Dr Maria Bastos

“This is about defiance. It’s about doing the right thing... And even if we fail, at the very least, we didn’t contribute to the problem.”

These words aren't defeatist, but a realist expression of our choices: give up, or go down fighting with a chance. ✊️

*Must-read* article.

Xi Ties His Legacy and China’s Economy to $167 Billion Dam Beijing's mammoth project is a bid for stimulus, energy security and control over a river vital to millions.

This may change how hitherto humans have related with the geologic features of the planet. Scary.

The shining: my trip to the G7 horror show with Emmanuel Macron | Emmanuel Carrère The long read: Deeply unpopular in France, President Macron relishes the international stage, where he projects himself as the leader best placed to handle Trump. Seven years after our last encounter,...

www.theguardian.com/news/2025/ju...

Liberal feminism will never liberate us – Scalawag Liberal feminism’s fixation on representation over liberation is nothing more than cosmetic hierarchy.

scalawagmagazine.org/2025/07/libe...

not always, but more frequently, recently. Same back in 2018/2017 and probably 2022…. wild blackberries and plums are also early… should be in August …. not good.

The police (wrongly) inform a peaceful protestor that holding a Palestinian flag and signs deploring genocide is an offence under the Terrorism Act. This is the deranged policing environment the government has created.

On how AI is leading to academic censorship… as well….

Small Investment, Big Reward: Oil Giants Dumped $19 Million Into Trump's Inaugural Fund | Common Dreams "Every month that Donald Trump has been in power, we've seen a raft of anti-climate measures come out which are music to the fossil fuel industry's ears," said one investigator.

Small Investment, Big Reward: Oil Giants Dumped $19 Million Into Trump's Inaugural Fund www.commondreams.org/news/big-oil...

UN says Israeli forces recently killed hundreds seeking aid in Gaza Ten Palestinians killed waiting for rations in Gaza, adding to nearly 800 similar deaths in six weeks, according to UN.

Ten Palestinians killed waiting for rations in Gaza, adding to nearly 800 similar deaths in six weeks, according to UN.

Another reason to oppose war—its environmental fallout - The Understory - Rainforest Action Network The coming decades spell trouble for the two billion or so people living in or near conflict zones, and they also paint a dire picture for one of the frequently unheeded casualties of war—the environm...

“The figures are stark: If the world’s militaries were a single country, they’d be the fourth-largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, producing some 5.5% of annual emissions. That’s because it takes billions of gallons of fuel to power a modern military”

Children in England ‘living in almost Dickensian levels of poverty’ Children’s commissioner says any Labour strategy to tackle deprivation must scrap the two-child benefit cap Children in England are living in “almost Dickensian levels of poverty” where deprivation has become normalised, the children’s commissioner has said, as she insisted the two-child benefit limit must be scrapped. Young people said they had experienced not having enough water to shower, rats biting through their walls, and mouldy bedrooms, among a number of examples in a report on the “crisis of hardship” gripping the country. Continue reading...

Children in England ‘living in almost Dickensian levels of poverty’

Melting glaciers and ice caps could unleash wave of volcanic eruptions, study says Research in Chile suggests climate crisis makes eruptions more likely and explosive, and warns of Antarctica risk

Melting glaciers and ice caps could unleash wave of volcanic eruptions, study says

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Revolutionary time I don’t recall when was the last time I slept throughout the night. The barricades are almost literally under my window; the fact I am between two occupied faculties means I spend most nights at on…

As I'm waiting to board the plane to go back to the UK, I've written a few impressions on the last weeks in Serbia. janabacevic.net/2025/07/03/r...

V&A announces details for David Bowie Centre Chic’s bandleader and the Last Dinner Party are among the curators selecting from the 90,000+ items in the late star’s archive to go on display when the new London venue opens in September

V&A announces details for David Bowie Centre

‘Completely unexpected’: Antarctic sea ice may be in terminal decline due to rising Southern Ocean salinity Scientists once thought Antarctica might hold onto its sea ice as the world warmed. No longer.

‘Completely unexpected’: Antarctic sea ice may be in terminal decline due to rising Southern Ocean salinity

theconversation.com/completely-u...

Spain records highs of 46C and France under alert as Europe swelters in heatwave Extreme heat ‘the new normal’, says UN chief, as authorities across the continent issue health warnings

Ah, yes, nothing like a cheerful photo of people playing in a fountain to go with the news that it’s 46°C

Climate collapse or vibes...which is it?

Get a grip @theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Thermal sand batteries are scalable and can be installed anywhere. They provide an excellent complement to chemical battery storage. 🧪🔌💡☀️💨🔋

The ongoing marine heatwave in the Mediterranean Sea is one of the the largest marine anomalies observed globally

The AI Backlash Keeps Growing Stronger As generative artificial intelligence tools continue to proliferate, pushback against the technology and its negative impacts grows stronger.

Hope.

Pakistan facing ‘crisis of injustice’ in fight against climate change At least 32 killed in monsoon flooding, underscoring Pakistan’s climate vulnerability and insufficient global support.

Militarism certainly turns the issue more complex.

I’m a queer Palestinian. Stop using my identity as cover for the destruction of Gaza | Jad Salfiti Rightwingers in Israel and the US claim they are defending LGBTQ+ rights while Gaza’s people are killed. Don’t dare do this in our name, says British-Palestinian video producer and journalist Jad Salf...

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

'One of the cancelled projects, ‘improving smallholder poultry production and egg consumption in children under two in Ethiopia’, was led by the University of Liverpool, alongside collaborators in the US and Africa.' Which went "woke" first: the chickens or the eggs?

Europe’s pledge to spend more on military will hurt climate and social programmes Nato plan to increase military spending overlooks risks to security posed by environmental breakdown and social decay, say economists

“Demands for further increases to military spending have a stark opportunity cost – prioritising clean energy would deliver the energy security whose absence was so painfully exposed in 2022,” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j... #NATO

ICAN condemns the United States’ illegal military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
By joining Israel’s strikes, the US is violating international law and putting global non-proliferation efforts at risk.

Look, Britain is always going to support the US but this is an absolutely nonsense statement. Iran didn't leave the negotiation table. Israel launched an unprovoked attack which America has now joined.

Climate misinformation turning crisis into catastrophe – major report False claims obstructing climate action, say researchers, amid calls for climate lies to be criminalised

#ClimateMisinformation is turning the #ClimateCrisis into a catastrophe.

False claims are obstructing climate action, say researchers, amid calls for #climatelies to be criminalised.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...