Author | Lightnews

Reposted by Lawrence Torcello

Ed Maibach @maibached.bsky.social · 3d

Should (climate) polluters pay (for the damages they are knowing causing)? Of course they should. I know it, they know it, the American people know it (see below)—which is why they are using their rented friends in the White House and Congress to pass legislation to protect them from liability.

Voters Want to Make Polluters Pay, Oppose Efforts to Grant Oil and Gas Companies Immunity for Climate Damages

Across party lines, few trust oil and gas companies to prioritize consumers over profits.

www.dataforprogress.org

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Reposted by Lawrence Torcello

Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 4d

If @billgates.bsky.social were to read #ScienceUnderSiege by @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social & myself, he would know that climate change is amplifying deadly pandemics. Only someone ignorant of the science adopts the fallacy that we can treat global health and the climate crisis as separate threats

Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 4d

“Bill Gates Calls for Redirecting of Climate Funds to Global Health” by John Koutroumpis for #GreekReporter:

greekreporter.com/2025/10/29/b...

Bill Gates Calls for Redirecting of Climate Funds to Global Health - GreekReporter.com

Bill Gates urges global donors to focus less on climate change and more on eradicating disease and hunger in the world’s poorest nations.

greekreporter.com

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Reposted by Lawrence Torcello

Peter Gleick @petergleick.bsky.social · 3d

Just when Bill Gates is saying we shouldn't be aggressively dealing with climate change, scientists release a new assessment saying we're heading for ‘climate chaos.' Bad timing, Bill.

www.latimes.com/environment/...

Humanity is on path toward 'climate chaos,' scientists warn

Global use of fossil fuels rose to a new record last year, releasing even more greenhouse gases. Humanity is 'hurtling toward climate chaos,' scientists warn.

www.latimes.com

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Reposted by Lawrence Torcello

Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 4d

If you take the time to read the whole Gates memo (which I did), the bulk of the content was mostly solid and encouraging. Really!

It was the FRAME that was off--very off, from the first line.

And when your framing is off, then how you make decisions and set priorities is off. THAT'S the problem.

My quote from an Axios interview, stating that: People often think of climate change as a separate bucket at the end of a long row of other buckets of problems we're trying to fix that are wrong in the world," Hayhoe told Axios.
This includes poverty, disease and access to clean water.
"Climate change is not a separate bucket," Hayhoe said. "The reason we care about climate change is that it's the hole in every bucket."

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Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · 3d

"When reached for comment on the Gates memo the fundamental laws of physics expressed no change in plans..."

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Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · 15d

I have said it before, and I will say it again: we desperately need a greater emphasis on philosophy and the humanities as a whole in modern education if we are serious about addressing the real problems of the 21st century—from authoritarianism and disinformation to human-caused climate change.

Allen Tien, MD, MHS mdlogix.com 94,698 田一彦 @allentien.bsky.social · 15d

www.sciencealert.com/teaching-chi...

#Philosophy #Vocabulary #Concepts #Perception #Meaning #Understanding #Purpose #ProblemSolving #Autonomy

#MTSS #MultiTieredSystemofSupports
#Tier1 #UniversalPrevention

Teaching Children Philosophy Can Improve Their Reading And Math Skills, Study Finds

Philosophy is the kind of class many of us might never get a chance to take until we reach university age, but recent research suggests that young people could benefit from being exposed to the study ...

www.sciencealert.com

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Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · 15d

I'm reminded of when Jane Goodall observed parallels between Trump’s behavior and chimpanzee "dominance rituals." If we continue that reasoning, now that Trump is resorting to the AI equivalent of flinging his feces, we can infer that the protests made him feel caged, stressed, and vulnerable.

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Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · 15d

Big, friendly, and peaceful No Kings anti-fascist turnout from all ages, with lots of veterans present, in the Rochester area once again today.

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Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · 16d

We can have no fellowship with tyrants. Rather, there can only be a clear severance of ties. -Cicero (On Duties)

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Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · 21d

Time for my yearly PSA: Columbus Day is to Italian immigrant heritage what Papa John's is to pizza—a contrived abomination.
theconversation.com/how-columbus...

How Columbus Day contributes to the cultural erasure of Italian Americans

Given Italian history, U.S. descendants of Italian immigrants have reason to reject their association with Columbus and stand in solidarity with indigenous groups as they reclaim their histories.

theconversation.com

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Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · Oct 1

Jane Goodall was one of the lights of this world. There is much to be pessimistic about today, and though her passing is sad, it does us good, especially at this moment, to reflect on a life well lived and on what humanity can be at its best.

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Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · Sep 18

"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech." -Benjamin Franklin

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Reposted by Lawrence Torcello

Peter Gleick @petergleick.bsky.social · Sep 17

🚨🚨
If I could just summarize 1 sentence from the new National Academy of Sciences study on climate, boldface, flashing red, it would be:

"the evidence for current and future harm to human health and welfare created by human-caused GHGs is beyond scientific dispute."

BEYOND SCIENTIFIC DISPUTE
🚨🚨

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Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · Sep 13

COVID booster done—quick and easy at my pharmacy, thanks to New York State’s responsible governor.

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Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · Sep 12

It seems like a good time to remember the importance of caution in forming one's beliefs:
theconversation.com/bad-beliefs-...

Bad beliefs: Misinformation is factually wrong – but is it ethically wrong, too?

A philosopher unpacks the ‘ethics of belief’ for an age awash in bad information.

theconversation.com

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Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · Sep 5

Watching the news, dogs sprawled out and relaxed… until a clip of RFK Jr. comes on. The moment they catch his voice and sense his awfulness, they become irritated, scanning the room for danger. RFK Jr.: distrusted by discerning dogs and humans alike.

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Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · Jun 14

A small sample from the long, good-humored line of protesters stretching blocks in Henrietta, NY—one of many Rochester-area suburbs showing up with demonstrations throughout the day.

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Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · Jun 9

I wrote this in the wake of the college protests, but it applies to all peaceful protests. There’s a formula—and it has a strong historical track record.
theconversation.com/campus-prote...

Campus protests are part of an enduring legacy of civil disobedience improving American democracy

In most cases, it’s reasonable to expect that groups of protesters will abide by the law. But there are times when doing so diminishes the effectiveness of the protests.

theconversation.com

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Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · Jun 9

Trump is an actual insurrectionist felon who abuses his office to pardon other insurrectionists. His entire presidency depends on corrupt Republican senators abandoning their oath to protect the Constitution from domestic enemies. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · Jun 8

Hello. I live in Los Angeles. The president is lying.

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Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · Jun 8

The contrast between Trump’s support for the violent storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6 and his deployment of the National Guard against comparatively peaceful protests in L.A. should be a clarifying moment of hypocrisy for anyone still capable of thinking in the United States.

Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · Apr 26

It seems a fitting day to repost this piece on the Laudato Si' encyclical and its lesson in public reason.
theconversation.com/the-pope-as-...

The pope as philosopher: faith, climate change and public reason

The papal encyclical uses moral arguments for environmental protection, yet as a philosophical statement, it’s a terrific example of “public reason.”

theconversation.com

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Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · Apr 17

👏👏👏👏👏👏

Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · Apr 17

theonion.com/historians-q...

From The Onion:

Historians: Quibbling Over Exact Definition Of Concentration Camp Sign Of Healthy Society

Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · Apr 16

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Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · Apr 15

Meanwhile, in the real world--as opposed to the make-believe realm of social media pundits--the only place in the U.S. where you're likely to find a genuine conservative (not the far-right, fascist-adjacent grifter type, but an actual chapter-and-verse conservative) is in the halls of academia.

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Lawrence Torcello @ltorcello.bsky.social · Apr 12

"The uniqueness of the United States is that it is a nation founded and chartered on the Enlightenment ideals of universal rights—it is a nation founded on ideas."
open.substack.com/pub/ltorcell...

The United States was founded on ideas that don’t require a visa

While the current majority party in Washington moves to detain and deport student protesters, the question of free speech, a free press, and their limits in the United States has emerged.

open.substack.com

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