Deirdre McKay

Tracking textile supply chain biodiversity indicators with Copernicus data As part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability and innovation, Danish fashion brand GANNI has launched a pilot project in collaboration with EUSPA to better identify the drivers of biodiversity l...

EUSPA and the Danish brand GANNI joined forces in a pilot using Copernicus data to track ecological changes and biodiversity loss in garment production. Powered by Renoon and KANOP, the project brings space insights into sustainable fashion.

Learn more: www.euspa.europa.eu/newsroom-eve...

Merchants of Myth: new report exposes plastic recycling as costly failure - Greenpeace - Greenpeace A new report from Greenpeace USA reveals plastic recycling has largely failed after decades of being touted by corporations as a solution to the pollution crisis.

That’s right – plastic recycling is actually a MYTH.

In our new report, Merchants of Myth, we explore the failures of plastic recycling after decades of being touted by corporations as a solution to the pollution crisis.

Read the full report here:
www.greenpeace.org/usa/merchant...

Octopuses use their arms to sense and respond to microbiomes on the seafloor From the beginning of life on Earth, microbes, small but influential single-celled organisms, have shaped the environment that animals must adapt to in order to survive. Distinct microbial…

Octopus suckers don’t just feel — they sense microbiomes. Distinct microbes on eggs, prey and other objects trigger chemotactile receptors, prompting reflexive movements in the suckers and arms.

Scientists say these microbial cues help guide key survival behaviors.

Non-toxic solvent enables near-perfect recycling of mixed-fiber textiles We are producing more textiles than ever before: worldwide, well over one hundred million tons of textiles are manufactured every year—more than twice as much as in the year 2000. This makes it increa...

💡A new non-toxic solvent enables efficient separation and near-complete recycling of cotton - #Polyester #Textiles, preserving fiber quality and offering a sustainable solution for mixed-fiber waste. ♻️
phys.org/news/2025-11...

UK can create 5,400 jobs if it stops plastic waste exports, report finds Campaigners say closure of loophole making it cheaper to export rather than recycle will boost circular economy

Is this the framing we want?

We can't recycle out of the problem.
Most plastics are hard to recycle or have no viable market after recycling.

What happened to turning off the tap?

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Professor Joanna Bullard (1969-2025) | Obituary It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Joanna Elizabeth Bullard, Professor of Physical Geography at Loughborough University.

We will be celebrating Jo Bullard's life on Thursday 4th December, from 2.30pm at Loughborough University.

Please register here if you would like to attend: forms.office.com/pages/respon...

The @rgsibg.bsky.social have published an obituary of Jo:
www.rgs.org/about-us/our...

With neonicotinoid pesticide ban, France’s birds make a tentative recovery - study Analysis shows small hike in populations of insect-eating species after 2018 ruling, but full recovery may take decades

Good news: Study shows France’s birds making tentative recovery after neonicotinoid pesticide ban

UK has only just closed loophole in neonics ban (‘derogations’) so may be too soon to see recovery here?

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Scientists make concerning first-of-its-kind discovery while studying Amazon monkeys: 'Sounds an alarm' - United States News Beep A new study revealed the presence of microplastics in the stomachs of howler monkeys living in a protected area of the Brazilian Amazon. This is the first

Scientists make concerning first-of-its-kind discovery while studying Amazon monkeys: ‘Sounds an alarm’

https://www.newsbeep.com/us/295318/

A new study revealed the presence of microplastics in the stomachs of howler monkeys living in a protected…

What’s More Dangerous Than India’s Frequent Heat Waves? Heat Stress.

“More than a billion Indians face heat waves every year. Hundreds of millions of them work in the informal sector, toiling outdoors or doing piecework in a stifling factory, & are especially at risk as intense bouts of scorching weather become more frequent.”

🎁 link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/w...

Protecting the right to science in multilateral environmental agreements addressing chemicals and plastics pollution Scientific evidence supports dominant institutional understandings of the global socio-ecological crises of the triple planetary crisis-climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution-demonstrating...

new open access paper on the right to science and pollution with several fantastic colleagues including
@bcarneyalmroth.bsky.social @jptilsted.bsky.social and @taraolsen.bsky.social

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have tried, it’s just that even success required overshoot (ie, missing the target). And because it’s been framed as a “game over” threshold, media coverage of 1.5 has contributed to the idea that climate action is now pointless. That is not, and will never, be true.

The thing is, 1.5 degrees was was an unrealistic target from the start. The only way earth system models could make it work was by overshooting the target, getting to 0 emissions, and then devoting 2-3x the land area of India to carbon removal later in the century. We’d already warmed 1.2 degrees C.

‘Environmental catastrophe’ fears as millions of plastic beads wash up on Camber Sands MP asks for explanation from Southern Water amid concerns the spill could have dire impact on rare sea life

What are we doing to the planet - environmental catastrophe near Rye, East Sussex

Campaigners have said before that the plastic micro beads or "nurdles" should be classified as hazardous same as oil, they cause just as much damage to marine life and birds

Which biofilm-coated microplastics do sea creatures not mistake for food?

‘Heroic actions are a natural tendency’: why bystander apathy is a myth Modern research shows the public work together selflessly in an emergency, motivated by a strong impulse to help

'Human nature' is the capacity to categorize others as part of self. Extending the boundaries of concern, people often help strangers in emergencies.

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

This new paper documents a tenfold increase in research papers using community-collected iNaturalist data over just five years: tr.ee/89Ot3I

According to the study, here are four key ways that iNaturalist data directly powers science 🧵⤵️

Citizen Scientists Are Accelerating Ecology Research, Study Suggests

I had dinner with a colleague from @inaturalist.bsky.social yesterday and Jeanne shared that their users are discovering an average of one brand-new-previously-unknown-to-science species EACH MONTH!

Homes from straw, beer and bread from grains, clothes from beer brewing... That's a good amount of solution capacity from one crop.

Vale, Jo. We'll miss you very much next summer on Skye. And we'll raise a dram in your memory...

Scientists in Japan made a plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours and biodegrades in dirt in 10 days.

It’s made from food additives, releases nutrients like plant vitamins, and doesn’t leave behind any nasty microplastics.😎👏💙

[🎞️ the. stream.roller]

Plastic pollution spends a century on ocean surface, study finds - BBC News Scientists from HR Wallingford say the study provides "critical insights" into tackling plastic pollution.

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

Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish? Sick of scrolling through junk results, AI-generated ads and links to lookalike products? The author and activist behind the term ‘enshittification’ explains what’s gone wrong with the internet – and ...

This is so good from Cory Doctorow on all the tricks Amazon uses to get both consumers to pay more, and how businesses on the platform end up paying it 45-51 cents on every dollar.

Plus he rightly calls for regulatory change, not just individual consumer action
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Plastic packaging could be a greater sin than food waste Damaging as it is, food waste has an end point: it decomposes, breaks down, and returns to the soil. Plastic packaging persists indefinitely.

theconversation.com/plastic-pack...

Trust and science: the essential elements missing from plastics treaty talks A plan to limit plastics pollution globally is in crisis. But disagreements can be resolved with a more formal role for science and more informal spaces for delegates.

Trust and science: the essential elements missing from plastics treaty talks

What now for the global plastics treaty? Ending plastic pollution will mean embracing the complexity of political and economic realities.

What now for the global plastics treaty?

When Is “Recyclable” Not Really Recyclable? When the Plastics Industry Gets to Define What the Word Means. Companies whose futures depend on plastic production are trying to persuade the federal government to allow them to put the label “recyclable” on plastic shopping bags and other items virtually guaran...

Most plastic items are too small for recyclers to bother sorting and processing, or they're assembled in such a way that it's less expensive to just make new plastic.

In fact, only 5% of Americans’ plastic finds new life.

(Published Aug. 2024)
By @lisalsong.bsky.social

Colonial tropes of exploration redux. Canadian territorial waters, first navigated by Inuit? Nope. Possibly this representation of depopulated landscapes open for discovery is payback for all that 'exploring' on the Amazon..?

Plastic tableware use linked to microplastics in semen Men who use plastic cutlery and tableware have a higher accumulation of microplastics in their semen, which is linked to lower sperm count, according to a recent paper published in the Journal of Nano...

Oh, for fork's sake.🍴 "Men who use plastic cutlery and tableware have a higher accumulation of #microplastics in their semen, which is linked to lower sperm count," according to a recent paper in the J. of Nanobiotechnology. Via @ehnewsroom.bsky.social #plasticstreaty

www.ehn.org/microplastic...

34,000 Years Ago: the first blue

In Dzudzuana Cave in the Caucasus foothills, archaeologists have uncovered the very first evidence of indigo dye on wild flax fibres. This discovery shows that early humans were not only skilled in survival, but in colouring their world. #naturaldyes #archaeology

Plastic threat runs skin-deep as ocean alters particle behavior Texas A&M researchers find nanoplastics exposed to seawater can slip past skin defenses by mimicking natural coatings.

⚠️🚨Texas A&M study shows seawater-altered nanoplastics can camouflage themselves to sneak past skin cells’ defenses.🚨⚠️
interestingengineering.com/health/nanop...