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Leslie Mabon

@ljmabon.bsky.social

500 followers 180 following 180 posts

Senior Lecturer in Environmental Systems, Faculty of STEM, Open University, UK. Sustainability science for resilient and just coastal places. Scotland - Japan - Taiwan. Future Earth Coasts Fellow. Big Raith Rovers fan. resilientcoastal.zone .. more

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Environmental science 39%

Sociology 19%

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Leslie Mabon @ljmabon.bsky.social · Jun 25

New paper on relationships and responsibility in Fukushima coastal fisheries, and treated water releases from the Daiichi nuclear plant. We share interviews from before and during releases with fishers, managers, sellers +more working on the Fukushima coast.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

ABSTRACT
Treated water releases into the Pacific from the Fukushima Dai'ichi nuclear plant in Japan have drawn opposition from fishing communities, who accused proponents of acting irresponsibly in commencing releases before gaining local support. The controversy reflects questions in social licence to operate and social impact assessment about how proponents' responsibilities to host communities encompass knowledge production and fit with broader visions for a locality. Research into geographies of responsibility—how society takes care and enacts responsibility across space and place—helps think through what it means to take responsibility for host communities. Focusing on the Fukushima Dai'ichi treated water releases, we therefore aim to explore how relational responsibility becomes manifest in a complex and emotive environmental situation. Through interviews with people working in coastal Fukushima fisheries, we find that alongside economic motivations, a desire to ‘defend’ the Fukushima coast for future generations drives cooperatives to continue fishing and demonstrate safety and quality of Fukushima seafood. Those working in fisheries understand marine radioactivity cannot neatly be managed across scales, and that providing more and better scientific data is unlikely to bring others on-side if proponents are not seen as taking responsibility for the Fukushima coast. We argue that in a complex and emotive environmental situation like Fukushima Dai'ichi, multiple actors may hold responsibilities to place and people, and that intermediary organisations are important in enabling relational responsibility. However, proponents must be cognisant of power and resourcing differentials, and ensure those assuming responsibility for place receive financial and technical support.

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Leslie Mabon @ljmabon.bsky.social · 7d

This is hardly surprising when the operators of many social media platforms have filled their sites with so much advertising, clickbait and junk that you hardly see any of the content you signed up to see. In a desire to generate revenue, they've rendered their platforms unattractive and unusable.

Tony Tassell @tonytassell.bsky.social · 7d

Have we passed peak social media? @jburnmurdoch.ft.com here www.ft.com/content/a072...

Reposted by Will Jennings, Leslie Mabon, Greg Linden

Tony Tassell @tonytassell.bsky.social · 7d

Have we passed peak social media? @jburnmurdoch.ft.com here www.ft.com/content/a072...

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Reposted by Leslie Mabon

National Centre for Resilience @nationalresilience.bsky.social · 10d

The Ferret’s article gives a sobering look at the lived experiences of communities like Brechin, which are still grappling with the aftermath of Storm Babet and inputs from Carol Raeburn from the Scottish Flood Forum & @uofglasgow.bsky.social's Prof Larissa Naylor.
theferret.scot/communities-...

How communities are struggling to recover after flooding and coastal erosion – The Ferret

theferret.scot

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Reposted by Leslie Mabon

Japan Beyond Coal @beyond-coal.jp · 10d

A study published in Nature stated that the global carbon storage capacity is 10 times less than the amount fossil fuel companies claim can be processed by CCS.

beyond-coal.jp/en/news/ccs-...
#beyondcoal #脱石炭

【News】CCS Can Safely Store 10 Times Less Carbon than Previously Thought

A study published in Nature stated that the global carbon storage capacity is 10 times less than the amount fossil fuel companies claim can be processed by CCS.

beyond-coal.jp

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Reposted by Leslie Mabon

Leslie Mabon @ljmabon.bsky.social · 14d

A very full week in Aceh as part of @britishacademy.bsky.social supported study into evidence + policy for seawalls in Indonesia, building on @raeng.org.uk research. Great to see students of our partner Universitas Syiah Kuala learning how to check the characteristics and performance of seawalls.

A seawall built out of boulders between a blue sea, a beach, and a mixed forest.

A team of students measures distances and angles of a mound of tetrapods on a beach, between the sea and some low trees.

Two men measure a seawall, holding opposite ends of a measuring tape.

A concrete curved seawall on a coral beach, in front of a tall broad-leaved tree, in Sabang, Indonesia.

Reposted by Benjamin I. Cook, Leslie Mabon

Dr (of rocks) Marcus Badger @climatebadger.bsky.social · 18d

📢We're hiring!📢

We have a permanent Lecturer in Earth Sciences position available in @OU_EEE
@OpenUniversity

£47,389 to £56,535
Closing Date: 20 October 2025*

We are a friendly, research intensive school with supportive colleagues and great labs.

jobs.open.ac.uk/job/Lecturer...

Lecturer in Earth Sciences

jobs.open.ac.uk

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Leslie Mabon @ljmabon.bsky.social · 22d

A pleasure to be in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, to progress @britishacademy.bsky.social work on evidence-driven policy for seawalls with @openuniversity.bsky.social, Syiah Kuala Uni + London South Bank Uni. Honoured to deliver keynote for Aceh Intl Symposium on Civil Engineering today during our visit.

A man in a grey suit stands on a podium in front of a large projector screen showing coastal erosion.

A group of people in a room looking at a projector screen.

A public building in Indonesia, with green vegetation and white walls.

Four people stand on a seawall in Indonesia. It is a low rubble wall, with the sea on one side and a port on the other.

Leslie Mabon @ljmabon.bsky.social · 22d

Maybe I'm being too grumpy, but I foresee a time in the near future in the UK where only the most elite unis and depts are allowed to apply for open research funding, with the rest of us only eligible for select industry- and policy support calls.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

UK research ‘trying to do too many things’, warns new UKRI leader - Research Professional News

Ian Chapman wants funding emphasis on world-leading areas, but experts warn of system “inertia”

www.researchprofessionalnews.com

Leslie Mabon @ljmabon.bsky.social · Sep 6

Cycled from Oban to the former aluminium smelting town of Kinlochleven and back, 100 miles all-in including a couple of scenic detours on the way home. Now incapable of any form of movement.

A former aluminium smelter building in Kinlochleven, Scotland.

A bicycle leaning against a tree, with a brown mountain in the background and grey sky.

A bicycle leaning against a granite bench, with Castle Stalker on a small island in the background.

A small river flows into a loch, with forested hills on either side.

Reposted by Leslie Mabon

Leslie Mabon @ljmabon.bsky.social · Sep 1

Mitsubishi Shoji's president visits Akita Prefecture to apologise for withdrawing from large-scale offshore wind projects. I am not an energy economist, but it is clear there is a LOT of disappointment among local government and potential supply chain companies:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgLF...

三菱商事・洋上風力発電撤退問題「秋田の中小企業も背伸びして投資した。社会的道義的責任を果たしていただきたい」

YouTube video by ABS秋田放送

www.youtube.com

Leslie Mabon @ljmabon.bsky.social · Aug 29

Mitsubishi has pulled out of 3 big offshore wind projects in Japan. Meanwhile, other Japanese companies are investing in Scotland's offshore wind. The will and knowhow for Japanese businesses to do offshore wind is there - what's needed is supportive domestic policy.

asia.nikkei.com/business/ene...

Mitsubishi Corp., partner to pull out of offshore wind projects in Japan

Rising material costs and low bid prices have made ventures unprofitable

asia.nikkei.com

Reposted by Leslie Mabon

mulboyne.bsky.social @mulboyne.bsky.social · Aug 27

Mitsubishi Shoji is withdrawing from major wind power projects off the coast of Akita and Chiba. The firm says projected costs have doubled since it won the bid in 2021. The government will have to put the work out for tender again. www.asahi.com/ajw/articles...

Mitsubishi plans to scrap offshore wind projects as costs increase | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

Amid surging construction costs, Mitsubishi Corp. is withdrawing from planned offshore wind power projects off the coasts of Chiba and Akita prefectures, according to sources.

www.asahi.com

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Reposted by Leslie Mabon

Leslie Mabon @ljmabon.bsky.social · Aug 7

At some point I'll do a wee thread about Oshima Shipbuilding, as it's a remarkable company in a very unique geographical location.

Leslie Mabon @ljmabon.bsky.social · Aug 7

Oshima Shipbuilding of Saikai City - one of the biggest builders of bulk carriers in Japan - has released a new series of commericals featuring former pop idol and Nagasaki native Neru Nagahama as their 'specially appointed director of PR':

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgfd...

大島造船所CM「特命広報部長任命」篇（30秒）

YouTube video by 大島造船所　公式チャンネル

www.youtube.com

Leslie Mabon @ljmabon.bsky.social · Aug 2

Something quite unsettling about how impacts of climate change filter through into very banal and everyday aspects of our lives.

Screengrab of BBC News article saying "What to do if your planned holiday destination is affected by wildfires"

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