Author | Lightnews

David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Sep 24

And another step closer to oblivion
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

World’s oceans fail key health check as acidity crosses critical threshold for marine life

Scientists call for renewed global effort to curb fossil fuels as seven of nine planetary boundaries now transgressed

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by David Smith

Guardian Environment @environment.theguardian.com · Sep 23

Wild bird numbers continue to fall in UK with some species in ‘dramatic freefall’

Species index fell by 4% between 2019 and 2024 – although government data shows woodland populations beginning to stabilise

www.theguardian.com

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David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Sep 20

The borlotti beans have dried beautifully, and beautiful they are.
#GrowYourOwnFood #NoDig #organic #RealFood #NoPesticides

Close up of dried beans with maroon flecks on the creamy-white skins

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David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Sep 19

It's good that people are starting to talk about the issue.

David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Sep 19

This is partly why we moved away from the "dark side" (as I call it) and stopped keeping bees
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Why saving the honeybee could be bad news for other bees

In this week’s newsletter: a conservation success story has a sting in its tail as wild pollinators pay the price

www.theguardian.com

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David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Sep 15

WTF! Nuclear is not the solution. It's an expensive and dangerous distraction. Along with bonkers ideas about carbon capture and storage, Starmer's New Tory Zionist Party has really lost the plot.
www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.bbc....

UK and US unveil nuclear energy deal ahead of Trump visit - BBC News

Key among the plans is a proposal to build up to 12 advanced modular nuclear reactors in Hartlepool.

www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org

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David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Sep 15

Well, it's a start. It's time to restore access to the land stolen from the people by the Enclosures and other lands grabs.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Right to swim and wild camp in England should be enshrined in law, Labour MPs say

Report from group of MPs calls for broader access to rivers, woodlands and fields to improve connection with nature

www.theguardian.com

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David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Sep 13

Our borlotti beans are drying nicely. They're not quite as big or bountiful as two years ago, but they are certainly as beautiful. I love the Dutch name of this variety, Stokkievitsboon, which means pole lapwing beans, named for the similarity of the patterns on the beans to lapwing eggs.

Pale bean pods drying with one pod split open to reveal cream and deep violet coloured beans.

A mass of drying bean pods, mostly pale and faded. but with some bright vermilion-flecked or deep-violet-flecked ones.

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David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Sep 12

The comings and goings of the rookery at the top of our street is a daily source of joy for me, lifting my heart and making me smile and laugh. They do little harm and far more good to farmland. I can't understand why people want to shoot them. They offer poor sport and poorer eating.

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David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Sep 10

Somewhat concerning!
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

Alarm as WHO accepts increasing amount of dark money from corporate donors

Experts say millions in corporate funding and concealment of donors’ identities raises key conflict-of-interest concerns

www.theguardian.com

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David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Sep 8

A pretty good opinion it is too!

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David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Sep 8

Thank you. They are aren't they? Packing them into jars takes ages while I just stare at their wonderful forms 😀

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David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Sep 8

Homemade tomato soup. A scrummy lunch with some to go in the freezer. Heinz tomato soup has 14 ingredients, this has 4. The tinned stuff isn't too bad: no artificial colours or preservatives. Heinz is cream of tomato so it has milk products. Mine is tomato and basil, plus a little onion and EVOO.

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David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Sep 8

Madly dehydrating tomatoes to preserve the taste of Summer's bounty through till we can eat fresh again. (We don't buy tomatoes any more.) Such beautiful and nutrient dense things.
#tomatoes #preserving #dehydrating #GrowYourOwnFood #RealFood #organic #unsprayed #NoChemicals #NoPesticides #NoDig

Close up of a slice of dehydrated tomato resting on a man's hand, with more slices on a wire grid in the background.

Close up of a slice of dehydrated tomato resting on a man's hand. It is so thin the fingers are visible through the tomato. There were more slices on a wire grid in the background.

Close up of a Kilner jar containing dried tomato slices.

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Reposted by David Smith

Ian Denton @iand777.bsky.social · Sep 8

Comprehensive evidence review on effects of grouse moor burning on biodiversity, carbon & water - a report the shooting industry doesn't seem keen to promote raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/09/08/c...

Comprehensive evidence review on effects of grouse moor burning on biodiversity, carbon & water – a report the shooting industry doesn’t seem keen to promote

Over the last few months you’ve probably noticed that the grouse-shooting industry has been ramping up its rhetoric about the so-called virtues of what it calls ‘managed burning’ …

raptorpersecutionuk.org

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Reposted by David Smith

Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · Aug 30

There’s a persistent myth that new solar farms don’t really help tackle climate change because panels are “made with coal” and “never pay back” their carbon debt.

This is simply false.

- UN: solar ~8x cleaner than gas, ~19x than coal per kWh
- panels repay CO2 in 4 months; save 57x over life

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David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Aug 28

It's nice to bring the sunshine inside. It's getting blowy outside and the Sunflowers are very tall this year, so I thought it necessary to harvest some. They do look great next to our beloved Carry Akroyd hare painting!
#GrowYourOwnFlowers #sunflowers

White vase of large yellow sunflowers on a shelf next to a tiny antique bottle half full of sea glass, surrounded by pebbles, which has a Buzzard feather stabbing in it. On the white wall behind and to the right is a square painting in an oak frame, of a running Hare on an abstracted landscape. On the shelf to the right there is a small purple glass vase with some purple sweet peas.

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David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Aug 24

Whose is this? I find it difficult not to pick up feathers. I'm not sure from whom this one comes that I found in the garden today.

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David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Aug 24

It's farming methods and capitalism that's causing the problems, there's plenty of food for everyone if we take profiteers out of the picture, which needs to happen if we are going to deal with climate change and the water crisis.

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David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Aug 24

My organic garden, and most UK allotments have higher yields per m² than the average farm. Then there's the loss of wildlife, poisoned rivers, cancer-causing sprays.

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David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Aug 24

Maybe that's a story we have all been told by the chemical companies? It's a very complex picture, and it depends a lot on how things are measured, and what counts as better yields. Chemically-fed land trails off then decreases in yields, ending up as damaged soil.

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David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Aug 24

It's that time again, time to save the sweetness and bounty of summer to take into winter. Dehydrating tomatoes: we like to call them sun-dried because we try to make sure our solar panels are producing the power to preserve them.
#GrowYourOwnFood #dehydrating #HomePreserving #Organic #NoChemicals

A grid of irregularly-sized slices of tomato, mostly round or oval, lying flat on a sheet ready to go into a dehydrator.

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David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Aug 23

So true

David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Aug 23

I have no idea from what bird they came, but I fear he or she did not make it to a safe space. I wrote about it, a poem I guess, but I'm lacking in the energy and ambition to find where it is. (Those who know how my mind works will have spotted an allusion to Laurie Anderson popped in there!)

David Smith @davidsmithartist.bsky.social · Aug 23

Last night I was looking through my last sketchbook and found this little trio of tiny feathers taped in with Magic Tape. I had found them in the garden, I remember exactly where, and stopped what I was doing to carry this treasure of beauty to a safe space.

Three small feathers, brown with gold trailing edge, taped onto white paper

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