Marcus Baynes-Rock

Iran war drives oil prices above $100 a barrel for first time since 2022 Trump says rise in energy prices is ‘very small price to pay’ as conflict sparks fresh stock market sell-off

Oil price surge is not a supply/demand problem. It's a car dependency problem
www.theguardian.com/business/202...

"There's always going to be debate in city planning. Always. But there's good faith debate, based on disagreements, and then there's deliberate lies and misinformation." Print article ICYMI of @brenttoderian.bsky.social’s ABC News interview on the truth and lies about “15-Minute Cities. #UrbanTruth

'If we're gonna police the world I want my donuts free'

Flawed economic models mean climate crisis could crash global economy, experts warn States and financial bodies using modelling that ignores shocks from extreme weather and climate tipping points

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

It existed 800 years ago, was home to 100,000 people – and was powered by poop | Discover Wildlife It’s white, it smells, and it may have been one of the main driving forces behind the rise of the Chincha Kingdom…

www.discoverwildlife.com/environment/...

I’ve attended baited wildlife photography workshops – is it ever okay to bait or should you always patiently wait? To bait or not to bait, that is the question? And while there isn’t an easy answer, I think every wildlife photographer should educate themselves on the subject

Is animal baiting ever ok? Animals say yes gimme the bait
www.digitalcameraworld.com/photography/...

Polar bears getting "fatter and healthier" amid ice loss Scientists think that Svalbard bears have adapted to recent ice loss by eating more land-based prey.

Possibly shifting to land based prey
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Dozens of bats entangled in Queensland golf club netting A mass wildlife rescue is again underway at the Noosa Golf Club after dozens of flying foxes became trapped in netting at its driving range for the fourth time this month.

Another reason to do away with golf courses
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...

A discreet intellectual network has been reshaping the world for 70 years. Here's how A constant battle of ideas reshapes the world we live in, and few groups have been more successful in winning the war than the little-known Atlas Network.

Brilliant reporting here by Gareth Hutchens on the Atlas Network and its insidious work across the world, including Australia

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...

Check out this adorable art - @angiesymon.bsky.social combines art with science, and after completing honours on #bandicoots, is now undertaking an internship at #zoosvic - check out Angie's page (and also decorated Conference lanyard!)

You can read more about Angie in our next newsletter!

A furrowed brow is a backlash? Why don't they punch back, ffs?

Queensland crocodile capture rates double as removal zones expand More crocodiles are going to commercial farms and zoos following a step-up in removals from the wild.

"New data from Queensland's Environment Department shows the number of estuarine crocodiles, or 'salties', captured in the state's waterways has more than doubled in the past six years"
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...

Rock art from at least 67,800 years ago in Sulawesi - Nature A hand stencil painted on a cave wall on a small island off the coast of Sulawesi more than 67,800 years ago suggests a very early occupation of Wallacea.

🧪🏺 WOWWWW
New dates in SE Asia for rock paintings - major implications:
- nature of early aesthetics, innovations
- relationship to oldest known Australian settlement?
- and (IMO) impacts claims that cave art in Europe >50 Ka is necessarily work of #Neanderthals
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I hope he also makes a point of highlighting the race of white people when they commit fraud

Trump’s board of peace is an imperial court completely unlike what was proposed The US president’s global club was endorsed by the security council on a false prospectus and seems aimed at displacing the United Nations

"The board of peace swaps this inequity [UN permanent member veto privilege] for another that is even more unjust – a permanence of a sort that can only be afforded by rich countries with a billion dollars to spare"
#NewImperialism
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

The private sector is so much more efficient than the public sector.

‘It’s AI blackface’: social media account hailed as the Aboriginal Steve Irwin is an AI character created in New Zealand More than 180,000 people follow the Bush Legend’s accounts across Meta platforms, but its Aboriginal host is a work of digital fiction

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

In the most cleared state in Australia, Victoria’s native wildlife needs our help after fires The Victorian fires burned though diverse environments across the state. Native animals suffered through heat and smoke, including thousands of dead flying foxes.

"As a wildlife ecologist and conservation expert, these fires bring an unwelcome but familiar mixture of deep sadness and intense frustration. As the climate gets hotter, such events will only become more likely and more severe."

My article about Victoria's fires
theconversation.com/in-the-most-...

Withdrawing the United States from International Organizations, Conventions, and Treaties that Are Contrary to the Interests of the United States MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United

50. US withdraws from @ipcc.bsky.social, @ipbes.net, @irena-official.bsky.social, Intl Union for the Conservation of Nature, UN Energy, UN Oceans, UN Water, @ununiversity.bsky.social, UNFCCC, among others (Jan. 7, 2026)

ytt Tribe leads cultural burns as part of SLO restoration project. ‘So healing’ The Johnson Ranch Open Space will host cultural burns, tree planting and beaver dam analogs.

“It’s not just about burning. It’s about what the relationship is with the plant afterward, and how you’re going to use it, and how it’s going to be supported by the burn.”

amp.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/e...

Authorities investigate after kangaroo shot with arrow Officials are investigating after a kangaroo was shot with an arrow in an incident a wildlife advocate has described as “disgusting” and “horrible”. The Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and...

Some people
www.sunshinecoastnews.com.au/2025/12/24/a...

First-ever footage of wild Amur tigress taking care of five cubs caught on camera A camera trap in the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park has recorded the country's first-ever footage of a wild Amur tigress nurturing five cubs, providing powerful evidence of progress i...

www.chinadailyhk.com/hk/article/6...
#wildlife #NotAI
(verified)

Forget elf on the shelf – these Aussie birds are perfect for the festive season | Jess Harwood Magpie on a mince pie anyone?

My cartoon for @australia.theguardian.com today ⭐️

Reparations coming

The kicker is that the WSJ staff helped Anthropic improve a model that is intended to replace them

RElations between hunters and pigs are not as straightforward as you might think
#feral #hunting #wildpigs
humanimalia.org/article/view...

How Societies Morph With the Seasons An anthropologist chronicles radical changes foragers undertake seasonally—and how the rigidity of industrialized societies is an anomaly.

How seasonality (should) influence social relations
#anthropology
www.sapiens.org/biology/fora...

Why does a country need a CEO?

Gilbert’s Potoroo and the fun-guys: Co-existing mycophagous mammals as indicators of potentially available fungal food resources - Biodiversity and Conservation Understanding resource use and availability is critical for the success of wildlife translocations, especially for species with complex diets. Mycophagous (fungus-feeding) diets are particularly chall...

eDNA metabarcoding techniques reveal endangered potoroo's preferred truffles
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Graphh showing a dramatic rise in measles cases in 2025

Sorry but the facts don't care about your opinions. Sources: CDC, USA. Dept Health Australia
www.cdc.gov/measles/data...
www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/a4a...
#measles