Andy Middleton

Microplastics hinder plant photosynthesis, study finds, threatening millions with starvation Researchers say problem could increase number of people at risk of starvation by 400m in next two decades

Plastic Unfantastic

Pollution from this illegitimate child of the fossil fuel industry looks like it's reducing photosynthesis by 12%.

Nothing to see here. Move on.

www.theguardian.com/environment/....

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus

Happy St.Davids day to friends and fellow citizens of this fragile world. David was born on the coast near the tiny jewel of a city that bears his name, his last words were 'do the little things you remember me by. Good advice.

Germany’s likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, assured his support to Zelenskyy, saying: “We must never confuse the aggressor and the victim in this terrible war.” (Guardian)

What is the climate story in 2025? - Climate Outreach This short report consolidates our findings from 20 interviews with diverse leading experts from policy to journalism, campaigns to research who shared their thoughts. Thank you to our partners Green ...

📣 New guide! Climate Outreach, with support from @green-alliance.org.uk conducted interviews with leading experts, from policy to journalism, campaigns to research, to get their insight on the most important comms challenges & opportunities for 2025 and beyond:

climateoutreach.org/reports/what... ‎

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The Gift of Uncertainty //

What are the skills, mindsets and connections we need to help young people to grow so they can build regenerative futures at a time of greater uncertainty than the world has seen for 75 years?

Do share your top three here.

#EduSky #climate #nature

Exporting Extinction //

Seek to understand the footprints and negative externalities of the products and services that you take for granted. Many of them are likely to have a dark side impact that's not on the label.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Apparently, it's one of the best ways to make risk lower...FFS. The level of risk loading that's happening as a consequence of current decisions is going to blow people's minds when they experience the consequences of what they're saying yes to today.

Such a great closing gift. From the other side of the Atlantic, I deeply appreciate what you did.

H5N1 Bird Flu Spreads Rapidly Through California Dairy Herds

The USDA has confirmed that five more dairy herds in California are infected, bringing the total number to 732.

As of now, 74% of the state's dairy herds have tested positive for the virus.

Regulation isn't fit for purpose.

I spent six years on the board of an environmental regulator. It's clear that even if every business adhered to every pice of legislation, nature and communities would die, just more slowly. We need regs that inescapably drive regeneration, not elimination.

My friend/colleague Andrew Boswell is right. Starmer is adopting the very worst HardRight trope:
It’s outrageous of Starmer to say that Andrew is doing this for himself! He doesn’t do all this dangerous, exhausting, expensive work for selfish reasons!! He does it for Nature & our children’s future.

The Climate and Nature Bill 2024-25 The Climate and Nature Bill 2024-25 will have its second reading on 24 January 2025. This Library briefing provides an overview of the bill and background information.

Let's hope CAN can.

Today the UK government will hear the second reading of the Climate & Nature Bill. It's landmark proposal places legal responsibility on government to act in line with science, not easy votes. Fingers crossed for nature. & future gen. commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri...

Do add @belinaraffy.bsky.social to your Climate Comedy list - epic improv comedy + courses for folk in this space.

You can say, “gravity isn’t real,” but if you step off the cliff, you’re still going down.

And if you convince other people it’s not real, you are responsible for what happens if they make decisions based on the information you withheld.

Topical Word of the Day...

Going the wrong way fast. Time to turn around.

So this is Trump’s ‘golden age’ – chaos, dysfunction and a coalition of creeps | Marina Hyde Confusing and capricious, he started as he means to go on. To all the leaders pledging to work with him: good luck with that, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde

"perhaps spending potentially trillions to get somewhere that looks like Earth’s most boring disused quarry is the value proposition that Americans concerned over inflated food prices have been looking for" Marina Hyde hit nail on head in @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Thanks for the re-share. If I remember rightly, participants had 32 hours of training in the system awareness / conditions that might influence their direction and thinking. Those they were trying to influence probably had none. Maybe the design process needs to change...

It would be a good start. If you haven't seen it, check out the impact of Wales' urban 20mph limits.

PFAS News - Not News //

Those with eyes open have known for years that there's an insidious tide of damaging chemicals seeping into the bodies of life on earth. Companies like 3M make them, profit from them, and walk away. Change is coming. Better late than never.

Daniel Schmachtenberger: “Silicon Dreams and Carbon Nightmares: The Wide Boundary Impacts of AI” | The Great Simplification Episode 132

Easy listen (not) for your next commute - a few angles on AGI etc that have some epic implications www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/132-...

YouTube video by CBC British Columbia Author George Monbiot on countering despair amid alarming climate change trends

On CBC last night, I spelt out the moral case to keep on trying, however hard it might be. Defending the living planet is not an option we can abandon. Ultimately, it is all that counts.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX2V...

Is corporate America going Maga? Donald Trump’s election has accelerated a cultural shift in the nation’s boardrooms

“I feel liberated,” said a top banker. “We can say ‘retard’ and ‘pussy’ without the fear of getting cancelled . . . it’s a new dawn.”

Business in the age of Trump. Sounds liberating.

www.ft.com/content/cf87...

Faster = better.

When it comes to action on climate, and reducing negative impacts, that is.

One of my cousins used to grow caulis for a big west Wales producer - hundreds of thousands of them. In a bad harvest, as many as 40% would be ploughed back into the ground. Sometime, perfect vegetables that were too big to fit six to a box would be wasted, after eight doses of fertiliser etc.

Adapt or die: why decarbonisation is no longer enough to save us with Rupert Read - Terra Infirma This post goes live as wildfires ravage Los Angeles, parts of the UK are clearing up after floods and we’re all still traumatised by the images of the deadly flash floods in Valencia. The trends look ...

Adapt or Die //

Doing less of the wrong thing isn't going to be enough as our safe ground shrinks around us. Useful provocation and call to action from @rupertread.bsky.social to make adaptation part of the conversation in every organisation, every day.

www.terrainfirma.co.uk/adapt-or-die...

Safety always has, and always will, depends on species' ability respond to pattern change.

Homo saps is bottom of the class on that. How well we manage to stick around depends on our ability to change that...

Earth has entered ‘a new era’ with its hottest year on record and its first calendar year 1.5C warmer than the pre-industrial period.

About 1.3C of the 1.5C is due to climate change, so let's not get *too* hung-up on puzzles like clouds, shipping fuels etc!

Story👇
www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

Many species reach their heat limits at similar temperatures, leaving ecosystems at risk of sudden climate-driven collapse – new study Plants and animals that live in the same community share the same heat tolerance – new study.

Getting warmer together: not good news //

theconversation.com/many-species...