Peter Head

Australian tropical rainforest trees switch in world first from carbon sink to emissions source Researchers say carbon emissions change in Queensland tropical rainforests may have global climate implications

This research paper is the first time that a tipping point of a switch from a carbon sink to a carbon emission source in tropical rainforests has been identified clearly – not just for one year but for the last 20 years. Cause is a change in the local climate. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Absolutely all owners need to instruct family where inside emergency door handle

Most owners don't even where and keep card opener door hidden 3-6 yr olds

Coronal mass ejection from the sun.

China to become first country to ban hidden door handles — Sky News From next year, new car models will have to have both exterior and interior handles with mechanical releases.

China to become first country to ban hidden car door handles. This due to safety concerns after EV accidents where electronic doors reportedly failed to operate and trapped passengers inside.
Sky News
apple.news/A-SUXHfAvTiC...

Lovely! I would add Agrivoltaics.

CME risk in EV’s.
Modern EVs, have a conductive, metal shell that acts as a Faraday cage, shielding internal electronics from electromagnetic interference.
Electronics are more robust & designed to higher EMC standards.
The main high-voltage batteries are shielded & less susceptible to induction.

June 2013 joint venture from researchers at Lloyd's of London and Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) in the US used data from the Carrington Event to estimate the cost of a similar event in the present to the US alone and found it equated to roughly 3.6 to 15.5 percent of annual GDP.

“A few days ago, sunspot 4366 didn't exist. Now it is a behemoth almost half the size of the great Carrington sunspot. Rapid growth is making the sunspot unstable. It has unleashed dozens of solar flares in past 24 hours, including a powerful X8-class flare” www.spaceweather.com

Ocean Heat Goes Ballistic Climate science, over the past few decades, especially since the turn of the new century, has increasingly identified trouble spots with ecosystems that

Energy absorbed by the world’s oceans in 2025 is equivalent to every power plant, every car, every light bulb, and every device on Earth continuously in use for 37 years. The speed of warming! www.counterpunch.org/2026/01/30/o...

In the ruined turbine hall of a DTEK power station, shattered by russian attacks, a choir sings Shchedryk.

Truly, a performance worth a million words 💔

Canada geese feeding on the misty frosty lawns of Kelsey Park this cold fine winter’s morning.

Holocaust Remembrance2.
“Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me”

Holocaust Remembrance
“First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist”

Tents pitched indoors for warmth and makeshift radiators: Ukrainians are freezing to death | Janine di Giovanni As a war correspondent I’ve seen this strategy used before. Putin is weaponising the savage eastern European winter, says war correspondent Janine di Giovanni

Freezing cities. Dark homes. This is not collateral damage — it’s strategy. Winter is being weaponized against Ukrainians. My op-ed for @guardian.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Electric car sales overtake petrol in Europe for the first time — The Telegraph Demand across all vehicle types remains ‘below pre-pandemic levels’ amid China influx

Electric car sales overtake petrol in Europe for first time. “A total of 217,900 electric cars were sold across the European Union (EU) in December, compared to 216,500 petrol cars, according to European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association”.
Matt Oliver
The Telegraph
apple.news/AF0MvdBaRTzy...

Paris said au revoir to cars. Air pollution maps reveal a dramatic change. Air pollution fell substantially as the city restricted car traffic and made way for parks and bike lanes.

“Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic and made way for parks, people-streets and bike-lanes.”

Better for the climate, better for health, better for livability and quality of life.

Common sense.

Such a no-brainer, it’s remarkable that more cities HAVEN’T done the same.

What the world can learn from Copenhagen’s cycling revolution Close to two-thirds of the city’s residents commute by bike to school or work every day.

According to the Danish finance ministry’s calculations, the cost to society of trips by car is close to 1 euro/km. Every km travelled by bike yields societal gains of 60 euro cents thanks to health benefits, transport efficiency gains, & lower infra spending. theprogressplaybook.com/2024/01/31/w...

40+ ft waves wrapped into Storm Ingrid

Yet another storm approaching UK this evening from the Atlantic- storm Ingrid, set to bring more wind and rainfall chaos tonight.

We interrupt the madness for a note from the rational world And an encouraging one, at that!

India is on a very different development pathway from China, industrialising using modern renewables, put to work through electrification, particularly home grown solar. Proud to have supported this. billmckibben.substack.com/p/we-interru...

​​At Davos, Phasing Out Fossil Fuels Is No Longer Debatable Markets have moved on from fossil fuels. Politics hasn’t.

Time-“The evidence is no longer in dispute. Continued expansion of coal, oil, and gas is incompatible with planetary stability and long-term prosperity” time.com/7353478/davo...

Read Mark Carney's full speech on middle powers navigating a rapidly changing world | CBC News Read the full text of Prime Minister Mark Carney's speech about a shakeup of the global order and role of middle powers at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The full text of PM Carney’s speech at WEF2026, which got a standing ovation “Middle powers have the capacity to build a new order that embodies our values, like respect for human rights, sustainable development, solidarity, sovereignty & territorial integrity of states”. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Half the world’s 100 largest cities are in high water stress areas, analysis finds Exclusive: Beijing, Delhi, Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro among worst affected, with demand close to exceeding supply

Half the world's 100 largest cities are experiencing high water stress, where the amount of water being used is perilously close to exceeding what's available. Now, climate change is drying already stretched water supplies. Our new article, out now:

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Biodiversity collapse threatens UK security, intelligence chiefs warn Ecosystem destruction will increase food shortages, disorder and mass migration, with effects already being felt

The global attack on nature is threatening the UK’s national security, government intelligence chiefs have warned, as the increasingly likely collapse of vitally important natural systems would bring mass migration, food shortages, price rises & global disorder. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

I know this is all just very stupid but come on

Trump: "I haven't been able to find any windfarms in China."

Reality: China has far more windfarms than any other country on Earth

Before (2021) / After (2024) Rue Jean Rey in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. A rare case : angled car parking replaced by bicycle parking, making it possible to install a double row !

That is beautiful Tao, thanks for sharing!

Fabulous!

Thank you I love the words: “The “reflections” filling the narrator’s eyes suggest an emotional flood: an overwhelming awareness of both beauty and pain in the human condition”