Every fibre of my being tells me Hannah Arendt is correct and Elon Musk is wrong. No doubt Musk would say reciprocity is the second fundamental weakness of society & he’d be wrong on that too.

In this clip from our latest podcast episode, @paulbrannenne.bsky.social explains there are two ways timber-framed buildings can help tackle climate change. Full episode here: www.terrainfirma.co.uk/wooden-it-be...

Thoroughly recommend this, between @garethkane.bsky.social and @paulbrannenne.bsky.social. Great as informal CPD for built environment professionals, or as an explainer for anyone of the many advantages of timber construction.

Gareth Kane@garethkane.bsky.social · 5mo ago

In this week's podcast episode, Paul Brannen and I dive deep into the topic of timber framed buildings (particularly in the UK context), talking embodied energy, sequestered carbon, policy incentives and barriers and more! www.terrainfirma.co.uk/wooden-it-be...

We have to insulate >9 billion square meters until 2050 in the EU. I don't think it needs many brain cells to realize that this needs to be done with regenerative materials like straw; which is available and cheap instead of fossil, synthetic materials.

Juraj Mikurcik@jurajmikurcik.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Every straw panel factory could take a byproduct of local agriculture (wheat straw) and produce 40,000m² of panels every year, locking up 4,000 tonnes of CO₂e For comparison, an average carbon footprint of a person in UK is 10 tonnes of CO₂e per year

Well done @brucespringsteen.net good to see you using your powerful voice to call out the rising tide of Fascism in the USA.

Bruce Springsteen@brucespringsteen.net · 9mo ago

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free

“This is a significant milestone in Glennon Brothers history, which dates back to 1913." FULL STORY: www.forestryjournal.co.uk/news/2580589...

Most impressed by Bellway’s new timber frame facility opened today at Sutton-in-Ashfield. The timber frames both substitute for more carbon intensive materials & themselves store carbon = a climate win-win. @forestryjournal.bsky.social @marycreagh.bsky.social @matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social

Heading to Nottinghamshire for the opening of Bellway's new timber frame facility. All part of the southward march of timber frame into England, a well established construction practice in Scotland accounting for 92% of family homes, compared to less than 10% in England.

I spent a few days in Paris last month and I can vouch this is indeed the case. A big change in a short time. Impressive. 🚴🚴‍♀️🚴‍♂️

Brent Toderian@brenttoderian.bsky.social · 9mo ago

“The transformation is astonishing. [Paris] has quietly—& quickly—become one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world. What started as a series of emergency ‘coronapistes’ or pop-up bike lanes, built during the pandemic has evolved into a permanent bike network spanning hundreds of kilometres.”

Time to join the Canadian public and decline to buy anything from the USA and not to visit either. Boycotts work and they can work fast if the majority support. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c1...

Trump tariffs: US president announces plan to hit UK, Denmark and other European countries with tariffs over Greenland

The US president says the countries will be charged a

bbc.co.uk

Delighted to have been awarded an honorary fellowship by the Institute of Chartered Foresters. www.linkedin.com/posts/instit...

We are delighted to announce that Paul Brannen and Professor Peter Bonfield OBE have been awarded Honorary Fellowships of the Institute, recognising their outstanding contributions to forestry… | Inst...

We are delighted to announce that Paul Brannen and Professor Peter Bonfield OBE have been awarded Honorary Fellowships of the Institute, recognising their outstanding contributions to forestry, timber...

linkedin.com

Wall Street’s biggest banks made more money financing green projects than they did from working with fossil fuel companies for a fourth straight year, even as they faced ongoing pressure to pull back from the business

Banks Notch Higher Fees From Green Bonds Than Fossil Fuel Debt

Wall Street’s biggest banks made more money financing green projects than they did from working with fossil fuel companies for a fourth straight year, even as they faced ongoing pressure to pull back from the business.

bloom.bg

The decision to go for bio-based construction is usually very easy. Especially in 2026. Why do I say that? These building material samples here are already 10 years old.

Receive a book for Xmas? Then thank a tree. No commercial forestry = no trees = no wood pulp = no paper. PS the forestry should be done sustainably as per the Forestry Commission.

I’ve been appointed as a Non-Executive Commissioner to the Forestry Commission. Very much looking forward to this additional role given more wood in more buildings is predicated on planting and felling more trees. www.gov.uk/government/n...

New Non-Executive Commissioner to the Forestry Commission appointed

Paul Brannen appointed for a three-year term

gov.uk

‘Timber! How wood can help save the world from climate breakdown’. Now on its fourth print run in 18 months. Still time to order for Xmas. www.waterstones.com/book/timber/...

Keir Starmer: "I have a Christmas message for Reform. If mysterious men from the east come bearing gifts...this time, report it to the police."

'Timber as a Climate Solution' Thanks to Operation Noah for giving me the opportunity to write a guest blog. Yes, we have a climate problem but we also have climate solutions. www.operationnoah.org/timber-as-a-...

Timber as a Climate Solution - Operation Noah

Chopping down trees to help solve climate breakdown appears to be counterintuitive, but the science backs this approach when sustainably grown mature trees are used in place of carbon-intensive buildi...

operationnoah.org

Study: Wood is a more cost-effective building material than concrete when emissions are monetised. www.aalto.fi/en/news/stud...

Pallets are a vital component of almost of every distribution system. In the U.K. many of them are made of Sitka Spruce 🌲 - it’s light weight but strong enough, holds a nail and because it’s a pale colour it is easy to paint.

Paul Brannen@paulbrannenne.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Almost everything you’ve ever eaten or owned sat at one point in time on top of a wooden pallet. Pallets are essentially invisible, yet they're vital to transport logistics. In the UK there are approximately 250m wooden pallets in circulation. For more see: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Quite breathtaking story - military grade drones at Dublin airport which flew on the path Zelensky's plane took. The drones reached the flight path of his plane exactly the time it should have been there, but just missed it because Zelensky arrived ahead of schedule:

Four unidentified military-style drones breached no-fly zone to target Zelenskyy's arrival in Dublin

Gardaí are investigating whether the drones took off from land in Dublin or from an undetected ship.

thejournal.ie

Almost everything you’ve ever eaten or owned sat at one point in time on top of a wooden pallet. Pallets are essentially invisible, yet they're vital to transport logistics. In the UK there are approximately 250m wooden pallets in circulation. For more see: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

I've signed. We need 100,000 signatures. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...

Good to see an academic paper linking tackling the housing crisis with tackling the climate crisis. Both the EU & UK currently addressing them as separate issues - in the main - at present. www.bruegel.org/analysis/sol...

The solution to Europe’s housing affordability crisis must include building decarbonisation

The EU can help tackle Europe’s housing crisis by reducing energy costs, decarbonising buildings and adhering to climate goals

bruegel.org

George Orwell’s statue outside the BBC’s London HQ is accompanied by the quote “If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear”. I hope the BBC goes on telling people, especially the rich & powerful, what they don’t want to hear.

They are going the extra kilometre with their street trees in Vienna. Extensive wild flower planting around the tree and a fence that clearly signals ‘This is not a toilet for dogs’.

Since folks are talking a lot about democratic socialism this week, just gonna re-up this thread on how MLK voiced religious support for democratic socialism — but most folks aren't aware of when he did so most explicitly. That was in an obscure, little-known speech he gave in Frogmore, SC in 1966.

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins.me · last yr.

1. Religion aside: Mamdani cites a 1961 speech by MLK here, but King was actually more explicit about his support for democratic socialism later on. I know this because I went to great lengths to confirm the quote — which comes from a 1966 speech to staff in SC — for my book American Prophets.

We suspected it, now we know it. Time to act. Time to close down Musk.

James O’Brien@mrjamesob.bsky.social · 11mo ago

A magnificent piece of work. Comprehesive, revelatory & shocking. Journalism this good is always rare & precious but never moreso than at times like this. Latter day Lord Haw Haws being plumped, preened & delivered to your doorstep in plain sight by a Nazi-saluting goon news.sky.com/story/the-x-...

X effect: How Elon Musk is boosting the British right

X effect: How Elon Musk is boosting the British right

Sky's Tom Cheshire explains how Elon Musk's X is boosting the British right.

news.sky.com

Remind me. Who’s that well known far right media mogul who owns the New York Post? If Mamdani is assessed to be a communist then de facto Murdoch is a fascist. You can’t have one defined as extreme if the other you decide isn’t.

Marisa Kabas@marisakabas.bsky.social · 12mo ago

it was so sweet of the NY post to make a special commemorative issue