Geoff Smith

Odd seeing the annoyed comments from foresters to this innocuous post on ancient woodland restoration. It's not controversial to say that conifer plantations are nature depleted vs the ancient woodland they replaced. Restoration is even Scottish Forestry policy! www.forestry.gov.scot/planted-wood...

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METOP-C, 0935 UTC Overpass: @lindahughes.bsky.social @drgeoffsmith.bsky.social

We need constantly to remind ourselves that there's nothing normal or inevitable about it. It would be a catastrophe from which we would not recover for many years, in which terrible things are done, to minorities, to vulnerable people, to the rest of the living planet. We cannot let it happen.

No sudden rupture is now required for the far right to take power in this country. For what we're seeing is a steady normalisation of extremists by the Conservative and Labour Parties, BBC, Telegraph, Mail and others. A shift once considered unthinkable beings to look acceptable, even inevitable.🧵

With their own bodies contaminated, would our politicians still vote to weaken pollution control rules?

We're already counting the days to the Living Data Conference (21–24 October)! 💚
🔎 Explore the four sessions that BMD will contribute to: bmd-project.eu/news/bmd-liv...

If anyone fancies a 30% discount on my book THE LIE OF THE LAND, there's a special deal on today & tomorrow: www.amazon.co.uk/Lie-Land-bes...

Alternatively, available at your local independent bookshop!

METOP-B, 0907 UTC Overpass: @lindahughes.bsky.social @drgeoffsmith.bsky.social @metoffice.gov.uk

🔗 t.co/osSphMGhnn

@birdlifeeurope.bsky.social @copernicusland.bsky.social @unepwcmc.bsky.social @eea.europa.eu

Dive into @drgeoffsmith.bsky.social op-ed exploring how the #EO & Copernicus 🛰️ communities are evolving to meet growing challenges by integrating environmental & security priorities, rather than separating them, to deliver shared, interoperable services that support both policy & defence needs

Spot on @georgemonbiot.bsky.social. I've been saying this for years, but I thought I must be totally naive! 🙄 Seems I'm actually being quite reasonable and socially and economically prudent. It's such a shame the government can't do the same. 😬

It hurt when I crashed my bike into a pothole – and it taught me the true price of austerity | George Monbiot Fixing that hole could have cost under £100; the cost of not doing so is limitless. My prang highlights the neoliberal folly of false economies, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

It hurt when I crashed my bike into a pothole – and it taught me the true price of austerity | George Monbiot

#ICYMI

The #EUGW team presented at the 6th Eurosite #Natura2000 Monitoring Workshop❗

During the 'Monitoring Habitat Management & Restoration' session, @drgeoffsmith.bsky.social, presented our near-operational #EO service to experts & discussed the coverage we have in terms of grassland information

METOP-C, 1037 UTC Overpass: @lindahughes.bsky.social @drgeoffsmith.bsky.social @wansteadweather.bsky.social @wessexweather.net @winchesterweather.bsky.social @chadweather.bsky.social @metoffice.gov.uk @inmet.bsky.social @simonleewx.com

From her lifetime of pioneering work with chimpanzees to her
tireless advocacy for the environment...

Jane Goodall was a one-of-a-kind treasure to the world!

I was lucky enough to be able to thank her personally when our paths crossed not long ago.

Thanks again, Ms. Goodall. You will be missed. ♥️

METOP-C, 0938 UTC Overpass: @lindahughes.bsky.social @drgeoffsmith.bsky.social @wansteadweather.bsky.social @wessexweather.net @winchesterweather.bsky.social @fifeweather.co.uk @chadweather.bsky.social @metoffice.gov.uk @wmo-global.bsky.social

🔔 Dataset update: Daily & monthly CARRA Arctic regional reanalysis data (1991–present, 2.5km resolution) now live in the #C3S Climate Data Store (CDS) in addition to the CARRA datasets on different levels!🔗 cds.climate.copernicus.eu/datasets/rea...
#CopernicusClimate

It is, be in no question, time to undo Brexit.

The Tories - remember them? - once led calls for the Climate Change Act, back in 2005. That led to a cross-party, cross-business consensus for sensible legislation to decarbonise in the cheapest way possible.

The Tories are no longer a party of government.

bsky.app/profile/tony...

Royal Society rules out expelling Elon Musk after rally speech - Research Professional News Society president criticises billionaire’s “language of violence” but says organisation should not “police political opinions”

Really disappointing from @royalsociety.org which is hiding behind "not policing politics" to sustain the membership of an openly white supremacist anti-science billionaire who never should have been admitted in the first place, talk about low bars 🧪

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...

UK fifth-worst country in Europe for loss of green space to development Exclusive: 1,680 football pitches of protected natural land in England, Wales and Northern Ireland lost in five years * ‘Desecration of landscape’: the fight over development in areas of outstanding natural beauty * Revealed: Europe losing 600 football pitches of nature and crop land a day Nature and farmland equivalent in size to that of the New Forest – 604 sq km – was lost to concrete and bricks and mortar in the UK between 2018 and 2023, according to an investigation by the Guardian and European partners. In the same period the loss of some of the most protected and special natural areas in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, known as national landscapes, reached 12 sq km; equivalent to 1,680 football pitches worth of natural land. Continue reading...

UK fifth-worst country in Europe for loss of green space to development

METOP-B, 0910 UTC Overpass: @lindahughes.bsky.social @drgeoffsmith.bsky.social @metoffice.gov.uk @weathermizu.bsky.social @wansteadweather.bsky.social @winchesterweather.bsky.social @wessexweather.net @fifeweather.co.uk @inmet.bsky.social @wmo-global.bsky.social @weathergil.bsky.social

It's depressing that they're not even bothering to ask voters where Brexit ranks in their concerns any more, even though it remains the single biggest drag on the economy and has repercussions across so many of the other things people care about, from the environment to health to civil liberties.

Although we have rejoined the Copernicus programme, we have little if any input into the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service as it is run by the European Environment Agency, which we are still outside of. 🙄

If Labour put 10% as much effort into calling out Brexit as they do punching down at immigrants we'd already be negotiating to rejoin the EU.

Brexit only lacks importance for most voters because of the conspiracy of silence across politics and the media to not connect Brexit-related problems to it.

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Yesterday, the 6th Natura2000 Monitoring Workshop officially kicked off with keynote speeches, including a presentation by Niels Raes 👇
@nielsraes.bsky.social | @naturalis.bsky.social