Where am I? Under surprisingly blue skies given the location although it's clouded over now...

Did the BBC not send a photographer on the parade?? Well at least Leeds got a mention for its superb carnival thats nearly as old as me... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Leeds West Indian Carnival still thrills after 59 years

The annual event brings a touch of late summer colour, excitement and culture to Leeds.

bbc.co.uk

Carnival! The real one in Chapeltown, not that other one in London. A fabulous weekend as always. #IloveLeeds

Pleased to see Tories are still incapable of learning the lesson that “ending the war on motorists” is not an election winning stance in London, which has the highest walking & cycling rates, lowest car ownership & best public transport of anywhere in Britain. It’s like they don’t know any of this

The biggest risk is never on the risk register. In this case the government pandering to manufacturered populism and prejudices refuses to take simple, costless, steps (taking students out of immigration figures) that would have preserved the sector.

Glen O'Hara@gsoh31.bsky.social · 2w ago

It is genuinely fascinating working in the midst of a true Public Policy Disaster and seeing it from the inside, but y'know... I'd rather not? www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Not sure why this gets lost in basically every conversation about energy affordability, but the bills we pay depend on both prices and usage. Energy efficiency, from appliance standards to building codes, is the most effective energy affordability policy in US history and there's not a close 2nd.

Mark Z. Jacobson@mzjacobson.bsky.social · 2w ago

California pays the 13th-lowest grid electricity bills per capita in the US despite having the 2nd-highest electricity price. Texas pays the 38th-lowest bills per capital (21% higher than CA) despite half the electricity price as CA. Why, because TX consumes 2.5x the electricity per person as CA.

Incredible chart from @propublica.org. If you don’t follow enviro stuff closely, your instinct might be that the hold-your-nose solution (carbon capture from fossil fuels) would be the “pragmatic” one versus covering Earth in solar panels, which seems utopian. In fact it’s the opposite

Watch this. Then order that heat pump you've been meaning to get around to for a while.

Mario Sixtus@sixtus.net · 2w ago

Nepal Times, Instagram:

In case you're wondering about the best way to spend your evening.

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library gifted more than 332,000,000 books since it was first created 31 years ago.

Oh lordy what a loss. It's a cliche to say they don't write them like that any more, but they don't do they?? This is one of my favs but I also can't forget playing Jolene with old pals over the years. 😪😪 youtu.be/Sz5cOv4_e_U?...

Dolly Parton - Hard Candy Christmas (performed live Dec 1988 w Bob Hope intro)(stereo)

YouTube video by Kelly's Classics

youtu.be

At Bradford Cartwright Hall to see the Jim Moir exhibition amongst other things. Very good. Who knew that Vic Reeves was born in Leeds and trained as an apprentice mechanical engineer.

I do like a tree tunnel, especially if it involves scrawny hawthorns.

Are these blackthorn berries?

“When the air cleared, fewer patients filled the cardiac wards. This regional transition serves as a microcosm of what can be achieved globally through sustained emission reductions.” My latest for @theguardian.com on West Macedonia, Bradford, ULEZ and more. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

What happens to people’s health when air pollution is reduced?

Growing evidence that cutting coal use and bans on high-polluting vehicles are leading directly to health benefits

theguardian.com

Grown my first pumpkin! Small but definitely looks like one.

Covered by BBC here. An absolute vindication of the work of so many campaigners over the years. @ellarobertafdn.bsky.social, @mumsforlungs.bsky.social, @cleanairlondon.bsky.social, Elaine Francis from Mapping for Change, multiple academics and groups across London. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Children's stunted lungs show recovery in ultra low emission zone

Children's lung capacity caught up with their peers in less polluted areas once a clean air zone came in, a study shows.

bbc.co.uk

I suspect it will be even more extreme for Chinese students in the UK because they are also using AI for translation which means their working English never improves to the level required to do well in an exam.

Henry Mance@henrymance.ft.com · 3w ago

Woah.

It's proper raining up on the moors. Hurrah!

Good point. Going through the IPCC AR6 report to prepare climate science lectures I had a few moments of "well I want to show this updated data but why has the presentation become so much more complex, and how the hell am I going to explain that to Chinese students who's English isn't great".

Madison Condon@madisoncondon.bsky.social · 3w ago

is this ambitiously creative and wild dataviz actually helpful or readable is a thing i think more scientists could be asking themselves

Stuart actually has books on ignorance and failure in science, but the new one is more optimistic: It Could Be Otherwise: Science in the Age of Uncertainty. bookshop.org/p/books/it-c...

It Could Be Otherwise: Science in the Age of Uncertainty

A profound argument for science that embraces uncertainty and promotes possibility, creativity, and the belief that we can shape, if not determine, our future. "This wise book challenges everything w...

bookshop.org

Here’s a bank saying the thing that everyone else in the EU can see with their own eyes. If you weaken climate action because you want better economic outcomes, your economic outcomes get much worse because of the bad climate change you could have acted on.

Rosamunde Van Brakel@rosamundevb.bsky.social · 3w ago

A Dutch bank has warned that Europe risks falling into a “doom loop” in which climate damage slows economic growth, prompting governments to weaken climate policy, and so leaving the continent even more exposed to future heatwaves. euobserver.com/232026/eu-fu...

How low can media commentary go? Apparently as low as this. Shameful.

Phil Burton-Cartledge@philbc3.bsky.social · 3w ago

If we had a functional media, this would mark the end of Hartley-Brewer's career.

Describe your music taste with only three artists. Hard but here goes... 1. A Certain Ratio 2. Larry Heard 3. Astor Piazzolla

Mark O’Neill 🐻@radiobeartime.com · 3w ago

Describe your music taste with only three artists 1. Pere Ubu 2. Wire 3. Harold Budd.

I also think its a good idea because nobody can now claim ignorance so taking action against those who deliberately flout the warnings will be easier.

Alison Tomlin@alisontomlin.bsky.social · 4w ago

Well the last time a received a screaming alert like that it was in Korean and really put the weeblies up me. Good idea I think although there will be those who choose to deliberately ignore it.

Well the last time a received a screaming alert like that it was in Korean and really put the weeblies up me. Good idea I think although there will be those who choose to deliberately ignore it.

Last call for bursary applications! Deadline = Sunday 16 August Want to go from learning about CE and start delivering real solar projects? You might be eligible for a free place on the Community Solar Foundation Course, but you need to be quick! Read more here >>> bigsolar.coop/bursaries

CSF Course bursaries

The Energy Learning Network bursary is intended to improve access to the CSF course for individuals who may otherwise face barriers to participation. Applicants must demonstrate that they are…

bigsolar.coop

Quite jealous of all your eclipse photos. This is all we got on the Northumbrian coast. It hasn't really gone that dark.

This and grey herons and kittiwakes. The sky is constantly changing.

Morning. Gorgeous Dunstanburgh.