environmental correspondent @ vox 🏳️‍🌈 dm for signal / benji.jones@vox.com / benjijones@protonmail.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.social/post/3mktmnykwjs2ythe only moments of my adult life that i am not on the cusp of falling asleep / fighting an everpresent pull towards the unconscious is when i’m trying to sleep on a f*ing plane man behind me is talking loudly and my mind has decided to filter out the white noise and latch itself to every word. why02 May 2026 02:43 +0000at://did:plc:i4rxyed5dbo3b2bqce6ogpka/app.bsky.feed.post/3mktmnykwjs2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.social/post/3mkpuk2v64s2zHere’s a weird fact: Every time someone buys an assault weapon (or any gun) in the US, such as an AR-15, they’re inadvertently funding wildlife conservation. I wrote about an obscure law that makes state wildlife agencies deeply dependent on gun sales. https://www.vox.com/climate/487146/wildlife-conservation-state-agencies-pittman-robertson-funding30 Apr 2026 14:53 +0000at://did:plc:i4rxyed5dbo3b2bqce6ogpka/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkpuk2v64s2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.social/post/3mj3bpa6esk26I wrote about how logging is not the environmental boogeyman many people make it out to be with one big caveat: Logging in a way that doesn't destroy ecosystems requires expertise, research, and resources — things Trump officials have axed from the Forest Service. https://www.vox.com/climate/484972/trump-logging-forests-timber09 Apr 2026 16:57 +0000at://did:plc:i4rxyed5dbo3b2bqce6ogpka/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj3bpa6esk26https://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.social/post/3mim7ff2bks2pFYI: The $1.5 trillion in defense spending is enough to give every American living in poverty (~36 million) roughly $42,000 each — more than twice their annual income.03 Apr 2026 17:06 +0000at://did:plc:i4rxyed5dbo3b2bqce6ogpka/app.bsky.feed.post/3mim7ff2bks2phttps://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.social/post/3mbumjf64ns24once again reminded that i can temporarily vanquish my thoughts of despair by caffeinating myself into oblivion. it’s wonderful07 Jan 2026 23:26 +0000at://did:plc:i4rxyed5dbo3b2bqce6ogpka/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbumjf64ns24https://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.social/post/3mbhqmfmdwc26I know this is probably obvious but one of the most frustrating realizations for me as an adult/writer is that you simply can’t produce good work without putting in the time, no matter how skilled your are or how many shortcuts/AI tools are thrown in your face. Success requires work! It’s annoying!02 Jan 2026 20:35 +0000at://did:plc:i4rxyed5dbo3b2bqce6ogpka/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbhqmfmdwc26https://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.social/post/3maoqpg6a3s2xA fact that blew my mind (but maybe shouldn't): Private creditors like hedge funds hold about *60 percent* of the debt of poor countries. Basically firms on Wall Street effectively control certain nations. The debt crisis is so OOC. A must-read from Sara Herschander. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/473151/sovereign-debt-crisis-wall-strwet23 Dec 2025 22:00 +0000at://did:plc:i4rxyed5dbo3b2bqce6ogpka/app.bsky.feed.post/3maoqpg6a3s2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.social/post/3m5h2s677ok23Every time I ride a stationary bike I think of how dumb it is that I am literally using my body to turn a wheel and yet the bike USES energy and generates nothing. Meanwhile, using stuff (wind, coal, etc) to rotate wheels is literally how electricity is made. Dumb! Anyone??12 Nov 2025 16:23 +0000at://did:plc:i4rxyed5dbo3b2bqce6ogpka/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5h2s677ok23https://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.social/post/3m4ybpxl37s2uInsect people! Does anyone know what this is? (Seen in Madagascar.)06 Nov 2025 19:17 +0000at://did:plc:i4rxyed5dbo3b2bqce6ogpka/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4ybpxl37s2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.social/post/3m3pfbk4uhk2rComing out of silence to share a story that's very meaningful to me — a look at what's going on in southwest Madagascar. Coral reefs that sustain entire communities are failing, despite decades of conservation. It highlights the need to rethink how conservation works. https://www.vox.com/climate/465060/madagascar-military-coup-environmental-problems-fishery-coral-reef21 Oct 2025 13:02 +0000at://did:plc:i4rxyed5dbo3b2bqce6ogpka/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3pfbk4uhk2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.social/post/3lxuagy6zxc2jI wrote about the search for "dark taxa" — groups of animals, like certain flies and wasps, in which the bulk of species remains unknown to science. Among the facts that blew my mind while reporting this: Around 90 percent of all life is still undescribed. Like, what!? https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/459398/animals-species-unknown-dark-taxa02 Sep 2025 13:38 +0000at://did:plc:i4rxyed5dbo3b2bqce6ogpka/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxuagy6zxc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.social/post/3lpmgreahtc2yThis is not the year of positive wildlife stories, but I've got one. And it's about jaguars. I spent a week in Sonora, Mexico last month looking for cats and learning about a creative project to save them — involving the very people that once hunted these animals down. https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/411774/jaguars-mexico-arizona-borderlands-conservation20 May 2025 15:48 +0000at://did:plc:i4rxyed5dbo3b2bqce6ogpka/app.bsky.feed.post/3lpmgreahtc2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.social/post/3lp7lrpa6f22qThe Trump administration is trying to remove protections for a very odd bird on a technicality and maybe that doesn't sound like a big deal but it's actually a very big deal and signals something scary for all other species near the brink https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/413064/trump-endangered-species-act-lesser-prairie-chicken15 May 2025 13:13 +0000at://did:plc:i4rxyed5dbo3b2bqce6ogpka/app.bsky.feed.post/3lp7lrpa6f22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.social/post/3lobtbqrjtk2whaving my annual “oh yeah i guess i like new york” moment cherishing it before it vanishes in 3003 May 2025 17:08 +0000at://did:plc:i4rxyed5dbo3b2bqce6ogpka/app.bsky.feed.post/3lobtbqrjtk2whttps://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.social/post/3lmz3chnsws2wHi. I wrote about America’s most beloved insect: the monarch butterfly. They’re not doing well. USFWS finally proposed federal protections for them late last year. Trump is already moving to dismantle regs to protect wildlife. What will happen to monarchs? https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/408915/endangered-species-monarch-butterfly-recovery-trump-climate17 Apr 2025 12:12 +0000at://did:plc:i4rxyed5dbo3b2bqce6ogpka/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmz3chnsws2whttps://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.social/post/3lmxke2cgok2njust a normal reader email16 Apr 2025 21:36 +0000at://did:plc:i4rxyed5dbo3b2bqce6ogpka/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmxke2cgok2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.social/post/3llqvhybmz223Talked to a scientist who collects SEA TURTLE TEARS for her research. If that's not strange enough: She's looking for signs that those tears contain a kind of *magnetic* bacteria because that might help turtles navigate??? Science is cooooool. https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/406491/sensory-biology-sea-turtle-tears-research01 Apr 2025 12:41 +0000at://did:plc:i4rxyed5dbo3b2bqce6ogpka/app.bsky.feed.post/3llqvhybmz223https://bsky.app/profile/benjij.bsky.social/post/3lleqdjm5tc2bCan anyone point me to an octopus expert in the Caribbean/Florida region? I need help with an ID!27 Mar 2025 16:37 +0000at://did:plc:i4rxyed5dbo3b2bqce6ogpka/app.bsky.feed.post/3lleqdjm5tc2b