Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · 24d

A walk in the forest & some wonderful interactions...

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Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Aug 19

How can non-elite and more-than-colonial environmentalisms offer an alternative narrative to the competing ideologies, agents and institutions shaping human–nature relationships? 👇🏾

Geo: Geography and Environment @geoopenaccess.bsky.social · May 9

🌎New #OA paper in Geo🌍

'Challenging elite environmentalism: Stories from Brazil and India' by @ritodhi.bsky.social & Aline Carrara

doi.org/10.1002/geo2... #geosky #geo

Screenshot of a paper abstract in Geo: Geography and Environment by Ritodhi Chakraborty & Aline Carrara (2025) entitled 'Challenging elite environmentalism: Stories from Brazil and India'

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Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Aug 13

Monsoons are a personal favorite, always.

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Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Aug 13

#readingnow

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Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Aug 8

Why everyone should read the fantastic The Empire of AI by @karenhao.bsky.social
A brief review 👇🏾
eletellnow.wordpress.com/long-forms/
#bookreview #openai

BOOK REVIEWS

BOOKS 2025 The Empire of AI – Karen Hao One of the finest tech journalists, Karen Hao, has been covering the world of artificial intelligence even before it became “business”. Wha…

eletellnow.wordpress.com

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Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Jul 7

#readingnow

Reposted by Gana Kedlaya

Amy Westervelt @amywestervelt.bsky.social · Jul 1

I've been talking about this for years but the fossil fuel industry has five key narratives, they haven't changed much in decades, and they just shift between them/combine them depending on what is happening in the world. Made a quick and dirty flow chart to illustrate it:

Flow chart of the "fossil fuel spin cycle" showing the 5 narratives the industry shifts between: 1. We keep you safe, 2. We make your life work, 3. Economy vs. Environment, 4. We're part of the solution, 5. We're a great neighbor

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Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Mar 24

A simple change... Misleading interpretations.
Notice how most headlines lately have been replacing capture, translocation with rescue?!

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Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Mar 19

Wildlife institute WII is one among others that pushed for environment clearances for Nicobar project & now stands to get crores of rupees in mitigation/ monitoring funding. Sharing my findings on one such WII research paper that further shed light on need for research integrity 👇🏾

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Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Mar 19

This week's #bookreviews
eletellnow.wordpress.com/long-forms/

Reposted by Gana Kedlaya

Mongabay @mongabay.com · Mar 12

A new study highlights the urgent need to integrate chimpanzee cultural preservation with conservation.

It documents the loss of a socially-learned behavior — a mating signal — among a group of chimps following the poaching of all of the male members.

Once lost, behaviors take years to reemerge.

When a chimp community lost its males, it also lost part of its love language

Male chimpanzees in Côte d’Ivoire’s Taï National Park use distinct “auditory gestures” to attract females. However, researchers have found that when the males die, these behaviors can disappear with t...

news.mongabay.com

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Reposted by Gana Kedlaya

Prashanth N Srinivas @daktre.bsky.social · Mar 5

More evidence on the relative ineffectiveness of current snake anti-venom that possibly is better suited for S. Indian regions cos of heterogeneity in venom composition across the 4 Indian venomous snakes

Story in Research Matters: buff.ly/E7Ec3y2

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Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Mar 4

Nepal's rhino census conducted in an interval of every five years now faces an uncertain future with the suspension of USAID, one of the major donors for the project, by the Donald Trump administration.
www.business-standard.com/world-news/n...

www.business-standard.com

Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Mar 4

There goes village commons - to benefit the corporate under the guise of greening...
www.downtoearth.org.in/forests/priv...

Private entities to gain access to state-owned degraded forests for afforestation

Private entities may soon be granted access to degraded forests in Madhya Pradesh for afforestation projects, with the opportunity to earn carbon credits. A dra

www.downtoearth.org.in

Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Mar 2

#readingnow

Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Mar 1

We need to replace/make words like experts & greens in news articles more inclusive & diverse: Their excessive usage, singular references (scientists/conservationists) have created social monoculturalism (limiting it to one section of people).
Like, forest dwellers don't know better?!

Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Feb 27

Also, tech solutions that are expensive & remain short-term & more reactive in addressing challenges on ground... 👇🏾
www.thehindu.com/news/nationa...

IIIT Kottayam develops drones for tranquillising elephants in distress

A drone lab here has developed an advanced hexacopter-based tranquilliser-firing drone

www.thehindu.com

Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Feb 27

This year, over 6 people died & 25 injured in processions from elephants that were highly stressed. Unfortunately, it looks like unshakable truths (such as the reality and impact of many of our customs) are of no consequence in the face of inherited beliefs.
keralakaumudi.com/en/news/mobi...

Local elephants can be brought from other states: Stay for High Court order

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has stayed the Kerala High Court order that had banned the transportation of local elephants from other states to Kerala.

keralakaumudi.com

Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Feb 21

😂

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Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Feb 15

Definitely worrisome
parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

First evidence of transovarial transmission of Kyasanur Forest disease virus in Haemaphysalis and Rhipicephalus ticks in the wild - Parasites & Vectors

Background Kyasanur forest disease virus (KFDV) is a tick-borne flavivirus causing debilitating and potentially fatal disease in people in the Western Ghats region of India. The transmission cycle is ...

parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com

Reposted by Gana Kedlaya

Rishika Pardikar @rishpardikar.bsky.social · Feb 12

Adani-related energy news from India is always fascinating.

"The Indian government relaxed national security protocols along the Pakistan border to make way for a renewable energy park, a project ultimately handed to one of India’s richest men, Gautam Adani"

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...

Tycoon profited after India relaxed border security rules for energy park

Exclusive: Military experts raise concerns over change to protocols on Pakistan border to allow project that was handed to billionaire Gautam Adani

www.theguardian.com

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Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Feb 11

"In rendering this sky into English, into a language of distance and abstraction, did I preserve its unbearable weight—or did I risk reducing it, smoothing its jagged edges for those who will never be beneath its destruction?"
Do read 👇🏾

ArabLit & ArabLit Quarterly @arablit.bsky.social · Feb 10

Don't miss this beautiful, thoughtful essay by translator-scholar @AlaaQAlQaisi.

Translating the Unseen: Gaza’s Sky and Anne Carson’s Vision
arablit.org/2025/02/10/t...

Translating the Unseen: Gaza’s Sky and Anne Carson’s Vision

Translating the Unseen: Gaza’s Sky and Anne Carson’s Vision By Alaa Alqaisi It began with an email from Dr. James Heaney, a professor of English and Irish studies at Carlow University, …

arablit.org

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Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Feb 10

#pastoralism
Maintaining biodiversity of rangelands...
At the Living Lightly exhibition...

Reposted by Gana Kedlaya

Mongabay @mongabay.com · Feb 5

Scientists have confirmed the presence of the Asian small-clawed otter in Nepal for the first time in more than 185 years. The last confirmed sighting was in 1839, followed by occasional unconfirmed reports.
news.mongabay.com/2025/02/worl...

World’s smallest otter makes comeback in Nepal after 185 years

KATHMANDU — Scientists have for the first time in 185 years confirmed the presence of the Asian small-clawed otter in Nepal, thrilling conservationists and researchers looking for clues to its existen...

news.mongabay.com

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Gana Kedlaya @ganak.bsky.social · Jan 31

New Zealand's Mount Taranaki, sacred to the Maori, has been accorded legal rights as a living person.
www.bbc.com/news/article...

New Zealand's Mount Taranaki gets same legal rights as a person

The aim is to address injustices of colonisation, including confiscating land from local tribes.

www.bbc.com

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