Ethan Freedman

Of the Asiatic subspecies. Many other cheetahs still in parts of Africa.

Huh, that does sound eerie

No juncos at all this winter?

Saving the Asiatic Cheetah: The rarest wildcat in the world | Felidae Conservation Fund Felidae Conservation Fund combines top research, community engagement, and education to help humans live in harmony with wild cats and restore ecosystems.

One thing I'm watching for in the wake of the war in Iran: what happens to the Asiatic cheetah. This subspecies now only lives in Iran, with a population of just a few dozen, and wildlife never fares well in the wake of war and destabilization. 🌏🧪

Your life will change once you start orienting your sense of time by when the juncos come and go, when the cicadas are loudest, when the warblers are in bright plumage and when they're drab again

If you get seasonal depression, may I recommend becoming obsessed with your local phenology

Saw some tulips popping up today, proving that Chicago is still alive somewhere

The zeitgeist's recent corrective against the 2010s-era anti-David Foster Wallace fervor also means you are once again allowed to acknowledge your love for "Calamity Song" by The Decemberists

Because we have never asked this question before, we don’t know whether a majority of Americans have long held a skeptical view of the ethics of fellow Americans, or if it’s something new – and if so, what’s driving it. But partisan politics appear to play a role. Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party are much more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to rate fellow Americans as morally and ethically bad (60% vs. 46%). And previous research has shown that rising numbers of both Republicans and Democrats say people in the other party are immoral. However, this partisan pattern is not unique to the U.S. In more than half of the countries surveyed, people who don’t support the governing party are particularly likely to view their fellow citizens as immoral. Another possibility could be that Americans are more moralistic, in general, than people in other countries – that is, they’re more inclined to judge various behaviors to be immoral or sinful. But the results of other survey questions don’t support the idea that the U.S. public is especially judgmental.

Isn't it yeah? Worst of all the countries polled

I think most Americans want to be good to others, and vice versa. I also think that by turning every aspect of our civic/personal/financial life into a quantifiable winners/losers dynamic, we are priming each other to tear ourselves down.

Chart showing how many people in 25 countries see their fellow citizens as morally good -- US scored the worst, 47% see people as good and 53% see them as bad

This is a very depressing chart

www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...

Go bucs

The world does not have endless resources – but there's no reason why "abundance", as an ideal, can't mean abundant wildlands and biodiversity; abundant, universal, and quality health insurance; abundant, dense housing with abundant, dense public transit, etc

Really quite a shame that, at least on here and in a lot of coverage, "abundance" has come to stand for/represent a particular genre of centrism – when it really should just mean what the word literally means, the idea of abundant and universal improved welfare

If the IRA had thought seriously about helping big city residents and renters instead of focusing on suburban homeowners, this could have been done at a federal level a few years ago too

What to know about plug-in solar - Solar United Neighbors Plug-in solar, also called balcony solar, are solar panels that connect to a standard power outlet. They supply power directly to your home. They are a plug and play way to reduce our reliance on the ...

"The average payback time for a system purchased today is about five years. The cost for plug-in solar is forecast to drop from nearly $3/watt today to just under 60¢/watt within 2-3 years of enabling legislation in a critical mass of states."

Balcony solar is taking state legislatures by storm - The Current A Bronx attorney has installed a 220-watt plug-and-play solar panel on her balcony, which is estimated to save her about $100 per year, and is advocating for legislation to make these systems more wid...

You can't understand how fast I'm gonna click "Add to Cart" on one of these bad boys once/if the Illinois law passes

Whole new meaning of this cartoon just dropped

If anyone is friends with any Georgian air traffic controllers, buy them a nice bottle of wine. As guardians of pretty much the only narrow gap still available between Europe and Asia that avoids both Iran, the Gulf, Ukraine and Russia, they are under some substantial pressure.

This may not apply to all AI models, but the one I've been using has been surprisingly helpful

It can also do follow-up searches to clarify certain points or double-check any caveats or exceptions. You need to have the wherewithal to think critically about what information you need and what, exactly, it's telling you – but that's a basic research skill, and the output is better than Google

Potentially controversial post here, but given that Google search has gotten worse , I've started using AI as a search engine - and when you ask it to provide sources, it actually does a good job finding answers to the specific question you're interested in and backing that up with sources

What if I told you that I know what Meat Loaf wouldn't do for love

Looking at what Konnor Griffin, Oneil Cruz, Jhostynxon Garcia, and Jake Mangum are doing in spring training is starting to feel dangerously close to hope

To think Jeremy Allen White stopped making these in favor of tiny plates of fish goo or whatever. I could never.

Took almost two years since I moved here but I had a Chicago Italian beef sandwich today for the first time today. It is a monstrosity, a crime, a farcical concept of a meal - and it is delicious.

You do not, under any circumstances, have to hand to it to them

This is very true — and also, before the center-left starts tripping over itself to say how fine Bush was in comparison, we have to acknowledge how much the insanity of the Iraq War created the even more insane position we find ourselves in today

The rise of end times fascism | Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them

"Our task is to build a wide and deep movement...rooted in a steadfast commitment to one another, across our many differences and divides, and to this miraculous, singular planet." - @astra.bsky.social + @naomiaklein.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...