Reporter, LA Times. Enviro/Sci/Health. I cover #H5N1 #BirdFlu and Plastic. And other stuff, too (Valley Fever, Octopus rights, wild pigs, and more). Located in SF Bay area. https://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3mfpe3ogqac2g#H5N1 #BirdFlu detected in northern elephant seals on CA coast. Virus annihilated the funny-looking seals in South America between 2022 and 2024. From UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz research. https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2026-02-25/h5n1-bird-flu-presumed-in-california-elephant-seals25 Feb 2026 18:52 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfpe3ogqac2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3mfpbmfmmzc2g#H5N1 #Birdflu detected in northern Elephant Seals along CA coast. UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz found in 7 pups at Ano Nuevo. Story to come.25 Feb 2026 18:08 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfpbmfmmzc2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3mb65jc5chs2gMichael Abatti will plead not guilty as autopsy report is released and investigation details are presented to the media #navajocounty #imperialcounty w @phila_lex https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-12-29/abatti-homicide-imperial-valley-case-update30 Dec 2025 00:59 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3mb65jc5chs2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3malnw2fyls2qKerri Abatti, estranged wife of #ImperialCounty farming mogul, Mike Abatti, was shot and killed in her home in Pinetop, AZ on 11/20. Who was she? Why did she go to #Pinetop? photos: @caitlin_oh https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-12-22/abatti-wife-slain-arizona22 Dec 2025 16:32 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3malnw2fyls2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3m66qm77dys2nFirst person to get #H5N5 #birdflu has died from it. Story coming. https://doh.wa.gov/newsroom/grays-harbor-county-resident-dies-complications-avian-influenza22 Nov 2025 02:25 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3m66qm77dys2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3m5ualcbzjc2eHow many pieces of #plastic does it take to kill a sea bird? Turtle? Marine Mammal? Sadly, not much. https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2025-11-17/ocean-plastic-kills-sea-creatures-new-report-shows-only-small-amount-is-required17 Nov 2025 22:11 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5ualcbzjc2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3m5mouqd63s2dHuman #BirdFlu case in WA. #H5N5 not #H5N1. Patient is severely ill. Update coming. https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2025-11-14/another-person-is-hospitalized-in-u-s-with-bird-flu14 Nov 2025 22:06 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5mouqd63s2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3m2c34cxgms2tHistoric number of marine mammals died along CA coast this year. Anomaly? Or a sign that our oceans are changing too fast to support these guys? Hats off to the exhausted and traumatized volunteers working tirelessly since spring #marinemammalcenter #strandingnetwork https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-10-03/ocean-life03 Oct 2025 12:30 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2c34cxgms2thttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3lxxqc277k22tNo biggie, but noticing a few #H5N1 #BirdFlu wastewater "hits" in the SF Bay Area: Palo Alto, San Jose and Sunnyvale. 🤔03 Sep 2025 22:59 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxxqc277k22thttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3lxs3u2h6rs2oThe parasite that causes Chagas disease, which kills more people in Latin America than malaria, is here in the U.S. The disease's symptoms generally don't show up for decades: heart attack, stroke, death. Have we been ignoring a potential source of #CVD ? https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2025-09-01/chagas-disease-the-deadly-disease-youve-never-heard-of-but-is-here01 Sep 2025 17:10 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxs3u2h6rs2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3lvdq44yao22yYou can't sell or produce foie gras in Calfiornia. So what is the bird liver delicacy doing on store shelves? https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2025-08-01/fois-gras-was-banned-in-california-in-2023-why-is-it-being-sold-in-socal-stores01 Aug 2025 13:12 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvdq44yao22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3lub2tfmtws2pIt's not just the #H5N1 #birdflu cuts across the federal government, but the Trump admin's targeting of immigrants that could trigger a pandemic. They're our front-line livestock workers -- and when the birds start flying south in the fall... https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2025-07-18/has-h5n1-bird-flu-truly-waned-or-has-info-been-stifled-under-rfk-jr18 Jul 2025 18:21 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3lub2tfmtws2phttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3lu6tfvhmcc22#GroundSquirrelInvasion? At least 14 in my back yard. I’ve never seen it like this.17 Jul 2025 21:03 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3lu6tfvhmcc22https://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3lu6sc7tjwk2pDead gray whale washes up in Richmond. Marine Mammal Center says ship strike is probable cause. Gray whale numbers are on the decline -- never recovering from the steep drop off that started in 2019. https://abc7news.com/post/gray-whale-washes-point-isabel-regional-shoreline-richmond-17th-bay-area-year/16759993/17 Jul 2025 20:43 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3lu6sc7tjwk2phttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3lu435gxjok2qCalRecycle now has a portal for people to report illegal sales of expanded polystyrene food ware and packaging in stores and restaurants -- 6+months after the products were banned: https://calrecycle.ca.gov/packaging/packaging-epr/notificationform/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery16 Jul 2025 18:44 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3lu435gxjok2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3ltg5773jsc2kWhat happened in TX was tragic; it could happen here, too. @ianjames.bsky.social https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-07-07/california-texas-flood-dangers08 Jul 2025 01:22 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltg5773jsc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3lt3elmcc7k27Make America Rake Again -- Trump and Newsom battle over wildfire funding @nohaggerty.bsky.social https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-07-02/newsom-challenges-trump-to-step-up-on-wildfire-preparedness03 Jul 2025 18:35 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3lt3elmcc7k27https://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3lt3ehf25ac27EPA Workers Face Retaliation Over Dissent Declaration https://www.importantcontext.news/p/epa-workers-face-retaliation-over?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web03 Jul 2025 18:32 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3lt3ehf25ac27https://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3lt3e6wrnbs2cAnd read @sammyroth.bsky.social 's latest on the Trump bill. It's a disaster for the planet. https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2025-07-03/republican-budget-bill-would-slaughter-americas-cleanest-cheapest-energy03 Jul 2025 18:28 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3lt3e6wrnbs2chttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3lt3dlr23hk2cThis story by @corinnepurtill.bsky.social makes me want to simultaneously cry and scream https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2025-07-03/its-chaotic-once-a-global-gold-standard-u-s-government-health-guidance-is-falling-apart03 Jul 2025 18:17 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3lt3dlr23hk2chttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3lt3djn4mok2cAsbestos-laden fire debris hauled by fed contractors to non-hazardous waste landfills. What could be the problem?? @tonybrisco https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-07-03/federal-contractors-improperly-dumped-asbestos-la-landfills03 Jul 2025 18:16 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3lt3djn4mok2chttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3ls4utlgt3c2kStrange thing about this story: Newsom's comms team's response to my questions about his ever-present-plastic-water-bottle was to: 1) not answer any q's; but 2) instead threaten to send my editor a video of me near a plastic water bottle. https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-06-21/newsoms-podcast-sidekick-a-single-use-plastic-water-bottle21 Jun 2025 15:33 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3ls4utlgt3c2khttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3lrei4663wc2sAnother example of a well-intentioned CA law causing environmental damage: Compost law feeding into rampant dumping in SoCal's desert Antelope Valley. #SB1383 #CalRecycle @latimes https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-06-11/is-the-states-compost-law-killing-the-antelope-valley-desert-ecosystem11 Jun 2025 22:41 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3lrei4663wc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/susrust.bsky.social/post/3lqi2uep3v22s#SB54 shenanigans continue: 23 lawmakers say #CalRecycle exceeded its authority in the new draft regs for the state's landmark plastic legislation and undermined the law. https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-05-31/lawmakers-tell-governor-and-waste-agency-to-follow-the-law-on-plastic-legislation31 May 2025 15:30 +0000at://did:plc:zugxupyfwabrnltcoyf4iw3x/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqi2uep3v22s