent journalism and community programming across America by adopting a station.” You can either select an NPR station by state or discover stations which have lost significant revenue and need immediate help.

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/07/22/spotted-on-linkedin-adopt-a-station/