James Dinneen

In my newsletter this month I wrote about some fascinating research that identifies what is probably the deepest effect of human activity on Earth: northeastsouthwest.substack.com/p/how-the-anth…

Since 2015, freshwater loss from land — mainly from pumping groundwater — has contributed more to sea level rise than melt from Antarctic ice sheet. 🧪 newscientist.com/article/249000…

I don't think New Yorkers are disappointed by this mayoral field. They're voting, volunteering, cheering, gaming it out, endorsing ranked slates, coming to rallies, writing original songs, having look-alike contests, hugging the candidates in the street! cityandstateny.com/opinion/2025/0…

There was lots of concern when we learned the land carbon sink in 2023 virtually disappeared due to fire, heat, and drought. Early estimates suggest it happened again in 2024 -- but for different reason.🧪 newscientist.com/article/248966…

By one estimate, the world generates enough organic waste for this approach to remove as much as 5 billion tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year, enough to meet much of the CO2 removals needed to get to net zero emissions. 🧪newscientist.com/article/248961…

Cleaning up aerosol pollution is critical for public health. But reducing aerosols is also unmasking warming from greenhouse gases - researchers here find this influence is strongest in populated places. 🧪newscientist.com/article/248904…

This could be a big deal for farmers and CO2 removal: the centuries-old practice of liming has long been counted as a major source of emissions, but with proper accounting it might actually help remove large amounts of CO2 from the air. newscientist.com/article/248891…

The strongest of the infamous New England gales known as nor’easters have gotten even stronger since the 1940s, likely due to warming ocean temperatures. New work by @MichaelEMann etal. newscientist.com/article/248808…

"Nor'easters slamming New England are growing more powerful" | Piece by James Dinneen (@JamesNESW) in @newscientist on our new @pnas.org article: newscientist.com/article/248808…

New modeling suggests that meeting even the 2°C Paris Agreement climate target will be virtually impossible without a huge expansion of CO2 removal/capture technologies, alongside aggressive emissions cuts.🧪 newscientist.com/article/248773…

Reflecting also on the sheer amount of people, effort, and money serious field work like this epic NSF-funded project requires. Reliable weather forecasts and weather data don't just fall from the sky!!

Dozens of meteorologists have just concluded the largest ever study of extreme hail after 42 days of storm-chasing across the US Great Plains. New Scientist's @jamesNESW rode into one of the most extreme storms the campaign encountered. Watch more: newscientist.com/video/2487650-…

I rode along with the meteorologists chasing the world's most extreme hail storms across the Great Plains in a massive effort improve our forecasts of these damaging events. Thanks to all involved in @nsf_icechip for having us. Had a hail of a good time. youtube.com/watch?v=u_Ci6-…

Disappearing snowpack across cold forests of the north could substantially slow their growth, in what researchers say is an overlooked consequence of climate change. 🧪🌍 newscientist.com/article/248706…

MethaneSAT has lost power less than a year and a half after it was launched. Its loss is a major blow to efforts to track and stop emissions of the potent greenhouse gas. newscientist.com/article/248663…

Geologists have long debated whether this formation in Canada contains the world's oldest rocks – new measurements make a compelling case that they do. 🧪🌍 newscientist.com/article/248595…

Spider-like creatures living near methane seeps on the seafloor appear to cultivate and consume microbial species on their bodies that feed on the energy-rich gas. newscientist.com/article/248535…

“What if the rockets explode at the surface?” says Yu. “That’s a valid concern.” newscientist.com/article/248444…

A British biotech firm says it has collected genetic data from a million new microbial species living in extreme environments to train a "ChatGPT of biology". newscientist.com/article/248432…