@friendsofthecam.bsky.social
Great talk from @billmcguire.bsky.social on Tuesday. Top down government isn't going to help us avert the worst of the climate crisis. We need community organising and local action. Bill's slides available on our web site. www.friendsofthecam.org/news-and-eve... @greenparty.org.uk
News and Events
friendsofthecam.org
I just wrote a @stopburningtrees.bsky.social letter: Stop Drax's Dirty Data Centre: Tell Brookfield, Radiant and Qai to Drop £20 billion pound partnership with Drax. Write one here: actionnetwork.org/letters/stop...
Stop Drax's Dirty Data Centre: Tell Brookfield, Radiant and Qai to Drop £20 billion pound partnership with Drax
Drax Power Station is the UK’s biggest carbon polluter and the world’s biggest tree burner, and thankfully its subsidies are dwindling. However, bad news: they want to capitalise on the data centre ru...
actionnetwork.org
In 10 or 15 years I think many societies will be struggling to adapt in any realistic sense without (i) dramatic emissions cuts and (ii) a real coordinated plan on adaptation, which is completely missing today news.un.org/en/story/202...
‘The world is not ready’: Climate adaptation cash falls far short as warming heads past 1.5°C
Although global warming is set to exceed 1.5°C, financing to help communities adapt to climate change falls far short of needs, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a report published on Wednes...
news.un.org
Mayors to get new powers over how England water companies are run under new “regional water councils”. Won't resolve the crisis. Water will remain privatised, companies want profits, pay dividends, fleece customers. Let companies go bankrupt. Remove profit motive. Nationalise at knockdown price.
Mayors to get new powers over water companies in 'public control' push
Metro mayors will be able to hold private water operators accountable under changes that could lead to radical reforms.
cityam.com
Community-led surveys of the River Ching and River Lea Diversion have uncovered rare species, including European eels and Pond water-crowfoot, while identifying pollution and barriers to fish movement. Read full story here: www.thames21.org.uk/2026/11/rare...
Rare wildlife discovered in River Ching and River Lea surveys led by local communities - Thames21
Environmental charity Thames21 has funded a survey revealing a diverse range of wildlife in the River Ching, including the critically endangered European eel and the...
thames21.org.uk
Not sure we say this clearly enough... Even if we bring global temps back down after overshooting 1.5C, we won't undo all the damage. Lost glaciers, melting ice sheets, rising sea levels and thawing permafrost could leave a legacy lasting centuries or longer. www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
Cryosphere faces permanent damage when world overshoots 1.5C, scientists warn
UN-backed report finds even temporary rises above Paris agreement target could cause harm to glaciers and polar ice sheets
theguardian.com
Delighted to have been able to attend the launch of Magma 96, a compilation of poems on the theme of 'The Antarctic', at the Theatreship in London today. I even got to say a few words at the start of the event about the importance of the arts in communicating science.
OFWAT hands EY £15m contract to supervise Thames Water. EY implicated in the Post Office, Thomas Cook, NMC Health, Kaloti gold, Made.com, Covid, other scandals rewarded A firm that delivers dud audits, can't put its own house in order chosen to supervise TW.
Ofwat hands EY £15m contract to monitor troubled Thames Water
The water regulator has picked EY to act as independent monitor of Britain's biggest water company, which remains locked in talks aimed at averting its collapse, Sky News learns.
news.sky.com
What about cancelling oil and gas subsidies? Or taxing their windfall profits? Healey to veto new offshore wind projects if they will not lower bills
Whoops, forgot the link: the.organise.network/campaigns/ne...
NHS workers must be free to show solidarity with Palestine
Add your name:
the.organise.network
Susan Buckingham@susanjb7.bsky.social · 2w agoThe government accepted Lord Mann's review. Palestine badges are now being banned across the NHS. The same trusts that lit up their buildings in blue and yellow for Ukraine. Sign the petition
4 DAYS TO GO until Thames Water creditors meet to agree *another* bailout at our expense Voters will not forgive @andyburnham.bsky.social if he lets a bunch of US hedge funds get away with this Take back Thames Water, slash the debt, bring it into PUBLIC OWNERSHIP weownit.org.uk/act-now/tham...
Andy Burnham, block the Thames Water bailout
Enough is enough. We are sick and tired of Thames Water tumbling from crisis to crisis.
weownit.org.uk
This looks like an important new account providing chilling information of British complicity in maximising oil and gas internationally. @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social @greenparty.org.uk @owenjones.bsky.social @labourlewis.bsky.social @andrewfeinstein.bsky.social @peaceandjustice.bsky.social
Abolish Westminster@abolishwestminster.bsky.social · 3w agoUK diplomats are helping fossil fuel firms lobby to drill new wells, we have discovered, after a year-long Freedom of Information struggle #BigOil #lobbying #EdMiliband abolishwestminster.com/british-dipl...
We have until Thursday 29th October to stop Thames Water from being bailed out yet again at our expense Andy Burnham, block the bailout, remove their licence, TAKE IT BACK. Sign the petition 👇 weownit.org.uk/act-now/tham...
Andy Burnham, block the Thames Water bailout
Enough is enough. We are sick and tired of Thames Water tumbling from crisis to crisis.
weownit.org.uk
Nothing is stopping @andyburnham.bsky.social He must step in by Thursday 29th October to stop the next bailout at our expense weownit.org.uk/act-now/tham... Remove Thames Water's licence with special administration Slash the debt, permanent PUBLIC OWNERSHIP www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Burnham urges officials to come up with more radical options for Thames Water
Exclusive: Utility seen as ‘litmus test’ of PM’s promise to bring ‘essentials of life’ under public control
theguardian.com
So many lines, all going in the wrong direction. Figure 1 from the paper linked in the quoted post.
Prof William Ripple@williamripple.bsky.social · 4w ago🌍 “This is no longer a warning for the future; it is a diagnosis of the present.” Our 2026 State of the Climate report finds 7 of 16 planetary vital signs at record extremes. The planetary emergency is already here. doi.org/10.1093/bios...
If you're in/near Cambridge, come and hear @billmcguire.bsky.social talk about the climate crisis and his new book on Nov 3rd. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-fate-o...
The Fate of the World: a History and Future of the Climate Crisis
Delving into deep time, Bill McGuire explains what is happening to our climate in the early decades of the twenty-first century and beyond.
eventbrite.co.uk
Prof Bill McGuire@profbillmcguire.bsky.social · 4w agoDoes this beggar belief? No. It is no surprise whatsoever The fossil fuel sector has been suppressing the truth for 3/4 of a century www.theguardian.com/environment/...
This ought to be a joke If @ofwat.bsky.social seriously wanted to stop poor performance it - would have said NO to 36% bill rise last year - would have said NO to £3.4 billion bill rise on top - would be taking private water companies into PUBLIC OWNERSHIP www.independent.co.uk/news/busines...
Households to see water bills cut as regulator fines failing suppliers
Ofwat stressed that changes to bills are ‘affected by a range of factors and the effect will vary by company and customer type’
independent.co.uk
Excellent to see this brilliant piece in The Guardian highlighting our recent autumn Big Wet Wipe Count in Hammersmith! Thanks so much @matthewpearce.bsky.social for covering us.🌿 Also, a huge thank you to our volunteers. Read full story here: www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘It’s not glamorous’: the volunteers counting flushed wet wipes on the banks of the Thames
A Thames21 charity citizen science project helps track plastic pollution in the capital’s river
theguardian.com
I love taking the train between San Diego and Los Angeles since it's such a gorgeous view but there's just no way it'll still exist on the same track a generation from now. www.instagram.com/reels/DeSCAh...
@38degrees.bsky.social is runnning a petition 'Don’t give in to oil and gas fat cats - keep a strong tax on their mega profits to help us with our energy bills, don’t let them get out of it!' Sign here to support 38d.gs/wsa- (Mystifyingly, 38 degrees don't have Bluesky as a sharing option.)
It's time for them to pay up.
Oil and gas companies who make BILLIONS are trying to get out of paying tax while we all freeze this winter.
38d.gs
Out on patrol nice and early. Pleased to report no fascists spotted on the beach again. Happy days x
Following Cameron Adams' brilliant talk on 'Where and how will we get our water?' to feed the Cambridge growth frenzy, we can now share this on YouTube. Cameron's slides are on Friends of the Cam's website. Please share widely! www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-6E...
Where and How Will We Get Our Water
YouTube video by Friends of the River Cam
youtube.com
It appears that Antarctic sea-ice may already have reached its maximum extent this year at 17.6 million km². If this turns out to be the case it has occurred earlier than usual and is the third lowest maximum on record. Graphic by @zacklabe.com zacklabe.com/antarctic-se...
What a terrible decision by Somerset CC. So much for local democracy. @libdems.org.uk have form - they’ve been supporting unnecessary and destructive private developments in Cambridge. @greenparty.org.uk Appeal? ‘Devastating’: council rejects Frome residents’ bid for regeneration project
Declassified journalists banned from Labour conference – again. A Trumpian policy started by Keir Starmer. Burnham can't make a fresh start without getting rid of the previous advisers. Democracy means accepting scrutiny, even when it is uncomfortable.
Declassified journalists banned from Labour conference - again
Labour MPs have condemned the ‘Trump-like’ decision, saying party is ‘bang out of order’
declassifieduk.org
The scariest aspect of this is that we may not know we've passed the tipping point until it has already happened. @rahmstorf.bsky.social in 2024: "Nothing dramatic happens at the tipping point. That just means AMOC is then doomed and it will slowly die, but that process could take 50 to 100 years."
New Scientist@newscientist.com · 2mo agoEurope faces incredibly harsh winters, unrelenting droughts if the AMOC ocean current collapses. An ambitious early warning system plans to tell us precisely when this potential catastrophe could become a reality. www.newscientist.com/article/2588...
Fantastic talk from Cameron Adams on the myth of water availability for Cambridge growth plans. Recording and slides will soon be on our web pages.
Rob Larter@polarrobs.bsky.social · 2mo agoTonight in Cambridge.
