Philip Loring
@philiploring.com
Human ecologist and storyteller. Regeneration and Social Justice. Global Director @nature_org. Author: FINDING OUR NICHE. Stubbornly optimistic that radical change is closer than we think. Opinions mine (but science-based). 🏳️🌈
Pinned
Philip Loring
@philiploring.com
· Feb 25
I believe in unicorns
If you want to change the world, you should too.
conservechange.medium.com
“When we put into the world an alternative notion of how it could or should be, we take a little bit of power away from the people who tell us that this is all we can have.”
Why I want you to believe in unicorns:
conservechange.medium.com/i-believe-in...
Why I want you to believe in unicorns:
conservechange.medium.com/i-believe-in...
Could you imagine Pete Hegseth thinking he has the stuff to go up against someone with the integrity and character of Mark Kelly?
This will not end well for him.
This will not end well for him.
Hegseth is now threatening to recall Sen. Mark Kelly to active duty in order to court martial him.
November 24, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Could you imagine Pete Hegseth thinking he has the stuff to go up against someone with the integrity and character of Mark Kelly?
This will not end well for him.
This will not end well for him.
This is, like, bad.
The EPA has approved a new pesticide that contains PFAS, or 'forever chemicals', to be used on vegetables like lettuce, broccoli and potatoes.
November 24, 2025 at 3:58 PM
This is, like, bad.
Bingo.
In general, companies that “privatize profits and socialize costs” spend a fraction of the $profit to hide the much bigger $costs.
Many examples from internal documents can be found in @ucsf-industrydocs.bsky.social:
www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/home/
Many examples from internal documents can be found in @ucsf-industrydocs.bsky.social:
www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/home/
Industry Documents Library
www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu
November 23, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Bingo.
Tobacco giants knew their products caused cancer.
Oil companies knew their products cause climate change.
Social media companies know their products facilitate abuse of minors
Seeing a pattern? It’s not a few bad actors it’s a feature of a system that rewards profit at any cost
Oil companies knew their products cause climate change.
Social media companies know their products facilitate abuse of minors
Seeing a pattern? It’s not a few bad actors it’s a feature of a system that rewards profit at any cost
Imagine knowing your platform was a playground for predators, fueling teen depression, eating disorders, and suicide and deciding the best course of action was… absolutely nothing. Meta didn’t just “miss” anything.
November 23, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Tobacco giants knew their products caused cancer.
Oil companies knew their products cause climate change.
Social media companies know their products facilitate abuse of minors
Seeing a pattern? It’s not a few bad actors it’s a feature of a system that rewards profit at any cost
Oil companies knew their products cause climate change.
Social media companies know their products facilitate abuse of minors
Seeing a pattern? It’s not a few bad actors it’s a feature of a system that rewards profit at any cost
I’m actually shocked that this feature wasn’t immediately rolled back.
X's new About This Account feature reveals that some top accounts, including many MAGA influencers, are based in countries like Russia, India, and Nigeria (Jack Revell/The Daily Beast)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
November 23, 2025 at 6:44 PM
I’m actually shocked that this feature wasn’t immediately rolled back.
Bring back accountability
Damning.
November 23, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Bring back accountability
Reposted by Philip Loring
TAKE ACTION! Hit the phones with us on Saturday and Sunday for @aftynbehn4tn, and help bring sanity back to science policy. Sign up at zurl.co/5aOiP (linked in our bio) to get started. All you need is a phone and a zeal for action!
November 21, 2025 at 7:40 PM
TAKE ACTION! Hit the phones with us on Saturday and Sunday for @aftynbehn4tn, and help bring sanity back to science policy. Sign up at zurl.co/5aOiP (linked in our bio) to get started. All you need is a phone and a zeal for action!
Is it redundant to call something a "textbook example" when you are using it as an example in a textbook?
November 23, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Is it redundant to call something a "textbook example" when you are using it as an example in a textbook?
Countries agreeing at COP to “begin discussions” on phasing out fossil fuels sounds an awful lot like the GOP agreeing to “begin discussions on the affordable care act extensions” in order to end the shutdown.
a cartoon character named charlie brown is running in a field
Alt: a cartoon character named charlie brown is running in a field trying to kick a football but Lucy pulls it out of the way at the last moment
media.tenor.com
November 23, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Countries agreeing at COP to “begin discussions” on phasing out fossil fuels sounds an awful lot like the GOP agreeing to “begin discussions on the affordable care act extensions” in order to end the shutdown.
We saw Wicked for Good last night. 10/10. A filmmaking masterpiece and excellent conclusion to a powerful progressive parable about wheat happens when you punish diversity, overwhelm truth with propaganda, and seek to enable the natural world (spoiler alert!!) (1/)
November 22, 2025 at 4:43 PM
We saw Wicked for Good last night. 10/10. A filmmaking masterpiece and excellent conclusion to a powerful progressive parable about wheat happens when you punish diversity, overwhelm truth with propaganda, and seek to enable the natural world (spoiler alert!!) (1/)
That is quite the K curve and it certainly tells a story about how poorly we treat our elders
This graph shows the latest year of available data, 2023, single year age homicide and suicide rates by single year ages, 0-84 and 85+, This shows much more about what is going. on than just repeating the numbers 9.3 suicides and 5.4 homicides per 100,000 om 2023. 🧪💡☠️ #Suicide #Sociology #Population
November 22, 2025 at 4:08 PM
That is quite the K curve and it certainly tells a story about how poorly we treat our elders
The failings of the existing system are always framed as “in spite of the fact” failings, while the potential failings of the alternative are always framed as inherent.
In a country where the cost of living rises but wages don't, where illness can leave you in financial ruin, and where the young feel they have no chance at any upward mobility, 86 House Democrats joined Republicans to pass a resolution denouncing “the horrors of socialism.” trib.al/YmIjeGU
86 Democrats Condemn Socialism as Zohran Mamdani Meets With Trump
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared to lead the charge.
trib.al
November 22, 2025 at 1:05 AM
The failings of the existing system are always framed as “in spite of the fact” failings, while the potential failings of the alternative are always framed as inherent.
An epic act of art and activism
November 22, 2025 at 12:31 AM
An epic act of art and activism
What a collossal waste of time, what a collossal misread of where the public is at. They keep chasing these vapid, empty, caricatures of ideas, and never land on anything meaningful. Which is great for the status quo. Which is why they do it.
BREAKING: The House of Representatives voted 285–98 in favor of a resolution condemning socialism.
Eighty-six Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the measure, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Eighty-six Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the measure, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
November 21, 2025 at 7:17 PM
What a collossal waste of time, what a collossal misread of where the public is at. They keep chasing these vapid, empty, caricatures of ideas, and never land on anything meaningful. Which is great for the status quo. Which is why they do it.
The Luddites were not anti-technology they were pro-skill. That same conflict is here with us for AI:
medium.com/age-of-aware...
medium.com/age-of-aware...
Is “ethical AI” possible?
In which I discuss Luddites, skilled labor, and the difference between an LLM and a hammer.
medium.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:58 PM
The Luddites were not anti-technology they were pro-skill. That same conflict is here with us for AI:
medium.com/age-of-aware...
medium.com/age-of-aware...
Good. They should feel uncomfortable being an instrument of so much inequity and disempowerment. I would hope that this psychotherapist would help them come to a realization that this is something they can instantly act on for the good of humanity and the planet.
The fear of not having enough money is familiar. But there’s a quieter struggle at the top: feeling uncomfortable with having too much, says money psychotherapist Vicky Reynal ⬇️
Why my ultra-rich clients are ashamed of their wealth
www.thetimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Good. They should feel uncomfortable being an instrument of so much inequity and disempowerment. I would hope that this psychotherapist would help them come to a realization that this is something they can instantly act on for the good of humanity and the planet.
I feel like a great harm was done to humanity when Rían said “no” to this pitch
Am I a hypocrite for wanting this after giving a hard no to muppet knives out
Okay, I'm making my case for the only Muppet I want to see on Broadway right now...
November 19, 2025 at 5:51 AM
I feel like a great harm was done to humanity when Rían said “no” to this pitch
Begging you to reconsider
Am I a hypocrite for wanting this after giving a hard no to muppet knives out
Okay, I'm making my case for the only Muppet I want to see on Broadway right now...
November 19, 2025 at 5:47 AM
Begging you to reconsider
Same. This one is lingering.
I don't know why the "Piggy" thing is bothering me so much. It's one more unforgivable thing in a list of 20,000 unforgivable things, but I've been mad about it for like 12 straight hours.
November 19, 2025 at 4:56 AM
Same. This one is lingering.
The whole chiligate freak out should end up in history books as the exemplar of how “social” media has been weaponized against pro-social behavior
Two years and two days ago, a woman delivered some chili to her new neighbors. Everyone was very happy and normal and there were no lasting effects.
November 19, 2025 at 4:53 AM
The whole chiligate freak out should end up in history books as the exemplar of how “social” media has been weaponized against pro-social behavior
Just submitted a FOIA request, a first for me, to OTSP for the public comments submitted to a Federal Register solicitation when the now-cancelled National Nature Assessment was announced.
Anyone care to share FOIA experiences with this newbie?
Anyone care to share FOIA experiences with this newbie?
November 18, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Just submitted a FOIA request, a first for me, to OTSP for the public comments submitted to a Federal Register solicitation when the now-cancelled National Nature Assessment was announced.
Anyone care to share FOIA experiences with this newbie?
Anyone care to share FOIA experiences with this newbie?
Someone ask Thaler and Sunstein if this counts as a nudge.
It’s working.
November 18, 2025 at 5:01 AM
Someone ask Thaler and Sunstein if this counts as a nudge.
I refuse to not be shocked, to be normalized to this reprehensible, foul, dehumanizing behavior.
When asked if there was anything "incriminating" in Epstein's emails, Trump pointed a finger in a female reporter's face and snapped. 'Quiet. Quiet, Piggy.'
people.com/donald-trump...
people.com/donald-trump...
Donald Trump Snaps at Female Reporter Who Asks About Epstein Files: 'Quiet Piggy'
Donald Trump Says 'Quiet Piggy' to Female Reporter Asking About Epstein Files
people.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:46 AM
I refuse to not be shocked, to be normalized to this reprehensible, foul, dehumanizing behavior.
Seeing this instantly transported me back in time to when I was 19 and a technician at a local computer repair shop. These were in the machine at the lobby. I can virtually taste the salt and smell the cigarette smoke from the break room.
Somebody must buy these, because they’ve been in the House vending machines for years and years. 790 calories.
November 17, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Seeing this instantly transported me back in time to when I was 19 and a technician at a local computer repair shop. These were in the machine at the lobby. I can virtually taste the salt and smell the cigarette smoke from the break room.