Joe Manning

Joe Manning

@joemanning1.bsky.social

Professor, Climate historian, climber, lover of intelligence and common sense, great friends, burgundy wines, books, opera, love, travel, truth, light, justice

45 followers58 following102 posts

Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

we keep building chip plants and data centers both of which are high demand water. Water agreements made in the 1920s during a pluvial- poor policy decisions catching up to us #water #climatechange. U.S. Raises Threat of Steep Water Cuts in Lower Colorado River Basin www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/c...

nytimes.comU.S. Raises Threat of Steep Water Cuts in Lower Colorado River BasinA federal plan would impose drastic water cuts on Arizona, California and Nevada in dry years over the next decade. A legal battle could follow.
Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

J. Peeters, T.G. Winkels, P. Wolf, T.B.B. Skuldbøl, E.L. Chamberlain, S. Büchner-Matthews, S.M. Elamin, E.A. Mohamed, & G. Emberling, Holocene Nile dynamics shaped the physical and cultural landscape of ancient Nubia, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 123 (18) e2529986123, doi.org/10.1073/pnas... (2026)

doi.orgPNASProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

Great new work on Nile River dynamics, History, Archaeology and climate science makes the #Nile river basin the best place to study Human-Natural System interactions. #climatescience #History

Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

Bill Gates just announced he's scaling back his climate work to focus on health and poverty instead. Climate activists are calling it "soft denial." But as a climate historian, I think Gates is onto something important—and his critics are missing the point. 🧵

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Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

Gates's pivot isn't retreat—it's recognizing what makes climate action possible. Climate activists fixated on near-term emissions targets are missing the bigger picture. Dead populations don't fight climate change.

Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

Full piece on LinkedIn if you want the deeper dive into some of the historical evidence (forthcoming book with W.W. Norton goes much deeper):https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/bill-gates-right-you-cant-fight-climate-change-dying-joe-manning-uijvc

Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

Bill Gates just announced he's scaling back his climate work to focus on health and poverty instead. Climate activists are calling it "soft denial." But as a climate historian, I think Gates is onto something important—and his critics are missing the point. 🧵

View full thread
Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

Adaptation requires both political will AND human capacity. Pandemics and poverty destroy that capacity. You can't implement renewable energy transitions or build resilient infrastructure with dying population

Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

This pattern holds across 12,000 years of human civilization. Societies that treated climate, health, and poverty as competing priorities failed. Those that survived recognized them as prerequisites for each other.

Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

Bill Gates just announced he's scaling back his climate work to focus on health and poverty instead. Climate activists are calling it "soft denial." But as a climate historian, I think Gates is onto something important—and his critics are missing the point. 🧵

View full thread
Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

The historical record proves this. Take Europe in the 14th century: the Black Death killed 30-60% of the population just as the Little Ice Age began. You'd think fewer people = less environmental pressure. Wrong.

Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

The plague destroyed exactly what climate adaptation requires: human capital. Engineers, farmers, administrators, innovators—all dead. Villages abandoned. Infrastructure collapsed. The knowledge needed to manage land and water disappeared with the dying.

Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

Bill Gates just announced he's scaling back his climate work to focus on health and poverty instead. Climate activists are calling it "soft denial." But as a climate historian, I think Gates is onto something important—and his critics are missing the point. 🧵

Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

For the past two decades, Gates has been a major voice on climate action. His foundation has spent billions on climate tech and adaptation. So this pivot matters. Where his resources flow shapes global priorities.

Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

But here's what the critics miss: Gates isn't abandoning climate science. He's recognizing that climate action, public health, and poverty reduction aren't separate problems. They're inseparable.

Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

Japan says powerful quake has hit near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, issues a tsunami advisory A major volcanic region….@VICS Wondering what might follow. #volcanicforcing #volcanoesandhistory

Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

I’m already tired of nice words from democratic “leaders” and corporate law firms—those who don’t fight in these next few months Trump’s fascism can fuck right off. We will lose our democracy, and sooner than they think.

Chuck Schumer@schumer.senate.gov

Trump’s dark-of-night action strips away the ability of hardworking Americans to bargain for better wages and benefits A dagger to the heart of the middle class Everything Trump does is in service to his billionaires’ club, while eroding the American dream for working families

Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

Nope, nothing comes to Mind. Corrupt. Oligarch.

Steve Benen@stevebenen.com

I'm trying to think of a coherent defense for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urging the public to buy a specific stock tied to the president's top campaign donor. Nothing is coming to mind. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

msnbc.comWhy is Trump’s Commerce secretary urging the public to buy Tesla stock?Howard Lutnick told a national television audience to buy a specific stock tied to the sitting president’s top campaign donor.
Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

A massive political mistake. No more decorum, no more pathetic leadership . Time to fight back hard while we still can. In six months it’s over. Where are our leaders?

The New York Times@nytimes.com

Breaking News: Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, said he would vote for a Republican-written stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown. Follow live updates.

nytimes.comTrump Administration Live Updates: Judge Orders Thousands of Federal Workers Reinstated

Joe Manning reposted

Jesse Eisinger
@jeisinger.bsky.social

Some "Russian Warship" vibes here from a tiny fed'l agency. via Brett Murphy: The African Development Foundation (budget ~$40 million) is putting up a fight and denying DOGE + Pete Marocco — the State Dept official dismantling USAID — access to their building:

Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

So let’s not worry about decorum Congressman. Trump is dismantling democracy- we must have hard pushback now. Nothing short of it.

Acyn@acyn.bsky.social

Rep. Jim Himes: Zelenskyy is watching 70,000 dead Ukrainians. Missiles are slamming into hospitals. This is what he’s seeing, and he comes to the Oval Office, and a reporter asks him why he’s not wearing a suit. And the effing VP wants him to say thank you…

Joe Manning
@joemanning1.bsky.social

We already know the gutless party of Russian appeasement is weak. @gop has betrayed all of us

Allison Gill@muellershewrote.com

NEW: Senator Marshall (R-KS) RUNS AWAY, fleeing his own town hall after being asked about DOGE firing Veterans. MAKE HIM GO VIRAL.