David A. McKay
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davidamckay.bsky.social
David A. McKay
@davidamckay.bsky.social
320 followers 280 following 58 posts
Climate & Earth system scientist; Lecturer, Sussex Uni; sci-comm, inc climatetippingpoints.info. Into Earth, life, & societies as complex & intertwined systems. More often at https://mstdn.social/@davidamckay

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davidamckay.bsky.social
Wild Roundhead spotted out in Lewes on #TheFifth
A man in Roundhead costume in the Lewes Cliffe Bonfire Society prpcession carrying a sign saying "Trust in God & Keep your Powder Dry" with flaming torch as attached, surrounded by others carrying flaming torches dressed as Roundheads and Suffragettes.
November 5, 2025 at 11:28 PM
davidamckay.bsky.social
ha yes, I thought this was quite the quote! (not sure if it's from the book though)
Screenshot of quote from linked article saying "Lentonist science requires, in the authors' view, a Leninist response"
October 10, 2025 at 2:30 PM
davidamckay.bsky.social
He was even more blunt in this interview, categorising Gaza & Ukraine as distractions: exame.com/en/brazil-is...

(also odd on not being worried about AI energy usage, as renewables will inevitable be abundant...)
Screenshot of section of interview of Johan Rockström by Exame: Exame: In the last World Economic Forum, there was much talk that A.I. and Fusion energy could solve the climate issue through mass carbon absorption. Would AI not be, in reality, a dangerous distraction? Rockström: A.I. can become a distraction that receives disproportionate amounts of focus when we have a planetary crisis. And not just A.I., but also the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and the ridiculous tariffs of the Trump Administration. There are many factors that push us away from the necessary focus on fighting climate change. For instance, I always get asked whether I am worried about A.I. because of the energy consumption of their data centers. I answer that I am not, because of the simple fact that renewable energy sources are being developed so fast that we should have abundant energy. My concern lies in biodiversity, fresh water, minerals, the soil, and the entire biosphere.
September 28, 2025 at 9:17 AM
davidamckay.bsky.social
How it started // How it's going

(p.s. 1st graph - from XR's first talks in 2018 - is volume rather than extent, which amplifies changes, but the two have similar trends)
A graph from a 2018 Extinction Rebellion talk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2VkC4SnwY0) showing Arctic summer sea ice volume data from 1979 to 2018, showing a decline in particular after 2000, with various trends fit to the data that hit the zero line mostly around 2022. Graph from The Guardian's article showing Arctic summer sea ice extent (note extent rather than volume, but former correlates with latter) showing gradual decline from 1979 to 2000, faster decline 2000 to 2010, and then roughly plateauing from 2010 to now
August 20, 2025 at 12:02 PM
davidamckay.bsky.social
Reverend Lovejoy from The Simpsons holding a copy of Adorno's Minima Moralia and saying "Marge, have you ever actually sat down and read this thing? Technically even going to the bathroom is fascism"
August 10, 2025 at 4:40 PM
davidamckay.bsky.social
Amen to this - relatedly, can't get myself behind a theory of change extolling filling prisons up with desperate young people to hit some magic threshold
Screenshot of part of a post from James Dyke on his Eccentric Orbits substack: "Some of my students have been arrested and imprisoned because of peaceful non-violent direct action. This is the result of the criminalisation of protest in the UK which is utterly shameful. I appreciate that we all have different roles to play in trying to get politicians to act, and that not everyone can put their liberty on the line. But I am profoundly uncomfortable extolling young people to lead a revolution when there is very little wider support for their actions and they face imprisonment for years. If that sounds patronising, then guilty as charged! I feel deeply responsible for my students, and I would rather err on the side of being a overbearing square than urging people to act in ways that are harmful to them."
July 8, 2025 at 7:07 PM
davidamckay.bsky.social
And a "JEMboree" to boot
Screenshot of World Adaptation Forum conference schedule showing a 3 hour "JEMboree – Deep Adaptation 5th Anniversary Celebration"
February 18, 2025 at 7:11 PM
davidamckay.bsky.social
After D Day, but am also reminded of the "Millionth Yank" ceremony that Southampton put on, with over 2 million US soldiers passing through Southampton Docks in the end. But sure, barely any made it to Normandy!
Private Paul Shimer Jr of the US Army, with a sign around his neck saying "The Millionth Yank", at Southampton Docks on the 25th October 1944 with Mayor of Southampton, Rex Stranger
January 22, 2025 at 12:57 PM
davidamckay.bsky.social
Some top notch viral content at the moment over on linkedin, of some definitely real firefighters in LA rescuing absolutely real animals with very real smoke pouring out of... themselves? #LAWildfires #AI #LinkedIn
Screenshot of an AI-generated video on LinkedIn (liked by 785 people and reposted by 62, and with hashtags of #Biodiversity, #ClimateAction #WildlifeProtection, #Firefighters, and #LAWildfires), showing a still of a firefighter calmly sitting and holding an owl, both of whom are emitting large plumes of smoke
January 13, 2025 at 2:32 PM