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John Russell

@johnrussell40.bsky.social

A Yorkshireman in Devon, growing trees. Retired filmmaker. Prioritising climate change, energy, sustainability, woodland, eco-building. Born at 311 ppm CO₂. Just moved to a '70s house and bringing its energy efficiency up-to-date—a big job ahead!

1000 Posts407 Follower298 Folgt
Sarah Murphy@13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 13h ago

Rupert Lowe being an outright fascist on #r4today He calls his ignorant, Islamophobic white-nostalgia bile “common sense thought” (“not rightwing thought”). With an ego bloated by Musk’s support of him on X, it seems unlikely that he and Farage would be able to make a pact. Small mercies… (iPaper)

Restore Reform pact unlikely, as ‘Farage simply can't be trusted' Extract Bad blood will prevent rival leaders uniting in long term, insiders insist Sitting in his living room, Rupert Lowe made a bold offer on Sunday to his former boss turned bitter enemy, Nigel Farage. "Nigel, my message is simple," the Restore Britain leader intoned in a video on X, which has racked up 4.6 million views. "If you are prepared to work together around serious policies, serious reform and serious government, then so are we" It came after his fledgling party again did better than expected in the Manchester mayoral election picking up 9 per cent of the vote. Not enough to have seen a united party of the hard right beat Labour but enough to do serious damage to Reform at a general election. A day later, Nigel Farage (inset) delivered his response. "If it was the offer of a deal, it came in a very unusual way," he said. "I have responded to it potentially with an open mind, but I'm certainly not going to be ditching people who I view to be allies and a great asset." In short, no headlong rush into negotiations, but a door seemingly left ajar. Despite these overtures, insiders in both Reform and Restore think that the bad blood between Farage and Lowe will prevent them from uniting in the long-run. Within Reform, the view is that Lowe sprang his offer on Farage with the purpose of embarrassing him and eliciting a rebuff. A Reform councillor said: "If there was ever any sort of approach to be had, it's done in private, it's done quite often initially through intermediaries. Agreement on immigration belies differences in other areas, with Reform insiders dismissing a number of the items Lowe mentioned in the video as too extreme. Lowe demanded "the banning of both halal and kosher slaughter" He also said he wants a capital punishment referendum. Lowe named several criminals residing in British prisons. The prospect of retrospective death penalties was too much even for some Reformers.
Prem Sikka@premnsikka.bsky.social · 2d ago

Palantir paid just £2m corporation tax in UK in 2024 despite £247m revenue, £25.3m profit. Doesn't pay much anywhere, effective global tax rate is 1.4% Shifts profits through intragroup transactions, enjoys tax breaks. UK Govt rewarding it with public contracts, enriching execs & shareholders.

Palantir paid just £2m corporation tax in UK in 2024 despite lucrative public sector contracts

Software group benefits from global systems and accounting practices ‘that enable tax to be shirked’, says union boss

theguardian.com

Prem Sikka@premnsikka.bsky.social · yesterday

Multinational corporations dodge $500bn tax by shifting profits to low/no tax jurisdictions. Stifle social development. Need a simple change - must pay tax where they actually create profit, instead of where they pretend to on paper. UK can collect extra $16.9bn a yr. Must check corporate abuse.

Countries to gain $500bn more tax a year under UN ‘pay-where-you-play’ plan - Tax Justice Network

UN tax convention commitment to scrap 100-year-old corporate tax approach will unleash new economic era without increasing taxes, experts say Countries can collect US$500 billion more in corporate tax...

taxjustice.net

Caroline Lucas@carolinelucas.bsky.social · yesterday

I can’t believe we’re still having a debate about whether there’s a trade off between job creation and measures to green the economy. There isn’t. The evidence was clear years ago - a green economy creates far more jobs than the fossil fuel economy it replaces. Come on Labour, catch up …

Government contracts to require job creation instead of green targets under new rules

Louise Haigh says taxpayer money must benefit local communities amid backlash from environmental groups

theguardian.com

Rob Ford@robfordmancs.bsky.social · 2d ago

At every future medical appointment, attending Dr should open the conversation, loudly, with "I see you previously refused treatment from my colleague owing to racism". I'm only v slightly exaggerating here. Social norms rely on shame as a central enforcement mechanism. We need to bring back shame.

James Murray@james-bg.bsky.social · 3d ago

The Strait of Hormuz is still shut. The UK is at risk of yet another recession due to its reliance on oil and gas. And the Tories, Reform, and their media outriders have spent the past week arguing for greater fossil fuel reliance largely unchallenged. www.businessgreen.com/news/4533806...

UK at risk of recession if Strait of Hormuz blockade continues, EY warns

Consultancy's latest forecast argues UK economy has proven surprisingly resilient in face of energy shock, but risk of recession is growing as disruption to oil and gas markets continues

businessgreen.com

Simon Evans@drsimevans.carbonbrief.org · 2d ago

Hungary's Paks nuclear plant is close to complete shutdown due to low water levels on the Danube The river just hit the lowest level in more than a century, amid an ongoing European drought and heatwave

The Danube in Hungary just hit its lowest level in more than a century, forcing the Paks nuclear plant to run at 10% capacity. Water level at Paks, cm relative to average shows historic fluctuations reaching a record low of -327.9 cm. Source: Hungarian National Directorate General of Water Management. - (alt text generated by Google Gemini)
Rob Majteles@robmajteles.bsky.social · 2d ago

“Climate Change Is a Core Banking Risk: Having acknowledged that climate change undeniably impacts long-term financial stability, regulators requiring banks to prove that climate-risk [are] consistent determinants of their lending and business decisions” internationalbanker.com/banking/in-2...

In 2026, Climate Change Is a Core Banking Risk

Incorporating climate risk into traditional prudential oversight signifies a significant transformation in global banking. Supervisors and regulators require banks to demonstrate how climate risks inf...

internationalbanker.com

John Scalzi@scalzi.com · 3d ago

Bluesky is a "liberal bubble" because fascist chuds can't get traction without algorithmic assistance and because people here trained themselves to block "debate me" trybois the instant they roll up

The Verge@theverge.com · 3d ago

Bluesky's new CEO Toni Schneider on the platform's reputation for being a liberal bubble: "Yes, we definitely want that to change. It is already changing. It certainly wasn’t designed to attract one specific group of people."

Met4Cast@met4cast.net · 3d ago

Earth is now warming faster than at any point in recorded geological history - around 10 times faster than the extreme warming event 56 million years ago and 20 times faster than at the end of the last ice age. We are almost certainly in a new extinction event.

Bild
paulusthewoodgnome@paulusthewoodgnome.bsky.social · 3d ago

"JLR is committed to the highest safety standards and our vehicles made with the strictest adherence to safety requirements. We continually invest in safety and advanced technology features, inc. pedestrian detection, 3D surround camera systems, and autonomous emergency braking." — Jaguar Land Rover

Graph showing The rising average bonnet height of newly-sold cars in Europe. The UK is in line with the rest of Europe in seeing it rise from 77cm in 2010 to 83-84cm in 2024.Infographic depicting the way in which higher bonnets create bigger blind spots. More high-fronted SUVs would mean more children drivers don't see.Graphic showing how higher bonnets more often knock pedestrians under the vehicle rather than deflect them.
Yoeri Albrecht@yoerialbrecht.bsky.social · 3d ago

Global warming is here and has been for already quite a while. The problem is (among other things) that it is not only fossiel fual induced. We destroyed the environment. We have to restore the soil, the oceans, make them absorb carbon better. That means ao bringing back species, wetlands, trees.

Zeke Hausfather@zekehausfather.com · 4d ago

I'm not sure folks have realized just how crazy the second half of 2026 and 2027 will be for global temperatures – on the back of a record-smashing El Niño event. Here is my latest estimate of where both years will end up compared to global temperatures since 1850.

Blair Palese@blairpalese.bsky.social · 4d ago

Today's great news..." #Solar is poised to overtake #coal as China’s largest source of installed power capacity this year, as Beijing steps up its green transition with a renewed emphasis on efficiency, quality and orderly growth over sheer scale." www.scmp.com/economy/chin...

China’s solar surge nears milestone – even as Beijing hits brakes on sheer scale

Coal capacity is projected to lose its long-held crown this year, despite a pivot from raw solar panel expansion to quality.

scmp.com

The Associated Press@apnews.com · 4d ago

The Netherlands and Germany are suffering the consequences of a European heat wave that has brought dought and sparked devastating wildfires. For the Dutch the dry conditions are a threat to hundreds of miles of dikes that protect the low-lying country from flooding in the winter.

Dry, hot summers are putting Dutch dikes at risk and threatening German river trade

The Netherlands and Germany are suffering the consequences of a European heat wave that has brought dought and sparked devastating wildfires in France, Spain, Portugal, Crete and elsewhere.

bit.ly