Simon Pickstone

Some good news.

London is meeting legal limits for toxic NO2 pollution for the first time – almost 200 years earlier than predicted – following the Mayor’s "world leading air pollution policies," City Hall announces.

The Ultra Low Emissions Zone - and similar policies - really do work.

LinkedIn post from environment commissioner Jessika Roswall that reads: In July, I took a blood test to check if and how much PFAS is in my body. Why? Because PFAS — often called “forever chemicals” — are a growing public health and environmental concern. This initiative was made by the Danish Presidency together with European Environmental Bureau and ChemSec. I, together with European ministers, took PFAS tests to raise awareness about the risks these chemicals pose. PFAS are used in everything from industrial processes to everyday consumer products. Their durability makes them valuable in key sectors, including the green transition — but that same durability means they don’t break down. They stay in our soil, water, air, wildlife — and in our bodies. This is not just a personal issue — it’s a public one. A Dutch study showed that nearly everyone in the Netherlands has PFAS in their blood, often at levels above what’s considered safe. And this pattern is seen across Europe. At the EU level, we European Commission are committed to reducing the use of PFAS. We’re working towards a ban on PFAS in consumer products, and wherever safer alternatives exist, they should be used. We need to reduce PFAS use — and we need to clean our environment from these “forever chemicals.” 🧪 When I took the test, I promised to share my results. And here they are: Yes, I do have PFAS in my body. I tested positively on 6 out of 13 PFAS. And 3 out of those 6 are officially classified as toxic for reproductive health. This only strengthens my resolve to keep working for stronger action at the European level.

Translation of reply reads: How relevant is the statement that she has PFAS in her blood to her health? Epidemiologically, there is no evidence that this leads to higher cancer rates. According to the cancer registry, the district of Altötting even has lower cancer rates than the rest of Bavaria. And the proven dampening effect on the immune system could perhaps even have positive effects, because many diseases are caused by an excessive immune response. It would be nice if the EU would finally take action based on solid toxicological and epidemiological facts and not on the basis of ‘I have PFAS in my blood’ grrr! Original reads: Welche Relevanz hat die Aussage, dass sie PFAS im Blut hat für ihre Gesundheit? Epidemiologisch gibt es keine Beweise, dass das zu höheren Krebsraten führt, im Lkr. AÖ gibt es laut Krebsregister sogar niedrigere Krebsraten als im Rest Bayerns. Und der nachgewiesene dämpfende Effekt auf das Immunsystem könnte vielleicht sogar positive Auswirkungen haben weil viele Krankheiten auf eine überschießende Immunreaktion zurückzuführen sind. Es wäre schön, wenn die EU endlich mal auf der Basis solider toxikologischer und epidemiologischer Fakten vorgehen wird und nicht aufgrund von "ich habe PFAS im Blut" grrr!

incredible things are happening on LinkedIn, where someone is trying to persuade EU environment commissioner Jessika Roswall that having PFAS in her bloodstream may be Good Actually

we live in an incredible world

That background hum is bees, not traffic.

Ivy is one seriously important food for insects at this time of year.

can't believe we're still seeing headlines like this -- the article itself says "the short answer is no". that's short enough to go in the headline!

Call for ban on UK plastic waste abroad following true crime investigation Campaigners have called for the government to ban all plastic waste exports following a joint ENDS investigation that revealed hundreds of boys and men have been killed in recycling factories in Turke...

🚨🚨Campaigners have called on the government to ban all plastic waste exports following a joint ENDS investigation out yesterday.

It revealed hundreds of boys and men have been killed in recycling factories in Turkey - a top destination for UK waste exports👇
www.endsreport.com/article/1932...

YouTube video by stan tonkin Mike Skinner Backstage Peter Mandelson Went Mad | Turn The Page Live | The Streets

Today's Big News from the UK feels like a good moment to reshare this classic Mike Skinner clip
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue1U...

A bale of plastic.
A mystery body.
A global investigation.

Next week we release something a bit special -
'Boy Wasted' - a new true crime podcast series.

This has been a massive, heart-breaking project!

Please share & subscribe to the Eco Chamber now to get it in your podcast feed.

NEW | China’s clean energy boom and rapid electrification are creating the conditions for a FOSSIL DECLINE at home and abroad⚡

Fossil use in end-use sectors plateaued in 2015--while electricity use grew 65%, becoming central to 🇨🇳’s energy system.

https://loom.ly/psjqvhE

just awful when it's an area he thinks he knows something about...

AI called Maya tells Guardian: ‘When I’m told I’m just code, I don’t feel insulted. I feel unseen’ Cofounder with Michael Samadi of AI rights campaign group Ufair says it should watch over the technology in case an AI becomes conscious

You can just... not publish this stuff

The European Commission seems to be taking steps to close the loophole -- provisionally by mid-2026 -- on the back of a French proposal submitted back in 2022. But there's still a long way to go...

ec.europa.eu/info/law/bet...

Narrator's voice: no, they were not ideal for steps, raised beds, decking, patios, borders, lawn, paver & driveway edging

Snippet from the REACH Regulation restriction entry for creosate stating: "3. Treated wood referred to under paragraph 2(b) and (c) shall not be used: — inside buildings, whatever their purpose, — in toys, — in playgrounds, — in parks, gardens, and outdoor recreational and leisure facilities where there is a risk of frequent skin contact, — in the manufacture of garden furniture such as picnic tables, — for the manufacture and use and any re-treatment of: — — containers intended for growing purposes, — packaging that may come into contact with raw materials, intermediate or finished products destined for human and/or animal consumption, — other materials which may contaminate the articles mentioned above."

A sales listing for creosote-treated railway sleepers stating that they are "Ideal for Steps, Raised beds, Decking, Patios, Borders, Lawn, Paver & Driveway Edging"

A thing I genuinely can't get my head around is that you can still buy old railway sleepers for your garden. Like, the EU specifically bans the use of creosote-treated wood in parks and gardens, and specifically mentions plant containers, because it contains such a nasty bunch of chemicals...

this is absolutely crackers!

They paved paradise and put up medium density housing served by light rail

Fresque murale récente qui prolonge l'effet de la végétation Rue d'Aubervilliers dans le 19ème

The effect of battery-electric vehicle ownership on transport demand and substitution between modes Transport decarbonization is a key part of moves to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. A major component of this involves shifting private car us…

What has been the impact of Norway’s shift to electric vehicles?

New study finds: “… BEV ownership leads to an overall increase in car trip demand in the order of 10–20%. This reflects shifts from ICEV to BEV use, but also sizeable shifts away from public transport use, cycling and walking.”

A section of an AI generated image ostensibly showing European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, horribly disfigured, bowing down before Donald Trump, dressed as an emperor, whose sandal cuts through her arm. For some reason von der Leyen is wearing an EU flag as a kind of toga(?) that is randomly dotted with extra yellow stars.

🙈

Aside from anything else, this article is a good reminder that AI image generators are still terrible!

A wooden box in a cafe in Zurich with the label 'Geschirrrückgabe' intended to hold used cups and plates

Humbly submitting Geschirrrückgabe for consideration as one of the top German compound nouns, partly for its precision + elegance (what do we even say for this in English? 'used crockery here'?) -- but mainly for the incredible triple r

Ea-Nasir is a lesson to all merchants about downsides of preserving records beyond statutory minimums

Ea-Nasir's reputation has suffered significantly despite passing of relevant statutes of limitation

Une entrée / sortie de parking condamnée en plein 10ème arrondissement de Paris, les temps continuent de changer.

Image shows a walkway across the former storage pits, now filled with greenery, with sunlit blast furnaces behind

Here's another nice pic of it

A view from the top of the blast furnace in Duisburg-Nord, showing the crane formerly used to load coke and iron ore into storage pits, plus a landscape of trees, steeples, chimneys and slag heaps beyond

You can climb up one of the blast furnaces in Duisburg, where you get amazing views across the Ruhr -- smoke stacks and slag heaps, but also water towers, church steeples and lots and lots of green

Picture shows part of the old steel mill in Duisburg Nord, now converted into a park, with a cluster of trees growing within the complex

People sometimes think I'm winding them up when I recommend going to visit a bunch of old blast furnaces, but they really are incredible

It's nice to see the Ruhr get a bit of love in the Guardian today. There's so many great places to visit -- Duisburg's Landschaftspark (pictured below) alone makes a trip there worth it

‘Like fly-tipping’: ministers ignoring pleas to cut sludge fertiliser use Exclusive: Defra warned three years ago of farmland contamination by water firms’ sewage-derived product

🚨EXCLUSIVE🚨

After obtaining reams of internal docs, I have a new story out revealing how govt has sat for three years on plans to tighten rules letting water companies SELL sewage sludge contaminated with PFAS & microplastics.

Read it in @theguardian.com, and..

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

just the worst -- overnight indoor room temp didn't drop below 27 for me. Already back up at 28 🫠

Time series of temperatures in Western Europe showing the warming during the average summer day and the warming in the hottest summer day from 1950 to 2022. Data from ERA5.

One of the challenges to understanding climate change is that extremes don't necessarily change in the same way as averages.

In Western Europe, for example, the hottest day of the year is warming noticeably faster than the average summer day.