Author | Lightnews

Reposted by Silvia Pastorelli

Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 26d

I want to talk about generative AI because of the defeatist impulses chronicled in this article. While simply expresssing a defiant attitude cannot always change lived-in reality, in certain cases it definitely can. This is in part because, early on, a conflict can exist at a perceptions level. 1/?

Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 26d

All the reasons not to give in to generative AI.

www.nplusonemag.com/issue-51/the...

Large Language Muddle | The Editors

The AI upheaval is unique in its ability to metabolize any number of dread-inducing transformations. The university is becoming more corporate, more politically oppressive, and all but hostile to the ...

www.nplusonemag.com

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Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · 28d

you should get me one!

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Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · Aug 26

today 👇

European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) @efjeurope.bsky.social · Aug 25

Join us tomorrow 26/08 at 11.30 at Mont des Arts #Brussels to honour the 200+ journalists killed in #Gaza and demand: Israel, stop killing journalists!

A public reading of the names of the journalists killed in Gaza will pay tribute to their courage, condemn their murder and call for justice.

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Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · Aug 21

agree

depressing to think that one of the few effective ways to leave the land alone is the literal threat of being blown up though

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Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · Aug 21

“As my professional life keeps me knee-deep in democratic collapse, climate breakdown and other crises, the joy of reading aloud feels less like a luxury and more like a necessity.”

I knew I wasn’t the only one crazy about reading aloud and now as a parent of small child that joy has multiplied

Prospect Magazine @prospectmagazine.co.uk · Aug 20

"Reading to my kids is life-saving and intoxicating", writes Sasha Mudd.

Reading aloud isn’t just for children

For my kids, stories are visceral, a chance to inhabit other worlds and other selves. For me it’s a necessity —cathartic, bonding, joyful, and cheaper...

www.prospectmagazine.co.uk

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Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · Aug 14

“Syntax buckles beneath the pressure of empty stomachs. Grammar is no match for despair. I sit before my keyboard and try to summon what once came so naturally, but words scatter midway, like startled birds forgetting how to fly”

from a powerful essay about hunger from Gazan writer Alaa Alqaisi

Beneath the Howl of Hunger

“And though the world may have looked away, let this much be remembered: we named the hunger. We bore it. We endured. Let that remain.” – Alaa Alqaisi

arablit.org

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Reposted by Silvia Pastorelli

Break Free From Plastic @breakfreefromplastic.org · Aug 13

LIVE: #INC52 #PlasticsTreaty plenary is happening now in Geneva. The new text from INC Chair @LuisVayasEc (released only 1 hour ago) does not mention "life cycle" or "chemicals" at all. It is a betrayal of the original mandate. #BreakFreeFromPlastic unep.org/inc-plastic-... (1/🧵

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Reposted by Silvia Pastorelli

Center for International Environmental Law @ciel.org · Aug 13

🚨 This text gives in to petrostates and industry demands — Member States must reject it.

The chair's draft text has just dropped at #PlasticsTreaty talks. CIEL's @Davzoul responds.

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Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · Aug 1

as many are heading to Geneva for the Plastics Treaty negotiations and the EU obsesses over competitiveness, I wrote a briefing about how a pause on plastics production would be a win, not just for the environment (duh) but also economically

From Overproduction to Opportunity: EU Leadership in the Plastics Treaty - Center for International Environmental Law

The brief examines steps the EU can take during the Plastics Treaty negotiations and in regional policy to remain competitive in the years to come.

www.ciel.org

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Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · Jul 21

their advertisement also shows the reality that there's really no separation between the fossil fuel industry and the chemical industry

fossil fuel companies happily support the "industry of industries" narrative as petrochemicals represent a huge lifeline for them, usually hidden from public view

Greenpeace EU @greenpeace.eu · Jul 21

Exxon spending tens of thousands of euro per week to sponsor Politico's 'sustainability' and the widely read (free) 'playbook' newsletters, pushing for more focus on plastic *recycling* instead of reducing plastic production

For oil & gas companies, plastic is a way to keep drilling and polluting

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Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · Jul 18

this week, in Brussels’s circular economy: a chopping board was left in my street in a box with other things

sure, it might require a little love, I’ll sand it and oil and then it’ll be ready for the next cheese platter!

a nice wooden chopping board, found on the street, looks homemade

a nice wooden chopping board, found on the street, looks homemade, in this photo from the side

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Reposted by Silvia Pastorelli

ClientEarth Europe @clienteartheur.bsky.social · Jul 9

☠️The fact that everyday chemical products may contain ingredients that cause cancer is already problematic. The bare minimum would be to have labelling & packaging that clearly states any hazardous substance – so that we can protect ourselves.

But the Chemicals #Omnibus would do the exact opposite.

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Reposted by Silvia Pastorelli

Center for International Environmental Law @ciel.org · Jul 9

🧪“This Chemicals Action Plan exposes a troubling truth: EU policymaking is increasingly shaped by industry interests, not public welfare.” - Silvia Pastorelli, CIEL.

“EU Bends to Chemical Lobby”, CIEL full statement here: www.ciel.org/news/eu-bend...

EU Bends to Chemical Lobby: Consumers, Health, and Environment Left Hanging - Center for International Environmental Law

The ‘European Chemicals Industry Action Plan’ and proposed ‘Chemical Omnibus’ unveiled today by the European Commission reflect a flawed process unduly influenced by industry interests. The proposals ...

www.ciel.org

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Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · Jul 9

sure the far-right has grown significantly, but more than a win of the far-right, to me this shows how little the main groups cared about the climate target: simply not enough

Zia Weise @ziaweise.bsky.social · Jul 9

NEW: For years, the extreme right was content pooh-poohing the EU's climate efforts from the back benches. No longer.

Why the far right ended up in charge of parliamentary talks on the 2040 climate target, what it means and what's next w/ @maxgriera.bsky.social:

www.politico.eu/article/the-...

The far right’s climate power grab

The Patriots for Europe, a new far-right force in Brussels, has won the right to lead the European Parliament’s 2040 climate target discussions.

www.politico.eu

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Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · Jul 2

European governments seem to be hyperfocused on business, on making the industry happy, but..who for?

power cuts, deaths, droughts..even if you don't care about people, there's no business case for any of that

if you can't see that, maybe your brain has already melted in the heat

Three die in Spain as extreme temperatures grip Europe – live updates

Two people killed in Catalan wildfires and a child reportedly succumbs to heatstroke in a car in the region

www.theguardian.com

Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · Jul 2

local authorities do what they can:

disseminating advice on how to cope with the heat and setting up climate shelters (had first seen them in Spain in 2019, now they're becoming more common)

but these are patches on a gap that is too big without an action plan that matches the scale

Cosa sono i “rifugi climatici” per proteggersi dal caldo - Il Post

Per la prima volta anche le città italiane stanno pubblicando liste di spazi pubblici gratuiti in cui andare a ripararsi

www.ilpost.it

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Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · Jul 2

those more at risk are once again the most vulnerable

I'm not just talking about kids and elderly people, as TV and newspapers remind us each summer

it's the people we don't see or don't want to see: those who fix our roads, who work in the fields, who clean our streets

“Que paren de trabajar”: crece la indignación por la muerte de una limpiadora en plena ola de calor

Los sindicatos exigen revisar los protocolos y adecuarlos a temperaturas cada vez más extremas

elpais.com

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Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · Jul 2

this is not new, no fun in the sun stuff

in 2023, 47.000 people died across Europe alone because of the heat

imagine people dying, every year, with regular warnings about how bad things will get, and still governments move at snail pace, or suggest to maybe discuss the issue a little bit longer

Morire di caldo: in Europa 47 mila decessi nell'estate 2023

Decessi in calo rispetto al 2022. Italia tra le nazioni più colpite. Politiche e comportamenti personali cominciano ad avere effetti positivi

www.fondazioneveronesi.it

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Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · Jul 2

climate chaos, unlike carbon capture tech, is no fantasy, it's very real and very much here, affecting the lives of millions of people

not faraway, not in the future, not "just" your grandchildren, real people, here and now

thousands of people could die in this very heatwave

Lethal heat is Europe’s new climate reality

Some 4,500 people could die in the next three days due to soaring temperatures, an expert said.

www.politico.eu

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Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · Jul 2

today

the latest amendment to the EU climate law

the EU Commission is proposing measures that will make a colander of the emissions reduction target

they let polluters off the hook, while we step into the furnace, again

my colleague
@rjkennerley.bsky.social ey.bsky.social is 100% correct 👇

New EU Climate Law Being Built on Loopholes and Hollow Promises - Center for International Environmental Law

Amid record-breaking heat across the continent, the European Commission today unveiled a dangerous new proposal that backslides on climate ambition, embraces loopholes like carbon offsetting, and comp...

www.ciel.org

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Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · Jul 2

my phone yesterday, 8:20 in the morning

15 degrees above average, Brussels, Northern Europe

now, the fact that I'm Mediterranean and used to high(er) temperatures didn't make me blind to the fact that we were stepping into a furnace

it'll keep happening if we don't start taking serious action NOW

phone weather forecast showing 24 degrees at 8 in the morning in Brussels, with temperatures as high as 35 degrees announced for the rest of the day in Brussels, Belgium

phone weather forecast showing a warning for extreme weather and temperatures 15 degrees above average in Brussels, Belgium

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Reposted by Silvia Pastorelli

🌎🐎John Hyphen🎮🤠 @johnhyphen.bsky.social · Jun 23

absolutely love the venetian resistance to bezos's wedding

ordinary people, on the absolute front lines of climate breakdown and having their city gutted by capitalism, pushing back against their home being turned into disneyland for rich jerks

bell tower rising over a domed church, there's a banner with the word BEZOS crossed out in red. blue smoke comes from the tower

it's san giorgo in venice

a stone bridge crowded with people, there's a banner on the side reading NO SAPCE FOR BEZOS with a lil rocket ship drawn on it

it's ponte di rialto in venice

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Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · Jun 12

read our statement here 👇
oilchange.org/news/break-f...

@ciel.org @caneurope.org @foodwatereurope.bsky.social @greenpeace.be @greenpeace.eu @oilchange.bsky.social @razomwestand.bsky.social

A group of people in front of a colourful banner that says Break Free from Fossil Gas next to a person dressed as the EU chained to a big prisoner’s ball that says fossil gas

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Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · Jun 12

buying more gas only harms frontline communities and chains us further to energy insecurity, while propping up polluting industries

we ask @consilium.europa.eu‬ to not backtrack on the action we desperately need to fight the climate crisis and stand up for communities everywhere

A group of people in front of a colourful banner that says Break Free from Fossil Gas pulling a person dressed as the EU chained to a big prisoner’s ball that says fossil gas

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Silvia Pastorelli @silviap.bsky.social · Jun 12

while these rules "only" apply to energy, importantly they cover fossil fuel imports.. which then fuel other high polluting, energy intensive sectors like petrochemicals

where they are an essential ingredient in the chemical recipe that brings you plastics, pesticides, synthetic fertilizers etc

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