Laurie Winkless

Just a thought: How about we stop shaming the poor for buying things that may not be essential, and start shaming the rich for making a profit off things that are essential?

In this house we block this fucking guy (massimo, not cosmicrami)

Just had to cancel a catch-up that I've been super excited about for months 😭 but I just feel so ropey that I know it'd be a bad idea to travel. Hoping that a second day of rest will sort me out

New Zealand guts climate policy it bragged about on the world stage The law was once held up internationally as a model of transparency. The government just weakened it.

You know, there’s this pervasive view that people don’t care about climate change / are bored of it / find it overwhelming but I wrote this story this week and social media went crazy over it. People care!!!! They really care are they need a way to channel it www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

$5b-plus blowout for eight Roads of National Significance The Government's 17 Roads of National Significance will cost it at least $44 billion – enough to rebuild Dunedin Hospital 23 times over. Marc Daalder reports.

New from me: Just eight of the Government's 17 Roads of National Significance have already seen costs blow out by $5.1 billion - before any shovels are even in the ground.

The full programme would cost $44-$54 billion on the latest numbers.
newsroom.co.nz/2025/10/23/5...

New Report Finds Efforts to Slow Climate Change Are Working—Just Not Fast Enough By virtually every key metric, efforts to fight climate change are going too slowly, according to findings by a coalition of climate groups. In some cases, things are moving in the wrong direction.

By virtually every key metric, efforts to fight climate change are going too slowly, according to findings by a coalition of climate groups. In some cases, things are moving in the wrong direction.

PhD students conduct most of the actual work in generating knowledge on college campuses. Cutting the number of students cuts the amount of research by that amount.

A huge divestment from future growth.

Well, it was almost inevitable, given how many people I've been meeting on this trip, and how busy it's been. I'm sick. I'll be heading to the pharmacy later to pick up some PCR tests. Hopefully it's just a cold. Learn from me and mask up (on more than just public transport & in busy stores).

A brilliant thread #nzstrike

A large glass building with a rounded front.

I did eventually make it to the lab. It was a very short visit because of other commitments, but really lovely. I even got to say hello to a few old friends 😊

And just like my old commute, every service is delayed or cancelled. So there's a genuine possibility that I won't actually make it to the lab after all. Please keep your fingers crossed for me!

Off to visit my old lab (NPL) today to interview a scientist for a potential Spectrum article. And because of where I'm staying, my journey there is effectively my old commute. It's a very odd feeling 😅

Never is humanity's lack of "cop on" more obvious than at the baggage belt in an airport.

(And no, if you don't know what "cop on" is, I'm afraid I won't be the person who explains it to you)

Stage 2 was so, so, so great. Speaking in Kilkenny Castle was an amazing experience, and picking up so seamlessly with my uni buds filled my heart. Now off to London (& its surrounds) for 10ish days - that is Stage 3 and thankfully work only forms a small part of it ❤️

I've had an influx of followers over the past few days, so I suspect I'm on a new list. Regardless, HELLO! It's lovely to have you here! I'm currently on a trip in Europe (part-holiday, part-work) so I'm less active on Bsky than usual. Normal service to resume soon-ish.

A blonde woman in her 40s with glasses smiles softly at the camera. She's wearing a green coat. The wall behind her is yellow brick - she's at a train station

Stage 1 of my Europe trip complete: I've spent two wonderful weeks with my family, and delivered talks to the educational institutes that shaped me (St Mary's College Dundalk and Trinity College Dublin)

Stage 2: a trip to Kilkenny to speak at a very cool event, then catch-ups with old friends.

One in six bacterial infections worldwide are now resistant to antibiotics, WHO warns www.bmj.com/content/391/...

💔

Climate minister admits new target may breach global 1.5C goal Climate Minister Simon Watts admitted the Government's new methane target may not be consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5C.

New: Climate Change Minister Simon Watts concedes the Government’s new methane target could result in outcomes not consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5C above preindustrial levels – a threshold mandated in New Zealand and international law.
newsroom.co.nz/2025/10/15/c...

During an EU Commission press briefing, a journalist questioned the double standards of European policy, asking whether Israel should also be held accountable for rebuilding Gaza — just as the EU demands Russia
The question was met with silence, as the EU spokesperson declined to comment.

I am being asked to tell my department which pieces of lab equipment should be supported with backup power because they expect rolling blackouts and brownouts in 2026 due to increased energy demands from AI. In case you're wondering how my day is going.

"On top of the weaker ambition on methane reductions, the government recently reopened the country to oil and gas prospecting, removed a subsidy for electric vehicles, and disestablished a fund meant to help decarbonise industry. All moves are counter to the free trade agreement with the EU." #nzpol

Scientists fear weaker methane target signals wider retreat from climate action After cutting methane targets, New Zealand has a choice: shoulder the burden at huge cost - or cause more warming to the planet.

Government engaging in doublespeak on #ClimateAction
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

As an Earth scientist I find articles like this very 😤. Everyone is like Yay! Enhanced rock weathering is just accelerating something the 🌎 already does! Super easy! Super scalable! 🧑‍🌾 love it! Models suggest it can suck up 4 Gt of CO2/yr if deployed at scale! Amazing! That's a lot of CO2! Except.......hardly anyone bothers to ask how this compares to what the 🌎 is already doing. Turns out the 🌎 removes CO2 in this way VERY SLOWLY. Like a rate that is 10-20x lower (0.2 to 0.4 Gt CO2/yr) than the modeled number in this article. How does the 🌎 get this rate? By moving ~40,000 km3/yr of H2O (the global river/groundwater runoff) over ~140,000,000 km2 of exposed land (the area of continents). All of the rocks and all the water on the surface of the 🌎 get you 0.2 to 0.4 Gt CO2/yr. And yet we're supposed accelerate this rate by 10-20x through a little grindin' and spreadin' 🪨?! Proponents of this approach would say they MEASURE rates that are consistent with these sorts of large global extrapolations. While getting into the weeds of ERW MRV is beyond the scope here, I would just say that if I had modeled a global number that was 10-20x the natural global rate I would have just assumed that my model (or my understanding) is missing something in how the natural process actually works (rather than I have invented a way to accelerate nature by 10-20x). On a related note, all of these discussions of accelerating natural weathering processes seem to conveniently ignore the fact that the ocean crust (66% of our planet's surface area) is made out of the same mafic rocks (e.g. basalt) that they want to spread on fields. Seawater flows through this basalt on the seafloor at a rate of ~5-10,000 km3/yr and you get the same natural process of chemical weathering as ERW is trying to accelerate on land. Earth scientists can't even agree whether its chemical weathering on the seafloor or chemical weathering on land that is more important for Earth's CO2-🌡️ ! e.g. see Coogan…

@blueicedude.bsky.social has thoughts about enhanced rock weathering.

www.linkedin.com/posts/john-h...

View up a glacial valley towards mountains, with a flat valley floor & snow capped mountains. Lush rainforest frames the valley

This image shows how far the glacier has retreated just in 16 years - absolutely heartbreaking. The place where I took the photo was the terminal of the glacier in 1905

Absolutely heartbreaking visit to NZ's temperate glaciers on Te Tai Poutini West Coast.

Here's Kā Roimata-o-Hinehukatere Franz Joseph Glacier & Waiau (Waiho) River in Kā Tiritiri-o-te-moana the Southern Alps.

NZ's glaciers are in fast retreat due to Climate Change (see 2009 position drawn in).

I am so weary of that class of extremely online leftists who think being a Serious Person™️ who only posts and does nothing else is superior to being a Fun Person™️ who physically shows up

From what I know of Gaelic (which is limited!) the words are often similar written down, but the pronunciation differs

I married a Kiwi so I may not be the best qualified to answer that 😅

bsky.app/profile/laur...

(thank you - I don't know enough about Burns / Scots to comment!)