John Walker
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jhonhwalker.bsky.social
John Walker
@jhonhwalker.bsky.social
Bicycle commuter, Amazonian archaeologist, historical ecologist; Faculty at University of Central Florida | Illinois, Philadelphia, Florida, Orlando, Bolivia, Beni, Santa Ana del Yacuma.
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Hello! I am an anthropologist studying the archaeology of landscapes, especially in the Bolivian Amazon. I am interested in agriculture, especially the possibility that archaeological evidence could be useful for farmers today.
Reposted by John Walker
This poster showing a stunning array of crayfish species in Georgia helps deliver the message that freshwater ecosystems of the southeastern U.S are among the most diverse in the world. 🧪
December 13, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Reposted by John Walker
I read this classic again every time I see it.
December 12, 2025 at 12:21 PM
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Made a site comparing the sizes of living things :)

The great Julius Csotonyi spent 5 months painting over 60 illustrations for the site, no ai used

> neal.fun/size-of-life/
December 10, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Reposted by John Walker
ciw-online.org/blog/2025/11...

30 years ago, the Immokalee farmworker community, the principal source of labor for Southwest Florida’s massive agricultural industry for several decades, came together across linguistic and cultural divisions and erupted in its first-ever general strike...
Lucas Benitez, CIW Co-Founder, Turns 50, as CIW Turns 30!
Thirty years ago this month, the Immokalee farmworker community -- the principal source of labor for Southwest Florida's massive agricultural industry for several decades -- came together across long-...
ciw-online.org
November 20, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by John Walker
time for Friday Jazz Happy Hour! grab that beverage and join us!

youtu.be/NOudqih6OCU
Bill Walker's Friday Jazz Happy Hour # 279 (Nov 28, 2025)
YouTube video by Bill Walker
youtu.be
November 29, 2025 at 12:53 AM
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I wrote an accessible introduction to the life and work of the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economics - Elinor Ostrom. She showed that are not doomed to fall into the "tragedy of the commons." Collaborative governance is possible.
islandpress.org/books/uncomm...
October 18, 2024 at 2:20 PM
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It's over.

Despite the fact that the academic council recommended against it, despite the fact that the program brought in more tuition than it cost, and despite the fact that Nebraskans need & deserve this expertise, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences will be cut.

www.dailynebraskan.com/news/adminis...
BREAKING: ‘This hurts’: UNL eliminates 4 programs despite faculty, student pleas
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln eliminates the Earth and atmospheric sciences 8-0, educational administration 7-1, statistics 7-1, textiles, merchandising and fashion design 7-1 programs.
www.dailynebraskan.com
December 6, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Reposted by John Walker
My latest cartoon for @newscientist.com
December 7, 2025 at 8:56 AM
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Carnac (🇫🇷) is the site of thousands of standing stones, constructed ~7,000-years-ago #StandingStoneSunday

Radiocarbon dates indicate people added to and changed the complex over a 300 year period, painting a picture of a dynamic #megalithic landscape

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology
December 7, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Reposted by John Walker
Big Mouth Southern Smokehouse Burger – $14.99
The charred black bones of the farmhouse coughed and hissed and exhaled into the early morning fog, ghosts of smoke swirling whitehot against the sun, contrast in defiance of God ordained.
Chili’s Menu, by Cormac McCarthy
Southwestern Eggrolls – $9.95 In a tortilla made by the boy’s abuela he watched her, with her armfat and canvas apron, cast frijoles negros upon fl...
buff.ly
December 6, 2025 at 2:30 PM
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The U.S. government’s grazing program was established a century ago to prevent abuse of public lands.

It’s grown into a massive subsidy program that benefits wealthy ranchers and corporations.
Wealthy Ranchers Profit From Public Lands. Taxpayers Pick Up the Tab.
A ProPublica and High Country News investigation found that government programs supporting grazing on public lands prop up a wealthy few while harming the environment. The Trump administration is supe...
www.propublica.org
December 4, 2025 at 5:12 PM
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Huge congratulations to the wonderful Donna Haraway for winning the 2025 Erasmus Prize:
erasmusprijs.org/en/laureates...
December 4, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Reposted by John Walker
Every novel is a game the reader and the writer agree to play together, but some novels require more agreement than others. INVISIBLE CITIES really asks you to buy in. How to describe it?

I could tell you, I suppose, that it's a dreamy travelogue of invented cities—
December 3, 2025 at 11:45 PM
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A recently published illustration by @kjkillackey.bsky.social . screw AI, hire an artist.
December 3, 2025 at 9:27 PM
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Isn't that crazy -- there was a dog breed which was solely dedicated for powering wheels which turned meat on fire!?
Just how many kinds of such 'techno-animals' existed and went extinct? This is cultural and biological evolution all at once.
🧪 #EvoBio #Paleobio
December 3, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Reposted by John Walker
🧪Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine (Gift Article)
A quiet policy change means the government is making fewer bets on long-term science.
www.nytimes.com
December 2, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Reposted by John Walker
Ok...sure. You NEED eels at your Christmas feast. But what *else* do you need?

In 1245, Henry III ordered his sheriff at Cambridge to deliver the following to him by Christmas:

2 cranes
24 swans
10 boars & their pickled heads
50 bitterns
6 peacocks

And 10,000 eels. Of course.
🗃️🧪
December 2, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by John Walker
In ancient hilly landscapes, agricultural terraces were a necessity for farming. In #BronzeAge north-east England, their construction coincides with that of roundhouse settlements and field systems, possibly indicating a population boom.

🔗 from 2023 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology
December 1, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Reposted by John Walker
Many plants defend themselves with physical defenses. Spikey armaments, at various scales, are the subject of this week’s posts. Let’s start with root spines: Adventitious roots that harden & become sharp. Cryosophilla palms do it best. 📷: Cryosophila warscewiczii #root #Arecaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱
December 1, 2025 at 11:30 AM
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Now for some sports news...
(this week's cartoon for @theguardian.com books pages)
November 24, 2025 at 2:14 PM
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Our Latin America bureau @mongabaylatam.bsky.social won the Global Shining Light award last night 🏆 💯

One of the highest honors in investigative journalism, it's given at the annual @gijn.org conference

Their winning project moved Peruvian officials to protect land defenders in the Amazon:
Indigenous leaders killed as narco airstrips cut into their Amazon territories
Mongabay and Earth Genome detected 67 clandestine airstrips used for transporting drugs in the Peruvian regions of Ucayali, Huánuco and Pasco. The analysis used artificial intelligence (AI) and satell...
news.mongabay.com
November 23, 2025 at 5:23 PM
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Can I tempt you to read this book?
November 22, 2025 at 9:52 PM
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Maths Puzzles for Conspiracy Theorists.
One of the cartoons from my new book 'Physics for Cats'. In good bookshops now and online in English, French, German and Spanish editions.
November 21, 2025 at 11:20 AM