Shi En Kim
Climate and Science fellow @ HCN
✍️ Health, environment, space in NatGeo, SciAm, etc.
Formerly C&EN, The Open Notebook, SmithsonianMag
Cofounder @sequencermag.bsky.social
Signal: @shienkim.1721
I go by my last name, Kim • She/her
shienkim.wordpress.com
- Two things I didn't really know about #porcupines until I did a story for @highcountrynews.org about them: 1. They're disappearing across the West. Scientists don't really know why. Thanks to @thatsmohrlikeit.bsky.social for your SHARP edits, as usual! www.hcn.org/articles/the...
- So proud of my @highcountrynews.org colleague @btoastie.bsky.social for this amazing cover story!
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- Today is the last day to share your thoughts on the federal government's plan to revoke the roadless rule on Forest Service lands. When the clock strikes midnight (ET), the comment portal will close. Looking for your Cinderella moment? Go comment now!!!
- I went on @kjzz.org to chat about my @highcountrynews.org story on saguaro flowers!
- The landmark roadless rule is on the chopping block, endangering 59 million acres of Forest Service lands that still retain some of their wild character. Experts say it's as bad of an idea as it sounds for wildlife. Now that you know, go forth and comment! You have until Sept. 19. to do so.
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- Kylie @thatsmohrlikeit.bsky.social is an awesome editor with an impeccable eye! It was great to work with her on this piece.
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- When I visited 🌵 NP in April, I found the saguaro flowers so surreal. Against the saguaro's austerity, they looked decadent, dressing cactuses in flapper chic. Flowers on the cactus arms looked like bouquets offerings to passers-by. I'm so glad @highcountrynews.org let me indulge my curiosity.
- In June, a lynx rewilding project in eastern WA confirmed the first wild kitten litters to be born here. But fate had ironic timing. The same month, the Forest Service announced the repeal of the roadless rule. The lynx birthing grounds would be among those subject to the repeal. Read more here:
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- While media coverage has often lauded agrivoltaics, i.e. the marriage of solar and farming, reality has proven that it's quite a challenge to get it off the ground. Take Arizona, for example, a place of abundant sunshine and scarce water. From all appearances, agrivoltaics should be a shoe-in here.
- Reposted by Shi En KimFederal layoffs are likely to move ahead quickly, with major impacts on conservation and science. buff.ly/XieVRNB
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- "Produced water" isn't "water" in any life-giving sense of the word, environmentalists say, but it's definitely produced—an existential problem of oil+gas's own making. New Mexico is weighing the reuse this toxic waste, and environmental groups are sounding the alarm. Me for @highcountrynews.org
- Just. Wow.
- Got woken up by a phone call, took an impromptu interview — braces still in my mouth, voice still scratchy, eyes still not fully open, brain screaming for caffeine — and proceeded to have one of the best chats of my life. My job is cool.
- Republished at @grist.org, my piece illuminates how field scientists at the #ForestService soldier through uncertain times despite the federal assault on research.
- Reposted by Shi En KimThe President's budget request would be devastating to NASA science and our quest for life beyond Earth. But there's still time to act, and your voice matters.
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- You've already heard the impact of federal cuts on health research, but what about research on the environment? That picture isn't exactly pretty either. My latest for @highcountrynews.org, on how the stellar field science at the U.S. Forest Service is under threat.
- An all-at-once damning, touching, and rousing op-ed by @stonemanning.bsky.social for @highcountrynews.org. Please don't sell off America's public lands!
- I love working at HCN. Our stories are often outdoors themed, so one perk of my job is I need to look up all the places that my sources/writers for whom I fact checking mention, and God they're beautiful. I'm going to end up with a massive list of places to visit before my fellowship ends!
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- For the first time, I tried doing this promotional video thingie for my @highcountrynews.bsky.social article on the Forest Service's horses and mules! www.instagram.com/reel/DIMFDsJ...
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- Drew a little something today, of my little writing companion Tyson when I'm banging out an article on the couch. He'll occasionally twitch when he's sleeping next to me, but, Tyson, it's truly an honor to be kicked in the face by you, you perfect little house cat.
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- Hi! #journorequest here: For HCN, I'm looking to speak with #federal scientists from the West who are preparing for #fieldwork this upcoming season. How has the federal chaos affect your planning? I'd be happy to offer anonymity. You can reach me at shien.kim@hcn.org or via Signal @shienkim.1721.
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- Reposted by Shi En KimMules & horses have long been partners w/ @forestservice.bsky.social, especially for use in wilderness areas. With recent DOGE chaos, it's not clear what will happen to the animals. @goesbykim.bsky.social reports for @highcountrynews.bsky.social www.hcn.org/articles/the...
- Thank you to my editor @shaun505.bsky.social who didn't bat an eyelash when I filed a 2k-word draft though the assigned word count was 1k. In my defense, who doesn't want to read about the funniest, sweetest, smartest, and most adorable mules and horses? My latest for @highcountrynews.bsky.social:
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- So proud of this intellectual @miquai.bsky.social who can say in 1 breath "how do we abstract far enough away from life on 🌎 that we’d be able to notice life elsewhere even if it had different chemical specifics, but not so far that we’d be including all kinds of self-organizing structures like 🌪️?"
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- At long last, here's my final piece in my planets series for Smithsonian Mag, on the worlds beyond our solar system. Here are some of Earth's exotic planetary FRIENDS in the cosmic neighborhood: - The one like cotton candy - The ones that are raging hot - The one with the tail 👉 shorturl.at/wxl3A
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- Last week, I attended a hearing of worker unions suing the federal government in SF district court. What the judge ruled and said was nothing short of jaw dropping. As my editor @shaun505.bsky.social told me, I was on "the steps of history." www.hcn.org/articles/jud...
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- High Country News is doing something really cool: If you're a federal employee who's been laid off or fired, you can apply for free HCN access. You'll probably be reading a lot of my work too, since I seem to be on the beat of federal chaos.
- An environmental catastrophe is unfolding right before our eyes. Yet there's scant regulation on the perpetrating chemicals that are killing our most charismatic wildlife and more. A piece by me for HCN republished for @sequencermag.bsky.social www.sequencermag.com/turkey-vultu...
- Human's war on rats is a Pyrrhic one, if not Sisyphean. Our use of pesticides has brought severe casualties on our wildlife, especially raptors. By me: CA is the only state with restrictions on some of the worst chemicals, but birds are still testing positive for poison: www.hcn.org/articles/tur...
- "It takes a village to fight fire." @thatsmohrlikeit.bsky.social's latest piece on the impacts of culling the Forest Service workforce is 🔥🔥🔥. www.hcn.org/articles/the...
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- My article for HCN was reposted by @truthdig.bsky.social www.truthdig.com/articles/how...
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- Due to the Forest Service firings, outdoor enthusiasts are screwed this summer. It's going to be challenging to recreate on public lands. But there's more. Species decline, water contamination, heightened wildfire risks. A piece, by yours truly, to make you angry www.hcn.org/articles/how...
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- This, and including the federal layoffs over the weekend. High Country News wants to hear from people who have been impacted, and how climate initiatives will take a hit. Please reach out if you want to talk; anonymous is fine. ✉️ shien.kim@hcn.org Signal: @shienkim.1721
- Has your organization been affected by the federal funding freeze? High Country News wants to hear about it! Please reach out: ✉️ shien.kim@hcn.org Signal: @shienkim.1721 I'm especially interested in local environment/decarbonization/climate-related efforts in the Western US. Retweets appreciated!
- Has your organization been affected by the federal funding freeze? High Country News wants to hear about it! Please reach out: ✉️ shien.kim@hcn.org Signal: @shienkim.1721 I'm especially interested in local environment/decarbonization/climate-related efforts in the Western US. Retweets appreciated!
- Wonderful piece by @chadebradley.bsky.social for @highcountrynews.bsky.social. It's comprehensive, nuanced, and deserving of many reads on such an in important topic.
- @sequencermag.bsky.social is looking for #scicomm beginners (researchers, science students etc.) to write for Sequencer via our inaugural mentorship program! Read more and apply here: sequencermag.com/scicomm-ment... Support our mentorship program here: www.sequencermag.com#/portal/supp...
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- My 1st piece for @highcountrynews.bsky.social: www.hcn.org/articles/the... This was a fun—and nerve-racking—piece to report, as this introvert had to approach strangers on the street for interviews. I'd do it again in a 💓 Thanks @erbenson1.bsky.social @shaun505.bsky.social for edits and guidance!
