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Charlotte Underwood

@scarlettthunder.bsky.social

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Charlotte Underwood @scarlettthunder.bsky.social · Aug 8

The first paper from my PhD is finally out in PLOS! We examined how the circadian rhythms and activity levels of two different species of amphipods responded to varying levels of light pollution. Check it out here: dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

Behavioural rhythms of two amphipod species Marinogammarus marinus and Gammarus pulex under increasing levels of light at night

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is proliferating at an alarming rate across the globe, particularly around aquatic habitats. Natural and predictable light cycles dictate much of an individual organis...

dx.plos.org

Charlotte Underwood @scarlettthunder.bsky.social · 17h

One of the earliest articles on the impacts of anthropogenic light on animal behaviour from Science in 1887. I wish I could write my articles with such whimsy.

Block of text reading: "Spiders and the electric light: Some disadvantage or evil appears to be attendant upon every invention, and the electric light is not an exception in this respect. In this city they have been placed in positions with a view of illuminating the buildings, notably the treasury, and a fine and striking effect is produced. At the same time, a species of spider has discovered that game is plentiful in their vicinity, and that he can ply his craft both day and night. In consequence, their webs are so thick and numerous that portions of the architectural ornamentation are no longer visible, and when torn down by the wind, or when they fall from decay, the refuse gives a dingy and dirty appearance to every thing it comes in contact with. Not only this, but these adventurers take possession of the portion of the ceiling of any room which receives the illumination. It would be of interest to know whether this spider is confined to a certain latitude, and at what seasons of the year our temperature we can indulge in our illumination."

Reposted by Charlotte Underwood

Dave Jones @cleanpowerdave.bsky.social · 3d

NEW: GLOBAL RENEWABLES OVERTAKES COAL

How the heck did that happen so quickly?!...🧵

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Reposted by Charlotte Underwood

Patrick Reynolds for a greater Auckland @patrickreynolds.bsky.social · 5d

Not nearly enough is made of the incredibly impressive feat Indian Railways has made to electrify almost 100% of its 135,000km of track, while also growing renewable sourcing. Huge:

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/ind...

Indian Railways to achieve net zero targets in 2025 itself - 5 years ahead of 2030 goal - Times of India

India Business News: Indian Railways is set to achieve net-zero targets by year-end, surpassing its 2030 goal through extensive electrification. Aiming for 95% electric tr

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Reposted by Charlotte Underwood

mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 25d

one of the most important technological revolutions in modern history and you're likely not hearing anything about it because it's making the oligarchs who control our information environment poorer instead of richer

Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 25d

Time for the world to install a gigawatt of solar power capacity
2004: A year
2010: ~ a month
2015: ~ a week
Now: A day
ourworldindata.org/data-insight... 🧪

Line chart showing that there's been a rapid escalation in how quickly the world installs a gigawatt of solar power capacity.

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Reposted by Charlotte Underwood

Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · Aug 30

On one hand, reducing car use reduces urban pollution.
But on the other, everyone likes it and cities become more livable

Average nitrogen dioxide concentration in Paris has fallen significantly

Her proposals have faced pushback — from right-leaning politicians, a car owners’ association and suburban commuters, who say that targeting cars makes their lives more difficult.

But last month, Parisians voted in a referendum to turn an additional 500 streets over to pedestrians. A year earlier, Paris had moved to sharply increase parking fees for SUVs, forcing drivers to pay three times more than they would for smaller cars. The city has also turned a bank of the Seine from a busy artery into a pedestrian zone and banned most car traffic from the shopping boulevard of Rue de Rivoli.

Carlos Moreno, a professor at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University and a former adviser to the city, said the French capital has developed “an urban policy based on well-being.”

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Charlotte Underwood @scarlettthunder.bsky.social · Aug 22

Constantly amazed at how hard it is to find a decent podcast app*

*that doesn't also bombard me with unskippable ads

Reposted by Charlotte Underwood

Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · Aug 9

My least popular (and most correct) view is that cars should be automatically limited to the local speed limit. Put the pedal to the floor and you still can't go over 25mph in a residential area.

(15 in Manhattan btw)

Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · Aug 9

There is no possible justification for limiting e-bikes to 15mph but not cars.

Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein.bsky.social · Aug 9

New York Has a New E-Bike Speed Limit—and No Way to Enforce It

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Charlotte Underwood @scarlettthunder.bsky.social · Aug 8

Behavioural rhythms of two amphipod species Marinogammarus marinus and Gammarus pulex under increasing levels of light at night

dx.plos.org

Reposted by Charlotte Underwood

Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · Aug 1

There are many real inequities that keep kids, especially girls, out of sports, and yet strangely we never hear the Save Women's Sports crowd talking about those. They're not running youth clinics, or gathering equipment donations, or doing anything to address really obvious barriers. Weird, huh?

Maggie Hendricks @maggiehendricks.bsky.social · Aug 1

If fairness in sports is something we cared about, then all private coaching, camps and all the other ways parents money give some kids an unfair advantage should be outlawed. But fairness has nothing to do with this because no advantage has been proven in trans kids.

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Charlotte Underwood @scarlettthunder.bsky.social · Jul 29

Today's beach finds!

Partial spine of an unidentified cetacean with some seaweed on it.

Reposted by Charlotte Underwood

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · Jul 16

Never forget, a 13-year study found that protected bike-lanes led to a drastic decline in fatalities for all road users.

ALL ROAD USERS.

And painted bike-lanes? No safety improvement at all.

For sharrows, it’s actually safer to NOT have them.

Via @usa.streetsblog.org @nyc.streetsblog.org

Separated Bike Lanes Means Safer Streets, Study Says — Streetsblog USA

Cities that build protected lanes for cyclists end up with safer roads for people on bikes and people in cars and on foot, a new study of 12 large metropolises revealed Wednesday.

usa.streetsblog.org

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Charlotte Underwood @scarlettthunder.bsky.social · Jul 6

Ended #ITRS25 with two fish watching me eat so I'd say it was quite a success.

Two fish as seen through a circular aquarium window.

Charlotte Underwood @scarlettthunder.bsky.social · Jul 3

Presented some of the work we've been doing @plymuni.bsky.social for the @aquaplan.bsky.social project at #ITRS25!

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Charlotte Underwood @scarlettthunder.bsky.social · Jul 1

First official day of #ITRS25. Heard some great talks on light pollution and eco-engineering, including some from my colleagues at @aquaplan.bsky.social!

Map of Europe showing combination of light and noise pollution along the coasts

Maps of Europe at night showing light pollution in the coast and graph showing depth reached by different wavelengths including blue and green.

Figures showing difference in fish assemblages at marinas with and without artificial structures.

Three images showing different types of tiles/structures that increase biodiversity on seawalls.

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Charlotte Underwood @scarlettthunder.bsky.social · Jun 17

Found my first dogwhelk eggs today! And perhaps the egg-layer herself?

An index finger above a cluster of small, yellow globules on the underside of a rock. A dogwhelk is on the opposite side of the image.

Reposted by Charlotte Underwood

Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · Jun 11

1. The US Transgender Survey has finally been released, and the results are stunning.

- <1% of people are less satisfied after HRT.
- The most common reason for detransition, pausing transition, or stopping transition is transphobia.

The latest from S. Baum.

Subscribe to support our journalism.

Largest Trans Survey Ever: Top Reason Trans People Stop Transitioning Is Transphobia

“In almost every single case, the reason was anti-trans discrimination in the form of pressure to ‘detransition’ from one’s family, friends, or community.”

www.erininthemorning.com

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Charlotte Underwood @scarlettthunder.bsky.social · Jun 5

My greatest mental struggle when riding British rail is wanting to arrive at my destination on time but also wanting my journey to be delayed so I can reclaim some of the exorbitant fare I paid.

Reposted by Charlotte Underwood

Lauri Myllyvirta @laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social · May 15

NEW from me: China's CO2 emissions fell ~1.6% in the first quarter and have now been flat or down for more than a year. This is the first time on record that emissions are falling due to clean energy growth, not slow power demand.

Carbon Brief @carbonbrief.org · May 14

NEW – Analysis: Clean energy just put China’s CO2 emissions into reverse for first time | @laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social

Read here: buff.ly/6eAcjRU

Line chart – China's CO2 emissions are now 1% below their March 2024 peak: China’s emissions from fossil fuels and cement, million tonnes of CO2, rolling 12-month totals. Source: Emissions are estimated from National Bureau of Statistics data on production of different fuels and cement, China Customs data on imports and exports and WIND Information data on changes in inventories, applying emissions factors from China’s latest national greenhouse gas emissions inventory and annual emissions factors per tonne of cement production until 2024. Sector breakdown of coal consumption is estimated using coal consumption data from WIND Information and electricity data from the National Energy Administration.

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Charlotte Underwood @scarlettthunder.bsky.social · May 8

If you've ever been curious how scientific publishing became the profit driven mess it is today, you can blame this guy!

Cool Zone Media @coolzonemedia.bsky.social · May 6

@iwriteok.bsky.social tells @adamconover.net about Ghislaine Maxwell's dad, Robert Maxwell. He started his life on a Nazi murder quest and ended it by killing science as a field of endeavor and raiding millions from his company pension plan.

@whysophiewhy.bsky.social

www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

Reposted by Charlotte Underwood

🌿Rowynn Ellis @rowynnellis.bsky.social · Apr 21

For my birthday this year I would appreciate it so much if people would donate to The Good Law Project's fundraiser to challenge the recent decision by the UK Supreme Court not to not include trans women in the 'definition of women' in the Equality Act.
-
goodlawproject.org/crowdfunder/...

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Reposted by Charlotte Underwood

Hank Green @hankgreen.bsky.social · Apr 21

Source: ember-energy.org/latest-updat...

World surpasses 40% clean power as renewables see record rise | Ember

The world reached a new milestone as low-carbon sources – renewables and nuclear – provided 40.9% of the world’s electricity generation in 2024, passing the 40% mark for the first time since the 1940s...

ember-energy.org

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Reposted by Charlotte Underwood

Dude @defeasance.bsky.social · Apr 14

When someone looks at your orb and you side eye them like a skeevy little medieval dude

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Reposted by Charlotte Underwood

Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · Apr 8

This has been studied extensively: Regret rates for gender affirming care, including for children, are extremely low.

A core tactic of conspiracy theorists is to ignore existing bodies of research and demand further study until they get the result they want.

PinkNews @pinknews.bsky.social · Apr 7

Trump administration slammed for directing NIH to study people’s ‘regret’ after transitioning

Trump slammed for directing NIH to study people's 'regret' after transitioning

The Trump administration has reportedly directed the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study trans people's "regret" over transitioning.

www.thepinknews.com

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Reposted by Charlotte Underwood

John Hanger @jrfhanger.bsky.social · Apr 8

Global solar power is doubling every three years! Wow!

"Solar power surged by a record 474 TWh in 2024, the largest annual growth ever recorded in
absolute terms and the fastest increase in six years (+29%)."

See p.13 of Ember's new study.
#energysky #greensky
ember-energy.org/app/uploads/...

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Charlotte Underwood @scarlettthunder.bsky.social · Apr 8

If you're in Southampton, be sure to check out the Hidden in Stone exhibit at Gods House Tower. You can meet this handsome devil and it's free!
godshousetower.org.uk/eventer/exhi...