Gaythia Weis @Gaythia@qoto.org
Retired Analytical Chemist
League of Women Voters -voting methods, election security
Board Member Colorado Citizens for Science
Joined Oct 2022
Gaythia Weis
boosted
Within my own lifetime, the last 50 years, nearly 80% of the CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels, and close to 60 percent of all GHG emissions have been released.
There's been a near 70% decline in populations of existing wildlife species; and across the 8 million animal and plant species on earth, the human-induced extinction rate is now estimated at tens to hundreds of times greater than natural rates.
#BiodiversityDay reminds us that the profound crises we confront are just different sides of the same coin, and that our future is truly in our hands. The planet doesn't need us: we are the ones who rely on it for all the air we breathe, the water we drink, the resources we need. That's why our choices matter more today than ever: the path to a better future lies through these crises.
Read my essay here: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/one-planet-two-crises-tackling-climate-change-and-biodiversity-in-the-fight-for-our-future/
Gaythia Weis
boosted
Yesterday in 1887, a group of horse thieves killed over 30 Chinese gold miners in Hells Canyon in far eastern #Oregon.
Gaythia Weis
boosted
@ingalls The 1871 Wisconsin Peshtigo fire is part of my family folklore. People forget that wildland fires are not necessarily just a western North America phenomena.
@freemo Now that I have these on I will leave them for a while. But I also have a pair of comfy sort of Birkenstock style toe separation sandals. I'll try to remember to post that sometime.
@freemo I have the velcro closing version. I posted it but couldn't get it to do so in a reply.
Gaythia Weis
boosted
Business leaders: We can't find enough workers!
Workers: You could pay more.
Business: Nope.
Workers: Better benefits?
Business: No.
Workers: More flexible hours?
Business: No way.
Workers: Treat your current employees better to build your employer brand?
Business: Never.
Workers: Well, what's left?!
Business: Child labor!
https://apnews.com/article/iowa-governor-child-labor-laws-e8cb29e2a45b956489c4a192b7ddeba5
“I’m not an expert,” she said. “I’m not a reader. I’m not a book person...." This sure seems to be true. The book is only 29 pages long and has maybe 10 or so lines per page. Hard to imagine managing to find the lines to object to without just reading all of it. Following someone else's instructions?
Florida mom who challenged Amanda Gorman poem and other books says she only read parts of the material https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/05/28/daily-salinas-amanda-gorman-poem/70265234007/
@freemo I think that we can afford to take care of people and the environment, all of which is investing in the future, and that the main issue is the Trumpian tax cuts.
@freemo Hmm you are inspiring me to dig around in my closet for my pair.
Gaythia Weis
boosted
When my down-south cousin said "I seen them army ants all the time" I assumed that he didn't know what he was talking about. To me "army ants" were tropical exotic creatures. Need to catch a plane to see army ants. Right?
Well? I was wrong. Many species of army ants are from North America, mostly Neivamyrmex-- they do all the army ant things: make bivouac, raid en mass, be blind, have males like flying sausages (or cocktail pickles), they even run around carrying their brood!
"House Republicans have now used the debt limit twice to create a hostage-like situation that brings the nation close to an unthinkable default. " "The debt limit itself needs to be scrapped. " https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/28/debt-limit-deal-future/
Gaythia Weis
boosted
"The problem with the Supreme Court is that they're in a fact-free zone as well as an ethics-free zone." https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/whitehouse-supreme-court-fact-free-ethics-free-zone-1234743537/
Gaythia Weis
boosted
6 (!) years ago, @timnitGebru put forward a profound idea for AI research: document your training data. To say she was treated like shit would be putting it lightly. If she had been respected like her male peers were, imagine what a different path AI could have taken.
Gaythia Weis
boosted
Look closely and you’ll see this parasitic Anastatus wasp’s ovipositor penetrating one of the stink bug eggs.
Gaythia Weis
boosted
@boby_biq @StillIRise1963
My elderly father and I are caring for my elderly mother, who has dementia. She cannot go to the bathroom by herself, and we are not women.
Lack of gender neutral bathrooms can be a great hindrance to us.
Gaythia Weis
boosted
Colorado Becomes the First State to Limit Court Use of Family Reunification Camps
==
A new bill restricts the use of reunification programs and requires domestic violence training for experts in custody cases. Lawmakers credit ProPublica’s reporting for exposing the need for reforms in the family court system.
#Colorado #Custody #Parents #Divorce #Kids #Courts Families #DomesticViolence #Reunification #FamilyCourt
Gaythia Weis
boosted
On Monday, I wrote an essay about climate and biodiversity for Scientific American. I tracked proportional engagement, calculated as (likes + shares + comments)/followers, over six social media platforms.
The winner? MASTODON, by a landslide.
Second place? INSTAGRAM. It's harder to share posts on IG, but lot of people like things there!
The loser? FACEBOOK, also by a landslide. On Facebook, I've been shadow-banned since August 2018 when they listed clean energy and climate as "socially sensitive topics" so my page there stopped growing 6 years ago and now only about 1% of my followers there ever see my posts. It's actually too bad, because that's the platform where I reach the most conservative audiences through their connections to friends and family. So even though it's dead last, I still persist.
Gaythia Weis
boosted
In absolute terms, both Mastodon and Instagram punch above their weight. Twitter and LI are just below. And FB is, no surprise, extremely low.
Retired Analytical Chemist
League of Women Voters -voting methods, election security
Board Member Colorado Citizens for Science
Joined Oct 2022
