It's time. Time to write about this style of writing. Which I've done here. substack.com/home/post/p-...
What is LinkedIn?
The rise of mindful slop
substack.com
Dr Sharon Prendeville
@sharville.bsky.social
Academic—long-standing em dash fan.
"Our job is to honor the place it sits in and to be poetic about it." says the developer, without a hint of irony, of the hyperscale data centre with colossal water demands in a drought-prone region and bump the whole state of Utah's energy demand by up to 50%. www.dezeen.com/2026/05/15/s...
First images of 60-building Stratos data centre in Utah revealed
Gensler has designed the Stratos Hyperscale Data Center in Utah, USA, developed by venture infrastructure firm O'Leary Digital.
dezeen.com
Regulating children is not the same thing as regulating social media platforms. Seems very important to distinguish between the two. However, social media platforms tend to be run by powerful billionaires, so easier to go after the kids instead.
Rachel Coldicutt@rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 3mo agoAs govt is going to ban social media for kids, then they should also: - invest in youth clubs and social spaces where young people are welcome - put some actual money into libraries - mandate that secondary schools supply offline learning resources - implement effective regulation
Gift link to our article about Musk's efforts at creating a vertically integrated ideological stack from low earth orbit and back. Space is the place! (where there are no humans) www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Endgame
The world’s richest man is accruing more power than ever before.
theatlantic.com
Having just spent a lot of time reading about how rulers tried and largely failed to regulate guns when they were a new technology, this rang very true
Why the world must agree to regulate AI
A technological disarmament pact between the US and China would make everyone feel more secure
ft.com
An important in-person conference from Environmental Law Ireland coming up this week looking at Judicial Review in Ireland. See graphic for all the details. #environmentaljustice
Eoghan Daltun 🌍@irishrainforest.bsky.social · 4mo agoA conference is taking place in Dublin on Thursday 11th to highlight a MASSIVE threat to Irish nature. Judicial Reviews have been a critical means for local communities to challenge wrongful, damaging environmental decisions, but they're going to be severely restricted by legislative changes.
My maybe not so hot take is that all the blue circles here are still here because they care much more about civil engagement and outreach to people who probably follow active neonazi Catturd than they do about building something different to this.
Vikram Bath@vikrambath.bsky.social · 4mo agoThe top 2026 X accounts gives insight into the lie that X is the town square. These people are niche celebrities and their influence on X does not represent influence elsewhere. Your participation is not going to change this graph www.natesilver.net/p/social-med...
‘Unlike 20th-century communism or fascism, contemporary Russian ideology does not have a clearly articulated manifesto or creed, but has been formed through successive smaller ideological conflicts.’ Greg Afinogenov on what Russians want. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Greg Afinogenov · Slavdom: What Russians Want
Unlike 20th-century communism or fascism, contemporary Russian ideology does not have a clearly articulated manifesto or...
lrb.co.uk
"The Israeli military has deployed white phosphorus, an incendiary substance that can be extremely harmful, over populated areas in Lebanon in its battle against Hezbollah, according to experts..." www.nytimes.com/2026/06/06/w...
What Visual Evidence Tells Us About Israel’s Use of White Phosphorus in Lebanon
nytimes.com
Pretty sure that we can only move from extraction to regeneration if we actually understand how the history of extraction has produced the conditions that will undermine regeneration.
Tom Gray is amazing at this sort of thing. An impassioned speech to the Ivors Academy. Inspiring stuff.
Companies are Using Reddit to Manipulate ChatGPT and Google AI Search www.404media.co/companies-ar...
Companies Are Using Reddit to Manipulate ChatGPT and Google AI Search
Peptide companies have been doing AI-engine optimization by spamming the biohackers subreddit to manipulate ChatGPT and Google.
404media.co
“Blinding the public to climate change won’t make it go away. It will only accelerate its profound consequences.”
‘Absolutely crazy’: Horror as Trump moves to dismantle crucial ocean monitoring system
“Blinding the public to climate change won’t make it go away. It will only accelerate its profound consequences.”
therealnews.com
The first ever international conference focused on transitioning off of fossil fuels...was a historic step, but also revealed just how difficult it will be to change entrenched systems. Read the analysis from @ninalakhani.bsky.social @drilledmedia.bsky.social drilled.media/news/santa-m...
An Historic Step and a Long Road Ahead: the Santa Marta Climate Conference
The first ever international conference focused on transitioning off of fossil fuels took place in Santa Marta, Colombia in April 2026. It was a historic step, but also revealed just how difficult it ...
drilled.media
a corollary to this is that if oil dependence wanes, marine traffic drops significantly, which helps emissions all by itself something like 30% of marine vessel traffic is oil tankers (haven't checked the stat in a few years)
acemaxx analytics@acemaxx.bsky.social · 4mo agoThe cost of chartering #oil tankers from #MiddleEast has been one of the most eye-catching repercussions of the #Iran war, with daily rates for a VLCC from #MiddleEast to #China soaring from below $150,000 before the war to more than $450,000, chart @reuters.com www.reuters.com/markets/seve...
The biggest six European oil majors raked in a combined $22 billion profit in the first quarter of 2026. The war on Iran is causing misery for 100s of millions around the globe. But not fossil fuel execs. Our @globalwitness.org analysis of all the results here globalwitness.org/en/press-rel...
Shell’s profits ‘obscene’ as European oil majors’ profits surge by 43%
As Shell announces bumper Q1 profits of $6.9 billion, new analysis from Global Witness reveals that six of Europe’s leading oil majors – bp, Shell, TotalEnergies, Eni, Equinor and Repsol – have record...
globalwitness.org
Europe's electricity: 29% fossil fuels in 2024, down from 53% in 2005. But electricity is only 23% of total energy. Buildings: 71% fossil. Industry: 61%. Transport: 93%. And 95% of EU oil and 88% of gas still imported. More in my Nature Energy article: nature.com/articles/s41560-026-02048-z
the best part of post-tenure academia has been having the career space to slow down. the damage done by the contraction of tenure track positions + poor security/working conditions of non tenure track faculty + quantification of academic contributions is incalculable
Hakeem Jefferson@hakeemjefferson.bsky.social · 5mo agoFWIW, I don’t think the major problem in my field, or related ones, is that people need to move faster & produce more. I read a lot of papers as part of the job, and I’m increasingly convinced we’d benefit from fewer papers and better ones, not more mediocre work produced ever more “efficiently.”
new! The Future of Totality Fredric Jameson and the Prospects of Critical Theory @dukepress.bsky.social has the intro available for download in advance of publication thanks as ever to the wonderful @roberttally.bsky.social ! www.dukeupress.edu/the-future-o...
The Future of Totality: Fredric Jameson and the Prospects of Critical Theory
dukeupress.edu
I found there to be much of merit in Keller Easterling's Extrastatecraft that I didn't anticipate - particularly the ongoing relevance of free zones to the continued expansion of #fossilcapital www.versobooks.com/en-gb/produc...
Extrastatecraft
Extrastatecraft is the operating system of the modern world: the skyline of Dubai, the subterranean pipes and cables sustaining urban life, free-trade zones, the standardized dimensions of credit card...
versobooks.com
My understanding is that countries like France, Belgium, and Britain have made nuclear power viable through odious trade arrangements with uranium-producing former colonies. We don't have any uranium in Ireland, right?
‘Lovelock was really deviating from what was understood across what was becoming ecology – this idea that environment in a very Darwinian sense shapes life.’ @meehancrist.bsky.social on Gaia theory, on our Close Readings subscription podcast. Listen to an extract: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/n...
Nature in Crisis: 'Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth' by James Lovelock
Podcast Episode · Close Readings · 4 May · 1hr 18min
podcasts.apple.com
Ireland to co-host the next fossil fuel phase out conf. Meanwhile, the Irish state is to bankroll a new (fracked) fossil gas terminal under misleading claims of energy security. LNG terminals are not safeguards; they are climate destablisers and war targets. www.irishtimes.com/environment/...
Ireland to co-host next fossil fuel phase-out conference in South Pacific island Tuvalu
Announcement comes as 60 countries agree landmark move to phase out oil, gas and coal
irishtimes.com
I spent Earth Day in Virginia’s Data Center Alley visiting one of the poster children for noise from data centers. Smack in the middle of a residential area, with no pathway to quiet. My latest for @heatmap.news explains how little we’re doing to stop one of the worst parts about data centers.
I Spent the Day At a Noisy Data Center. Here’s What I Learned.
Noise ordinances won’t necessarily stop a multi-resonant whine from permeating the area.
heatmap.news
Of course what’s needed is a permanent, decisive move *away* from fossil fuels. Instead of, our government cops out by propping up existing unsustainable energy systems. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that we’ve learned nothing. www.irishtimes.com/politics/202...
Plans for ‘more permanent relief’ on high energy costs including using fuel allowance, Taoiseach says
Government will look at structural reforms that could bring down prices, says Micheál Martin
irishtimes.com
Last night, after an hours-long public hearing, Monterey Park became the first city in California to pass an ordinance permanently banning data centers. The city council voted unanimously to declare data centers a public nuisance, and to "prohibit all data centers within city limits." My story:
Monterey Park becomes the first city in California to ban "all data centers within city limits"
Residents of the small enclave east of LA not only killed their city's proposed 250,000 square foot data center, they pushed city council to ban them altogether
bloodinthemachine.com
My forthcoming book, “The Fix,” dissects the mob-like tactics of the Trump regime and proposes ideas to reclaim our democracy. Available now for pre-order here. www.barbaramcquade.com
Very exciting to have received final cover proofs for 'Power Plants' from @manchesterup.bsky.social. I'm hugely grateful to Jenn Baka, Gavin Bridge and Cara Daggett for their very kind and generous endorsements. The book is due out in June: manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526192127/
BBC Verify analysis found more than 1,400 buildings had been destroyed since 2 March based on verified visual evidence, but because of limited access and available satellite imagery this is just a snapshot of the damage caused. The true scale is likely much higher
Satellite images reveal scale of Israeli demolitions as Lebanese villages destroyed
BBC Verify analysis found more than 1,400 buildings had been destroyed since 2 March.
bbc.com