Leslie Mabon

Fueling or burning the game? Football clubs, fans and energy companies ft. Leslie Mabon - The FootPol Podcast In the latest FootPol Podcast episode, Leslie Mabon, senior lecturer in environmental systems at The Open University discusses how football’s deep ties to industry reveal a bigger story about climate ...

I recently appeared on @footpolpodcast.bsky.social to discuss football, industry, place identity and a just transition - with a healthy dose of examples including Iwaki FC, Airdrie keeper John Martin, and the offshore wind supply chain permeating Raith Rovers:

www.buzzsprout.com/2253650/epis...

The fall of a prolific science journal exposes the billion-dollar profits of scientific publishing One of the 15 publications that put out the most studies globally has been expelled from the indexing system for irregularities. Its publisher, Elsevier, has a 38% profit margin that reached $1.5 bill...

Science of the Total Environment delisted. Any time a story like this breaks, I have a great deal of sympathy for other authors who have published their research in the journal in good faith, and for the reviewers and editors who have done their job properly.

english.elpais.com/science-tech...

This is going to sound a bit salty, but - if you claim an author has not read widely enough, and then provide a list of 'key texts' written exclusively by white men at prestigious Western universities to make your point, then I would argue YOU have also not read widely enough.

And feat. on football, ideology, and politics: @liberopodcast.bsky.social w/ @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social, @brewin.bsky.social & @rorysmith.bsky.social; @migueldelaney.bsky.social for @the-independent.com; @footpolpodcast.bsky.social w/ @guyburton.net & @ljmabon.bsky.social...

I remember when stuff like this used to end the careers of people at all points along the political spectrum.

Sadly, the news cycle will move on, and within a week he'll be back grabbing airtime, pint and cigarette in hand, as if nothing ever happened.

A screenshot of a Tiktok-style video showing an actor playing a drunk salaryman in the Japanese countryside walking home, in danger of falling into a farm ditch.

Very geographically-specific safety information on KNB Toyama this week - stay away from farm ditches when drunk. Good advice.

Passengers on scenic ScotRail lines stuck with old diesel trains as greener power shelved Rural routes will be given hand-me-down ScotRail trains from other lines instead

I will have retired by the time the West Highland Line is decarbonised. Class.

www.scotsman.com/news/transpo...

A man in a grey shirt standing at the front of a room with a microphone.

Another great @ouscotland.bsky.social Mock COP, this time in Dumfries! Really enjoyed talking to high school pupils from all over Dumfries and Galloway about what happens at international climate change negotiations, and very impressed with how engaged and knowledgeable the students were!

Three Open University textbooks sitting on a table in a pile. The top book has an image of an onshore windfarm on the cover.

Brilliant to see our @openuniversity.bsky.social Environmental Management: Pathways to Sustainability module reach fruition. The result of several years of research, writing, filming - and lots and lots of Teams meetings! Books are just one small - but very tangible - part of the OU experience #T330

Fundraiser by Naoko Mabon | Support new peer-led curatorial initiative for contemporary arts in Zambia Naoko Mabon Needs Your Help | Collective Cares is a new peer-led curatorial initiative for contemporary arts in Zambia, created by freelancers. Zambia’s artistic landscape is rich in expr...

My wife Naoko Mabon is working in partnership with a number of artists and arts practitioners to develop a new curatorial initiative by and for Zambia. Please consider supporting and sharing if you can:

whydonate.com/fundraising/...

A group of people in a room, listening to a panel discussion on climate justice.

Terrific day at @ouscotland.bsky.social @howdec.bsky.social Mock COP in Inverness today. Talked to a group of students from all over the Highlands about what will happen at #COP30 - as well as the merits and drawbacks of the COP process, and what they can do as citizens. Feeling very energised!

A colour painting of a fishing boat, with a blue background, white Open University logo, and text reading 'The Future of Fishing'

Through our @openuniversity.bsky.social partnership with the BBC, I've been working with The One Show on the future of fisheries in the UK. Wonderful to see Hans Unkles' fully-electrified boat, which fishes out of Tayvallich just down the road from me, featured:

connect.open.ac.uk/the-one-show/

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

An excellent paper by Anna Lena Bercht on navigating scepticism towards qualitative research in quantitative- or positivist-oriented fields. Good advice on how to advocate for one's methodological approach. Could have done with citing this earlier this week 😅

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Yes! This is also why I get so irate in online meetings when a session runs over and the chair says something like "let's just take a very quick three-minute comfort break". Some people - for a whole variety of reasons - need longer.

Keeping to time is an accessibility issue! People need breaks between sessions in conferences for all sorts of accessibility reasons - whether for cognitive load, to take medication, needing bathroom breaks, check blood sugar or anything else! Making an effort to keep to time is inclusive.

Image promoting Leslie Mabon's research into communities tackling climate risks

How can urban nature support fair and effective climate action?

British Academy-funded research by @ljmabon.bsky.social worked with communities in Glasgow’s Pollok and Govan, to explore who has access to land, who shapes decisions, and who benefits from greener spaces.

Read more 👇

bit.ly/3Lky8H8

Willing to bet a Suzuki Kei Truck can carry more stuff, and access more terrain, than either the F150 or the North American-market Toyota.

⚽ Football, Climate Change, and Identity 🌍
How the game’s industrial past—from coal and steel to oil—is shaping its sustainable future.

Leslie Mabon discusses football’s role in the global energy transition.
🎧 Listen here → www.buzzsprout.com/2253650/epis...
#Football #ClimateChange #Sustainability

Our latest @footpolpodcast.bsky.social episode is out! I spoke to @ljmabon.bsky.social about his work on football clubs' links to the energy sector, both old and new as well as what the future could be. It was a fascinating conversation that ranged from Scotland to Germany to Japan. Have a listen!

A screenshot of a Japanese TV programme. There is a blue and yellow train running through fields, with a livery reading 'Rail is Baton'.

Very interesting documentary about population decline and lifeline rural railways in Hiroshima Prefecture. The irony of a train with a 'Rail is Baton' livery running on a line where the operator is pushing to shrink services due to lack of profitabilty.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3WH...

I just saw that video, and came on here with the specific intention of asking "how on earth is @garagehirst.bsky.social not involved in this"?

FIFA were crowing about how Club World Cup was the most "merit-based" competition in the world. The World Cup? Not so much when it comes to Asia. Qatar and Saudi given home advantage for two mini group playoffs. Now Qatar maximise this by playing crunch UAE game in tiny stadium to limit away fans

This is hardly surprising when the operators of many social media platforms have filled their sites with so much advertising, clickbait and junk that you hardly see any of the content you signed up to see. In a desire to generate revenue, they've rendered their platforms unattractive and unusable.

The Ferret’s article gives a sobering look at the lived experiences of communities like Brechin, which are still grappling with the aftermath of Storm Babet and inputs from Carol Raeburn from the Scottish Flood Forum & @uofglasgow.bsky.social's Prof Larissa Naylor.
theferret.scot/communities-...

【News】CCS Can Safely Store 10 Times Less Carbon than Previously Thought A study published in Nature stated that the global carbon storage capacity is 10 times less than the amount fossil fuel companies claim can be processed by CCS.

A study published in Nature stated that the global carbon storage capacity is 10 times less than the amount fossil fuel companies claim can be processed by CCS.

beyond-coal.jp/en/news/ccs-...
#beyondcoal #脱石炭

A seawall built out of boulders between a blue sea, a beach, and a mixed forest.

A team of students measures distances and angles of a mound of tetrapods on a beach, between the sea and some low trees.

Two men measure a seawall, holding opposite ends of a measuring tape.

A concrete curved seawall on a coral beach, in front of a tall broad-leaved tree, in Sabang, Indonesia.

A very full week in Aceh as part of @britishacademy.bsky.social supported study into evidence + policy for seawalls in Indonesia, building on @raeng.org.uk research. Great to see students of our partner Universitas Syiah Kuala learning how to check the characteristics and performance of seawalls.

📢We're hiring!📢

We have a permanent Lecturer in Earth Sciences position available in @OU_EEE
@OpenUniversity

£47,389 to £56,535
Closing Date: 20 October 2025*

We are a friendly, research intensive school with supportive colleagues and great labs.

jobs.open.ac.uk/job/Lecturer...

A man in a grey suit stands on a podium in front of a large projector screen showing coastal erosion.

A group of people in a room looking at a projector screen.

A public building in Indonesia, with green vegetation and white walls.

Four people stand on a seawall in Indonesia. It is a low rubble wall, with the sea on one side and a port on the other.

A pleasure to be in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, to progress @britishacademy.bsky.social work on evidence-driven policy for seawalls with @openuniversity.bsky.social, Syiah Kuala Uni + London South Bank Uni. Honoured to deliver keynote for Aceh Intl Symposium on Civil Engineering today during our visit.

UK research ‘trying to do too many things’, warns new UKRI leader - Research Professional News Ian Chapman wants funding emphasis on world-leading areas, but experts warn of system “inertia”

Maybe I'm being too grumpy, but I foresee a time in the near future in the UK where only the most elite unis and depts are allowed to apply for open research funding, with the rest of us only eligible for select industry- and policy support calls.

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

A former aluminium smelter building in Kinlochleven, Scotland.

A bicycle leaning against a tree, with a brown mountain in the background and grey sky.

A bicycle leaning against a granite bench, with Castle Stalker on a small island in the background.

A small river flows into a loch, with forested hills on either side.

Cycled from Oban to the former aluminium smelting town of Kinlochleven and back, 100 miles all-in including a couple of scenic detours on the way home. Now incapable of any form of movement.