@suseboard
Open University associate lecturer (the environment, global devt, international relations). Not afraid of science: global heating is accelerating; Covid is airborne. Cyclist. Yogi. Not at the same time.
Our dependency on fossil fuels makes us vulnerable. Wars across the world are pushing up prices for households in the UK.
Why keep waiting for the next crisis? We need to transition to clean power as fast as we can to protect people and our economy.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
On the absurdity of setting UK interests by a Trump doctrine when not even the US national interest is served by the president www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Extraordinary!
At the Open University we used to receive Commonwealth Scholarships for up to 20 students in east Africa to study the MSc in Environmental Management; this year just 5; as climate change hits the most vulnerable..
We used to have 10-20 commonwealth scholarships for students in east Africa to study for a MSc in Environmental Management. This year just 5 ☹️
As illegal international aggression once again highlights the need for investment in renewable energy, it is crucial the govt do everything possible to protect households from bearing the brunt of surging energy prices - and to ensure no energy company profits from this war.
The finest take down of the institution of monarchy and "class" and the grasping, greedy, venal, entitled, and very stupid people it enables that you will read today or any day.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
As the US/Israel attack on Iran is likely to tip the UK into recession, let's not forget that Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are trashing our rivers, ecosystems, communities, health and resilience for the sake of economic growth. But, as they are now discovering, it's not something they can control.
Would it have been so much worse if it had been a nuke? Consider the fact that birth deficiencies and rates of leukemia and cancer in Iraq, post 2003- invasion, are worse than what was observed in Hiroshima. In Japan, rates of leukemia rose by 660% in the years following the bomb. In Falluja, it increased by 2,200%. The toxicity of war has never been greater, and we are in no way reckoning with the scope of the horror that's been unleashed.
The real damage comes years later, with elevated cancer rates, leukemia clusters, respiratory disease, cardiovascular failure, neurological damage, reproductive issues.
This is chemical warfare, with delayed carnage. Worse than radiation sickness.
I am ashamed to be American today.
2/2
a picture of a huge, low, heavy cloud of black oil over Tehran
This is the cloud of oil currently hovering over Tehran, released when the US bombed the city's oil depots. A stew of particulate matter, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, benzene, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, heavy metals & volatile organic compounds is raining down into the city right now. 1/2
Picture of front cover of the ‘book of disappearance’ by Ibitsam Aden, first published in 2014; in the UK: 2024
Really interesting read, particularly considering ‘events’; first published in 2014 but in the UK in 2024. #reading #books
This thread 👇
Petrochemicals for plastic are "expected to be the largest single driver of oil demand in the decades to come".
Fascinating interview with Beth Gardiner about her new book: Plastic Inc: Big Oil, Big Money and the Plan to Trash Our Future
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The soot falling as black rain could contain chemicals like cancer-causing benzenes.
You don't want this stuff getting into water supplies.
Tehran was already on the brink of running out of water. Now even their rain is contaminated.
NEW: Watch this report just in from CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen. It is raining oil in Tehran this morning.
A city of 10 million is being actively poisoned.
(🎥 CNN)
Just found this post on Substack. This is a work of genius and well worth a watch (need sound, subtitles not accurate).
substack.com/@meaghanwils...
Genius! Sadly
Geneva Convention 1977 Protocols:
“It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as... drinking #water installations & supplies and irrigation works... for any other motive.”
Multiple news outlets are reporting a US attack on an Iranian #desalination plant.
If verified, this violates international law protecting #water systems during wars, and it sets a dangerous precedent, given intense dependence of Gulf countries on desalination.
timesofoman.com/article/1691...
"We saw that change in Gorton and Denton – and that result unlocked a new level of confidence for potential Green voters that they can truly vote for what they want and get it."
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Both Russia and China coming to aid Iran - all engineered unnecessarily by fragile old men in US & Israel
These warnings about food security are happening almost weekly now
But does anyone think the government is taking a blind bit of notice
The UKs 3 worst harvests have been in the last 5 years
By 2050, the number of calories per head globally could be halved
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Time required for a 1C increase in global average temperature
1970 - 2008 average rise 0.18C per decade = 55 years
2015 - 2024 average rise 0.27C pd = 37 years
New study - last 10+ years - average rise 0.35 pd = 28 years
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
NEW – Pace of global warming has nearly doubled since 2015, study says
✍️ @ayeshatandon.carbonbrief.org
Read here ⬇️
"This is a life and death story for the UK – so why is it being brushed under the carpet?"
Healthy Life Expectancy at Birth Plummeting. 📉
It is a hideous scandal that they can publish a chart as obvious as this and not even mention the words 'covid infections'.
The Guardian on our new study, which shows that global heating is significantly gathering speed. Our efforts to overcome our fossil fuel addiction should do the same.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
FT comments section this morning - saying what everyone else is thinking, right?
Dear Shabana, I notice today that you referred to me in your speech on immigration at the IPPR think tank. You said: “A party leader should not be on the beaches of France encouraging people to make a perilous crossing on small boats.” I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised especially after the hateful Labour campaign in Gorton and Denton, but this is just the latest in a string of lies peddled by a discredited Government who intentionally fan the flames of racism and division. When I went to Calais, I was not there to encourage people to travel to the UK. I was there to see at first hand the suffering your Government and successive Governments have done in demonising migrants in a pathetic bid to pander to the base instincts of Reform and the flawed strategy of Morgan McSweeney. As you will know, if you even bothered to research my visit instead of taking Reform talking points, I was there to witness the brutality of families living in tents in freezing temperatures. I filled water tanks and picked up litter. What that visit did do is confirm my belief that if we are to smash the boat gangs and stop the boats, we need to offer safer and managed routes for migrants to come to this country. Showing compassion as a politician is not a crime. In fact, we need to see much more of it. It reminded me of a young MP who in October 2015 spent three days in Lesbos helping migrants fleeing war-torn Syria. She posted videos on X, talked about handing out water and croissants to refugees and food parcels. When she returned to the UK, she wrote a very moving piece in the New Statesman. She said “we have to work with our European partners and create new, safe, and legal routes for refugees to get to Europe. We cannot abandon them to their fate, left as prey for smugglers whilst risking death on the seas.” She said “maybe we can make ourselves feel better by saying no-one is making them get on the boats. And again, the Home Secretary is not entirely wrong when …
Dear Shabana,
Let's clear some things up around migration and remember we're talking about people's lives.
Private Eye
Latest substack on Iran by @snellarthur.bsky.social is a must read
substack.com/home/post/p-...
