Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Peter Lipman

Erik Hoffner @erikhoffner.bsky.social · 1h

Today, the IUCN has officially declared the slender-billed curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) extinct 😞

This is the 1st known extinction of a formerly widespread migratory bird species, whose range included Europe, North Africa & West Asia

The last confirmed sighting was 30+ years ago

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Reposted by Peter Lipman

Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 1h

MIT's response to the Trump admin's proposed "compact" is excellent and should be a model for other universities. orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

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Reposted by Peter Lipman

We Own It @weownit.org.uk · 1h

🚨Urgent: Thames Water want permission from Ofwat to ILLEGALLY pollute rivers and seas until 2040.

🤮They want your bills to fill their pockets with gold, while they fill your rivers with sewage.

✍️Sign now. Tell Ofwat to say NO to Thames Water before Tuesday 21st October.

Thames Water want to pollute illegally until 2040. Ofwat must say NO.

Thames water want to make at deal with Ofwat, to pollute illegally for 15 years

weownit.org.uk

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Reposted by Peter Lipman

Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 20h

The fossil fuel industry is raiding the infrastructure of the US government.

Are we allowed to be opposed to fossil fuels yet, or is that not enough of a Pragmatic Realist Climate Reset Agenda

www.commondreams.org/news/trump-a...

Trump Admin Has Hired 100+ ‘Fossil Fuel Insiders’ to Fill Top Energy, Environmental Agency Roles
One of them described her job as offering “concierge, white-glove service” to oil, gas, and coal companies seeking permits from regulators.
Stephen Prager
Oct 08, 2025

A top energy adviser to President Donald Trump admitted in an August interview that the administration is offering “concierge, white-glove service” to fossil fuel companies while blocking and defunding clean energy projects.

The comments, reported Tuesday by the Washington Post, came from Brittany Kelm, a senior policy adviser for Trump’s National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC), which was established within the Department of the Interior in February.

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Peter Lipman @peterlipman.bsky.social · 2h

Stalinism and Stephen Miller (video)
Cause for concern snyder.substack.com/p/stalinism-...

Stalinism and Stephen Miller (video)

Cause for concern

snyder.substack.com

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Peter Lipman @peterlipman.bsky.social · 2h

Stephen Miller is the most dangerous man in the Trump administration www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Stephen Miller is the most dangerous man in the Trump administration | Judith Levine

In the White House deputy chief of staff, we see that Maga will not simply end with Trump. We must keep our eyes on Miller

www.theguardian.com

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Peter Lipman @peterlipman.bsky.social · 2h

Former British diplomat challenges Palestine Action ban in Scotland www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Former British diplomat challenges Palestine Action ban in Scotland

Craig Murray argues proscription order contravenes rights to freedom of speech under European convention of human rights

www.theguardian.com

Peter Lipman @peterlipman.bsky.social · 2h

“It’s a task for a whole generation”: how the Hind Rajab Foundation pursues Israeli war criminals around the world vashtimedia.com/hind-rajab-f...

“It’s a task for a whole generation”: how the Hind Rajab Foundation pursues Israeli war criminals around the world

A conversation with HRF chairman Dyab Abou Jahjah

vashtimedia.com

Peter Lipman @peterlipman.bsky.social · 2h

The case against the ‘climate realists’ www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/7105...

The case against the ‘climate realists’

In their new book, two prominent eco-Marxists examine just how reasonable it is to think we can ‘solve’ environmental breakdown without changing the w...

www.prospectmagazine.co.uk

Reposted by Peter Lipman

Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 1d

New from 404 Media: the Discord hack is every users' worst nightmare. Yesterday the hackers started posting Discord users' selfies, identity documents, email addresses, phone numbers, more. I watched in real time. This is risk of tech storing ID for age verification
www.404media.co/the-discord-...

The Discord Hack is Every Users’ Worst Nightmare

A hack impacting Discord’s age verification process shows in stark terms the risk of tech companies collecting users’ ID documents. Now the hackers are posting peoples’ IDs and other sensitive informa...

www.404media.co

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Reposted by Peter Lipman

James Dyke @jamesgdyke.info · 2h

I'm not sure a Leninist revolution is the sort of positive social tipping point Tim has been talking about @wimcarton.bsky.social 😆
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/7105...

The case against the ‘climate realists’

In their new book, two prominent eco-Marxists examine just how reasonable it is to think we can ‘solve’ environmental breakdown without changing the w...

www.prospectmagazine.co.uk

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Reposted by Peter Lipman

Profit Greenly @profitgreenly.bsky.social · 3h

~40% of the ENTIRE corn crop of the US is used to make ethanol. This gets blended with gasoline to power well under 10% of our vehicle miles. If we converted 100% of our vehicles to EVs installing solar on a small fraction of the land this corn is grown on would power them all.

US domestic corn use graph from 1980 to 2020. The orange bar representing "Alcohol for fuel use" (aka ethanol) starts growing in early 2000s, explodes before 2010 and stays huge through the graphs 2022 end. This explains most of the increased corn production in the US.

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Peter Lipman @peterlipman.bsky.social · 4h

Creatures buried in soil for over a century burst back to life in Toronto waterfront www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Creatures buried in soil for over a century burst back to life in Toronto waterfront

A project to restore coastal wetland leads to astonishing discoveries of a host of life: seeds and plant scraps, as well as water fleas, worms, larvae and plankton

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Peter Lipman

Robbie Andrew @robbieandrew.bsky.social · 1d

NOAA data show Mauna Loa was about to be deluged, but perhaps the US government shutdown has saved it just in time?
robbieandrew.github.io/ppm/

Graph showing: Weekly atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa, in the style of Hokusai.

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Reposted by Peter Lipman

Leon Simons @leonsimons.bsky.social · 7h

🤣 😭

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Reposted by Peter Lipman

George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 6h

They're going to put an enormous lawsuit magnet in the sky.
mastodon.social/@sundogplane...

Prof. Sam Lawler (@[email protected])

It's becoming increasingly clear to me that Reflect Orbital's fucking stupid giant mirror satellite, with absolutely NOTHING useful to offer, which will cause countless safety issues, ecological disas...

mastodon.social

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Reposted by Peter Lipman

Jon Burke🌍 @jonburkeuk.bsky.social · 6h

The Palestinians have been bombed and starved into submission, tens of thousands of people are dead, and entire cities have been reduced to rubble.

Trump didn’t ‘end’ any war; the Israelis have won one. Maybe total victory was the only way a resolution could be achieved, but Trump is no peacemaker.

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Reposted by Peter Lipman

Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 6h

Wow, way worse than I expected. Way, way worse. All these extra years of coal-fired power generation in QLD will directly cause a massive number of avoidable deaths and harm to people, and destroy huge swathes of nature.

Why isn't there more anger?

www.treasury.qld.gov.au/files/Queens...

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Reposted by Peter Lipman

Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 7h

Pretty damn awful to see the Queensland government trying to rebrand as Trumpland, but extra special awful to see the QLD renewable energy lobby shrugging it off as fine because they're getting a few crumbs thrown their way.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...

Katie-Anne Mulder says the road map is not as ambitious as the Queensland Renewable Energy Council would have liked. (ABC News)

Queensland Renewable Energy Council chief executive Katie-Anne Mulder said the plan looked as though it would provide stability for developers to deliver renewables in the state.

"The road map isn't as ambitious as we would have liked, however there is a decision framework for coal closure which we'd like to see more of," she said.

"We were looking for a signal from the government around what renewable energy development will be welcome in the state, to build out what our modern energy system will look like.... from what I've heard today in the treasure's speech, I think he's delivered that."

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Peter Lipman @peterlipman.bsky.social · 7h

Blinkered Bowen - The BBC’s International Editor On The ‘Gaza War’ medialens.substack.com/p/blinkered-...

Blinkered Bowen

The BBC’s International Editor On The ‘Gaza War’

medialens.substack.com

Peter Lipman @peterlipman.bsky.social · 7h

More than half of world’s bird species in decline, as leaders meet on extinction crisis www.theguardian.com/environment/...

More than half of world’s bird species in decline, as leaders meet on extinction crisis

Biodiversity losses are growing, the IUCN reports as summit opens, but green turtle’s recovery ‘reminds us conservation works’

www.theguardian.com

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Peter Lipman @peterlipman.bsky.social · 7h

A Trust Fund for Everyone: How to create a Monetary Commons that socialises money and funds a basic dividend without new taxes or debt www.yanisvaroufakis.eu/2025/10/10/2...

A Trust Fund for Everyone: How to create a Monetary Commons that socialises money and funds a basic dividend without new taxes or debt - Yanis Varoufakis

At a time Donald Trump, Big Tech and Wall Street deploy stablecoins to privatise the dollar, usurping the decentralising power of blockchain to enrich themselves at everyone else’s expense, here is an...

www.yanisvaroufakis.eu

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Peter Lipman @peterlipman.bsky.social · 7h

How Mark Carney is complicating Canada’s climate progress thenarwhal.ca/mark-carney-...

How Mark Carney is complicating Canada’s climate progress | The Narwhal

From cancelling the carbon tax to pausing the EV mandate, Mark Carney’s government is making sweeping changes to Canada’s environmental rules

thenarwhal.ca

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Reposted by Peter Lipman

Cat Hobbs @cathobbs.bsky.social · 9h

It's great that the government is bringing rail franchises into public ownership

But we also need
🚄publicly owned trains, no profits leaking out
🚄democratic passenger watchdog
🚄⬇️ fares e.g. 1/3 off with national railcard
🚄investment like Switzerland

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Greater Anglia nationalisation will deliver 'value for money'

The transport secretary says the move will bring value for money, but she did not promise lower fares.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Peter Lipman

Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 9h

The foreign secretary says the UK has been contributing to the peace process.

No. What the UK govt has been contributing to is the extermination of the Palestinian people.

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