Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson

@fredrikjonsson.bsky.social

2.8K followers 2.3K following 150 posts

Historian at the University of Chicago. Co-editor of The Journal of Modern History. New book: Scarcity with Carl Wennerlind (Harvard 2023). Next: Britain's fossil transition 1760-1870 and, with Moritz von Brescius, The Long Acceleration 1500-1950. .. more

Videos

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson is a historian at the University of Chicago. He is the Author of Enlightenment's Frontier: The Scottish Highlands and the Origins of Environmentalism and the coauthor of Green Victorians: The Simple Life in John Ruskin's Lake District. He currently serves as the co-editor of The Journal of Modern History. .. more

Economics 20%

History 19%

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson @fredrikjonsson.bsky.social · Aug 13

With @mbrescius.bsky.social I am very happy to announce the launch of a major new project in #Anthropocene history. The Long Acceleration brings together more than 20 scholars to consider the planetary emergency. Many thanks to Moritz and the Institute for European Global Studies for hosting us.

2 10 42

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Anna O. Law, Gavin A. Schmidt , and 24 more Joanna Bryson, Anna O. Law, Gavin A. Schmidt, Tom Clark, Tom Shakespeare, Leigh Sparks, Elizabeth Stokoe, Peter Campbell, Greg Walker, Kelly Smith, Andrew L. Jackson, Elaine Treharne, Smith, James O’Sullivan, Margot C. Finn, Talbot Imlay, Jutta Haider, Fiona Moore, David Rosnick, Fredrik Albritton Jonsson, Calvin Jones, Banu Özkazanç‐Pan, Thomas Masterson, James Connelly, Catriona Seth, Isabelle Poutrin, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Keith W. Dickinson @keithwdickinson.bsky.social · 2d

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

420 9.6K 25K

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson @fredrikjonsson.bsky.social · 3d

Hi Michael. Yes, absolutely. That said, Wrigley's Continuity, Chance and Change is probably a little easier to digest for UGs but if you want to talk about energy the later book is much better since it has the benefit of Paul Warde's path-breaking empirical work.

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson @fredrikjonsson.bsky.social · 3d

☺️ Thanks Robert!

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson @fredrikjonsson.bsky.social · 3d

Hi Jeff,
I have a book on the making of Britain's fossil fuel economy in the works, which should be out next year if all goes well. In the meantime, I warmly recommend Emma Griffin's introduction to the Industrial Revolution and Maxine Berg and Pat Hudson's book on slavery and industry.

2 1 8

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson @fredrikjonsson.bsky.social · 14d

I'm on your wife's side, but it goes without saying the trade-off between bikes and pedestrians is a pretty nice problem to have. In Chicago, bicycling is a dangerous business in many places.

1 1

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson @fredrikjonsson.bsky.social · 14d

I am struck by how narrow the pedestrian lanes are in many places and how quick the traffic lights are compared with Stockholm or Chicago. Bicycles really seem to be the norm, even compared to walking.

1 1

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson @fredrikjonsson.bsky.social · 17d

Congratulations Thea. Very glad to read and teach your book

1 2

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson @fredrikjonsson.bsky.social · 20d

Thanks Matthew. Glad to hear our little book was of some use. Moritz and I have not forgotten about your kind invitation.

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson @fredrikjonsson.bsky.social · 21d

Excellent! Hope you enjoy it. Especially curious to hear what you make of the chapter about the Collingwood children's magazine Nothing Much.

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson @fredrikjonsson.bsky.social · 23d

This is really excellent work. Looking forward to the book!

Reposted by Marc Bloch

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson @fredrikjonsson.bsky.social · 23d

Excellent article from @jamborg.bsky.social about "genetic" mercantilism. Highly recommended

Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales @annales.ehess.fr · 23d

'Mercantilisme animal. Contrebande de #races animales, diplomatie du mouton et #géopolitique du capital génétique dans la France du xviiie siècle'

par @jamborg.bsky.social (Uppsala)

👉 dx.doi.org/10.1017/ahss...

#skystorians #race #climate #merinos 🐑

Gravure des moutons mérinos devant la bergerie nationale de Rambouillet (Archives nationales)

1 3 11

Reposted by Fredrik Albritton Jonsson, Guillaume Calafat

Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales @annales.ehess.fr · 23d

1 9 15

Reposted by Fredrik Albritton Jonsson

Shannon Osaka @shannonosaka.bsky.social · Sep 4

For the last several months, I've been digging through endless scientific literature on what happens when pregnant mothers are exposed to plastic chemicals in their food, water, and everyday household products.

The result is this story.

I hope you'll take the time to read.
wapo.st/4g3ZoFc

The health risks from plastics almost nobody knows about

Researchers have linked phthalates, chemicals found in plastics, to premature birth, infertility and ADHD.

wapo.st

16 110 240

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson @fredrikjonsson.bsky.social · Aug 31

Thanks Paul

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson @fredrikjonsson.bsky.social · Aug 30

let's see if others corroborate. There is a high probability of new oil discoveries in the polar regions... the main question is how big they are.

1 1

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson @fredrikjonsson.bsky.social · Aug 30

Nearly double Saudi reserves... God help us.
indiandefencereview.com/russia-uncov...

Russia Uncovers 511 Billion Barrels of Oil Beneath Antarctica: A Find That Could End the Continent’s Era of Peaceful Use

The 511 billion barrels reported is nearly double Saudi Arabia’s proven reserves and more than ten times the North Sea’s output over the last 50 years.

indiandefencereview.com

1 2 7

Reposted by Rupert Read, Fredrik Albritton Jonsson

Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · Aug 29

I don't think we fully grasped yet how important solar will be as an energy source.

Great graph @carbonbrief.org based on @iea.org data.

14 80 180

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson @fredrikjonsson.bsky.social · Aug 28

Please take a moment to join the class action!

Alex de Campi @alexdecampi.bsky.social · Aug 27

There are tons of graphic novels, academic papers, film and TV scripts, & prose novels/nonfiction on the LibGen list Anthropic used.

As settlement approaches, make it easy for the class action lawyers to contact you! Here’s how

Part 1: is your work in Libgen?

www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI

Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.

www.theatlantic.com

Reposted by Katharine Hayhoe, Jason Mittell, Tim Bale , and 9 more Katharine Hayhoe, Jason Mittell, Tim Bale, Smith, Mirya R. Holman, Julia Lynch, Justin Lewis, Fredrik Albritton Jonsson, Stuart White, S. J. Holmes, Shaun C. Hendy, Southern Africa

Alex de Campi @alexdecampi.bsky.social · Aug 27

Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI

Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.

www.theatlantic.com

52 770 1K

Reposted by Alistair Munro, Fredrik Albritton Jonsson

Paul Behrens @profpaulbehrens.bsky.social · Aug 27

New data paper out: Ammonia doesn't often make the headlines – but it’s one of the major drivers of biodiversity loss and air pollution in Europe, harming ecosystems and our health. > 90% of it in Europe comes from one source: agricultural fertiliser and manure 🧵

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A series of maps of emissions across Europe for different livestock

6 89 150

Reposted by Iikka Korhonen, Fredrik Albritton Jonsson

Karl Schamotta @karl-schamotta.bsky.social · Aug 26

Apropos of nothing, a reminder that German stock markets kept climbing in an almost uninterrupted fashion in the run-up to WW2. Investors are really, really bad at pricing serious institutional and political risks.

15 250 780

Reposted by Amy W. Ando, Fredrik Albritton Jonsson

Peter Gleick @petergleick.bsky.social · Aug 15

Do not trust AI or ChatGPT-5 to do the most basic things like labeling a picture of the hydrologic cycle. Here's what it gave me.
(Evaporation arrow pointing into the ground. Both surface water and the "ocean" labels underground. Transpiration arrow coming from the #water surface, not plants...]

12 44 140

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Dolly Jørgensen, Fredrik Albritton Jonsson , and 1 more Lesley A. Hall, Dolly Jørgensen, Fredrik Albritton Jonsson, Kevin O’Sullivan

Heather Craddock @hcraddock.bsky.social · Aug 13

The Call for Papers for 'Talking Records: Pollution in the Archive', a symposium at The National Archives in London, 4 December 2025, is now open!

Submission deadline: Friday 19 Sept

See the CFP and details about bursaries for speakers here: orlo.uk/Z8StS

#envhum #envhist

Image of Nova Scotia Steel and Coal Company workshops with smoke escaping from tower. Reference: CO 1069/280 from The National Archives, UK.

1 27 35

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson @fredrikjonsson.bsky.social · Aug 10

For anyone in the environmental humanities thinking about biodiversity and habitability, be sure to read this excellent new article by @julianordblad.bsky.social.

Chicago Journals @chicagojournals.bsky.social · Aug 7

Read "The Nature of Planetary Habitability: A Conceptual History of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services" from Environmental History and learn more about the history of biodiversity as a concept. Find it here: ow.ly/TpT750Wy4HR @envirohistory.bsky.social

1 5 19

Reposted by Fredrik Albritton Jonsson

Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · Aug 8

“In the heart of Illinois, while researching wildlife disease, I made a discovery that stunned me: More than half of the raccoons I sampled were infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas’ disease… It’s here, in the United States, spreading silently in wildlife.”

A ‘tropical’ disease is spreading in American wildlife

This neglected tropical disease is no longer confined to the tropics. It’s here, in the United States, spreading silently in wildlife.

www.statnews.com

11 97 180

Reposted by Fredrik Albritton Jonsson

Chicago Journals @chicagojournals.bsky.social · Aug 7

4 11

Reposted by Fredrik Albritton Jonsson

Neville Morley @nevillemorley.bsky.social · Aug 6

I for one welcome the clarity that the new AHA guidance on GenAI has brought to the debate.

American Idiot

“Generative AI tools offer significant opportunities to improve teaching and student learning.” Uh huh. The key question about the new American Historical Association guiding principles on th…

thesphinxblog.com

1 17 37

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson @fredrikjonsson.bsky.social · Aug 5

I don't usually curse on social media but this pathetic attempt to vindicate AI deserves salty language. What in Beelzebub's name is wrong with our professional association? I don't need AI to "sharpen my language"! Sheer anger and disgust will do the trick.

American Historical Association @historians.org · Aug 5

The AHA has published Guiding Principles for Artificial Intelligence in History Education, offering a disciplinary approach to AI that focuses on the specific needs and challenges of history educators. 🗃️

Guiding Principles for Artificial Intelligence in History Education

These 14 foundational principles are meant to assist educators and administrators in crafting AI policies suited to local circumstances and the specific needs of students.

www.historians.org

6 38

American Historical Association @historians.org · Aug 5

Guiding Principles for Artificial Intelligence in History Education

These 14 foundational principles are meant to assist educators and administrators in crafting AI policies suited to local circumstances and the specific needs of students.

www.historians.org

310 27 100