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Pete Ballantine

@peteballantine

PhD student - rural sustainability transitions / civil servant - Crofting Commission / forest & mountain enthusiast / techno & disco aficionado / fitba, obviously / road bikes / all the wine / views my own

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Latest posts by Pete Ballantine @peteballantine

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The BBC are really going out of their way to not call these The Peter Files.

11.03.2026 18:03 πŸ‘ 2288 πŸ” 525 πŸ’¬ 25 πŸ“Œ 15

The irony here is that anyone who is *still* trying to flog something out of this story immediately becomes a bigger tit than before

11.03.2026 19:05 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I just got an email pushing a new book, and ... I'm not going to call out the book itself, cause I don't wanna ruin anyone's day, but ... I am going to subtweet it.

It's yet another book on how the problem with climate change is ... the way we talk about it! "Framing"! "Messaging"!

10.03.2026 18:31 πŸ‘ 494 πŸ” 65 πŸ’¬ 26 πŸ“Œ 18

Continuing down this path, it’s hard to see where Labour would win any seats in a GE. Comprehensively squeezed from both right and left, they don’t appear to have any constituency now beyond dyed-in-the-wool supporters. Solid 25% of the vote in most constituencies will see a lot of 2nd/3rd places

27.02.2026 14:02 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

What an absolute disaster of a response to last night this is from Starmer. Seems like he’s now trying to goad his party into a vote of no confidence

27.02.2026 13:58 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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20.02.2026 00:34 πŸ‘ 1095 πŸ” 258 πŸ’¬ 26 πŸ“Œ 17
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was briefly so excited reading this until I realised he meant Davos

20.01.2026 20:11 πŸ‘ 1548 πŸ” 325 πŸ’¬ 38 πŸ“Œ 20
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This thread responds to Prof. Christian Dunn’s Telegraph piece on #climate communication.

I argue it misdiagnoses public disengagement, underplays escalating scientific risk, & reproduces a media narrative that has actively shaped, not merely reflected, public resistance to climate action 🧡

13.01.2026 08:56 πŸ‘ 415 πŸ” 163 πŸ’¬ 21 πŸ“Œ 38
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🧡A political/media guide to the "truth" about net-zero

1) Add up costs to install & run a net-zero energy system
2) Pretend fossil-fuelled alternatives wld be free
3) Do say "eco zealots are bankrupting us"
4) Don't say "free cars if we scrap net-zero" cos it sounds ridiculous
5) That's it!

1/10

12.01.2026 16:18 πŸ‘ 696 πŸ” 341 πŸ’¬ 27 πŸ“Œ 42

The #FIFA Peace Prize entitles you to one free military campaign in the CONMEBOL state of your choice.

03.01.2026 08:26 πŸ‘ 380 πŸ” 100 πŸ’¬ 12 πŸ“Œ 3

πŸ₯³

08.12.2025 13:56 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Maccabi Tel Aviv v Hapoel Tel Aviv called off by police after disorder The Israeli Premier League derby between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv is cancelled before kick-off and nine people are arrested.

The Universe’s mission to troll Starmer continues…

19.10.2025 22:09 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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πŸ”₯ The never-ending narrative…
This week, I’ve once again heard prominent climate researchers dismiss individual action as either irrelevant or a distraction instigated by the fossil fuel industry.

Here’s a 🧡 on why this argument frustrates me to no end and why I think it misses the bigger picture.

15.10.2025 11:50 πŸ‘ 138 πŸ” 62 πŸ’¬ 8 πŸ“Œ 17

Don’t be too hard on him now. He’s just saying what Chat GPT tells him to say

19.09.2025 09:14 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Remember that the UK Government is choosing to maintain an energy system that shafts everyone. They could start undoing this today if they wanted to.

17.09.2025 09:33 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Spanish government hits back at UCI criticism over Vuelta protests The Spanish government has issued a forceful reply to the UCI after cycling’s governing body criticised Prime Minister Pedro SΓ‘nchez in the wake of the…

The Spanish Government has a point here. The UCI can’t fly the neutrality flag when convenient, especially given the ongoing UCI ban of Russian cyclists competing under the Russian flag. Calling out the ongoing πŸ‡΅πŸ‡Έ genocide by any means obviously takes precedent over sporting spectacle

16.09.2025 08:46 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

My experience of how this is unfolding is devastating. Courses cut, teaching staff left with unmanageable workloads, administrative services unable to function. All done with little regard for staff or student health & wellbeing. And yet management think more cuts can be made!

11.09.2025 09:30 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Barcelona in Miami; Milan in Perth? Welcome to the league of anywhere | Jonathan Liew What goes on tour, stays on tour as Uefa meets on Thursday to discuss La Liga’s and Serie A’s request to play competitive matches abroad

Obviously this is the next stop on football’s journey to unwatchable corporate hell product but i can’t wait for AC Milan - Como at McDiarmid Park, followed by St Johnstone - Arbroath at the San Siro.

11.09.2025 09:14 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The main issue facing any UK government isn't actually the number of people seeking asylum, in the grand scheme, proportionally, we aren't talking about huge figures, especially when compared per capita to countries such as France, but the constant images we see in the media. 1/

01.09.2025 07:01 πŸ‘ 307 πŸ” 110 πŸ’¬ 12 πŸ“Œ 12

Surely it’s George Square?!

27.06.2025 15:03 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Someone means business! Will certainly try and get into town for this (unless there’s going to be a Borders event too..?)

25.06.2025 10:07 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Ministry of Defence admits UK is training Israeli military IN BRITAIN It is clearer than ever that the UK is not just complicit in Israeli genocide in Gaza: it is an active participant

Ministry of Defence admits UK is training Israeli military IN BRITAIN

It is clearer than ever that the UK is not just complicit in Israeli genocide in Gaza: it is an active participant
www.thecanary.co/trending/202...

12.06.2025 20:44 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 11 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 2
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This is incredible

11.06.2025 13:34 πŸ‘ 13813 πŸ” 4771 πŸ’¬ 48 πŸ“Œ 252

We need council homes.

The vital question is how much of the governments spending will actually result in more council homes?

Saying big numbers is worse than meaningless if it's actually lining the pockets of property developers to build more empty unaffordable buildings.

11.06.2025 09:46 πŸ‘ 288 πŸ” 102 πŸ’¬ 19 πŸ“Œ 5

Words of condemnation are being issued now as leaders wake up to the scale of the violence being inflicted upon Palestinians and their complicity in this through continued military and logistical support and resources. Blood is on their hands and they only just noticed.

24.05.2025 07:22 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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"Apologists for Israel might want to reject the charge of genocide [and] suggest its hyperbole or even antisemitic, but the actual experts on genocide know a genocide when they see one - and they see one in Gaza."

My receipts on all the experts who say Gaza *is* a genocide.
zeteo.com/subscribe

23.05.2025 19:32 πŸ‘ 3402 πŸ” 1087 πŸ’¬ 142 πŸ“Œ 103

Caveat that the decision comes from a planning reporter on appeal. It’s not a decision from the actual Scottish Ministers…

17.05.2025 07:17 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Loch Lomond Flamingo Land resort set for approval after appeal The theme park operator wants to build a Β£40m resort with a waterpark, monorail, hotel and restaurants.

A bit late to this but FUCK OFF! If a national park is meant to foster sustainable development you need to look at the β€œsustainable”part as well as the β€œdevelopment” part. Undemocratic, ill-judged decision making here from the Scottish Ministers (if approved)

16.05.2025 21:19 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Forestry, finance and nature - the cracks are beginning to show at Stobo Hope - parkswatchscotland Having been investigating for some time the way in which Scotland’s forestry grants have been used to destroy nature and release carbon into the atmosphere in the Cairngorms National Park, I did not f...

I wasn’t aware of that example! I was thinking more of community resistance to such β€œjust transition” narratives in general, like the following, so it’s interesting to see opposition to a Gresham House project too, and again with public funding.

parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2024/12/16/f...

11.05.2025 09:41 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Scottish Borders, where I’m doing my PhD research on the just transition. Gresham House activities aren’t limited to here though. They’re one of the biggest landowners in Scotland

11.05.2025 07:55 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0