Claire Laila Dines
@freedomtodoubt.bsky.social
Ecologist fighting 4 nature; Watches Earth like hawk or Small Blue; Wanders in South Downs; Wildlife photo-recorder; Hove plot holder 4 nature; Brit/Norwegian/European; Art, Science, Politics;
Take bus or walk while I can ere I'm dust in the ground.
Take bus or walk while I can ere I'm dust in the ground.
Reposted by Claire Laila Dines
Thank you to everyone who tuned in to our pelicans event last night - we'll keep you posted with the carbon dating from the bones when Lucia is able to publish. In the meantime why not sign up for our next talk on EELS in January? As ever it's FREE FOR MEMBERS! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/eels-are-g...
Eels are good - with the Somerset Eel Recovery Project
Join Vanessa and Geoff from SERP for a talk on the eels of Somerset, their fascinating history and the work being done to restore them.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 27, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Thank you to everyone who tuned in to our pelicans event last night - we'll keep you posted with the carbon dating from the bones when Lucia is able to publish. In the meantime why not sign up for our next talk on EELS in January? As ever it's FREE FOR MEMBERS! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/eels-are-g...
Reposted by Claire Laila Dines
"In perceiving and experiencing the world, we ‘smuggle in’ our own fundamental self-survival goals. This is something we share with cats and worms and viruses. Whether this is also something we share with artificial systems is another story."
- @annaciaunica.bsky.social
- @annaciaunica.bsky.social
What if thinking doesn’t begin in the brain, but in the ceaseless labour of our cells? Today’s essay rethinks the question of how we become minds, arguing that cognition begins not in the mind but in the collective processes that keep a body alive @annaciaunica.bsky.social
Why you need your whole body – from head to toes – to think | Aeon Essays
Contemplating the world requires a body, and a body requires an immune system: the rungs of life create the stuff of thought
buff.ly
November 27, 2025 at 12:36 PM
"In perceiving and experiencing the world, we ‘smuggle in’ our own fundamental self-survival goals. This is something we share with cats and worms and viruses. Whether this is also something we share with artificial systems is another story."
- @annaciaunica.bsky.social
- @annaciaunica.bsky.social
Reposted by Claire Laila Dines
Increased toxicity from plastic pollution in a warmer climate is highly likely to be affecting whole ecosystems, with potentially disproportionate impacts on apex predators such as orcas.
Plastic pollution: a crisis requiring systemic change
Plastic pollution is worsened by warming climate and must be stemmed, researchers warn
yorkshirebylines.co.uk
November 27, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Increased toxicity from plastic pollution in a warmer climate is highly likely to be affecting whole ecosystems, with potentially disproportionate impacts on apex predators such as orcas.
Reposted by Claire Laila Dines
You can also filter the map to show just how much methane - a potent greenhouse gas - is already being released by oil + gas extraction in the North Sea. Expanding this means releasing ever more of a gas that makes a huge contribution to climate change:
share.google/dZfNuOIn5LOu...
share.google/dZfNuOIn5LOu...
November 27, 2025 at 11:06 AM
You can also filter the map to show just how much methane - a potent greenhouse gas - is already being released by oil + gas extraction in the North Sea. Expanding this means releasing ever more of a gas that makes a huge contribution to climate change:
share.google/dZfNuOIn5LOu...
share.google/dZfNuOIn5LOu...
Reposted by Claire Laila Dines
'This isn't an opinion. This is counting.'
- A 100,000 drop in net migration costs us £7bn
- Scrapping the two-child benefit cap costs us £3bn
What gets more attention?
James O’Brien says 'we have become a ludicrous country'.
- Scrapping the two-child benefit cap costs us £3bn
What gets more attention?
James O’Brien says 'we have become a ludicrous country'.
November 27, 2025 at 11:29 AM
'This isn't an opinion. This is counting.'
Reposted by Claire Laila Dines
November 27, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Reposted by Claire Laila Dines
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme from @robcrank68.bsky.social is all about #HeadShots (any bird's 'Close Up Capture')
I'm going with this Muscovy Duck.
#birds
I'm going with this Muscovy Duck.
#birds
November 27, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme from @robcrank68.bsky.social is all about #HeadShots (any bird's 'Close Up Capture')
I'm going with this Muscovy Duck.
#birds
I'm going with this Muscovy Duck.
#birds
On this dull damp day a memory of #SmallBlue .. Britain's smallest butterfly & quite a little character you'll discover if you observe it 4 hours in May-June &/or August.
It has a wingspan of of 18-27mm & lives in warm sheltered sites with plenty of its foodplant, the Kidney vetch.
#Butterflies
It has a wingspan of of 18-27mm & lives in warm sheltered sites with plenty of its foodplant, the Kidney vetch.
#Butterflies
November 27, 2025 at 11:52 AM
On this dull damp day a memory of #SmallBlue .. Britain's smallest butterfly & quite a little character you'll discover if you observe it 4 hours in May-June &/or August.
It has a wingspan of of 18-27mm & lives in warm sheltered sites with plenty of its foodplant, the Kidney vetch.
#Butterflies
It has a wingspan of of 18-27mm & lives in warm sheltered sites with plenty of its foodplant, the Kidney vetch.
#Butterflies
Reposted by Claire Laila Dines
Today's migration stats illustrate the migration doom loop in action...
(from my presentation at the IMF last week)
(from my presentation at the IMF last week)
November 27, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Today's migration stats illustrate the migration doom loop in action...
(from my presentation at the IMF last week)
(from my presentation at the IMF last week)
Maybe I'm becoming more observant but this Autumn I'm noticing far more #Goldcrest in the twittering tit flocks feeding in the trees, scrub & in amongst the Ivy on my walks on the #SouthDowns. Anyone else noticed an increase in our smallest bird?
Though devilishly speedy lovely to see them!
#birds
Though devilishly speedy lovely to see them!
#birds
November 26, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Maybe I'm becoming more observant but this Autumn I'm noticing far more #Goldcrest in the twittering tit flocks feeding in the trees, scrub & in amongst the Ivy on my walks on the #SouthDowns. Anyone else noticed an increase in our smallest bird?
Though devilishly speedy lovely to see them!
#birds
Though devilishly speedy lovely to see them!
#birds
Came across pair pair of #Blackbirds feeding on haws on my walk today .. noticeable how the female was feeding far more than male or was he just more cautious or fussy .. though an observable difference in their feeding habits in Hawthorn hedge for 5 mins, she 10 haws to his 1.
#birds #feeding
#birds #feeding
November 26, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Came across pair pair of #Blackbirds feeding on haws on my walk today .. noticeable how the female was feeding far more than male or was he just more cautious or fussy .. though an observable difference in their feeding habits in Hawthorn hedge for 5 mins, she 10 haws to his 1.
#birds #feeding
#birds #feeding
November 26, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Reposted by Claire Laila Dines
"My most vivid memories of my school life is Farage repeatedly coming up to me, knowing that I was Jewish, saying 'Hitler was right' and 'gas em' and that was frequently followed by imitating the sound of escaping gas."
Peter Ettedgui, ex classmate of Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage.
Peter Ettedgui, ex classmate of Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage.
November 25, 2025 at 11:09 PM
"My most vivid memories of my school life is Farage repeatedly coming up to me, knowing that I was Jewish, saying 'Hitler was right' and 'gas em' and that was frequently followed by imitating the sound of escaping gas."
Peter Ettedgui, ex classmate of Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage.
Peter Ettedgui, ex classmate of Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage.
Reposted by Claire Laila Dines
On this bright and sunny afternoon the slanting sunlight turned the surface to liquid gold and silver and many other colours on the village pond all while the inhabitants ducked and dived and preened.
It was quite a spectacle!
#ducks #RottingdeanPond #birdtherapy
It was quite a spectacle!
#ducks #RottingdeanPond #birdtherapy
November 26, 2025 at 6:33 PM
On this bright and sunny afternoon the slanting sunlight turned the surface to liquid gold and silver and many other colours on the village pond all while the inhabitants ducked and dived and preened.
It was quite a spectacle!
#ducks #RottingdeanPond #birdtherapy
It was quite a spectacle!
#ducks #RottingdeanPond #birdtherapy
This woman is a good example of the general truism that if you are cruel to animals you are also cruel to humans.
Kristi Noem is a cruel person.
Kristi Noem is a cruel person.
Kristi Noem is guilty of crimes against humanity and needs to face justice.
📌 She made the final call to defy a court order to halt deportation flights, sending people into the hellscape of CECOT, a place the UN has compared to a torture chamber.
Prosecute her and everyone involved.
📌 She made the final call to defy a court order to halt deportation flights, sending people into the hellscape of CECOT, a place the UN has compared to a torture chamber.
Prosecute her and everyone involved.
November 26, 2025 at 6:02 PM
This woman is a good example of the general truism that if you are cruel to animals you are also cruel to humans.
Kristi Noem is a cruel person.
Kristi Noem is a cruel person.
Reposted by Claire Laila Dines
I’m so jealous. Must be nice having a functional high court.
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
November 26, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I’m so jealous. Must be nice having a functional high court.
Reposted by Claire Laila Dines
You don’t need to be celebrating Thanksgiving this week to be interested in a recipe for mashed potatoes that can be easily made ahead, but if you are working up to the big feast you particularly need to know about this now! www.nigella.com/recipes/make...
Make-Ahead Mash
No one is doubting the glory of mashed potatoes, and while they are not difficult to make, they can be quite a faff in large quantities at the last minute. This is the answer: a tangy, subtly cheesy m...
www.nigella.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:16 PM
You don’t need to be celebrating Thanksgiving this week to be interested in a recipe for mashed potatoes that can be easily made ahead, but if you are working up to the big feast you particularly need to know about this now! www.nigella.com/recipes/make...
Reposted by Claire Laila Dines
Wonderful and spreading the good cycling across the world!
Wish @brighton_hove.gov.uk would see the light for my city!
Wish @brighton_hove.gov.uk would see the light for my city!
While Chris's role with @dutchcycling.nl often involves travelling across the globe to talk glowingly about our cycling paradise, occasionally he gets to stay and show it directly to decision-makers.
This week, it was a high-level delegation from the Beijing Municipal Commission for Transportation.
This week, it was a high-level delegation from the Beijing Municipal Commission for Transportation.
November 25, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Wonderful and spreading the good cycling across the world!
Wish @brighton_hove.gov.uk would see the light for my city!
Wish @brighton_hove.gov.uk would see the light for my city!
Reposted by Claire Laila Dines
we really need to get past our collective fear of moral hazard and just build subsidized supportive housing. a lot of it. and then some more.
Anderson Cooper: So it's more expensive to have a chronically homeless person living on the streets than it is to actually subsidize an apartment for them?
Answer: Yes, we’re paying more as taxpayers to walk past that person on the street and do nothing… #HousingFirst
Answer: Yes, we’re paying more as taxpayers to walk past that person on the street and do nothing… #HousingFirst
100,000 Homes: Housing the homeless saves money?
Giving apartments to the chronically homeless can save taxpayer dollars, advocates say
www.cbsnews.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:19 PM
we really need to get past our collective fear of moral hazard and just build subsidized supportive housing. a lot of it. and then some more.
Reposted by Claire Laila Dines
Wonderful and spreading the good cycling across the world!
Wish @brighton_hove.gov.uk would see the light for my city!
Wish @brighton_hove.gov.uk would see the light for my city!
While Chris's role with @dutchcycling.nl often involves travelling across the globe to talk glowingly about our cycling paradise, occasionally he gets to stay and show it directly to decision-makers.
This week, it was a high-level delegation from the Beijing Municipal Commission for Transportation.
This week, it was a high-level delegation from the Beijing Municipal Commission for Transportation.
November 25, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Wonderful and spreading the good cycling across the world!
Wish @brighton_hove.gov.uk would see the light for my city!
Wish @brighton_hove.gov.uk would see the light for my city!
It was soothing watching the blades of the wind turbines on the horizon gently turn in the breeze with the sound of waves clashing onto shingle this afternoon on Hove beach.
A visiting Turnstone in its winter glad rags came by.
#Hovebeach #Windtubines #birds #Sea #Chillout
A visiting Turnstone in its winter glad rags came by.
#Hovebeach #Windtubines #birds #Sea #Chillout
November 25, 2025 at 7:06 PM
It was soothing watching the blades of the wind turbines on the horizon gently turn in the breeze with the sound of waves clashing onto shingle this afternoon on Hove beach.
A visiting Turnstone in its winter glad rags came by.
#Hovebeach #Windtubines #birds #Sea #Chillout
A visiting Turnstone in its winter glad rags came by.
#Hovebeach #Windtubines #birds #Sea #Chillout
November 25, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Reposted by Claire Laila Dines
Yup. This. AFAIC, it seems fairly obvious that you have sentience, and you have sentience of your own sentience, and at a certain level of self-aware interior dynamics that metacognition qualifies as sapience, but the term "intelligence" as applied in AI discourse has fuck all to do with any of that
I’ve been running around asking tech execs and academics if language was the same as intelligence for over a year now - and, well, it isn’t. @benjaminjriley.bsky.social explains how the bubble is built on ignoring cutting-edge research into the science of thought www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
November 25, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Yup. This. AFAIC, it seems fairly obvious that you have sentience, and you have sentience of your own sentience, and at a certain level of self-aware interior dynamics that metacognition qualifies as sapience, but the term "intelligence" as applied in AI discourse has fuck all to do with any of that