I read Blue Machine by Helen Czerski
I read The High House by Jessie Greengrass
I read Awe by Dacher Keltner
The full title is Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life
To me, the book is summarized by these two quotes, particularly the second one:
It also merits considering what was not mentioned in stories of awe from around the world. Money didn't figure into awe, except in a couple of instances in which people had been cheated out of life savings. No one mentioned their laptop, Facebook, Apple Watch, or smartphone. Nor did anyone mention ccanonsumer pur-chases, like their new Nikes, Tesla, Gucci bag, or Montblane pen.
Pg 18
In fact, it is hard to imagine a single thing you do that is better for your body and mind than finding awe outdoors.
Pg 128
Wildfires in Los Angeles County have taken a devastating toll, with thousands of lives affected by toxic smoke, destruction, and displacement. As climate change fuels faster, bigger, and more destructive fires, it’s clear this crisis isn’t in the future—it’s here now.
Action is our antidote to despair and, while we can't tackle these challenges alone, we can make change happen together. Make sure you're prepared, support your community and disaster response efforts, and most of all, push for climate policies that cut emissions and build resilience.
Read more and, as always, please use this to start conversations this week!
talkingclimate.ca/p/winter-wil…
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Spotted this lichen crusted post that has seen a lot of weather on the Eden saltmarsh.
#LichenSubscribe #PostOfTheDay #Saltmarsh #NatureRestorationFund #NatureScot
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#Saltmarsh #NatureScot #NatureRestorationFund
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Redbournbury Watermill & Bakery
🇫🇮 Good News: Finland is rapidly becoming a global climate leader with innovations ranging from the world’s largest underground thermal storage facility to a sustainable data center that warms local communities and green business loans to accelerate change. Even their dietary guidelines are going climate-friendly!
🔥 Not So Good News: 2024 may be the hottest year yet, with record-breaking weather extremes (including the devastating fires in Los Angeles today) being fueled by fossil fuels. Experts warn the stakes are high, but every bit of warming we prevent can make a difference.
💡 What You Can Do: The new year is a good time to take on a new, climate-positive habit. From big (going car-free) to small (reducing food waste), every step counts. This year, I’m focusing on love—for people, places, and the planet—because that's what recharges our batteries and inspires us to act. 🌱✨
Read more here ⬇️
substack.com/home/post/p-15449…
Lessons from Finland
Finnish climate action, a year of climate extremes, and a New Year’s challengeKatharine Hayhoe (Talking Climate)
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Unfortunately we have wasted all the good efforts by allowing the forestry industry to go grossly over the sustainable logging amounts, turning the land use sector into a source of emissions instead of a sink. We are looking at failing on our commitments and potentially facing a price tag up to billions of euros due to it.
And the current government is working overtime to water down climate efforts and environmental protections.
These are the key facts everyone needs to know about climate change, according to @yaleclimatecomm :
It's real.
It's us.
It's serious - and already dangerous.
But there are solutions.
I shared this post across 7 different social media platforms, including FB, LI, Mastodon, Threads, X and Twitter both pre-and post-Musk.
Here's how their engagement stacked up. 🧵
fediscience.org/@kathhayhoe/11…
Climate Change:It's real.
It's us.
It's serious - and already dangerous.
But there are solutions.
The science is clear: the faster we cut emissions, the less suffering we will cause, and the better off we'll all be.
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Dirk, Kim Spence-Jones 🇬🇧😷, Glyn Moody, Torsten, Tim Chambers, Flipboard Science Desk, Debbie Goldsmith 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈⧖, John Wilker 👨🏽💻, stib and Dr. Katharine Hayhoe reshared this.
Yes I do find your analysis really helpful, and I can guess how much work this actually is. I am still lukewarm about LinkedIn because I find it slow and in fact difficult to maneuver.
So a more or less parallel operation on bluesky and mastodon is the current answer for me.
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We had 113 consecutive days above 100 in Phoenix last year, 61 of them above 110! The previous record was 76 days.
Without shelter, this place is uninhabitable and it's only getting worse.
I think people who say warmer is better have their heads in air-conditioned sand.
Thank you, Dr. Hayhoe, for your posts here and your dedication to climate science.
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@Nonya_Bidniss Well, I admire your work and professionalism. You're doing important work that we all benefit from.
Masto dudes: What the fuck? I want to hear more about this. I will NOT engage with threads or bluesky. Kindly SHUT THE FUCK UP and let the good Doctor work. Oh noes, you would have presented the data differe-SIT DOWN, asshole, you DIDN'T do the work, so you opinion on presentation isn't important. She's a fucking expert, let her present the way she prefers, she prefers it for a reason.
Sorry. I'm fucking fed up with dickheads making this environment so unpleasant for certain groups of people; the ogenies are one of the biggest things I came here to get away from. It's coming between us and important work, and I'm fucking furious.
Shut the fuck up, guys.
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😂 "It's not real" -- until it gets real for these people.
The stupidity (or is it only ignorance) of some folks is mind-blowing.
@Ruth_Mottram that is interesting - would you say that is true for normalised values (per 1k followers)?
LI is a very different platform. Mostly business/professional people. I've had to figure out how to use it very differently. Like a foreign language :)
@annepm225 thank you!
No, I didn't include Instagram as it's not a text-based social media platform, but I should consider it for sure!
@alienghic you are not alone: that is the subject of one of my most-watched Global Weirding episodes!
youtube.com/watch?v=SpjL_otLq6…
I recently updated it at a global conference of evangelical leaders: lausanne.org/video/faith-and-t…
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I'm stumped at how to make arguments to my pre millennial biblical literalist mother.
The belief that disasters are good because they herald the immanent return of Christ who can magically return Earth to a pure state, and thus we are in no danger because God will step in and save us is pretty immune to any arguments I can think of.
I saw your first post but didn't engage because its the core consensus and shouldn't be controversial.
I do feel like we have many engineering solutions, but a shortage of political solutions
The oil companies and governments know climate actions threatens their power base and are fighting it in every way they can. (Spending lavishly on legislatures and propaganda, taking over political processes, or starting wars)
Not wanting to mansplain, just describing my experience with your posts.
Here are hashtags I follow.
#ClimateChange
#AnthropogenicClimateChange
#CleanEnergy
#GreenEnergy
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@ketan We will start to see more #DataStrikes
How to poison the data that Big Tech uses to surveil you and mess with the algorithms.
technologyreview.com/2021/03/0…
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That is why I follow you, because you build an interesting bridge btw science and religion.¹ 🤗 Which often enough means dispelling the political fog with which religious topics are surrounded in order to misuse them. Religious sources are often more reasonable (minding their historical context) than many might think.
¹I am not religious myself, but I understand that religions are a formative part of our history and that they are part of life for many people.
@alienghic
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@ketan Another aspect that is worth considering but will be unmeasurable/unquantifiable is how much of that antagonism you get on various platforms is from bots and paid-for sock puppets (with your profile, you will 100% be getting targeted by the fossil fuel industry by monetised disinformation and misinformation campaigns).
I imagine it's relatively low on Bluesky and Mastodon (at the moment) and extremely high on X/Twitter and Meta platforms.
Thanks. It is very interesting to see the engagement per 1.000 followers spread over the social media platforms.
Mastodon is less then that I expected but way above LinkedIn, Facebook and X.
The loss in engagement going from Twitter to X is amazing.
I am impressed with the job Threads is doing.
I do think that this is really good for Mastodon. Most people do properly prefer Bluesky or Threads and some of them created a Mastodon account first but left as soon as there where options available. This is properly the case because those other platforms do feel easier to get into.
But the engagement on mastodon could convince some big social media accounts to rethinkabout creating an Mastodon one as well.
@paulschoe I was at first too, but unfortunately algorithm changes made in November have essentially frozen my account there and tanked engagement on Threads. I have another analysis just comparing Threads and Bluesky here:
@teledyn I'm just not there. As one human there's a limit to the number of platforms I can juggle.
As for bubbles, it depends on why you're on a certain platform. The reason I engage on different platforms is because of the different audiences on each.
I notice this dared not a stroll into Tumblr 🤣
but also, what value have interaction stats when we know those platforms constrain to bubbles? At best, it illustrates Hawking's assertion "There is no Archimedian Point."
And maybe, for that reason, Anecdote IS data, provided we sum all Feynman graphs! I often post identical items to Mastodon and Tumblr, and over the past two years, yes, the energy is very different, which is why I spend more time there: it's safer.
@Ruth_Mottram
I think raw follower counts are misleading.
I suspect It would be more useful to see the number of monthly or daily active followers.
At the very least follower counts need to be weighted by age of the platform. (Older platforms will have larger absolute numbers, but will also have lost more to attrition)
from the bottom of my heart, thank you for making a solid argument there and curing an old grumpy atheist of another prejudice about evangelicals 🙏
I watched the whole thing… here's me cheering for you not being an outlier 🙀
Thank you. Growing queer in a fundamentalist church burned any religious feelings out of me. Though I did get left with a bunch of religious references many people don't get. Like
Donald Trump views the 7 deadly sins as a daily to do list. Most rich folk only specialize in a few of the sins, but no he has aimed to master them all.
Or did the evangelicals going to trump rallies miss all those warnings about false prophets?
According to the Atlantic some pastors are even struggling with trying to hold sermons quoting Jesus and getting accused of spouting "woke bullshit" so its not just depressed atheists wondering about nominal Christians getting deceived.
And does trump remind anyone else about the story of the golden calf? He even loves surrounding himself with gold to make the analogy extra obvious.
@katharinehayhoe.com
I'm sorry to see that you plan to post more often on BlueSky than on here, but I thank you for posting!
I read your posts but rarely make a comment since I don't have anything to add. I read your posts so that I can learn.
Anyway, sending you the best of luck, and sorry to hear that you get so much "friendly fire" here 😬
Wow, that difference between #Threads and #Bluesky in just 2 months is just amazing.
'At the end of October, both my accounts had 20k followers. Today, Bluesky is at 80k, but Threads has dropped to 19.7k. ;
It shows the effect of algorithms and how also Musk can indeed completely stop a successful account, with tens of thousands of followers, from being seen anymore on X.
I know that the same thing happened to YouTube channels.
Musk, 10 years ago: Global warming is an existential threat to human existence.
Recently: Global warming is a hoax.
Hidden Killers Food, Water, Air, An Exhaustive Compendium on Global Warming Driven Climate Change
tinyurl.com/2ptesj2a
Any platform that is actively boosting or suppressing content needs to be viewed and regulated as a broadcaster. They should be required to get a broadcast license and be under the same scrutiny and anyone else in that position of mass influence.
This is no longer #FreeSpeech
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Hi, sorry for intruding, but I have red-green colorblindness (deuteranopia) and the choice of colors for this graph makes it illegible for me. The ALT text only mention that is is a graph, but not the data behavior, so it didn't add any information that could help me interpret the graph.
Considering that around 5% of the population has this condition, I would suggest that you use a palette that maximizes the readability, including colorblind people.
Thank you!
There are an awful lot of people on Mastodon who feel they need to tell posters that they're "doing it wrong". Almost always (99%) men.
@doctormo @alberto_cottica @ketan
Well first there is already much published research showing that gender plays a huge role in how people interact and respond online.
But second, on my Facebook page (back when it was still alive, pre-August 2018) a climate scientist named Jonathan Baker (obviously white, male) and I took turns responding to negative comments (nearly all of which were from accounts that appeared to be men).
The difference in people's responses was massive. At least half the time, he'd get an "oh, thank you for sending this info, I will consider it" or a non-offensive clarifying question. 100% of the time they'd just double down on me and I'd have to block them.
There might be permissibility to be more heavy handed and disrespectful of female presenting scientists.
A test might be interesting, see if inventing an alter ego invites abusive replies.
It's also possible instances give very different outcomes. On floss social I rarely ever see those posts and have to view the original page in a browser to see most of the abuse.
Thank you so much for being a positive presence here and for sticking it out. As someone passionate about creation care and the positive force religion can play in environmental conversations, your communications work has been very inspiring.
I am sorry about the know-it-alls here. I find them annoying too. I will definately follow on Fedi Bridge. I hope that BlueSky can resist the pressure that a lot of the other social media companies seem to be buckling under.
@JonnyT that was my first thought after parsing @kathhayhoe survey results, particularly in regards to the FB gags placed on her outreach. Like, I guess the trolls and hate bots weren't effective enough in bludgeoning her into silence.
With regards to the mansplaining and friendly fire here on Mastodon, I'm sorry. It's a thing, and I've been guilty of it in the past probably too. This is the first I've heard of your work, though environmental sciences have been a big part of my career and I've faced many of the same headwinds: ignorant belligerence, scripted hate bots, shadow bans and cruely the worst, indifference.
With regards to this community here on Mastodon I would ask for your forbearance in the overhelpfull opinionated people here. Were an odd bunch who choose to be here by one way or another because it's not a corporate platform. The Internet in 2024 wasn't the Internet in 2014 or 2004... It's been under continual assault and that's left a trail of brutalized and traumatized people who have collected here rather than BS, because they don't want to deal with the same muzzles you've had to wear on FB or Reddit or particularly X.
This isn't and can't be a justification for bad behavior.... I just hope it can be the common point of empathy that keeps your important work in the Federated media spaces. 🫶
@katharinehayhoe.com This is all but impossible for a red-green colorblind person to parse, even for someone like me with only a modest level of the affliction. I love what you're doing here but the presentation makes it extremely difficult to get the facts out. It's a near-perfect example of how red-green colorblindness affects color perception. Please use a different color (or texture) scheme.
Background:
By virtue of your talents and prominence in the field you've become the tallest nail. That's going to attract beligerance no matter the platform. If and when BS turns corpo-fascist there will be space for your contributions here.
Hopefully by then we'll have a handle on the issues you've raised here Keep being a bright light in the darkness!
Oh man, I am one of those friendly firing partisans. I think, I'll have to change my behaviour.
Happy New Year from the Green Shores team!
We're looking forward to getting more sites planted, continuing our monitoring program, growing more plants and working with more volunteers.
#Saltmarsh #NatureScot #NatureRestorationFund
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My final newsletter of 2024 is your ultimate Climate Conversation Cheat Sheet—spotlighting the year's highs, lows, and most unforgettable moments in climate news.
❗Not So Good News: Did you know warmer waters are shrinking fish, cacao prices tripled last year due to climate impacts, fossil fuel pollution causes 8M+ premature deaths annually, and we had 41 more extreme heat days thanks to climate change?
💡Good News: Solar and wind made up 90% of new energy in the US last year while China installed more solar in 2024 than the US has in its history! Plus, scientists are discovering game-changing innovations like carbon-eating bacteria in the Mediterranean, universities are making climate education mandatory, and grandmothers and musicians are using their voices to call for climate action.
✅ What You Can Do: Electrify your home, prepare for extreme weather, and join local climate action groups. As Bill McKibben often reminds us, our biggest impact comes from collective action.
Read more and share what you learn with everyone you know - so that together, we can make a difference.
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I love that the lawyer who connected climate attribution to health risk science is one of @Nature’s 10 people who shaped science in 2024.
She led the lawsuit against the Swiss government for violating the rights of older women by failing to take steps to prevent climate change.
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Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral, & Old Sarum
Deanna is here and today we drove a rental car to Stonehenge. A lot of other people were there too, but with the ancient stones, the mist, and the barrows on the horizon in every direction, it was still magical.
From Stonehenge, we drove into Salisbury to see the cathedral. It was closed, but still very impressive.
On the way out of town, we stopped briefly at Old Sarum, which has a long and interesting history. It held a previous version of Salisbury Cathedral, and also held a castle used by William the Conqueror.
Tensions might feel high this year, and skipping climate conversations during the holidays may seem safer—but think again. This week, I’m here to help you navigate climate convos in a way that brings people together, not pushes them apart.
💡 Worried it’ll be too complicated? No problem—I’ve broken it down into three easy steps anyone can follow.
🌟 Think it won’t work for your family? I’ve got two real-life stories of climate dismissives taking action thanks to meaningful, solutions-focused conversations.
❤️ Wondering if it’s even worth the risk? Here’s the truth: If we don’t talk about it, why would anyone care? And if we don’t care, why would we act?
Talking about climate change doesn’t have to be overwhelming or divisive. It can be hopeful, inspiring, and even bring us closer together. So this holiday season, let’s make time for the conversations that matter most.
Read more and give it try – and I’d love to hear how it goes!
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"Here’s the truth: If we don’t talk about it, why would anyone care? And if we don’t care, why would we act?"
🖤♥️
Switched from gas stove to induction. Huge air quality difference in house. ✅
Switched one vehicle to #EV this year. Love it. Bigger and yet it’s 2x better mileage than than than the Prius. Even with my crazy high electric rates.
Second vehicle is 2017 Prius because they didn’t have any demo EVs when I was shopping for one.
Was talking to skeptical friends about EVs at that time and they actually beat us to the punch. They got theirs around 2019 and they now have two.
@stayinbed I still try to find something that most people have in common. Where they live, what they care about.
For example, speaking to a group of students the other week, I started with asking them what challenges they'd overcome and how they felt about that. Then, I linked that to climate action and how most people don't feel they can make a difference. You can see that here -> youtube.com/live/scvExRjZXYs?s…
"In this season of Advent, many people around the world prepare to celebrate the birth of a child whose parents fled their homeland to escape violence. Today, caring for migrants demands urgent, collaborative efforts to address the complex challenges driving their vulnerability—especially climate change."
Theologian Ruth Padilla DeBorst's work focuses on justice, community and sustainability. This week, I've asked her to share her good news, not so good news, and how the community she's part of in Costa Rica lives out their faith, from using solar energy and restoring local watersheds to accompanying migrants on their journey across her country.
Read more here and, as always, please use these ideas to spark conversations this holiday week!
talkingclimate.ca/p/millions-a…
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Thanks to our wonderful volunteers for all the hours of potting on, planting up, watering and caring for the plants in the polytunnel, to get them ready for restoring and expanding Scottish salt marshes
#SaltMarshRestoration #NatureRestorationFund #NatureScot
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The term "bug" was used in an account by computer pioneer Grace Hopper, who publicized the cause of a malfunction in an early electromechanical computer.
Hopper did not find the bug, as she readily acknowledged. The date in the log book was September 9, 1947. The operators who found it, including William "Bill" Burke, later of the Naval Weapons Laboratory, Dahlgren, Virginia, were familiar with the engineering term and amusedly kept the insect with the notation "First actual case of bug being found." Hopper loved to recount the story.
This log book, complete with attached moth, is part of the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
I always figured it was like patching over errors, but I never thought it was literally patching over them.
I was musing by reading up on early computing machines and saw this just the other day, for the first time. What a coincidence.
When you think about it, "patch" isn't an obvious synonym for "fix" or "change." A patch on an inner tube doesn't undo the damage. It just compensates for it. So this origin makes sense.
At least it's post hoc. The IBM1130 system code was pre-assembled with deliberate gaps in it, called "patch areas," where you could tuck opcodes directly into the image.
Huntn00
in reply to Dr. Katharine Hayhoe • • •