Kim MacDonald

Sign the Petition Ditch the plastic grass for sustainable alternatives at Edinburgh Fringe 2026

While you're sipping on a cool drink and waiting for a show today, think about signing this petition to get rid of horrible plastic 'grass' from our festival!

www.change.org/DitchPlastic...

Insects are dying: here are 25 easy and effective ways you can help protect them From turning out the lights to letting leaves rot, these small steps can create big changes at home or in the wild

Lots of great tips and links and tools here to help insects and a wildlife.
Via @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Unsplash image of the Earth, mostly the nightside with a tracery of city lights on every continent.

OK, this is wild.

In September 2023, geophysicists across the world started monitoring a very odd signal coming from the ground under them.

It was picked up in the Arctic. And Antarctica. It was detected everywhere, every 90 seconds, as regular as a metronome, for *nine days*.

What the HELL?

1/

Almost any building, school, or parking lot could be turned into a #solarpower plant and provide #cleanenergy for our cities and homes.

RT if think more buildings should get a #solar upgrade.

#ActOnClimate #ClimateEmergency #ClimateCrisis #GreenNewDeal #renewable
#energy

Very high to extreme wildfire risk across Scotland
www.firescotland.gov.uk/news/very-hi...

This is incredibly satisfying. Fuck Elon.

That silly “it’s the worst time ever to be or raise a Real Man” post in defense of “boys simply MUST worship at the altar of the Tate brothers b/c feminism & the gays” has me thinking - not about that, obviously it’s nonsense. About what it would take to see a societal shift in masculinity.

Incredible findings on impact of LEZ & ULEZ

⬇️ significantly reduced PM10 & NO2 levels

⬇️ sick leave reduced by 18.5%

⬆️ improved general health

⬇️ reduced incidence of long-term health conditions and respiratory issues

⬆️ mental well-being & happiness

💷 est. savings exceeding £37 million per year

Incredible news! 89% of the global public want more climate action, but don't realise they're part of a huge and potentially powerful majority.

#The89Percent aims to fix that and motivate climate delayer* politicians to up their game. Well done @dpcarrington.bsky.social & all involved

🧵 1/3...

Most People Buy a New Phone Every 2.5 Years. There’s a Better Way Back Market and iFixit are partnering to encourage consumers to keep their phones in service for at least five years—and to pressure manufacturers to extend smartphone support to 10 years.

Ahead of Earth Day on April 22, DIY supplier iFixit and refurbished device retailer Back Market have partnered to launch a marketing campaign that encourages consumers to replace their phones every 5 years instead of the national average of 2.5 to 3 years.

I’d love to see a ban on grouse shooting. It’s a wildly damaging blood “sport” and that land could be put to far better use. Jobs will be lost, but there’s more paid work for local people in restoring those ecosystems than repeatedly burning them down.

Scotland's largest community solar farm gets green light A Community Benefit Society based on Arran has been granted planning consent for a 6 MW solar farm, with the aim of generating 5,600MWh of clean…

“Arran Community Renewables, a Community Benefit Society based on the Isle of Arran, has been granted planning consent for a 6 MW solar farm .. The £5million project will be the largest 100% community owned scheme of its kind in Scotland.”

www.heraldscotland.com/news/2507608...

A tricky thing about modern society is that no one has any idea when they don’t die.

Like, the number of lives saved by controlling air pollution in America is probably over 200,000 per year, but the number of people who think their life was saved by controlling air pollution is zero.

London-wide Ulez cut pollution most in the areas that opposed it A new report estimates that nitrogen dioxide emissions fell by 14 per cent in the city’s outer boroughs during the expanded scheme’s first year

London-wide Ulez cut pollution most in the areas that opposed it

Emissions of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), a toxic gas linked to stunted growth in children’s lungs, fell 14 per cent in outer boroughs compared to a scenario without a citywide Ulez

Story 👇

www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦

I was just told that I have to remove “climate” from the title of an ongoing grant if I want to keep it. And publications from that grant cannot include “climate” and other forbidden words. I can’t believe I’m writing this from the United States of America. #AcademicSky

Sunrise today is finally before 8am, Edinburgh people!! ☀️

The DOGE kids showing up at Treasury:

Now the whole country gets the experience of what it's like when private equity buys the place you work

Elon Musk believes in the "checks" part of "checks and balances" so long as the checks are written to him.

Find yourself fixing the family printer today?🎄
We get hit with tech requests & our folks don’t realize they are most at risk bc they reuse their password everywhere!
Thanks @techcrunch.com @zackwhittaker.bsky.social for chatting about how to help our fam at home 💻
techcrunch.com/2024/12/25/h...

2024 will be the first full year over 1.5°C. We're lucky there were no major weather events associated with this record.

Oh. Right. Never mind.

AI & Copyright Consultation - Template letter to your MP [Your Name][Your Address][City, Postcode][Email Address][Date] [MP’s Name]House of CommonsLondonSW1A 0AA Dear [MP’s Name], Re: Consultation on AI and Copyright I am writing to express my seriou...

If you're in the UK, here's a template letter you can copy - docs.google.com/document/d/1... - and you can find your local MP's details here - members.parliament.uk/members/Comm....

2/10

Don’t make me tap the sign. Strikes are supposed to be disruptive

If you see anyone talking about how the Amazon strike could disrupt the flow of packages:

Steven Bartlett sharing harmful health misinformation on Diary of CEO podcast Disproven health claims are accepted with little challenge by host on number one podcast, BBC investigation finds.

Steve Bartlett as a case study in how misinformation is popular & lucrative- clickbait -> more listeners -> more advertising revenue. It’s a sound business model if you don’t care about evidence or data.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Global forecast for 2025 sees temperatures falling back below 1.5°C La Niña conditions are expected to lead to a slightly cooler average global surface temperature in 2025, though it does not mean the planet as a whole has stopped warming

Seriously, so what? Global heat content continues to rise apace; whether slightly more or less than 1% of that heat goes into the atmosphere vs the ocean in any given yr is basically irrelevant.

As the IPCC says: every ton of carbon matters, every bit of action matters, and every choice matters.

Stop fearing what could go wrong and start welcoming what could go right

Image: www.instagram.com/soleoado

if arguing online changed anything we'd all be running Linux

5th person confirmed to be cured of HIV Researchers are announcing that a 53-year-old man in Germany has been cured of HIV.

5th person to be cured of HIV

“Today, researchers announced the Dusseldorf patient still has no detectable virus in his body, even after stopping his HIV medication four years ago.”

A close up of a black and grey tabby cat that sits under a Christmas tree with a red glittery bauble on it and warm lights on.

Okay but my cat is very cute.