Alexa Varah

Global Tipping Points | understanding risks & their potential impact Harmful tipping points in the natural world threaten humanity by disrupting life support systems and societal stability.

🪸Corals have reached a 'tipping point' and are now in a state of widespread die-off 😭. Other systems - Amazon, ocean currents - will follow suite if we don't act REALLY fast global-tipping-points.org

In his new book The Great Holocene Transformation, Peter Turchin shows that inequality and class conflict dilute social cohesion and increase societies’ vulnerability to external threat. Doesn't sound great for the UK now, does it...

World’s oceans fail key health check as acidity crosses critical threshold for marine life Scientists call for renewed global effort to curb fossil fuels as seven of nine planetary boundaries now transgressed

The oceans are dying as humans warm the planet and plunder the ocean polluting and depleting the ocean of marine life
World’s oceans fail key health check as acidity crosses critical threshold for marine life

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Phosphorus constrains global photosynthesis more than nitrogen does - Nature Ecology & Evolution Nitrogen and phosphorus limitations are both key to spatial patterns and temporal trends in primary production. This global analysis indicates that phosphorus limitation on terrestrial primary product...

Global analysis indicates that phosphorus limitation on terrestrial primary productivity has become stronger and is increasing more rapidly than nitrogen limitation. 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Trump Not Welcome | 17 September 2025 Stop Trump Coalition

I'll be speaking at the Stop Trump demo in Parliament Square today. A fascist autocratic clearly itching to declare martial law is not welcome here.
share.google/sWEe8YGl3euj...

Equity in science is a beautiful lie — and I’m done pretending Science isn’t really moving towards equity; institutions are just perfecting the appearance of equity. We need to build an alternative system.

Bck at work after a month off and catching up on the world: this was an interesting read - by Dolors Armenteras - about the continued lack of equity between global north and south in science www.nature.com/articles/d41... #science #equity #globalsouth @

Human-made global heating caused two in every three heat deaths in Europe during this year’s scorching summer, an early analysis of mortality in 854 big cities has found

I think the UK is higher up this chart than most people would expect

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

One of the best examples of a mature, temperate forest garden is under threat - please sign the Agroforestry Research Trust's petition to try and save it.

Fascinating article about deep sea prospecting.

Speech by President von der Leyen at the EU Ambassadors Conference 2025 Dear HR/VP, my dearest Kaja, Secretary-General, Ambassadors, Allow me to start with a very warm welcome and thanks to each and every one of you for your service to Europe. Many of you have supported a

Noteworthy speech by von der Leyen at the #EU Ambassadors conference 2025 ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

"The #phase-out of Russian #fossilfuels must continue."

#climate #energy

It must be like living in an alternative reality for #scientists in the #US right now….

National Wildlife Federation urges senators to ensure nominees will respect the rule of law and focus on securing a bipartisan funding agreement.

Read our press release for more 📲: ow.ly/WynI50USLvS

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Image of rhino standing next to a tree with a sunset in the background. The Nature Insight logo is overlaid with text that reads "IPBES Podcast, Nature Insight: Speed Dating with the Future. Season 4- Episode 6."

Various animals have achieved fame as 'endlings’ - the last individuals of their species.

Can their tragic stories help to protect other threatened species?

To unpack this, we talk to @alexanderlees.bsky.social & @joannalilley.bsky.social on #NatureInsight.

bit.ly/3Ow0Wef

Interesting-looking talk tomorrow on links between nature and human health.

🌳🌱🦋 If global politics is depressing you right now, here's some positive news to read instead! #EducationNaturePark

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Moving away from high-end emissions scenarios I have a new commentary in Dialogues on Climate Change exploring climate outcomes in current policy scenarios

New post on The Climate Brink from Zeke @hausfath.bsky.social about our climate future. With current policies, we’re on track for a bit less than 3C, with 2030 NDCs we’re on track for about 2.5C, and with net zero pledges we’re on track for a bit less than 2C.
www.theclimatebrink.com/p/moving-awa...

Interesting and frustrating insight into doing science!

Bending the curve of biodiversity loss requires a ‘satnav’ for nature | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Georgina Mace proposed bending the curve of biodiversity loss as a fitting ambition for the Convention on Biological Diversity. The new Global Biodiversity Monitoring Framework (GBMF) may increase the...

Just finished reading this fab new paper by @andypurvisnhm.bsky.social

Bending the curve of #biodiversity loss requires a 'satnav' for nature
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10....

The satnav analogy helps to focus on forward-looking course corrections to our conservation policy + actions

PHD OPPORTUNITY Scholarships for Black British Researchers Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy 4-year fully funded studentships available. Supervisor and research proposal required to apply. Contact PGRapplicants@exeter.ac.uk Deadline 28th February 2025 University of Exeter logo

Fully funded PhD scholarships available for Black British Students

Opportunities available within:
🧪 Data Science
⛰️ Earth and Environmental Science
🦤 Ecology and Conservation
🛠️ Engineering
🌍 Geography
🤝 Business School

Apply: www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
📆 Deadline: 28th Feb
#ExeterGSES

Women are more likely to drop out of science than men.
From my experience, the postdoc system works against those who can't be flexible about working hours or job location, and who need predictable finances.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
(Thank you #NatureBriefing for flagging this article!)

Earth breaches 1.5 °C climate limit for the first time: what does it mean? The threshold has been exceeded for only one year so far, but humanity is nearing the end of what many thought was a ‘safe zone’ as climate change worsens.

It's confirmed - Earth has breached the 1.5 °C climate limit 😭. No great surprise, but still awful to have it confirmed. What will life be like outside of the #safezone?
We've had decades of climate inaction and now people are starting to suffer...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Looking for a PhD? Please apply!

Whose conservation? Changes in the perception and goals of nature conservation require a solid scientific basis

Seddon proposes that the next step from Mace (2014) should be People As Nature, recognising that nature *is* culture #BES2024 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Hazel Norman, BES CEO sits in a radio studio with the presented, Kevin Duala.

Did you catch our CEO Hazel Norman on BBC Radio Merseyside this morning?

Catch up with today's breakfast show to hear Hazel talk about #BES2024 and some of the exciting research on show!

📻 (1:23:00) www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

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Please help us to spread the news about this episode of the @ipbes.bsky.social podcast - it is a great resource to help explain and understand the new #NexusAssessment - with some very concrete, remarkable examples and featuring @pammcelwee.bsky.social and Paula Harrison

Great to see two inspirational women opening #BES2024 to a packed auditorium.

A side view of Neanderthal and Homo Sapiens skulls Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London

Neanderthals and us - separation, speciation, when and why?

Patterns of evolution and separation from Homo sapiens explored by @andrameneganzin.bsky.social & @chrisbstringer.bsky.social #NaturalHistoryMuseumLondon

doi.org/10.1093/evol...

49 thousand Pink-feet geese leave their roost at dawn on the North Norfolk coast

This is 50% of Norfolk’s overwintering population