David Ho

@davidho.bsky.social

119995 Followers 3455 Following

Climate scientist; ocean carbon cycle and climate solutions. Professor @soest.hawaii.edu, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa; Visiting Faculty, Arizona State University. https://linktr.ee/david_ho

A selfie of a man with short black hair and black-framed glasses, wearing a heather grey t-shirt. In the background on the left, a small duck is perched on the back of the wooden park bench, while lush green foliage, including fan palm fronds and dense trees, fills the outdoor background.

A Sears Craftsman 16 oz claw hammer resting on carpet. The steel head is stamped with "MADE IN U.S.A." and safety warnings, connected to a red handle section with white "CRAFTSMAN" branding and a textured black rubber grip.

But not all are convinced that private companies are the best route to scaling mCDR. David Ho, a professor of oceanography at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, was part of early mCDR research efforts both within and beyond academia. Ho is an established researcher in ocean science key to the veracity of the field, but he also co-founded a non-profit organisation in 2023 to build software that supports mCDR research.
Ho thinks that the field should be a government-funded or government-run research effort, not driven by companies via venture capital and private funding.
"There's so much that we need to figure out that companies are not going to do. They are there to work on their [own, specific] technology," he said.
Ho pointed to areas of research essential to scaling mCDR - in the realms of environment, geophysics, governance, and social studies - that companies are not necessarily prioritising.
"They're not thinking about that. It's 'How do you develop intellectual property that you can maybe sell to a fossil fuel company?' I bet every single one of them looks at the exit that Carbon Engineering took and says 'Well, we too would like to get $1 bln.' And that's the best exit for any of them right now, because they will never be paid billions of dollars to remove carbon."

A visitor standing in a dimly lit parking garage used as an exhibition space. Large, brightly lit display screens and posters—including one titled "FUTURE PRESENT"—hang suspended above empty parking bays between yellow support pillars. A white directional arrow is painted on the concrete floor in the foreground.

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Dude getting arrested at London Euston station as I got off the train

Guy wearing a yellow shirt that says “heaven knows I’m miserable now”

Yellow shirt that says “heaven knows I’m miserable now”

A low-angle shot of a traditional white and black metal fingerpost road signpost against a clear blue sky. The signpost features two main directional arms. The upper arm points right and lists "PENTON 8", "KERSHOPEFOOT 9", and "CANONBIE 10". The larger lower arm, also pointing right, lists "KIRKCAMBECK 4¼", "BRAMPTON 10½", and "GILSLAND 12", with a section on the far right indicating the road number "B 6318".

A narrow hallway leading into a public restroom, obstructed by a stainless-steel paddle-gate turnstile entry system. The two black paddle gates block the center walkway, with the right paddle featuring a prominent blue and white sticker that reads "60p ENTRY." The metal stanchions on either side house contactless payment readers and informational signs. In the background, a tiled restroom interior is visible, featuring a baby changing station and a sink

A gravel bike leans against a mossy stone wall. There’s a triangular red and white sign indicating a '25%' gradient and a rectangular white sign stating 'Low gear now'.

A close-up of a London plane tree's thick trunk absorbing a black metal fence. The tree's knobby, peeling bark has spilled over the concrete base and wrapped entirely around several vertical iron railings, swallowing them into its trunk as it grows.

The indictment says the operation targeting climate activists was carried out on behalf of a client that is
"one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, with headquarters in Irving, Texas". (When the indictment was first filed in 2022, ExxonMobil was the only major global oil company with headquarters in Irving, Texas.)

Dear Ho,
In view of your expertise I would be very grateful if you could review the following manuscript which has been

An unusable bike rack bolted flush against a brick wall. Because it's so close to the wall, there's effectively no room to lock a bike's frame to the rack with a U-lock, forcing insecure wheel-only locking. A textbook example of a bike rack that looks useful but fails at its basic purpose.

An AI-generated, photograph set in a brightly lit hospital room with Mitch McConnell, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, and John Wayne. On the left, an elderly Mitch McConnell sits smiling in a blue hospital armchair with a pillow behind his back, wearing glasses, a pink checkered button-down shirt, and jeans, while holding a newspaper on his lap. Next to him, Elvis Presley is seated in an identical armchair, wearing his signature white, heavily embellished jumpsuit with gold studs, sunglasses, and giving a thumbs-up. Standing behind Elvis is Michael Jackson, waving with a smile while dressed in a vibrant red leather jacket, black fedora, black pants, and white socks with black shoes. On the far right, John Wayne stands smiling, wearing a brown cowboy hat, a tan vest over a matching long-sleeve shirt, a red neck kerchief, blue jeans, and a large belt buckle. The background includes standard hospital room features like an IV pole, a medical monitor, a window, and a wooden wardrobe cabinet with an extra cowboy hat sitting on top.

A large section of construction scaffolding has completely collapsed across a city street, leaving a massive pile of twisted metal poles, wooden planks, and torn white protective sheeting blocking the roadway. The remainder of the scaffolding leans precariously against the brick facade of an adjacent multi-story building. In the foreground, a firefighter in tan protective gear stands near a red fire engine on the left, monitoring the scene, while the blurred blue emergency lights of another response vehicle frame the lower right corner

An overhead nighttime view of a street next to a large building under construction. In the center of the frame, a segment of a green-walled, covered pedestrian protection walkway has been severely crushed and splintered, with broken wooden planks and scaffolding debris scattered across the sidewalk. The surrounding street is empty, framed by the fronds of palm trees in the foreground.

A white touring bike in front of a shop that says, Friterie des Nations.

A tall artificial cell tower tree disguised as a conifer stands prominently against a clear blue sky. Nearby, there are several natural trees, including a green tree and a brownish one, along with a neatly trimmed hedge and a black gate beside a road.

A panoramic view of a calm sea under a clear blue sky, featuring distant wind turbines being built.

A landscape shot looking out over a coastal town and a sweeping beach bay. In the foreground, green grassy hills and low shrubs slope downward toward a small seaside village nestled along the shore. A wide, sandy beach curves into the distance, met by turquoise and deep blue ocean waters. White chalk cliffs rise along the far left edge of the coastline under a bright blue sky streaked with wispy white clouds.

Two men pose outside on a paved street with their bicycles under bright sunlight. On the left, a bald man with a grey beard and glasses wears a black T-shirt and blue jeans, sitting on the frame of a large, white electric cargo bicycle that features a spacious black storage compartment at the front. To the right, a man wearing a blue and orange cycling jersey with the words "PATRICK RIDES ON," a blue helmet, glasses, green shorts, and sneakers stands next to his white touring bicycle, which is equipped with teal rear pannier bags. In the background, parked cars, a motorcycle, and storefronts, including an Allianz building, line the street.

The horizon mostly with a cloudy sky and some tiny offshore wind turbines. A small boat is also visible.

A bicycle with blue panniers parked beside a signpost indicating bike routes. The background includes trees and a road.

Sign for Euro Velo 4

A traffic light with a yield sign mounted under it

Display board showing train departure information for South Western Railway to Woking, Weybridge, and Dorking, including their respective departure times, platform numbers, and coach details.

A world map filled with the flag of Cape Verde, featuring blue, red, and white stripes, along with yellow stars. Argentina is distinctly illustrated with its own flag colors and symbol.

David Ho, a marine biogeochemist at the University of Hawai'i at Mănoa, expressed similar bewilderment about Gates, who argued in his memo that spending money on climate limits the funding available to fight disease and poverty.
"I didn't understand the motivation," Ho said. "It seems he should understand that the things that he cares about are affected by climate."
Ho was less charitable toward Matt Yglesias, a popular centrist pundit who has urged Democrats to embrace oil and gas. Ho called Yglesias' commentary "a bit unhinged."
"I don't take him seriously. I have him blocked on Bluesky," he said. "I just think he's unserious. But he does have a platform, and I guess people do listen to him."

The cover of the UK version of the book "The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI: How to Think About Artificial Intelligence Before It's Too Late" by Cory Doctorow. The cover features a white background with bold black and orange text, and what appears to be a broken window. Sadly no reverse centaur.

A figure containing two world maps stacked vertically, labeled "A" (top) and "B" (bottom). The entire image is captioned at the bottom: "Figure 2: Average percentage of total deaths that were heat-related in 1990–99 (A) and 2012–21 (B)".

A single color-coded legend on the left side applies to both maps, showing a gradient of 17 steps. The scale ranges from very pale cream/pink representing the lowest percentage ("0.00 to <0.25") to increasingly darker shades of orange, red, and finally dark maroon/black representing the highest percentage ("3.75 to 4.00"). Antarctica is shaded grey on both maps.

Map A (Top Map - 1990–99): Shows the global distribution of heat-related deaths as a percentage of total deaths during the 1990s. Most of North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia are shaded in light cream or pale orange colors, indicating low percentages (generally below 1.00%). The highest percentages are concentrated in North Africa, parts of the Middle East, and parts of Central/Southern Africa, which are shaded in medium-to-dark red, with a couple of countries showing very dark maroon patches.

Map B (Bottom Map - 2012–21): Shows the same metric for the 2012–21 period. Compared to Map A, there is a visible and significant intensification of color globally, particularly across the African continent and the Middle East. A large, continuous block of countries across North Africa, West Africa, and the Middle East is now shaded in the darkest maroon and black tones, indicating that heat-related deaths make up the highest bracket of total deaths (up to 4.00%). Central and Southern Africa also display much darker shades of red and maroon compared to Map A, while South America (notably Argentina) and parts of South Asia show a slight darkening into deeper orange-red tones.

a woman with fair skin and light-colored hair tied back in a low ponytail looks directly at the camera with a gentle, subtle smile. She is wearing a light-colored blazer over a top and a thin necklace.

A woman with short, tightly curled dark hair smiles directly at the camera. She is wearing a light-colored, subtly pinstriped blazer, and the background features a soft, heavily blurred outdoor setting with trees.

A man wearing a yellow hard hat branded with "ITAIPU BINACIONAL". He has an audio translation device around his neck and a slight smile, with a window and green curtains visible in the background.

A black and white portrait of a middle-aged man with a bald head, a short grey beard, and a warm smile. He is looking directly at the camera, crinkling his eyes, and wearing a patterned, button-up shirt featuring a subtle leaf and branch motif. The background is softly blurred, of an outdoor setting with trees and foliage.

A black and white portrait of a bald man looking directly at the camera with a neutral expression. He has dark eyebrows and is wearing a dark, patterned button-up shirt. The background is a softly blurred outdoor setting with trees and a path.

An alert stating "Unfollowed 1000+ in the last month," describing a user's activity of unfollowing over 1000 accounts within a 30-day period. It mentions that this moderation status applies to all posts and includes a source.

A stage with a colorful striped backdrop in shades of blue and red. A speaker, identified as Professor Ed Hawkins MBE, is presenting to an audience, with attendees taking photos.

a building facade with three windows covered by reflective silver materials. Each window has a flower pot on the balcony, and the wall appears weathered with cracks and peeling paint.

A very hot alpaca lying on its side on the ground in a pen, with some wooden pallets nearby and greenery in the background.

An event flyer for London Climate Action Week, titled "Extreme heat: Improving governance and strengthening action around the world," features a background photograph of a dry, arid landscape with a road and mountains under a hazy blue sky. At the top, logos for the "Climate Resilience Alliance" and "London Climate Action Week" are visible next to a red "EVENT" tag, while the bottom of the flyer lists the event details—scheduled for 24 June from 09:30-12:00 BST at the Shaw Library, London School of Economics and online—alongside partner logos including LSE Grantham Research Institute, IFRC, Mercy Corps, and Practical Action. Stamped boldly across the center of the image in large, dark red, capitalized letters is the ironic overlay text: "CANCELLED DUE TO EXTREME HEAT."

A weather forecast map from the Met Office displaying maximum temperatures across the UK for June 23, 2056. Areas are color-coded, with high temperatures reaching up to 45°C in some regions.

A panoramic view of a mountainous landscape with a coastal town sprawled across the valley. Houses are visible on both the hills and in the lower areas, with a backdrop of the ocean and distant mountains under a clear blue sky.

This is part of a collection of seven horizontal data visualizations showing the "warming stripes" for various cities across Europe, North America, and Asia, chronologically tracking annual temperature anomalies from as early as 1850 through 2025. Each graphic consists of a dense series of vertical bands ordered from left to right by year, where shades of blue indicate years with average temperatures cooler than the historical baseline and shades of red indicate warmer years. Across all seven locations, London, Paris, Northern California, Miami, Hong Kong, Honolulu, and New York City, a stark and consistent visual transition occurs: the left halves of the graphics are heavily dominated by a mosaic of deep navy, medium blue, and light blue stripes interspersed with occasional pale orange bands, while the far-right sections uniformly shift into an unbroken, intense block of bright orange, vivid red, and deep crimson stripes. This shared gradient from cool blues to dramatic reds across geographically diverse regions visually underscores a universal accelerating trend in global warming over the last several decades.