Hi, I’m a sighted alt text user! Here are some reasons I use it: - Slow Internet on an airplane - I’m over 40, I have no idea who that celebrity is - Bluesky broke images again - My vision sucks and that text is too small to read otherwise - Conveys further context and authorial intent

Very dystopian that on the article about a A.I. data center poisoning the air, there's a little rainbow A.I. chatbot button just lurking at the edge, waiting to poison the air some more to answer your banal question

Brad Johnson@climatebrad.hillheat.com · 2d ago

My god. A Virginia data center ran backup diesel generators full blast for 24 hours, creating a giant cloud of toxic smoke that choked its human neighbors. The government claimed there was nothing they could do.

This study was unethical when it was announced last year and it remains unethical today. The birth dose of the hepatitis b vaccine prevents perinatal acquisition of the infection. You cannot randomize a group of newborns to not receive it while giving it to others. www.linkedin.com/safety/go/?u...

Hepatitis B vaccine study condemned as unethical wins approval from Danish university

linkedin.com

Great CBC article on how first-past-the-post has distorted Quebec's democracy. The PQ, QS, and PCQ all committed to electoral reform during the election campaign. Now is the time to make that happen. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Parti Québécois win with record-low vote share revives calls for electoral reform | CBC News

A record-low vote share for Quebec's incoming PQ government has reignited a long-simmering debate over how the province elects its leaders.

cbc.ca

@alixdunn.com sat down with @ketanjoshi.co, an independent climate writer who tracks the climate impact of data centers and AI. Ketan breaks down how Big Tech’s bet on AI is single-handedly keeping the fossil fuel industry alive—while killing our dreams of a sustainable energy grid. Listen here:

The Climate Cost of AI Prophecies: How Data Centers Fuel Big Fossil w/ Ketan Joshi

Ketan Joshi explains how we got from facilities that drew the power of a suburb to facilities that consume as much electricity as Nigeria’s entire power grid.

themaybe.org

"Ripping out these protected bike lanes against the will of Toronto city council is a colossal waste of $48 million. The province’s own experts know it will not ease traffic congestion, it will put people’s lives at risk, and there is no network of side streets that could replace these lanes."

Ontario will officially begin removing Toronto bike lanes on Tuesday | CBC News

Ontario will begin removing bike lanes from a stretch on Bloor Street W. in Etobicoke on Tuesday, the Ministry of Transportation says.

cbc.ca

A new startup plans to set AI agents loose in academic publications. Editing or reviewing for a journal could ultimately be about responding to the demand to curate high quality academic content for AI agents to crawl and collect valuable knowledge tokens. www.redpine.ai/insights/pub...

A top factor in the rise of antimicrobial resistance remains the large and growing quantities of antibiotics administered to livestock. See for instance: bsky.app/profile/ajst...

Go Green @ecowarriorss.bsky.social · 3d ago

Antimicrobial Resistance Is Killing Millions. Climate Change Is Making It Worse. A growing body of evidence indicates that factors such as rising temperatures and extreme weather are contributing to what some researchers have called “the slow pandemic.” eos.org/features/ant...

Japan has just made 30km/h (I.e. 20mph) the default in most residential roads due to the evidence-base from EU cities. etsc.eu/japan-makes-...

Japan makes 30 km/h the default speed limit on most residential roads - as European city survey shows significant safety benefits

Japan has lowered the statutory speed limit on most of its residential streets from 60 km/h to 30 km/h, effective 1 September. The new limit applies automatically to roads narrower than 5.5…

etsc.eu

The war begins. It will be ugly. I really hate this.

Toronto Star@thestar.com · 4d ago

The Ford government is set to remove Etobicoke bike lanes next week. The government confirmed to the Star that work will begin Oct. 13 to remove bike lanes on a stretch of Bloor Street that has been at the heart of the city’s bike lane battle.

How come Wikipedia is doing better than academic publishing? Btw love that icon: 🚫🤖 🔗 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pragmat...

Once again, for the politicians, business leaders, and journalists still actively posting on X/Twitter: why? You're using a platform that's owned by someone who's trying to break up your country. The juice isn't worth the squeeze.

The Breakdown AB@thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 5d ago

There it is. Elon Musk now advocating for Alberta separation. That should perhaps be one of the biggest reasons to vote to stay. #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli

It's worth voting in your municipal election. Cities do a lot of the boots-on-ground climate work. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/07/o...

Climate despair? Take it to the civic election booth

Cities have a lot of power to reduce carbon pollution with policies such as banning gas heating in new homes and buildings.

nationalobserver.com

rip to one of the coolest software engineers who ever lived

Hat tip to @alisontakemura.bsky.social for covering the study in a new @canarymedia.com article: www.canarymedia.com/articles/emi...

Gas stoves put restaurant cooks’ health at risk, new study finds

Dangerous amounts of heat and air pollution swirl in most commercial kitchens — even when the stoves are off. Switching to electric appliances helps…

canarymedia.com

"What did Watson and Crick discover?" "Rosalind Franklin's notes"

hey everyone if your uni uses turnitin, ask them about this.

Samuel Moore@samuelmoore.org · last wk.

"The University of Cambridge refused to sign plagiarism detection software Turnitin’s new licence agreement, which could have allowed students’ work to be used to train artificial intelligence (AI) models."

Fascinating UofT School of Cities project on the correlation between neighbourhood characteristics and mayoral vote over the last few decades. Looking at the strongest positive correlations for Olivia Chow voting areas in 2023 sure tells a tale. schoolofcities.github.io/place-and-po...

Germany, France & the Netherlands now have solid phase-out plans.

Germany sets out plan to phase out fossil fuels by 2045

Germany sets out a plan to phase out coal, oil and gas by 2045, reaffirming a climate strategy focused on electrification.

dw.com

Law firm Leigh Day is bringing legal action on behalf of one local resident. Read the full story here 👇 share.google/AwmBkidB5SOP...

Blood tests find high levels of cancer-causing forever chemical in residents near factory

People living near a major chemical factory in Lancashire are told they could be at risk of serious health conditions.

share.google

Overshooting 1.5°C is not a reason to give up. On the contrary, it’s a reason to act faster, because the higher the temperature rise and the longer it stays there, the greater the damage. Here’s what “overshoot” means and why every fraction of a degree matters.

NEW – Analysis: ‘Super El Niño’ reaches ‘remarkable’ all-time record ✍️ Written by @zekehausfather.com Read here: buff.ly/4a9XUAK

We’re in an era where the fight against fascism and authoritarianism is on almost every ballot. Voting has always been important, but never more than now. Vote like your rights, your future, your vote itself, and even your life, are all on the line. Because there’s a very good chance they are.

Great episode! Very timely, both with their book (that I’m very much looking forward to reading) and with the latest AI doomsday news cycle.

Brian Merchant@bcmerchant.bsky.social · 4w ago

This conversation with @naomiaklein.bsky.social and @astra.bsky.social couldn't be more timely. With the AI industry talking about *its own products' potential to cause human extinction* we drill into who might still want to build such technology, and why. Hint: it's in the title of their new book.

Ten years ago Tami, Roy, and I released a movie we made of antibiotic resistance evolving in real time. I thought maybe a couple thousand people tops would see it. I couldn't have imagined it would be seen millions of times, and be taught from middle school through the graduate level worldwide

"Doug Ford's plans to remove bike lanes from some major Toronto streets may be underway but cyclists aren't giving up the fight. Brandon Choghri joined riders Saturday as they took their protest to the side streets." via @citynewstoronto.bsky.social

Cyclists rally against downtown bike lane removal

Doug Ford's plans to remove bike lanes from some major Toronto streets may be underway but cyclists aren't giving up the fight. Brandon Choghri joined riders Saturday as they took their protest to the...

toronto.citynews.ca

We can eat lettuce without getting the shits though.

Lisa O’Carroll@lisaocarroll.bsky.social · last mo.

Trump: "We've cut a record number of job killing regulations. That's a big factor in Europe. The regulations are through the roof. They can't breathe."

Climeworks' Mammoth facility in Iceland removed 675 tonnes of CO₂ in the first half of 2026, almost 6x as much as in 2025. If they keep it up, that'll be 1350 tonnes a year*. That's a time machine that takes us back 1 whole second in a year! 🙄 *Mammoth has a stated capacity of 36,000 tonnes. 🫠

Carbon Removal Pioneer Climeworks Increases CO2 Capture Sixfold

The world’s largest direct air capture plant is sucking more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at a lower cost, an improvement for a sector struggling to scale economically as global warming surpasse...

bloomberg.com

Doug Ford banned speed cameras so people could speed dangerously without financial consequences, regardless of the safety consequences. Doug Ford achieved his goal. There will be many stories like this.

Toronto Star@thestar.com · last mo.

The family of a teenager injured by a car outside his Toronto school is suing, alleging the removal of a nearby speed camera contributed to the crash. According to the statement of claim, the 15-year-old suffered a traumatic brain injury, skull fractures and ongoing cognitive effects.

1/ "Every fraction of a degree of warming matters." True, and a dangerous platitude. It quietly suggests warming is a smooth dial, where each tenth of a degree costs about the same as the last. It doesn't. The later ones cost far more. Here's why. 🧵