David N. Thomas
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dnthomas01.bsky.social
David N. Thomas
@dnthomas01.bsky.social

Eclectic Bluesky-Rambler - It's not random...honest/ Marine-Arctic-Antarctic-Climate Biologist/ Slow but enthusiastic cyclist/ Woke academic still aspiring to be a scholar/ 🇬🇧 diaspora in 🇫🇮
Books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B001HOBI0E .. more

Environmental science 45%
Geology 23%
Pinned
Those who patiently tolerate my posts may wonder about my preoccupation with small details in nature/objects/textures Well there is the intrinsic aesthetic & beauty BUT mainly - looking at the small helps me cope with facing the - at times seemingly impossible - big issues

Academia is plagued by not-fit-for-purpose metrics......finally one that cut through the nonsense 🤣
The j-index: J = W ÷ Y
Where W is the total weight (in km) of all books a scientist has authored, and Y is the number of years since the author earned their doctorate

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Introducing the j-metric: a true measure of what matters in academia
Science has become obsessed with publishing numbers. With this new satirical proposal, have we reached peak metric?
www.nature.com

Recorded -10℃ at parts of my morning #HelsinkiBikeCommute
today.
Felt like the first real #wintercycling of the season (but no snow). & so I thought I would re-share my practical winter cycling temperature scale ⬇️
Now that the 2022-23 #wintercyling season is drawing to a close, here is my deduced practical winter cycling temperature scale:

Wind chill factor:
5 to 0 ℃ = cool
-1 to -5 ℃ = chilly
-6 to -10 ℃ = cold
-11 to -15 ℃ = freezing
-16 ℃ & below = painful

#HelsinkiBikeCommute

This is a shameful action by the #BBC
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.

They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.

They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
I'm seeing claims that progress was made at #COP30, but it really wasn't. Each passing year with no fossil fuel phaseout comes at great opportunity cost as we further burn through the vanishing carbon budget that remains for averting dangerous warming. See my commentary: michaelmann.net/bad-cop/

There are only around 50 Rice's whales (confined to the Gulf of Mexico) - this new publication describes how difficult it is to raise issues about the conservation and management of one of the rarest species of whale on the planet

Reposted by David N. Thomas

New publication:
Exporting environmental democracy to international forums: Understanding the role of the Aarhus Convention

Open access link:
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Exporting environmental democracy to international forums: Understanding the role of the Aarhus Convention - Ambio
This socio-legal paper examines how the duty under Article 3.7. of the Aarhus Convention to promote principles of environmental democracy in international environmental forums is being interpreted and...
link.springer.com

Reposted by David N. Thomas

New Publication:
Discovering the world’s most endangered great whale species did not advance an issue-attention cycle in news media: Implications for Rice’s whale conservation and management

Open access link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Discovering the world’s most endangered great whale species did not advance an issue-attention cycle in news media: Implications for Rice’s whale conservation and management - Ambio
Issue-attention cycles (IACs) follow the predictable rise and fall of media and public attention to topics through five defined stages. Using content analysis and critical discourse analysis, we analy...
link.springer.com

Reposted by David N. Thomas

New publication:
The transformation-mainstreaming conundrum: Making sense of tensions in adaptation practice

open access link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
The transformation-mainstreaming conundrum: Making sense of tensions in adaptation practice - Ambio
As the scale of climate change impacts become apparent, organisations globally are seeking to adapt. They face dual imperatives of transformation—going beyond business-as-usual to embrace disruptive c...
link.springer.com

My wife - "is there a reason you only gave me half a cup of tea?"

Me - "I didn't have my glasses on & couldn't see the surface"

#BeyondHope
425.82 parts per million (ppm) CO2 in air 20-Nov-2025
keelingcurve.ucsd.edu
The Keeling Curve
The Keeling Curve is a daily record of global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration maintained by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.
keelingcurve.ucsd.edu

It’s 2 oC at 04:16am in Helsinki and I am glued to the screen …..why?
Of course waiting stupidly excited for #Ashes2025 to start
#BBCCricket #BBCTMS

Reposted by David N. Thomas

New Publication:
National biodiversity and ecosystem assessments for conservation impact: Uptake and lessons learnt from the South African experience

Open access link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
National biodiversity and ecosystem assessments for conservation impact: Uptake and lessons learnt from the South African experience - Ambio
To combat global biodiversity decline, countries must identify priority ecosystems and species, often through National Ecosystem or Biodiversity Assessments (NEAs/NBAs). In developing nations, resourc...
link.springer.com
Academia is plagued by not-fit-for-purpose metrics that are then used ranking individuals and institutions
Will we ever move away from these? - there is a lot of talk but not a great deal of action?
The comment ⬇️ is a refreshing look at the problem.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
To reform universities, first tackle global rankings
Universities are in thrall to a rankings system that prioritizes narrow aspects of academic life. Three changes would give institutions the freedom to explore fresh ways of working.
www.nature.com
new publication:
Ecosystem accounting through first nations’ lenses: Integrating the SEEA-EA and Indigenous knowledge systems

open access link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Ecosystem accounting through first nations’ lenses: Integrating the SEEA-EA and Indigenous knowledge systems - Ambio
The UN System of Environmental-Economic Accounting-Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA) provides a framework for integrating information about the environment and the economy, organising information about e...
link.springer.com

Reposted by David N. Thomas

new publication:
Beyond the finite pool of worry: War experiences and climate change concerns in Ukraine

open access link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Beyond the finite pool of worry: War experiences and climate change concerns in Ukraine - Ambio
This study explores the relationship between self-reported war impacts on personal lives and climate change concerns in Ukraine, challenging the "finite pool of worry" hypothesis. Based on survey data...
link.springer.com

Reposted by David N. Thomas

new publication:
Blue economy for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in Egypt: Towards resilient food security

link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Blue economy for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in Egypt: Towards resilient food security - Ambio
This study examines Egypt's blue economy, focusing on fisheries and aquaculture, through a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analysis to enhance food security. Egypt holds significa...
link.springer.com

Reposted by David N. Thomas

new publication:
The costs of connection: Socioenvironmental risks of the Brazil-China railway across the Amazon

link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
The costs of connection: Socioenvironmental risks of the Brazil-China railway across the Amazon - Ambio
The proposed Brazil–China transcontinental railway, connecting Brazil’s Atlantic coast to Peru’s Pacific port of Chancay, has re-emerged as a flagship infrastructure project under China’s Belt and Roa...
link.springer.com

Reposted by David N. Thomas

new publication:
Making water knowledge with Artificial Intelligence: A qualitative study of expert interviews on water diplomacy

open access link: Making water knowledge with Artificial Intelligence: A qualitative study of expert interviews on water diplomacy

Best wishes for the recovert
the set up I am using is 55-21
If you look at the picture the still exciting aspect of the bike for me (even after having the bike for >13 years) is the belt drive rather than a chain. It is so quiet & of course saves a whole deal of mess.

What really interesting is that I take exactly the same time using the single speed as I do on my normal bike with gears.
I clearly have to work a lot harder on the no-gear format to achieve this....effort that on normal days I am unconsciously content to not do,,,, hence the "lazy" comment. 😂😱

We live in hope that one day.....🤣

Nothing like riding a single speed bike in rain, mud and wind for a few days to remind you how convenient gears are
……or just how lazy I have become on the #HelsinkiBikeCommute

Many congrats 👏

Well remember our winter days in Liverpool in the mid 1980s taking solid frozen nappies/diapers off the washing lines and defrosting then all around the house 🤣

Reposted by Craig R. Primmer

A seriously important paper about the links between health and climate change in Polar regions ⬇️
This really is an urgent call

#Arctic #COP30 #ClimateChange
New publication:
Rethinking desert definitions: Bridging the gap between science, policy, and conservation

Open access link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Rethinking desert definitions: Bridging the gap between science, policy, and conservation - Ambio
Deserts are often misperceived as desolate, non-productive landscapes. This perception contributes to the misuse of terms like ‘semiarid’ and ‘desertification’, creating ambiguity in how deserts are d...
link.springer.com
New publication:
The gendered costs of human–wildlife conflict: A global systematic review

Open access link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
The gendered costs of human–wildlife conflict: A global systematic review - Ambio
Human–wildlife conflict is a pressing worldwide issue with consequences that are experienced differently across groups of people. Societal expectations and gender norms ensure that the consequences of...
link.springer.com

Reposted by David N. Thomas

New publication:
Towards improved ecosystem service assessments in marine systems: A systematic review and evaluation of effectiveness

Link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Towards improved ecosystem service assessments in marine systems: A systematic review and evaluation of effectiveness - Ambio
Ecosystem service assessments (ESA) are widely used to support marine management, yet their application varies across regions due to differences in governance frameworks, data availability, and method...
link.springer.com