masbenmaas.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

Neat story about chert from Grand Meadow (south of Rochester) and the Dakota peoples. Around Grand Meadow there are old quarries used by the Dakota to get the chert. The chert, unique to the area, has been found in the Black Hills and Great Lakes region. www.startribune.com/ancient-dako...

submitted 14 hours ago • 0 comments

No

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

I cannot believe that I had to work today during peak Elon and Trump divorce... It's been hard to get caught up on all the hot takes and 💩 posts!

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

WE SHOULD STOP BOTH OF THEM THEN

submitted 3 days ago • 2 comments

"Overuse and climate change are rapidly depleting groundwater throughout the region, but aquifers are not part of the negotiations among the seven basin states to cut back water use" Seems like more people should be concerned about this

submitted 4 days ago • 2 comments

Geronimo Energy (formerly National Grid Renewables) has filed an application for a 150 megawatt solar / 150 MW battery project in Martin County. About 1,000 acres, enough power for 32,067 households. www.edockets.state.mn.us/documents/%7...

submitted 3 days ago • 3 comments

Reported first on @civileats.com: In the notice, USDA said the regs are “obsolete,” but they were also one of the only potential sources of data on when, where, and how “restricted use” pesticides are used. civileats.com/2025/06/03/u...

submitted 3 days ago • 2 comments

🎵 Going to the auto wash bowl🎵

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

It looks like this morning's smoke front produced the worst air quality readings on record in the Twin Cities. MPCA sensors showed an air quality index of 272 in Minneapolis today. More details in the post below. #mnwx www.mprnews.org/story/2025/0...

submitted 4 days ago • 1 comment

Just for future reference for anyone with central air, the filter you want for wildfire smoke is rated MERV 13

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

Well, corn doesn't go to "feeding and fueling the world" "Only about 1% of Nebraska’s corn is grown primarily for human consumption – popcorn, sweet corn and white corn." About 35% is used for ethanol production. But the energy balance of ethanol is negative (more energy to produce than get out)

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

If you can stay inside today, that would be a very good decision for your lungs and for your health. If you need to go outside, wear an N95 mask! 😷 Air quality (AQI) readings are about 250 and are in the 'very unhealthy' level. Today's outdoor air quality is equivalent to smoking 8.9 cigarettes.

submitted 4 days ago • 1 comment

So…about AI’s energy use… “…to create a five-second video, a newer AI model uses ‘about 3.4 million joules, more than 700 times the energy required to generate a high-quality image’. That's the equivalent of running a microwave for over an hour.”

submitted 16 days ago • 103 comments

Always good to hear @claymasters.bsky.social on MPR. It's still a little weird hearing him in the afternoon, and not during morning edition, but his puns are always on brand.

submitted 9 days ago • 0 comments

I wrote about a scandal in the Big Beautiful Bill that should really be shocking even if it isn’t surprising. Replacing jet fuel with corn and soybeans doesn’t pencil out for the climate, so Congress wants to take away the government’s pencils. @yalee360.bsky.social e360.yale.edu/features/cor...

submitted 11 days ago • 8 comments

One of the best ways of spotting lizards is to look for them. Often, they’ll see and hear you before you can do either. Can you #FindThatLizard ?!

submitted 14 days ago • 5 comments

This gives a whole new meaning to the term 'oxidation - reduction reaction'...

submitted 12 days ago • 0 comments

Central Illinois is experiencing an increase in dust storms that rivals the most arid parts of the country. This was 22 million acres of rich, wet, tallgrass prairie! We've made it a corn and soy desert! climatecrisis247.com/gallery/from...

submitted 17 days ago • 2 comments

Hydrology Paper of the Day @geoallen.bsky.social on how SWOT remote sensing data can characterize flow waves generated by water inputs to a river: length estimation from a single SWOT observation; examples from three rivers and comparisons with flow gauges; and noise, errors, biases and filtering.

submitted 19 days ago • 0 comments

Landfill leachate contains PFAS, benzene, vinyl chloride, and 1,4-dioxane. This unlined landfill is next to a quarry and the Minnesota River. The quarry is dewatered to mine it. That water is used by the City of Burnsville for part of its drinking water supply. www.startribune.com/burnsville-d...

submitted 20 days ago • 2 comments

Another example from yesterday demonstrates the @nws.noaa.gov’s Storm Prediction Center’s exceptional expertise. This, along with WFOs, national centers, and more, is just $4 per year per person. I extend my condolences to those who lost loved ones yesterday. 😔 #SevereWeather #NWS #Meteorology

submitted 21 days ago • 4 comments

In early April, a Chevron well on a pad near Galeton suffered a “blowout,” and spewed water, chemicals and crude oil uncontrollably for nearly four days. The spill reached an elementary school, roadways, multiple properties, and created an oily sheen in nearby waterways.

submitted 21 days ago • 5 comments

This article was an interesting read as it focused on how the students view professors using AI tools in the classroom. Students really don't like it when professors can use AI and they cannot. My own opinion is AI has no place in the classroom and I do not use it. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/t...

submitted 22 days ago • 0 comments

For those with gas stoves who can't afford to renovate their kitchens and go all-electric, you can buy an inexpensive portable induction stove and eliminate most of this deadly pollution.

submitted 22 days ago • 0 comments

Have I used AI in my writing? No. Have I used AI in other work? No. Have I talked about AI w/ students? No. Do I feel a responsibility to “prepare” students for AI? No. Do I feel bad about any of the above? No. It’s just not a thing for me. Maybe it will be one day but until then, I’m fine.

submitted 22 days ago • 3 comments

Last week the Calstate Northridge Faculty Senate passed a resolution I led, objecting to the CSU's adoption of ChatGPT Edu as undermining our educational goals and misusing scarce funds, calling for the CSU to drop the $16.9 million subscription live-csu-northridge.pantheonsite.io/sites/defaul...

submitted 23 days ago • 7 comments

We prioritize the Great Lakes over the Mississippi River. Right now, more invasive species are moving FROM the Great Lakes INTO the Mississippi than the other way around. Yet the $1.1 billion tech barrier does nothing to stop them. It only stops UPSTREAM movement.

submitted 28 days ago • 3 comments