Helen Czerski

Physics, bubbles, oceans, hot chocolate and curiosity. Author of Storm in a Teacup: http://helenczerski.net/books-writing/ and Blue Machine (out June 1st, 2023)

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npub1rg28pf4af4v5erpja8csp9luaxp7wmtgshz2vdjy3gkwfhcljvwsxrlw2k

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[email protected]

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nprofile1qqsp59rs56756k2v3sewnugqjl7wnql8d45gt39xxezg5t8ymu0ex8gpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds5vjrp3

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npub1rg28pf4af4v5erpja8csp9luaxp7wmtgshz2vdjy3gkwfhcljvwsxrlw2k

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Last Notes

2024-06-22 23:50:17

In Blue Machine, I wrote about a weird type of marine worm, Ramisyllis multicaudata, which has one head, lives inside a sponge, and branches as it grows so that by the time it reaches the outside of the sponge it has hundreds (sometimes >1000) anuses.
"Normal" is relative
https://www.sci.news/biology/ramisyllis-kingghidorahi-10483.html
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/662/479/972/897/775/original/bebeb2b3f9b874c2.jpeg

2024-06-22 23:14:41

If the climate, nature and the environment is your priority, or high up on your list, who should get your vote in the General Election? On Friday's Rare Earth, we went through the manifestos to see what's in there (and what isn't). Listen now on BBC Sounds to catch up:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00208p5
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/662/339/946/770/751/original/711fb8f0c4d57524.png

2024-06-20 09:16:23

It was a beautiful 6am cycle to Paddington station this morning. I’m off to Bristol to record this week’s Rare Earth, and we’ll be digging through the election manifestos to see what they’re saying about climate and the environment. You can hear what we find out on BBC R4 tomorrow (Friday) at noon.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/647/718/505/568/251/original/b8bb730fa5abb978.png

2024-06-18 10:33:10

Last night I had the huge privilege of interviewing the great Sylvia Earle about the ocean. She said this, which really stuck with me:
"If Jane Goodall had been limited to studying chimps by hauling individuals out from high above the forest and inspecting what came up, she would have learned almost nothing"
But that's mostly how we study ocean life.
#ocean #chimps

2024-06-17 23:08:13

Mastodon hivemind... I'd appreciate some technical help. I've got a wordpress website and I used to be able to embed my Mastodon feed on it. This hasn't worked for about two months now. I asked for help here and got nothing, but I'm clearly not the only one with this problem:
https://github.com/fenwick67/mastofeed/issues/67
Does anyone have any recommendations for ways to embed a Mastodon feed on a Wordpress site that work now? Help much appreciated!
#embed #Mastodon #Wordpress

2024-06-14 19:31:11

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...video explanations, recorded talks, following social media accounts, Discord/Slack, e-mails, websites...
Please pass the query on and let me know what you find out. Be creative! Let's find some great new ways to collaborate on long-term topics that matter to all of us. [2/2]

2024-06-14 19:30:58

🎺 🎺 UK MARINE SCIENCE COMMUNITY 🎺🎺
(those are trumpets)
I have a question for you. If there was a big national ocean science/research discussion to have, how would you like to find out about it and engage with it? What would work for you?
Let me know what you think about these ideas and do suggest others: podcasts (to get across the underlying big topics in interview/discussion), live events (either lots of short ones locally, or one bigger one for a whole day)... [1/2]

2024-06-13 17:55:27

This is very important and needs to be understood by everyone:
"Nonconsensual condom removal is classified as rape under English and Welsh law."
Rape. Not something to laugh off, or to ask forgiveness for with a cutsy smile. Rape. It matters.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jun/13/london-man-jailed-stealthing-removing-condom-without-consent

2024-06-13 17:46:26

Hello hivemind. What's the Durham Institute of Research, Development, and Invention? I can't quite work it out - what actually are they and what are the motivations behind it?

2024-06-13 00:02:52

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Oh, and here's the trailer for the Horizon where we launched the public vote: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01zh7xz

2024-06-12 23:57:13

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The challenge I presented was zero-carbon flight (and I got to fly in an electric plane/glider - both). It wasn't the top of the public's list, but it's still a massive issue today. Maybe someone out there has a big prize for that too...

2024-06-09 22:36:56

So, does that mean insurance premiums will come down in those areas? And would that change the opposition to the limit?
“Vehicle damage claims in Wales fall 20% since speed limit cut to 20mph, says insurer”
https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jun/09/vehicle-damage-claims-wales-fall-20mph-speed-limit?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/588/580/174/287/193/original/6a35846d45487a67.png

2024-06-09 20:39:29

Here's something interesting for anyone concerned about the water quality in their local streams/rivers:
Earthwatch are running a FreshWaterWatch scheme, where (if you join for a bit of £), you get water quality measurement kits and can submit results to a national map. More info here:
https://www.freshwaterwatch.org/pages/individuals
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/588/113/927/538/041/original/fb170b75e22febcf.png

2024-06-09 11:07:36

This is incredibly sad news.
"Michael Mosley: body of TV presenter believed to have been found on Greek island, authorities say"
https://www.theguardian.com/media/article/2024/jun/09/body-of-man-believed-to-be-tv-doctor-michael-mosley-found-on-greek-island-authorities-say
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/585/870/839/398/530/original/a512847bdad18984.png

2024-06-08 22:16:03

It was lovely to see so many people joining in the World Ocean Day celebration at Royal Museums Greenwich today (in/outside the National Maritime Museum). And I LOVED this huge turtle, made out of waste material.
#WorldOceanDay #ocean
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/582/835/350/248/811/original/0507ac322c1cd2b1.png

2024-06-07 21:15:01

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@npub1ftc…ruk4 That cat has you well trained.

2024-06-07 11:01:07

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@npub1zrz…s46f Two hours, at 1100 UTC. And available as a podcast any time after broadcast.

2024-06-06 15:04:43

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@npub10cq…6nm3 Please don't...

2024-06-06 10:52:09

I love figures like this... it's from Bar-On et al 2018 and it shows the distribution of global biomass.
We animals are so obsessed with the animals, but just LOOK at how important plants are. And we may be dismayed that there's now a larger biomass of livestock than people or wild mammals, but there's a greater mass of worms than all three together.
#data #life
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/568/808/265/541/332/original/1f98be16cf4a5ff9.png

2024-06-04 20:12:50

I had to empty a bookshelf at the weekend and I found the book with my FAVOURITE hardback cover of all time - Will Storr's Selfie. The full title is "Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us". And the cover is a mirror. Absolute genius.
#books
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/559/699/058/778/762/original/c19c1c6814a523d9.jpg

2024-06-04 15:18:54

This OED data on the usage of "greenwashing" shows a dramatic rise around 2021. But have you heard of "greenhushing": companies keeping quiet about climate action? That's even newer, & the topic of our first episode of a new series of Rare Earth on BBC R4 (Friday at noon) & BBC Sounds. Do listen in.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001zw58
#podcast #RareEarth #climate
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/558/544/351/922/628/original/ad1c3136a8907bcf.png

2024-06-03 16:45:55

We really should just call "natural gas" by its actual name: methane.
It's a fossil fuel, and burning it adds carbon to the atmosphere. The word "natural" is really unhelpful here, and it needs to go.

2024-05-27 23:11:09

What a lovely day at #HayFestival2024 ! Loads of great people to chat to, fun events, and sun at least some of the time. The Rare Earth episode we recorded will be out in a couple of weeks, probably the second episode in the second series.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/515/102/443/406/601/original/fc9d713bc04700a9.png

2024-05-27 10:06:45

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@npub1ekp…lvl3 It won’t be broadcast live, but I think it will be the second episode of the new series, which starts in a couple of weeks.

2024-05-27 10:04:32

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@npub1raz…r9hq We have had two US shows, but we’re not doing one this year. The US EV manufacturers have a bit of catching up to do!

2024-05-26 23:28:29

Very happy to be on my way to the Hay Festival tomorrow. We'll be recording an episode of BBC R4's Rare Earth at 2:15pm and then I'll be talking about the ocean with Andy Fryers and Helen Scales at 4pm (Monday 27th). Do come along if you're at the festival :)
#HayFestival2024 #books #ocean
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/509/501/804/992/796/original/c67efdde49d82068.png

2024-05-26 23:21:47

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@npub1acp…kjdt Sorry, but no. Unfortunately it's a huge extra effort to film and edit all the sessions, and we don't have the capacity for that. We did try for the first couple of years, but it's not feasible any more.

2024-05-26 20:29:53

Question, on Trainline & splitsave.
I got a ticket from A to C, changing at B, and splitsave made it two separate advance singles, A-B and B-C. I got an e-mail 2h before to say that the A-to-B train had been cancelled and that my ticket was valid on the A-to-C train before or after. I got on the earlier train and made an earlier connection. The ticket inspector on B-C tore a strip off me because B-C ticket "wasn't valid" & I should have waited for the original connection 1h later. Was he right?

2024-05-26 19:21:36

The amazing Fully Charged Show/Everything Electric team at the end of another fabulous show, this one in Harrogate. So much enthusiasm for a clean energy & transport future, and so many brilliant pieces of a better future already in place. Don’t just watch this space - come and join it.
#EverythingElectric #energy #transport
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/508/540/115/732/974/original/4447867514ae5b51.png

2024-05-24 16:35:44

It's been a busy first day here at Everything Electric NORTH in Harrogate - lots of discussions about heat pumps, micromobility, the accessiblity of an electrified world, EV charging, and LOADS of great ideas that could go in political manifestos (I've been asking everyone). I'll start tomorrow with a fireside chat with Robert.. and I have lots to say 🙂
#EverythingElectric #FullyChargedShow
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/496/552/366/989/544/original/6a751434b67a74b8.png

2024-05-24 11:12:26

The Everything Electric Show NORTH is open at the Yorkshire show ground in Harrogate! We’re here today, tomorrow and Sunday, showing the present and future of clean energy and transport - ideas, discussions, test drives, exhibits & more. Do join us if you’re nearby.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/495/292/273/067/553/original/d32892d67efb99e5.mp4

2024-05-16 23:34:45

It occurred to me this evening that society’s atttitude to AI is like that thing about believing every story in a newspaper except the one on your area of expertise, which is full of flaws. Society seems to believe uncritically that AI can/will do all these difficult things (drive cars, select job candidates), but whenever we’re actually faced with it, it’s not nearly as convincing (drive cars, select job candidates).

2024-05-15 12:32:09

It's great to see that Re-captcha is getting inventive, although I suspect that the people who grow giant carrots and the owner of the world's smallest adult cow are probably raising an eyebrow:
https://www.giantgardening.com/rec_carrot.php
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2021/9/rani-shortest-cow-ever-at-just-20-inches-tall-passes-away-677482
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/444/639/540/799/305/original/8a72c125340c760d.png

2024-05-13 14:02:42

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@npub1xur…xc3x You definitely need to get off to stop :) But that's not hard to do after a bit of practice.

2024-05-13 09:57:28

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@npub1xur…xc3x You stop, of course. But mostly you slow down on the way up to it so you’re less likely to need to stop.

2024-05-13 09:56:20

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@npub1ey8…qwk6 Slightly more planning ahead is required. But it’s perfectly doable.

2024-05-12 19:01:22

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@npub1s88…lw9d You get on and off from the back, scooting along until it's stable and then moving up to the saddle. It feels wobbly at first, but it definitely works once you've got the hang of it.

2024-05-12 19:00:13

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@npub1wdy…ymx5 Surprisingly easy, once you get the hang of it. The thing that took most practice was getting on and off.

2024-05-12 15:00:08

Well, that was quite the morning. Very highly recommended! After a couple of hours, it felt pretty natural 🙂, and it was GREAT to have such good visibility of the road.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/428/237/897/390/389/original/3a4c4b334c99892a.png

2024-05-11 11:41:10

Just finished Rooted by Sarah Langford, and I never thought I’d find a book about farming that reads like a thriller in places. It’s a very human book, but has a lot to say about the way we treat our land and our farmers. Highly recommended, whether you have any interest in food and farming or not.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/421/795/284/897/417/original/047e1aeb6d48ad95.png

2024-05-11 10:30:21

Very sad to realise this morning that my fish will have to down soon. I made them (all hand-cut and acrylic-painted) in the early part of the first lockdown, and rushed them on to the wall for Sea Shambles - which we did online instead of at the Royal Albert Hall (so weirdly, it still exists):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBQmdbVeoKw
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/421/515/013/508/003/original/5a85af130c86bc10.png

2024-05-11 02:00:25

I was too deeply buried in an amazing book so was late to this party, but if there are even faint aurora in central-ish London they must be fabulous everywhere else. If you’re in the UK and still up, go out and look! (And give your eyes time to adapt to the dark)
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/419/510/779/851/169/original/7bdc0ecaeb21ea19.png

2024-05-08 22:12:04

Saw this while out running this evening. I have very little interest in cars, but I ❤️ the small cute ones. Just imagine how much nicer our cities would be if there were only a few big cars that people could borrow when really needed, far more bikes/walking & cute little Microlinos for the rest.
Roads are shared space to help people move around, not “where the cars go”. Especially in cities.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/407/284/829/285/991/original/417c7cc446ae7394.png

2024-05-06 14:08:16

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@npub16kt…pqvj Terrible for the author, but good for everyone else 😉

2024-05-06 13:06:24

If you need some reading this rainy bank holiday, I cannot recommend Fire Weather highly enough. It sounds as though it's about wildfires, but it's so so much more than that, and it's utterly superb. Essential perspective on the way the world is and why.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/393/819/397/773/200/original/1582a3cfbd4f2d1f.jpg

2024-05-05 12:20:44

I grew up very close to the Linotype factory in Broadheath (south Manchester) and a few years ago my Mum got me one of the original font drawings - a Paragon italic H from 1937. I've just found that I can still download and use this font, which is very pleasing.
#font #Linotype
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/387/970/901/436/659/original/f9cd90961f97900b.jpg

2024-05-03 17:39:14

I know it’s next to quite a large Oval, but I never quite get over the disappointment of Oval tube station in London not being even the tiniest bit oval. Nor the cafe, nor the shoe repair place. Seems like such a missed opportunity,
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/377/898/971/935/202/original/9a8966a4c9ef6be9.png

2024-05-02 07:04:33

Two exciting things about today:
1. Local elections in the UK - don’t forget to vote! It matters so much that we all use our voice, and that we aren’t complacent about our ability to do so.
2. The Blue Machine UK paperback is published today. It’s got another beautiful cover 🎉
#ocean #books #election2024
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/369/743/640/046/924/original/1ed0a33abb0043a2.png

2024-04-28 12:24:44

If you're in (or near) Falmouth on Tuesday, I'll be talking about Blue Machine as part of the Wayward book festival at 6:30pm. Do come along.
https://waywardbookfestival.co.uk/
#books #Falmouth #ocean
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/348/356/209/866/995/original/15f555d3cb82f023.png

2024-04-27 13:16:15

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@npub133k…4a0q Thank you. I'm glad you liked it.

2024-04-26 15:14:18

It is slightly grim to be researching a column on raindrop physics and to find several of the raindrop papers cited in a thesis on blood splatter patterns at crime scenes...
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/337/694/723/565/956/original/ace29468f171b200.png

2024-04-24 16:55:22

Well, this seems to be an interesting and unexpected big deal: a new paper suggests that light can evaporate water without actually needing to heat the water up first. And it could sort out a few problems in existing cloud physics:
https://news.mit.edu/2024/how-light-can-vaporize-water-without-heat-0423
#physics #water
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/326/767/452/206/334/original/5d23ca4de0f09145.png

2024-04-24 10:51:29

POSTDOC NEEDED on oceans/bubbles/physics. I've just extended the deadline for applications to work with us at UCL on an exciting data set on bubbles and air-sea gas transfer from the Labrador Sea. The new deadline will probably be May 10th. If you know of any suitable candidates, please share the advert:
https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DGV682/post-doctoral-research-associate
#jobs #ocean #postdoc

2024-04-23 22:59:17

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@npub1zhm…edwl Ugh. The roots of this all go back a long way 😭

2024-04-23 22:29:47

Suggestion of the day (otherwise known as If Helen Ruled The World edict 127):
We should stop describing ocean fish populations as fish "stocks". They're communities of a living organism, not stacked up items in a pantry waiting for us to take them. Just the use of the word implies that they only have value if we take them, and we need to kick that habit. The natural world is not there only for us to extract/plunder/take/damage for short-term gain (and sometimes not even that).
#ocean #words

2024-04-23 22:23:18

TIL that those bumps on a humpback whale are giant hair follicles, each with a single hair.
https://www.blueoceansociety.org/blog/do-whales-have-hair/
#whales #ocean #science
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/322/398/144/615/680/original/21f39829d0b56913.png

2024-04-22 09:09:39

When I was a physics undergraduate, my supervisor was known for writings "WORDS" and "DIAGRAMS" on everyone's work, because students tended not to explain what they/we were doing. This was good advice.
Today when marking, I'm forever writing "BE SPECIFIC", because there are plenty of words and diagrams, but OMG the content is often so vague and it's unclear whether there is any meaning at all. All puffed up and completely empty.
Is this what the internet and marketing speak has done to us?

2024-04-20 20:05:53

Sea hares (ocean slug-like creatures) are hermaphrodites that mate in chains of up to 20, with each one simultaneously acting as the male for the one below and the female for the one above.
I’m pretty sure that every weird idea about alien life written by science fiction writers already exists in the ocean. Life on land is so same-y by comparison.
#ocean #life
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/304/837/637/395/955/original/38764389970175fa.png

2024-04-11 21:24:20

I spend a lot of time discussing the science of the ocean, so it was a lovely change to talk to Jonathan Bate for the Arizona State University Blue Humanities podcast, about our philosophical and cultural relationship to the ocean. Podcast available now here:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0nGrcjgYrmu1KrzKJybPxe
#podcast #ocean #humanities
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/254/214/183/113/969/original/73df3dc0b7930dc8.png

2024-04-09 21:37:26

The death of Peter Higgs is sad news. I remember him being in the green room at the Cheltenham Science Festival years ago, and he was so humble and polite to everyone. Dara Ó Briain (the comedian) was there, and he'd brought an empty jam jar with a hand-written label that said "this jar contains 1 Higgs Boson. Certified by... " and he got Peter Higgs to sign the bottom. (apparently that's the average number present). The jam jar made everyone very happy.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/apr/09/peter-higgs-physicist-who-discovered-higgs-boson-dies-aged-94

2024-04-04 03:07:17

I'm only 20% of the way through Fire Weather, but it's already the best book I've read this year by miles. It's a stunning story about our relationship with oil & fire, absolutely beautifully written, 🧪 plus stuff like this:
"One way to visualise a tank of gas is to imagine a mass of ancient plant matter weighing as much as 15 blue whales..."
#books #climate #oil #science
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/210/267/528/730/595/original/5c4a900015caf1d1.jpg

2024-03-31 13:43:38

The Fully Charged/Everything Electric team really is one big family, and I love these photos. The London show was our 14th (inc all international shows) and every one is so exciting - so many new ideas/techs for cleaner energy and transport, and they’re already the present, not just the future. Onwards and upwards!
#Climate #energy #electrification
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/190/119/991/812/713/original/f24bd5f8eb707d66.png

2024-03-30 11:12:33

The final day of Everything Electric/Fully Charged LIVE is about to kick off here at the Excel in London - not too late to come along if you’re nearby. This is the place to see the future (and the exciting present) of clean energy and transport. Home energy, micromobility, zero-carbon kitchen &more.
https://uk.everythingelectric.show/london
#london #EV #energy
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/184/096/509/199/519/original/90c978e414aee5b4.png

2024-03-25 19:56:08

Cosmic Shambles has a NEW instagram account: @thecosmicshamblesnetwork and this is going to be THE place to keep up with all the shambling. For science, comedy, music, ideas and live events, do follow us there.
#CosmicShambles #science #comedy #music #ideas
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/157/848/546/995/604/original/5926093a69c90764.jpg
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/157/848/554/918/505/original/154a71bfbbf34682.jpg

2024-03-24 11:56:19

Proposal: We measure how good we are at being citizens of Earth by how we deal with our "rubbish". Do we consider it a valuable resource to be reused (mature approach, based on understanding planetary cycles), or do we just push it off to Away (childish denial). Current score: Could Do Better...
#climate #environment #waste #Earth

2024-03-24 10:24:15

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@npub1aft…zwg4 It’s a smart system. It knows which packets are which and routes them differently at the other end.

2024-03-21 21:43:19

I have just discovered that those odd waste/recycling bins that are all over the oldest bits of Bergen, Norway, link to an UNDERGROUND PNEUMATIC WASTE TRANSPORT SYSTEM. The waste collects for a bit and then WHOOSH... it's off to the recycling centre. All underground. No bin lorries (garbage trucks), fewer road vehicles, less noise... amazing. @npub1scr…teus says that my (considerable) excitement about this is entirely unreasonable. I disagree.
https://www.envacgroup.com/how-it-works/the-envac-system/
#climate #waste #Norway
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/135/615/166/578/793/original/a2e9da00ef755b6c.png

2024-03-21 10:59:27

The hardback version of Blue Machine is so very beautiful but the paperback version is coming soon (May 2nd) and (ta-da!) here is the new cover, on the right. If you think ocean is only blue liquid filler, this is for you.
'Blue Machine is quite simply one of the best books I have ever read.' - Dr George McGavin
#science #ocean #books
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/133/087/934/029/998/original/b73fe70df5bd62d1.png

2024-03-21 10:47:08

Colleagues at UCL just shared this with me and it's GREAT. It's an open letter from Tim Berners-Lee, pointing the way towards a much fairer and better web. Do share with those who still need convincing to move from Xs of this work to here and BlueSky!
https://webfoundation.org/2024/03/marking-the-webs-35th-birthday-an-open-letter/
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/133/041/452/261/842/original/805043e405b12c2e.png

2023-10-22 20:58:54

Maybe you all knew about this, but @npub1scr…teus has just introduced me to this useful tool for expanding your Mastondon world:
https://followgraph.vercel.app/#searchForm
It looks at the people you follow and the people they follow and ranks them by the number of follows from your followed. Hopefully you will find some people who were on here all along but who you hadn't found yet - I did.
#mastodon #network

2023-10-11 22:35:40

I keep thinking about Chris vT's suggested approach to ultra-processed food: put yourself on a two week 80% UPF diet BUT read/educate yourself throughout about harm it's does you. It will become revolting, and you'll be weaned off it.
Would this work for climate change? Yes, fly to NZ for just 3 days, binge eat beef, splurge on fast fashion, drive everywhere etc, but HERE is your reading list while you do all that... ? Maybe? Has anyone tried?
#climate #UPF #habits

2023-10-04 12:17:03

I think I'm still in recovery from learning a few weeks ago that Canadian fossil fuel companies tell people that because it's "natural" gas that they produce, burning it can't hurt the environment. And people believe them. I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, remember that and 🤯🤯🤯🤯
#climate #oil #gas #natural

2023-09-23 22:08:15

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@npub1vyt…vt4x Yes: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/search?q=The+Blue+Machine&search-button=&lang=en_CA

2023-09-23 22:06:44

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@npub1vyt…vt4x I'm pretty sure it's the US version - the territory is technically North America. Apologies to any Canadians for forgetting that.

2023-09-23 21:34:57

Well, that’s a nice thing to get home to. The US edition (almost exactly the same - just some km turned into miles plus slight title modification) will be out on October 3rd, and here it is in real life. I think the UK cover is prettier, but this is still lovely.
https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324006718
#ocean #books #science
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2023-09-17 12:25:33

My sister has just lent me Chris Van Tulleken’s Ultra-Processed People, itself “processed” by her dog enthusiastically carrying it around the house for a couple of weeks. Apparently it was his favourite carry toy, and I’ve just temporarily deprived him of it.
#science #books #dogs
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2023-09-15 10:04:51

Think about a pedestrian/cyclist being hit by a car: the person with the lowest carbon footprint, space use, noise and pollution production hit by a high carbon, space-guzzling, noisy and polluting box of metal.
Roads are for **people**, not for cars - cars have their uses, but that does not imply that the whole system should be built to satisfy their merest whim.
So well done Wales for making 20mph the default speed limit in residential/built-up areas.
https://www.gov.wales/introducing-default-20mph-speed-limits
#cars #Wales
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2023-09-12 03:50:55

Reasons why a fossil-fuel-free life is better, number 31724: far fewer “colourless odourless poisonous gases” floating around.
In a century, people will look back on us tolerating/normalising this situation like we look back on people throwing human faeces out of upper floor windows on to the street below, as a disposal mechanism.
#climate #FossilFuel
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2023-08-31 21:16:54

The earthworms in North America are invaders. There used to be native earthworms, but they were wiped out by glaciers around 10,000 years ago and all the current worms arrived accidentally (via humans) from Europe and Asia in the past few centuries.
https://ecosystemsontheedge.org/earthworm-invaders/
And now global warming is causing “global worming”, as worms spread northwards into a warmer Arctic:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/14/climate/invasive-worms-arctic-environment.html
The consequences aren’t clear yet. But it’s a lot of change.
#climate #Earth #worms
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2023-08-26 17:10:33

The solution to “autobesity” is NOT to change car parking spaces. It’s to fix the root of the problem and get rid of these over-sized, wasteful, dangerous and unnecessary vehicles.
“More than 150 car models are now too big to fit in average car parking spaces, according to analysis conducted by Which?.”
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/aug/26/more-than-150-car-models-too-big-for-regular-uk-parking-spaces?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
#cars #cities #SUV

2023-08-23 21:37:41

Before steamships came along, sailing ships like Cutty Sark went pretty much everywhere, and they weren’t dependent on hopping between fossil fuel depots. They had less clockwork-like predictability, but greater freedom, lower costs & zero emissions. And now the shipping industry is making a serious effort to regain some of those advantages:
“A cargo ship fitted with giant, rigid British-designed sails has set out on its maiden voyage”
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66543643?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
#shipping #climate #wind
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2023-08-16 18:58:00

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@npub1e0m…g578 In the case of CDR I think about what scaling up a lot of the proposed schemes would look like, particularly for the ocean. Creating vast seaweed farms in places without seaweed now, artificial upwelling, iron fertilisation etc - none of these are consequence-free when scaled up. But the discussion is framed as though scaling up any of them should just be accepted, without acknowledging the damage that scaling would cause, and talking openly about the trade-off

2023-08-16 18:30:42

A significant problem with a lot of geo-engineering/carbon dioxide removal ideas is that they go like this:
1. A lecture about how meddling with the planet has caused massive problems.
2. A second lecture about how meddling with even more things (previously unmeddled with) is going to make the situation better.
This highly interventionist approach, treating the Earth as something to be improved, rather than to be understood and fixed- this IS the problem. #climate #geoengineering #CDR

2023-08-12 20:12:56

A lovely bike ride along canal towpaths today made me wonder whether one day disused motorways will become havens for walkers, cyclists and wildlife. Although the joy of that thought does rather depend on us not replacing them with something worse. #cars #canals
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2023-08-06 15:11:44

My membership of British Cycling has come around for renewal and I have no hesitation in telling them to get lost. The fact that they took on a major sponsorship deal with Shell (SHELL!) in October and have refused to reverse that decision is appalling. This is classic greenwashing - Shell are continuing to extract all the oil they can. Cycling should not offer shelter to the fossil fuel companies putting profit ahead of the planet.
https://bikebiz.com/a-shocking-decision-industry-reacts-as-british-cycling-signs-deal-with-shell/
#Cycling #UCI #Shell
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