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Alex Lipp

@alexlipp.github.io

Lecturer in Earth Sciences @es-ucl.bsky.social | Interested in rivers, mud, mountains, pollution, carbon cycling, quantitative methods, open science | alexlipp.github.io | www.sewagemap.co.uk | he/him | 🌍 🌱 🏔 🧗‍♂️ 🏕 🏃‍♂️

126 Posts734 Follower1232 Folgt
Alex Lipp@alexlipp.github.io · 2mo ago

I often think this with respect to sewage spills from water co’s. If Thames *is* renationalised, the pollution doesn’t instantly stop and it’s no longer “sufficient abstract evil shareholder” to blame it’s literally the government. Do you really want to touch that 3rd rail?

Will Jennings📉🗳️@drjennings.bsky.social · 2mo ago

It is worth remembering that one of the reasons public utilities were privatised originally was to depoliticise them and help politicians avoid blame for poor service. Nationalisation may be popular in the short-term, but there are longer-term risks of assuming responsibility for service quality.

Alex Lipp@alexlipp.github.io · 4mo ago

Thanks to @mysociety.org for this great focus on SewageMap and what we’re doing to make sewage spill data more transparent! (And how the public can apply pressure for even more data!!)

mySociety@mysociety.org · 4mo ago

"Just at a fundamental level it feels wrong for sewage to be going into rivers”: we spoke to @alexlipp.github.io about the importance of open data, and how sewagemap.co.uk uses our WriteToThem service to get people to convince their MPs of that too! www.mysociety.org/2026/04/16/h...

Alex Lipp@alexlipp.github.io · 7mo ago

wonkhe.com/blogs/gradua... Remarkable quote: "We’ve gone from government suggesting that the state would subsidise undergraduate student loans by about 45p in the pound, to making a profit on them for that cohort."

Graduates are paying more and getting less

Jim Dickinson traces how a student loans system once sold as cost-sharing has become one where graduates fund everything – and where Labour has quietly reversed promises to make things fairer Jim Dick...

wonkhe.com

Alex Lipp@alexlipp.github.io · 9mo ago

OTOH the environment agency *is* massively under-resourced so not totally their fault, *but* this defence is totally inappropriate… You’re an arm of the State, it’s right and good to be subject to criticism and you need to respond to it better than “uwu don’t be so mean” 🙄

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Brandon Bishop@brandontbishop.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Many people believe that the way to attract people to the geosciences is via logical, utilitarian returns on an undergraduate degree. But left unexplored is the power of the field's inherent irrational, cosmic horror to command attention. It's 2nd only to astronomy in that, & much more immediate.

Alex Lipp@alexlipp.github.io · 10mo ago

Another research institute opting for “short lived AI start-up chic” in their (no doubt vastly expensive) rebranding I see

UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH)@ukceh.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Our Planet. Decoded. UKCEH makes sense of environmental complexity to power decisions that shape a better future. We don’t just examine our planet, we decode it – working out how to build a better tomorrow. 🎞️ youtu.be/s9fBwN5-kxM #UKCEH #EnvironmentalScience 🧪

Alex Lipp@alexlipp.github.io · 12mo ago

Given that universities/gov are savaged in the media even for increasing fees with inflation, is there anything meaningfully lost from advocating for a one-off step change back to an inflation adjusted £9k (~£13k)?

Sam Freedman@samfr.bsky.social · 12mo ago

On news that the government is likely to keep tuition fees rising with inflation here's my post from a few months ago on why that won't be enough to save the sector by itself. samf.substack.com/p/on-the-bri...

Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · last yr.

Shamelessly replugging this from two years ago. We would never look at the proportion of, say, schools, that don't turn out literate pupils and go 'oh well, probably those kids were better off out of it'. We shouldn't view the short tail of bad courses and/or outcomes any differently:

Everyone needs educating in the fight over university degrees

Political confusion over the purpose of these institutions means the obvious fixes are being neglected

ft.com

Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · last yr.

The state should just predict what the 30 per cent of degrees that have no graduate premium are, despite the fact this 30 per cent is scattered across a pretty wide distribution of institutions, and then magically reassign that bottom 30 per cent to better jobs elsewhere.

Alex Lipp@alexlipp.github.io · last yr.

Putting together a NERC proposal and somewhat baffled by what NERC mean when they want a Summary to be suitable for "opinion-formers". Who are these people and how am I meant to write for them?!

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@pbown.bsky.social · last yr.

We are offering a full-time permanent academic post at Lecturer level (Grade 8) in UCL Earth Sciences. Research areas include the climate crisis, hydrogeology, sustainable resources, the energy transition, natural hazards, and planetary science. www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

UCL – University College London

UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

ucl.ac.uk

Alex Lipp@alexlipp.github.io · last yr.

We at @es-ucl.bsky.social are hiring a Lecturer! Research area is broadly defined within the climate crisis, hydrogeology, sustainable resources, the energy transition, natural hazards, and planetary science. www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

UCL – University College London

UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

ucl.ac.uk

Alex Lipp@alexlipp.github.io · last yr.

Total ignorance here that Universities *already offer* vocational training. The whole point of the 92 reforms was to give these vocational courses at polytechnics the same level of accreditation as academic degrees...

James Ball@jamesrball.com · last yr.

Certain Blue Labour backbenchers seem happy to publicly attack higher education, saying Britain needs vocational roles instead. But what did they choose for themselves? Elite higher education, of course. www.theneweuropean.co.uk/james-ball-i...

But Blue Labour MPs have gone much further. Dan Carden, who was head boy at one of the North West’s most prestigious grammar schools, St Edward’s College, before studying at the LSE, said in the Daily Mail that he “would close half our universities and turn them into vocational colleges” because “we need to renew the skills required for production, not produce an endless stream of graduates for email jobs and human resources”. Carden’s Blue Labour colleague Jonathan Hinder – who also attended one of the North West’s most prestigious grammar schools, before going on to study history and politics at Oxford – expressed similar sentiments, saying “I don’t think we should have anywhere near as many universities and university places”. He added he would be “not that disappointed” if several universities collapsed as overseas student numbers fell.
Alex Lipp@alexlipp.github.io · last yr.

Really excellent news, and should never have been doubt. The original protest on Dartmoor was a hugely moving event and has sparked a new wave of R2R movement ⛰️ 🏕️ 🌱

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Right to Roam@righttoroam.bsky.social · last yr.

WE WON! The Supreme Court has upheld the right to wild camp on Dartmoor. This is a huge win for access to nature. But we're just getting started. It was never just about Dartmoor. We’re fighting to extend the right to roam, swim, and sleep under the stars - across all of England.

Alex Lipp@alexlipp.github.io · last yr.

www.theguardian.com/business/202... I really question how useful this type of reporting is in practice. The question to ask is "Is This A Big Number?" and I just don't think we have enough years worth of data (3 years tops) to work out if 4m is, or is not, a big number...

Nearly 4m hours of raw sewage dumped in England’s waters last year

Duration of spills by water companies up on previous year, in data described by environment secretary as ‘disgraceful’

theguardian.com

Dr. Rebecca Barnes (she/her)@waterbarnes.bsky.social · last yr.

"The intersection of science and politics is both inescapable and of vital importance. Scientists possess unique expertise that is crucial for informed policymaking and societal progress. Embracing political engagement allows scientist" www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Elon Musk is a proven danger to good science, but the Royal Society won’t say so. That’s why I resigned | Kit Yates

It is vital to act, and I urge colleagues to do so. How can we stand by and laud this man while he undermines scientific integrity? asks academic and author Kit Yates

theguardian.com