Christian Elliott

Christian Elliott

@christianelliott.me

Science journalist & audio producer / Making podcasts at NASA / Other words in Nat Geo, The Atlantic, the NYT, Science, bioGraphic, Undark, etc. / Iowan 🌽 Views expressed here are my own. Portfolio: christianelliott.me

5.8K followers1.6K following813 posts

Christian Elliott reposted

Dan Vergano
@danvergano.bsky.social

Kudos to @christianelliott.me for winning the commentary award; a terrific piece. Honored @sciencewriters.org gave me a finalist nod in the category, a bit of a capstone to my brief stint as an opinion writer. Wild stuff.

Peter Aldhous@peteraldhous.com

Congrats to all winners @sciencewriters.org Science in Society Journalism Awards, including @ucscscicomm.bsky.social alum Zack Savitsky! www.nasw.org/2026Sciencei...

nasw.orgAnnouncing the 2026 NASW Science in Society Journalism Award winnersThe National Association of Science Writers and its Awards Committee are pleased to announce the winners of the <strong>2026 NASW Science in Society Journalism Awards.</strong> This year, NASW is awar...
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Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me

csbelliott I'm not typically an op-ed writer, but when I discovered the ways government subsidies prop up an unsustainable network of big agriculture operations, ethanol plants and carbon sequestration wells to hide their emissions underground, right in my backyard, I decided to write an essay.

Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me

And I'm so glad the good folks at @undark.org took this fledging idea for an essay on and helped shape it into a sharp, thoroughly-reported and fact-checked piece (as they always do!). You can (and should) read all the winning stories here:

nasw.orgAnnouncing the 2026 NASW Science in Society Journalism Award winnersThe National Association of Science Writers and its Awards Committee are pleased to announce the winners of the <strong>2026 NASW Science in Society Journalism Awards.</strong> This year, NASW is awar...
Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me

Here's what they had to say: “Combining reportage with personal experience, Elliott tells a nuanced story about not just the potential risks that the carbon sequestration plants pose to the environment, but also about how policy decisions about corn, ethanol, and climate are changing us."

Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me

East coast/Boston-area friends and space fans — I'll be in Concord, NH this weekend giving a keynote about #scicomm at NASA for the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center's annual AerospaceFest. Come through!

Christian Elliott reposted

Dr Dan Shugar 🇨🇦
@watershedlab.bsky.social

I spoke with @afp.com about the Nepal disaster and some of the conspiracy theories swirling around the cause (also feat @kristencook.bsky.social @glaciocook.bsky.social). ⚒️🧪 factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....

factcheck.afp.comHow an ice-rock avalanche caused the deadly China-Nepal floodsAt least 1,400 people were killed and more than 5,300 missing after catastrophic floods swept through the Himalayas in late August, according to Chinese and Nepali authorities. As emergency response t...
Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me

The "Roadless Rule" has protected nearly 60 million acres of National Forest land from new road construction (and the timber extraction that results) since it was adopted in 2001. It's been called the US Forest Service's "best idea." It saves the agency money and protects ecosystems. 1/6

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Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me

When the Roadless Rule was adopted in 2001, it followed an 18-month public comment period, with 600 community meetings held across the country. 95% of the 1.8 million comments the Forest Service collected were in favor of the rule. 5/6

Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me

The "Roadless Rule" has protected nearly 60 million acres of National Forest land from new road construction (and the timber extraction that results) since it was adopted in 2001. It's been called the US Forest Service's "best idea." It saves the agency money and protects ecosystems. 1/6

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Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me

The Forest Service says it's about wildfire prevention — more roads means easier access to National Forest lands to fight fires. But wildland firefighters (ones willing to speak out) say that's "bunk" — the only thing mid-slope roads are good for is logging. 3/6

Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me

Studies show road construction actually leads to more wildfire ignitions, because people are the biggest cause of fires. Critics of rescinding the rule say the move seems more about complying with executive orders pushing the "immediate expansion" of logging than about wildfire prevention. 4/6

Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me

The "Roadless Rule" has protected nearly 60 million acres of National Forest land from new road construction (and the timber extraction that results) since it was adopted in 2001. It's been called the US Forest Service's "best idea." It saves the agency money and protects ecosystems. 1/6

Christian Elliott reposted

Colin Schultz
@colinschultz.bsky.social

"A massive flood potentially caused by a chunk of ice breaking off from a glacier has swept away bridges, schools, and other buildings and killed at least 160 people" www.scientificamerican.com/article/wall...

scientificamerican.comWall of floodwater sweeps away villages in Nepal, with hundreds missingA massive flood potentially caused by a chunk of ice breaking off from a glacier has swept away bridges, schools, and other buildings and killed at least 160 people
Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me

While reporting on landslides for a National Geographic magazine feature, I met a man I knew I had to profile — Phil Gordon, a retired librarian who lives on a cliff that's slowly sliding into the sea. His solution? Moving his cabin by hand, inch by inch, away from the edge...

nationalgeographic.comPhil Gordon's House Will One Day Slide Off an Alaska Cliff. So He's Moving It Inch by Inch."Twenty-five years ago, when I first looked over the edge... I thought I was the kind of fool that should live here.”
Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me

Phil's story struck me because he's on the front line of the climate crisis, living on a literal and metaphorical cliff. There's no government agency or insurance company between him and oblivion. He's making hard decisions right now that we'll all have to face eventually.

Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me

New space telescope, new NASA podcast series... 🌌 With a field of view 100 times larger than Hubble's, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will settle essential questions in astronomy. So excited to see this series, which we've been working on for months, finally launch!

nasa.govRoman Series: NASA’s New View of the Dark UniverseMeet NASA’s newest space telescope. NASA scientists explain how Roman will help us understand dark energy, one of the most puzzling mysteries in space.
Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me

When the Earth's waters shift, so does solid ground. Now, mountains are moving, permafrost is melting, and the risk of landslides is rising. Warming, which began in the atmosphere and hydrosphere, has penetrated the geosphere, destabilizing land across the planet.

Christian Elliott reposted

Ben Young Landis
@younglandis.bsky.social

"...the Sacramento Valley... likely permanently lost its capacity to store water, researchers report today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences." (@christianelliott.me / @science.org) www.science.org/content/arti... #California #CALEG #Sacramento 🧪

science.orgA California aquifer may have crossed the point of no returnSatellite data reveal in unprecedented detail how groundwater reservoirs permanently lose their ability to store water

Christian Elliott reposted

Colin Schultz
@colinschultz.bsky.social

"On Friday, wildfires in Spain overran one of three observatories the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration uses to connect with spacecraft, including Voyager 1, the James Webb Space Telescope, and the recently completed Artemis mission around the Moon." www.wired.com/story/spanis...

wired.comOne of NASA’s Most Important Deep Space Observatories Hit by Spanish WildfiresFlames burned through the Deep Space Communications Complex near Madrid, but NASA has been unable to assess the damage as a wildfire emergency grips the region.
Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me

During a record-setting drought in California in 2021, satellite radar showed much of Sacramento Valley permanently subsided by more than half a meter — meaning a permanent loss in aquifer water storage capacity. Covered a new study in @pnas.org today for @science.org. 🧪

science.orgA California aquifer may have crossed the point of no returnSatellite data reveal in unprecedented detail how groundwater reservoirs permanently lose their ability to store water

Christian Elliott reposted

Dan Vergano
@danvergano.bsky.social

"...the recently announced layoffs at Scientific American have elicited shock, dismay, and grief throughout our science writing community." www.nasw.org/July2026soli...

nasw.orgNASW expresses solidarity with journalists facing layoffs and loss of freelance workTo the workers affected by this round of layoffs, both in terms of staff jobs and the loss of freelance work as a result of those eliminated positions, and to those still recovering from similar actio...

Christian Elliott reposted

Colin Schultz
@colinschultz.bsky.social

"On a more fundamental level, a vocal cohort of ecologists, historians and philosophers argues that the concepts of native and invasive species — which they equate with xenophobia and militarism — should be reworked or abandoned"

Ferris Jabr@ferrisjabr.bsky.social

For the @nytimes.com Magazine, I wrote about the increasingly fervent native plant movement; its esteemed guru, the entomologist and bestselling author Douglas Tallamy; and the complexities of ecologically responsible gardening in our modern era. Gift link 🎁 : www.nytimes.com/2026/07/07/m...

nytimes.comI Wanted an Ecologically Responsible Garden. It Was Harder Than I Thought.

Christian Elliott reposted

National Association of Science Writers (NASW)
@sciencewriters.org

Proposed rule revisions of federal grant guidelines by the OMB will limit transparency and the communication of scientific findings. Learn more: www.nasw.org/article... Honor America's 250th by letting your voice be heard. Log your opposition by July 13: www.regulations.gov/...

nasw.orgProposed OMB changes would gut science communication — Comment by July 13The U.S. Office of Management and Budget recently proposed extensive changes to [federal grant guidelines](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/29/2026-10817/regulation-for-federal-financial-assistance) that would severely restrict how scientists communicate their research findings to the public and American taxpayers.
Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me

One of my story sources found a copy of my Nat Geo piece on landslides in a cafe in Taiwan! Blowing my mind that people are finding and reading this story all over the world. 😍

Christian Elliott reposted

Colin Schultz
@colinschultz.bsky.social

"With the upcoming International Seabed Authority assembly meeting scheduled in July, all eyes will be on Canada to see if the government recognizes a responsibility to challenge [The Metals Company] and the U.S. government’s actions, or if it continues to remain silent."

The Tyee@thetyee.ca

A Canadian deep-sea mining company may become the first to commercially mine the international seabed under a controversial U.S. executive order that bypasses United Nations regulations. A recent legal analysis suggests that this could place Canada in violation of international law.

thetyee.caA Vancouver Company’s Role in the Race to Mine the Seabed | The TyeeThe US has set out to allow companies to bypass UN protections against risks in international waters.

Christian Elliott reposted

Kate Wong
@katewong.bsky.social

Today is my last day at Scientific American, which has been sold to LabX media group. For three decades I've led the magazine's coverage of human origins, archaeology, paleontology, animal behavior, ecology, BIRDS. End of an era. Anyway this feels weird to say, but I'm now available for assignments!

Christian Elliott reposted

Dan Vergano
@danvergano.bsky.social

Scientific American is being sold to LabX Media, publisher of Discover: group.springernature.com/gp/group/med... They've fired me and other union staff, ahead of June 26 vote ratification. My rates are suddenly more reasonable, if you need editing or reporting - Argonaut2026@gmail.com

group.springernature.comSpringer Nature to divest its consumer media businesses | Springer Nature Group | Springer NatureStrategic divestment of consumer media portfolio enables Springer Nature to focus on its core business Transaction supports the long-term development
Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me

Here's the thing: I don't care! I'm making my tiny scrap of land healthier for wildlife in the time it's mine. If people really think the above photo looks better than the below, I really don't know what to say lol.

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Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me

Here's the thing: I don't care! I'm making my tiny scrap of land healthier for wildlife in the time it's mine. If people really think the above photo looks better than the below, I really don't know what to say lol.