Roderick Bale
@dendrorodbale.bsky.social
Dendrochronology of living trees/ buildings/archaeological wood/ tree-ring stable isotopes.
Based in Wales
Based in Wales
Reposted by Roderick Bale
Yay!! I couldn’t be there but Sergei & the Westminster Spy Ring just won gold at the APA podcast awards!!
Whole thing was crowdfunded by @the-citizens.bsky.social to highlight 5-year legal case to get an investigation into Russian interference in UK politics. Power to the people!
Whole thing was crowdfunded by @the-citizens.bsky.social to highlight 5-year legal case to get an investigation into Russian interference in UK politics. Power to the people!
November 27, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Yay!! I couldn’t be there but Sergei & the Westminster Spy Ring just won gold at the APA podcast awards!!
Whole thing was crowdfunded by @the-citizens.bsky.social to highlight 5-year legal case to get an investigation into Russian interference in UK politics. Power to the people!
Whole thing was crowdfunded by @the-citizens.bsky.social to highlight 5-year legal case to get an investigation into Russian interference in UK politics. Power to the people!
Reposted by Roderick Bale
There are some people who seem to see the recovery of ecosystems in a deforested waste as a personal affront. It's about power, and different landscapes reflect the different ways in which power is distributed - or concentrated.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Willow trees on Prince William’s land in Devon poisoned with herbicide
Exclusive: Unknown culprit suspected of spraying glyphosate on protected trees hoped to stop peat erosion and flooding
www.theguardian.com
November 27, 2025 at 5:12 PM
There are some people who seem to see the recovery of ecosystems in a deforested waste as a personal affront. It's about power, and different landscapes reflect the different ways in which power is distributed - or concentrated.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Roderick Bale
"as negotiations with EU governments begin, the amendment that everyone assumed would die in the first round is still standing — not because it has a powerful constituency behind it, but because almost no one is expending political capital to bury it."
[facepalm]
www.politico.eu/article/vegg...
[facepalm]
www.politico.eu/article/vegg...
How a ‘veggie burger’ ban nobody wanted became one Brussels might actually pass
A fringe amendment to protect meaty vocabulary has become a test of Europe’s loyalty to tradition and its waning appetite for food innovation.
www.politico.eu
November 25, 2025 at 4:04 PM
"as negotiations with EU governments begin, the amendment that everyone assumed would die in the first round is still standing — not because it has a powerful constituency behind it, but because almost no one is expending political capital to bury it."
[facepalm]
www.politico.eu/article/vegg...
[facepalm]
www.politico.eu/article/vegg...
Reposted by Roderick Bale
This is Zelenskyy's "if necessary for years, if necessary alone" moment.
A chapter in history that will be remembered both for the shame of Washington's betrayal, and for the dignity, bravery, defiance and resolve of the Ukrainian people in the face of it all.
A chapter in history that will be remembered both for the shame of Washington's betrayal, and for the dignity, bravery, defiance and resolve of the Ukrainian people in the face of it all.
November 21, 2025 at 3:43 PM
This is Zelenskyy's "if necessary for years, if necessary alone" moment.
A chapter in history that will be remembered both for the shame of Washington's betrayal, and for the dignity, bravery, defiance and resolve of the Ukrainian people in the face of it all.
A chapter in history that will be remembered both for the shame of Washington's betrayal, and for the dignity, bravery, defiance and resolve of the Ukrainian people in the face of it all.
Reposted by Roderick Bale
2025! The traditional end-of-year collage! Available as a 1000 piece jigsaw, limited edition art prints and tea towels!
👇👇👇👇👇
www.coldwarsteve.com/2025/11/18/u...
👇👇👇👇👇
www.coldwarsteve.com/2025/11/18/u...
November 18, 2025 at 6:36 PM
2025! The traditional end-of-year collage! Available as a 1000 piece jigsaw, limited edition art prints and tea towels!
👇👇👇👇👇
www.coldwarsteve.com/2025/11/18/u...
👇👇👇👇👇
www.coldwarsteve.com/2025/11/18/u...
Reposted by Roderick Bale
It's the cow, not the how. Always has been. Always will be.
newrepublic.com/article/1775...
newrepublic.com/article/1775...
The Comforting Lie of Climate-Friendly Meat
The industry insists that meat’s problems can be solved with technical fixes. We’ve seen this before.
newrepublic.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:21 PM
It's the cow, not the how. Always has been. Always will be.
newrepublic.com/article/1775...
newrepublic.com/article/1775...
Reposted by Roderick Bale
2017 tweet from Leave.EU thanking Putin for carpet bombing Syria which displaced 14 million & led directly to the refugee/boat crisis.
October 4, 2025 at 8:52 PM
2017 tweet from Leave.EU thanking Putin for carpet bombing Syria which displaced 14 million & led directly to the refugee/boat crisis.
Reposted by Roderick Bale
CAHOKIA, ILLINOIS — Using tree-ring radiocarbon from an A.D. 994 solar event, researchers precisely dated the Mitchell Log—Greater Cahokia’s largest known marker post—to about A.D. 1124, and strontium isotopes show the bald cypress wasn’t local, likely hauled ≥112 miles.
Read more:
Read more:
Age and origin of a Cahokian wooden monument at the Mitchell site, Illinois, USA
Cahokia was the first and largest precolonial city outside of Mesoamerica in what is now the United States. Monuments and exotic goods were central to public life at Cahokia, but no high-resolution…
buff.ly
October 25, 2025 at 12:01 AM
CAHOKIA, ILLINOIS — Using tree-ring radiocarbon from an A.D. 994 solar event, researchers precisely dated the Mitchell Log—Greater Cahokia’s largest known marker post—to about A.D. 1124, and strontium isotopes show the bald cypress wasn’t local, likely hauled ≥112 miles.
Read more:
Read more:
Reposted by Roderick Bale
Two new key papers on climate change and forests in the Northeastern US led by Jaclyn Hatala Matthes.
First, a review on the Impacts and Legacies of Extreme Precipitation on Temperate Forests During Critical Ecological Windows
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
First, a review on the Impacts and Legacies of Extreme Precipitation on Temperate Forests During Critical Ecological Windows
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Impacts and Legacies of Extreme Precipitation on Temperate Forests During Critical Ecological Windows
Within seasonal temperate forests, changes in precipitation structure—its form, duration, and seasonal timing—is a dominant characteristic of climate change. While past research has focused primarily ...
www.annualreviews.org
October 23, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Two new key papers on climate change and forests in the Northeastern US led by Jaclyn Hatala Matthes.
First, a review on the Impacts and Legacies of Extreme Precipitation on Temperate Forests During Critical Ecological Windows
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
First, a review on the Impacts and Legacies of Extreme Precipitation on Temperate Forests During Critical Ecological Windows
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Reposted by Roderick Bale
For years, there's been a massive over-emphasis on food miles, and a massive under-emphasis on food type.
By far and away the best dietary decision you can make, for environmental, humanitarian and public health purposes, is to cut out animal products.
By far and away the best dietary decision you can make, for environmental, humanitarian and public health purposes, is to cut out animal products.
Remember this, whenever someone says "alternative proteins - yuck!"
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Beef, pork, chicken: the world loves cheap meat. If people knew what really goes in it, that love affair would be over | Devi Sridhar
Antibiotic use in farming is now rampant. How meat is produced in China may mean the drugs you need here won’t work, says Prof Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburg...
www.theguardian.com
October 21, 2025 at 7:25 PM
For years, there's been a massive over-emphasis on food miles, and a massive under-emphasis on food type.
By far and away the best dietary decision you can make, for environmental, humanitarian and public health purposes, is to cut out animal products.
By far and away the best dietary decision you can make, for environmental, humanitarian and public health purposes, is to cut out animal products.
Reposted by Roderick Bale
Why are there so many acorns in the UK this year? Oaks everywhere seem to have been laden with acorns. Nice to quoted when the BBC investigated!
There are lots of chestnuts too, and beech seeds in some places but not others. Happy squirrels and jays this year! 🐿🌰🌳
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
There are lots of chestnuts too, and beech seeds in some places but not others. Happy squirrels and jays this year! 🐿🌰🌳
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The National Trust explains why there are so many acorns this year
A National Trust gardener said the volume of acorns was
www.bbc.co.uk
October 13, 2025 at 6:19 AM
Why are there so many acorns in the UK this year? Oaks everywhere seem to have been laden with acorns. Nice to quoted when the BBC investigated!
There are lots of chestnuts too, and beech seeds in some places but not others. Happy squirrels and jays this year! 🐿🌰🌳
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
There are lots of chestnuts too, and beech seeds in some places but not others. Happy squirrels and jays this year! 🐿🌰🌳
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Roderick Bale
I wrote this article because so much media coverage of the soy trade drama focuses on farmers and not the political economy of ag. If a story covers rare earth it will explain its uses. Why is the same not standard for soy or alfalfa? Need to make the connection for readers.
bsky.app/profile/jand...
bsky.app/profile/jand...
"How much soy we produce shouldn’t be a barometer for how well our agriculture sector is doing, but for how unsustainable it is."
I wrote for @newrepublic.com that the trade war with China shows we grow too many crops to feed not people but factory-farmed animals.
newrepublic.com/article/2014...
I wrote for @newrepublic.com that the trade war with China shows we grow too many crops to feed not people but factory-farmed animals.
newrepublic.com/article/2014...
Trump’s Tariffs Should Force a Reckoning With America’s Soy Industry
The industry became the world’s second largest not because of human demand for soy, but to feed China’s pigs.
newrepublic.com
October 11, 2025 at 10:04 PM
I wrote this article because so much media coverage of the soy trade drama focuses on farmers and not the political economy of ag. If a story covers rare earth it will explain its uses. Why is the same not standard for soy or alfalfa? Need to make the connection for readers.
bsky.app/profile/jand...
bsky.app/profile/jand...
Reposted by Roderick Bale
Can't resist.
How do you approach an angry Reform UK leader in Wales?
Caerphilly!
bylinetimes.com/2025/10/11/s...
How do you approach an angry Reform UK leader in Wales?
Caerphilly!
bylinetimes.com/2025/10/11/s...
'Stunned?' Farage's Admission He Knew Nathan Gill but Not His Kremlin Associates Does Not Stand Up to Scrutiny
Insiders have told Byline Times it is 'inconceivable' the Reform Leader did not know about his close aide's pro Russian statements
bylinetimes.com
October 11, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Can't resist.
How do you approach an angry Reform UK leader in Wales?
Caerphilly!
bylinetimes.com/2025/10/11/s...
How do you approach an angry Reform UK leader in Wales?
Caerphilly!
bylinetimes.com/2025/10/11/s...
Reposted by Roderick Bale
“We’re already seeing drought stress, with half the mature oaks in the valley dead,” Palma said. “The wall will only accelerate the collapse. You lose the trees, you lose the shade. The creek dries, the habitat dies. It’s a cascade of ecological devastation.”
azluminaria.org/2025/10/07/a...
azluminaria.org/2025/10/07/a...
A jaguar, a wall, a sacred valley: What's at stake in San Rafael - AZ Luminaria
In late summer, a jaguar padded somewhere near the San Rafael Valley, a pristine grassland nestled between the Patagonia and Huachuca Mountains southeast of Tucson. Trail cameras monitored by Sky Isla...
azluminaria.org
October 7, 2025 at 5:37 PM
“We’re already seeing drought stress, with half the mature oaks in the valley dead,” Palma said. “The wall will only accelerate the collapse. You lose the trees, you lose the shade. The creek dries, the habitat dies. It’s a cascade of ecological devastation.”
azluminaria.org/2025/10/07/a...
azluminaria.org/2025/10/07/a...
Reposted by Roderick Bale
Very cool work (with a very sobering result) led by Andy Jones (a paleoCAMP alumnus!) in Science Advances: 'Glaciers in California’s Sierra Nevada are likely disappearing for the first time in the Holocene' www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Glaciers in California’s Sierra Nevada are likely disappearing for the first time in the Holocene
The projected loss of glaciers in California’s Sierra Nevada is likely unprecedented in at least the past 30,000 years.
www.science.org
October 2, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Very cool work (with a very sobering result) led by Andy Jones (a paleoCAMP alumnus!) in Science Advances: 'Glaciers in California’s Sierra Nevada are likely disappearing for the first time in the Holocene' www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Roderick Bale
"I stopped eating meat some 50 years ago," wrote Jane Goodall, "when I looked at the pork chop on my plate and thought: this represents fear, pain, death."
Best as I can tell, not one obituary or article on her passing mentions this fact. It's worth knowing. news.janegoodall.org/2017/04/28/w...
Best as I can tell, not one obituary or article on her passing mentions this fact. It's worth knowing. news.janegoodall.org/2017/04/28/w...
October 1, 2025 at 7:59 PM
"I stopped eating meat some 50 years ago," wrote Jane Goodall, "when I looked at the pork chop on my plate and thought: this represents fear, pain, death."
Best as I can tell, not one obituary or article on her passing mentions this fact. It's worth knowing. news.janegoodall.org/2017/04/28/w...
Best as I can tell, not one obituary or article on her passing mentions this fact. It's worth knowing. news.janegoodall.org/2017/04/28/w...
Reposted by Roderick Bale
Ponderosa pine smells like butterscotch.
Go ahead, sniff one the next time you're in the western US. Some say "vanilla", some say "oh no, my nose is covered in sap."
Let's talk about birds, butterscotch, forest fires, blue wood, & boring beetles.
But mostly this thread is about terpenes.
Go ahead, sniff one the next time you're in the western US. Some say "vanilla", some say "oh no, my nose is covered in sap."
Let's talk about birds, butterscotch, forest fires, blue wood, & boring beetles.
But mostly this thread is about terpenes.
September 24, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Ponderosa pine smells like butterscotch.
Go ahead, sniff one the next time you're in the western US. Some say "vanilla", some say "oh no, my nose is covered in sap."
Let's talk about birds, butterscotch, forest fires, blue wood, & boring beetles.
But mostly this thread is about terpenes.
Go ahead, sniff one the next time you're in the western US. Some say "vanilla", some say "oh no, my nose is covered in sap."
Let's talk about birds, butterscotch, forest fires, blue wood, & boring beetles.
But mostly this thread is about terpenes.
Reposted by Roderick Bale
14,000 yr-old in situ stumps sampled today! 🥰
Wood that old cannot be found in the Alps, but in the Prealps!
In Southern Alps, some torrential systems feature Lateglacial Pinus sylvestris outcrops!
So BEAUTIFUL!
(Rooted stumps+paleosol+alluvial sediments)
📷 L. Francon
PI: C. Miramont
(both IMBE)
Wood that old cannot be found in the Alps, but in the Prealps!
In Southern Alps, some torrential systems feature Lateglacial Pinus sylvestris outcrops!
So BEAUTIFUL!
(Rooted stumps+paleosol+alluvial sediments)
📷 L. Francon
PI: C. Miramont
(both IMBE)
September 18, 2025 at 8:15 PM
14,000 yr-old in situ stumps sampled today! 🥰
Wood that old cannot be found in the Alps, but in the Prealps!
In Southern Alps, some torrential systems feature Lateglacial Pinus sylvestris outcrops!
So BEAUTIFUL!
(Rooted stumps+paleosol+alluvial sediments)
📷 L. Francon
PI: C. Miramont
(both IMBE)
Wood that old cannot be found in the Alps, but in the Prealps!
In Southern Alps, some torrential systems feature Lateglacial Pinus sylvestris outcrops!
So BEAUTIFUL!
(Rooted stumps+paleosol+alluvial sediments)
📷 L. Francon
PI: C. Miramont
(both IMBE)
Interesting site we sampled some years ago and has recently been published #dendrochronology #intertidal #archaeology
historicengland.org.uk/research/res...
historicengland.org.uk/research/res...
historicengland.org.uk
September 16, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Interesting site we sampled some years ago and has recently been published #dendrochronology #intertidal #archaeology
historicengland.org.uk/research/res...
historicengland.org.uk/research/res...
Reposted by Roderick Bale
Why is is so hard for people to say these words?:
Lough Neagh, the UK's biggest lake, is being killed by *livestock farms*.
Lough Neagh, the UK's biggest lake, is being killed by *livestock farms*.
September 15, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Why is is so hard for people to say these words?:
Lough Neagh, the UK's biggest lake, is being killed by *livestock farms*.
Lough Neagh, the UK's biggest lake, is being killed by *livestock farms*.
Reposted by Roderick Bale
When speaking to Tommy Robinson at the far right demonstration in London today, Elon Musk wore a t-shirt saying "What would Orwell think?"
So let's dive in - what would George Orwell think about Tommy Robinson and Elon Musk? 🧵
So let's dive in - what would George Orwell think about Tommy Robinson and Elon Musk? 🧵
September 13, 2025 at 10:37 PM
When speaking to Tommy Robinson at the far right demonstration in London today, Elon Musk wore a t-shirt saying "What would Orwell think?"
So let's dive in - what would George Orwell think about Tommy Robinson and Elon Musk? 🧵
So let's dive in - what would George Orwell think about Tommy Robinson and Elon Musk? 🧵
Reposted by Roderick Bale
Maritime Archaeology! Built Heritage! Trees! All together = perfect! Nice work here from @dendrorodbale.bsky.social
Ship’s floor (oak) reused as lintel. Removed during construction work from Cambrian Place Swansea. Dendro dated to spring summer 1778 and sourced from a locally grown Welsh 🏴 tree! #dendrochronology #wales #archaeology
September 10, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Maritime Archaeology! Built Heritage! Trees! All together = perfect! Nice work here from @dendrorodbale.bsky.social
Reposted by Roderick Bale
Ship’s floor (oak) reused as lintel. Removed during construction work from Cambrian Place Swansea. Dendro dated to spring summer 1778 and sourced from a locally grown Welsh 🏴 tree! #dendrochronology #wales #archaeology
September 10, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Ship’s floor (oak) reused as lintel. Removed during construction work from Cambrian Place Swansea. Dendro dated to spring summer 1778 and sourced from a locally grown Welsh 🏴 tree! #dendrochronology #wales #archaeology
Ship’s floor (oak) reused as lintel. Removed during construction work from Cambrian Place Swansea. Dendro dated to spring summer 1778 and sourced from a locally grown Welsh 🏴 tree! #dendrochronology #wales #archaeology
September 10, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Ship’s floor (oak) reused as lintel. Removed during construction work from Cambrian Place Swansea. Dendro dated to spring summer 1778 and sourced from a locally grown Welsh 🏴 tree! #dendrochronology #wales #archaeology
Reposted by Roderick Bale
This has always been clear: plant-based meat alternatives are better for the planet and, at least compared to red meat, better for your health. That this is not widely accepted is the product of meat industry disinfo, science illiteracy, and some very stupid journalists.
www.cnn.com/2025/07/21/h...
www.cnn.com/2025/07/21/h...
Eating this ultraprocessed food may be good for you and the planet, experts say | CNN
Plant-based meats have been viewed at times as ultraprocessed and possibly unhealthy. But some experts believe they deserve a second look.
www.cnn.com
July 23, 2025 at 12:36 PM
This has always been clear: plant-based meat alternatives are better for the planet and, at least compared to red meat, better for your health. That this is not widely accepted is the product of meat industry disinfo, science illiteracy, and some very stupid journalists.
www.cnn.com/2025/07/21/h...
www.cnn.com/2025/07/21/h...