Raed Mansour

Mod/Unhealthy AQ today, driven by pollution, not 🔥 Guess where: ⬆️ 🏭 & ⬇️🌳 Warmer fall days followed by cool nights creates a fast temp inversion; cold heavy air gets pinned at street level by warm air layer, like an #UHI blanket & traps PM2.5. #ClimateChange intensifies these stagnant conditions.

‘Pure arrogance’: anger in Finland as Google illegally fells 250,000 trees for datacentre

@raedmansour.com thanks for the ADD 🌱 to the "Vegans" custom feed list ! bsky.app/profile/did:...

"It was shocking and heartbreaking to see how it can add up," said Annette Prince, director of Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, which estimates that thanks to favorable weather, over five million migratory birds passed through Cook County Friday night alone.

Our Openlands Op-Ed in today's @chicagotribune.com — Advocates: #Nature is an essential part of the strategy for growth in Chicago. 🎁

Happy World Migratory Bird Day!! 🌏 While your favorite plover family’s migratory journey is done for the year, billions of birds worldwide are still on the move. These incredible journeys across countries and continents highlight how conservation is always a cooperative, global effort.

We’re ~ 8 billion humans. We raise and kill 70-80 *billion* land animals for food per year (and kill many, many more aquatic animals!). If we all went vegan, all ~850 M hungry people in the world could be fed 🙌🏻 Existing cropland could feed four billion more… ⬇️ www.sciencedaily.com/releases/201...

Trees save lives. Using data on temperature, tree canopy cover, demographics & mortality in Chicago from 2011-2021, researchers found that “neighborhoods with increasing year-to-year tree canopy had lower associated death rates.” 🌳 Learn more: doi.org/10.1029/2025... #urbanforestry #urbanforests

Huge El Niño projected to cause 450,000 deaths in next six months

"As wildfire smoke events become the norm even for areas geographically distant from the source, U.S. cities need to prepare with the same practiced vigilance they apply to snowstorms, and the time to prepare is now — not after the smoke and its attendant damage have arrived," writes Melissa Fiffer.

Unexpectedly walked by a female ruby-throated #Hummingbird taking advantage of the nectar blooms before migrating south at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Had to slow video down by 50% just to see them better. They're so fast! #Birds #BirdOfTheDay

The world needs your creativity and perspective. 🌍 Share your proposal for a greener, healthier Chicago at chi.gov/ycaf

Did people forget what he’s done? Closed schools, mental health & primary care clinics, HIV/STI staff cut$, public health cut$, dissolved Environment Dept, CPD coverup, & more & that’s just Chicago! Good summary, Lumpen Field Guide to Chicago Jagoffs, 2/2015: www.lumpenmagazine.org/back-issues/...

There are precious few wild places left in Illinois. We should zealously protect those that remain. Instead, USDA wants to repeal the Roadless Rule, putting 10,666 acres of the Shawnee National Forest at risk. 🧵 gift link to the @chicagotribune.com:

Heat deaths are preventable. Need more policies to prevent deaths, but also city cooling centers are underutilized. Govts fall into a sunk cost fallacy, performatively using them to check a box because they already invested in them. Time to shift funding, invest in trusted community centers instead.

“What scientists do agree on, however, is that 2026 has been extremely—and concerningly—hot.” via @sciam.bsky.social at www.scientificamerican.com/article/2026...

LIHEAP has a 1980s statutory weather bias for winter. Time to balance this antiquated formula the Feds and States use, to include cooling degree days to cover summer electric bills too. Most die due to extreme heat and climate change is not slowing it down. And yes, feds also need to fund it more.

We fear a more powerful intelligence taking our resources, reshaping our world, and eliminating us when we become inconvenient. Wildlife has been living with that intelligence for a very long time. New Substack Essay: The Real Fear: AI Is Like Humans

Chicagoans have filed hundreds of complaints about the lack of air conditioning in buildings across the city.

A data center in New Jersey spilled 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel into a local creek, putting the area’s entire river system at risk. Is it any wonder nearly 70 percent of Americans don’t want a data center in their community?

After a month off, Bey is back! With a column about the winners announced today of World Business Chicago's design competition.

Study finds structural inequality predicts storm deaths & injuries. Disaster preparedness shouldn't begin with forecasts, it begins by investing in communities facing greatest structural disadvantages. Climate vulnerability is socially produced and therefore socially reversible according to authors.

Big manufacturers planning to produce more of the forever chemicals to meet demand from datacenters

Another year full of climate extremes... Did you know the last 100 days have all set new daily records for global sea surface temperatures? Learn more about our rapidly warming oceans in our webinar this week, & bring your questions! 📣 Register in advance: climatecentral-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

As we tick down to Plover Appreciation Day this Wednesday, September 16, our fundraising meter is ticking up and we are, as always, grateful. We are so close to reaching 50% of our fundraising goal! 1/2

In their new study, Garcia et al. find that planting and maintaining trees, particularly in hotter neighborhoods, could lower mortality and make communities more resilient to rising temperatures. 🌳 🔗 Learn more: doi.org/10.1029/2025... #AGUPubs #ExtremeHeat #Chicago #PublicHealth

What's up with lawn culture, dumping pesticides onto a public parkway's dead grass and placing a private sign on it? These toxins harm our parkway trees, neighbors, pets, urban wildlife, and beneficial pollinators. Lawns are ecologically dead. Stop poisoning the public right-of-way. #KillYourLawn

If only billionaires exhibited the same love for trees as they do for the riches they extracted by destroying forests.

Three species of Arctic #seals now face extinction due to global warming, while half the planet’s birds are in decline due to habitat loss. The hooded seal is listed as endangered; the bearded #seal and harp seal are near-threatened. @science.ubc.ca www.cnn.com/2025/10/10/s... via @cnn.com

Huge bird migration going on over Wisconsin & Midwest right now: 🐦‍⬛Wisconsin 93.1 million birds 🐦‍⬛Illinois 35.6 million birds 🐦‍⬛Minnesota 35.2 million birds 🐦‍⬛Michigan 30.8 million bird Turn #LightsOut to save migrating birds!

Chicago has been ranked the most climate-resilient city in the world!🎉Thanks to infrastructure investment, Chicago is now more equipped to withstand climate change's impacts. But there's still more work to do. We're committed to working with community & partners to ensure every neighborhood is safe.

Happy World Shorebirds Day! This global initiative is dedicated to shorebirds, migration, and the habitats these birds depend upon. It encourages a stronger connection between people and shorebirds - not only through conservation but observation. Source: www.worldshorebirdsday.org/world-shoreb...

On #NationalWildlifeDay, let’s take a moment to remember what we’re fighting for: a future where all wild animals are able to roam, choose their families, and live without fear of persecution. 🔗Learn more about ways to continue the fight for wildlife: https://nywolf.org/save-the-wolves/

no big deal

Chicago, the next few days are projected to have high temperatures in the 90s. Certain populations are more vulnerable to heat. Check out other heat preparedness tips and resources from CDPH at https://chi.gov/4opsdQQ

Great reporting on the latest @buffett.northwestern.edu Defusing Disasters study on heat-related diagnoses in Chicago ER visits. It shows that extreme heat’s health toll extends far beyond heat stroke, with a surprisingly wide range of conditions showing up in emergency and urgent care.

Our bad decisions have come home to roost.

🔥 Heat Advisory! 🔥 Expect heat index values of 100-110 across multiple counties in Chicago from noon to 9 PM today. Stay hydrated, cool, and check on loved ones. Alter outdoor plans if possible. Stay safe, folks!

Chicago itself will likely be spared the hottest heat index of nearly 105 degrees, which is expected to hit the south suburbs on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Climate literacy isn’t about memorizing facts. It’s about understanding risks, asking better questions, preparing for change, and participating in decisions that affect your community. Climate knowledge belongs to everyone. www.climate.us

Science behind this is good, but warnings still go unheeded. While everyone bickers about causes & who’s to blame, frontline communities will continue to bear the brunt of climate change. Little will happen until it affects corporations, rich, and shrinking middle class. By then, it’ll be too late.

Here's how the twisters form, and how climate change might be influencing them.

Science sets the record straight! 🌲🔬 Landmark fossil research in @guardian proves that high CO2 spikes cause forests to collapse rather than "green" the planet. Protecting our trees means cutting fossil fuel emissions now! #StandWithScience #CleanAirNow www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Drove thru CA's Humboldt forest, saw Montgomery Pass wild horses running free, as well as Sinbad herd in UT's San Rafael Swell 📸👇. Wild Free-Roaming Horses Act protects them from being killed on public lands—loophole allows commercial slaughter pipelines. Take action➡️ returntofreedom.org/take-action

I’m not as happy as I used to be when seeing my photo of the CDC in the media because I took it while visiting a friend who was chief of staff to the director back in 2016 doing great work, and now it’s a reminder that it’s a shell of what it used to be. Read: www.smdailyjournal.com/news/nationa...

More trees are good for your health, but more big, old trees are even better. Yes, we should plant more trees but let's take good care of the ones that we already have too. Free gift article from The NYTimes www.nytimes.com/2026/08/20/c...

30 min of very good @pbsnews.org scientific discussion likely to upset hunters, outdoor cat supporters, lawn maintainers, bug-killer users, habitat-destroying developers, lights-on-at-nighters, skyscraper lovers, climate deniers, anthropocentric, isolationist governments, and I’m here for it. #birds

38 years and counting. That's how long the world's mountain glaciers have now lost ice, without a single year of net gain. This graph tracks the annual gain or loss of ice mass in the WGMS "reference glacier" network (grey bars) alongside the cumulative loss over the same period (red line). [1/3] 🌎️🧪