Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 14h

Awww. Thank you once again for your wonderful community-building spirit! 🌷

Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 2d

A lovely, short video!
"At the heart of Japanese philosophy & wisdom lies the concept of #wabi-sabi — an acceptance of #transience, the everyday, the melancholic, the timeworn, and the imperfect."
#worldview #wisdom #Japan #beauty #nature #ideas #aesthetics #time #age
youtu.be/QmHLYhxYVjA?...

HISTORY OF IDEAS - Wabi-sabi

YouTube video by The School of Life

youtu.be

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Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 4d

In the Garden Today | 7 Oct
This is Dahlia "Bristol Stripe," a 6 ft. plant decked out in fuchsia, white, and chartreuse! (Not shy, this one.) The photo shows the gorgeous stem attachment to the blossom.
#Garden #Gardening #Dahlias #Peace #Bloomscrolling #FallBlooms #Flowers #Photography #Nature

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Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 6d

In the Garden Today | 5 October
In this season, the blossoms of Limelight Hydrangea turn from white to pink and dusty green. IMHO, it's their most beautiful phase!
#gardens #gardening #plants #hydrangeas #quietjoy #momentsofpeace #plantkingdom #Bloomscrolling #Bloomsky

Blooms of a Limelight Hydrangea, which are in progress at this time of year turning from white to pink and a dusty green.

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Reposted by Earthling

Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology @religion-ecology.bsky.social · Aug 15

Most legal systems protect human interests first.

Earth law flips that script — recognizing the rights of ecosystems to exist, thrive, and evolve.

If your local river could speak in court, what would it say?

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Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 9d

The Evidence Effect: via the #MIT Poverty Action Lab
"In past decades, the world has made important gains in reducing poverty & creating opportunities for people and families to thrive. Today, hard-won progress is at risk."
www.povertyactionlab.org/evidence-eff...
#PovertyReduction #WhatReallyWorks

The Evidence Effect

With fewer resources available, the bar is even higher for deciding which social sector and development programs to invest in. Evidence can help governments, funders, and implementing organizations na...

www.povertyactionlab.org

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Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 10d

Rest in Peace, Dame Jane Morris Goodall, visionary primatologist, conservationist, and one of the great human beings, (1934-2025). She gave us new ways of thinking about and respecting the other creatures with whom we share #PlanetEarth. #InMemoriam #Wildlife #Humanity
#GiftArticle: wapo.st/3WmnTUU

Jane Goodall, primatologist and friend to chimpanzees, dies at 91

She used her global fame to draw attention to the plight of dwindling chimpanzee populations and, more broadly, to the perils of environmental destruction.

wapo.st

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Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 10d

In the #Garden Today | 1 Oct
This is the last of our Swamp #Milkweed plants to produce its seedpods this year. (They resemble okra #seedpods!) And here's a nice #howto for #growing Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), which is beloved of #Monarchs. bit.ly/milkweed-guide
#Pollinators #NaturePhotos #Fall

A group of slender, light-green, upward-pointing seedpods on a Swamp Milkweed plant near the end of the growing season.

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Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 11d

Evening in the Garden | 30 September

#Gardens #GardenPhotography #Evening #PeacefulMoments #Solar #SolarLanterns

Solar lanterns on a stone wall in the garden at dusk

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Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 14d

In The Garden Today | 27 September
A veteran Limelight hydrangea is still blooming!
www.thespruce.com/limelight-hy...
#Bloomscrolling #GardenPhotos #Nature #Gardens #JoyForTheStruggle #Hydrangeas #ShadeGarden

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Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 15d

#GiftArticle At the #UN, "Daron Acemoglu, who won a Nobel in #economics, signed the call for #AI prohibitions. On its current path AI could become an 'inequality generating' #technology, he said." He outlines a path that empowers #workers rather than replacing them.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/b...

Countries Consider A.I.’s Dangers and Benefits at U.N.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Earthling

Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 24d

Real stories of climate action remind us that change is possible, and that we each have a role to play. This week’s newsletter highlights how individuals and communities are reshaping the future of clean energy.

Read on Mailchimp: shorturl.at/80vk6
Read on LinkedIn: shorturl.at/aOmil

How a single voice can start (or stop) an energy revolution

Fighting "NIMBYism", blocking wind and solar projects, and a pilot charts a sustainable course

www.talkingclimate.ca

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Reposted by Earthling

Kyle Horton @kyle-horton.bsky.social · 17d

Truly impressive number of birds migrating tonight. More than 800 MILLION birds up in the air right now❗ #BirdMigration

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Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 19d

In the Garden Today | 22 Sept
A surprising (to me) late bloomer this year — Calla lilies! In our area, the Calla lily rhizomes are dug up after the first frost, stored inside over the winter, and replanted in the spring.
#Gardens #GardenPhotography #Nature #PeacefulMoments

Two pink-purplish Calla lilly blooms surrounded by dark green leaves

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Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 19d

In the #Garden Today | 22 Sept
We spotted a Northern #Flicker today, dining on ripe seeds of our Sweetbay #Magnolia. We don't see Flickers often and weren't able to get a clear photo, so here's a lovely one of this #hautecouture #bird by David Mitchell bit.ly/DMPhoto_Nort... #Peaceful #Photography

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Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 21d

More from a wonderful interview with novelist Richard Powers!
#Trees #Novels #Forests #PulitzerPrize #GreatBooks ~ bit.ly/2EPEciX

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Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 21d

"We came into being by the grace of #trees. We have depended on trees not just for the invention of civilization but for our very #existence. Without them, no us." — Richard Powers, The Overstory, 2019 #PulitzerPrize
#Interview: bit.ly/2EPEciX
#Books #Booksky #GreatBooks #Authors #Novels #Forests

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Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 22d

Designer Dan Pearson’s modern garden for a #medieval castle at Torrecchia Vecchia—a preserved #ecosystem & "natural monument" outside #Rome w/ woodlands, #wildlife, and archaeological sites.
Website bit.ly/garden-torre...
Gardenista story bit.ly/2sVQela
#Design #Gardens #PlacesToVisit #Photography

A naturalistic garden designed for the grounds of a medieval castle outside Rome. Blooming wisteria vines draping from the walls of an ancient structure - and a seating area and several wicker chairs nestled under a tall arch.

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Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 23d

Rethinking Chrysanthemums!
Photo of a spider chrysanthemum by Britt Willoughby Dyer | Story via Gardenista:
www.gardenista.com/posts/chrysa...

#Bloomscrolling #FallFlowers #Gardens #Gardening #JoyIntheStruggle #SpiderChrysanthemum #GardenPhotos #Nature

Photo of a loosely structured Spider chrysanthemum in a lilac shade: Saratox Lilac

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Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 24d

#GoodNews — The #coastal town of Hampton, NH is restoring 120 acres of #saltmarsh to protect against rising #sea levels. Salt marshes, which absorb and slow down fast-moving #waves, are a significant barrier to #flooding. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/18/m...
#Cimate #FloodPrevention #WorkWithNature

Coastal flooding ravages New England. Can salt marshes help? - The Boston Globe

Salt marshes can be part of the solution to help protect homes and businesses, but first, they need help.

www.bostonglobe.com

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Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 25d

Terrific, related article, via Holly Ober / @sciwri.bsky.social

www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/how-us-...

How the US became a science superpower

America's leadership "isn't some fixed, unchanging feature of the scientific landscape," says one UC historian.

www.universityofcalifornia.edu

Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 25d

#NewBook What motivates most #scientists and how do they think? In a new book, #author/physicist, Alan Lightman humanizes scientists—examining their aims to benefit society and the world, and how critical thinking guides their practice. news.mit.edu/2025/3-quest...
#Science #Trust #Facts #Humanity

3 Questions: On humanizing scientists

Alan Lightman’s latest book “The Shape of Wonder,” co-authored with Martin Rees, offers profiles of scientists and an examination of scientific methods, humanizing researchers and making an affirmativ...

news.mit.edu

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Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 25d

A new book that addresses this issue: news.mit.edu/2025/3-quest...:
We wrote this book "to address several problems. One is mistrust in scientists and their institutions, which is a worldwide problem.... In recent years there’s been considerable misinformation about science."

3 Questions: On humanizing scientists

Alan Lightman’s latest book “The Shape of Wonder,” co-authored with Martin Rees, offers profiles of scientists and an examination of scientific methods, humanizing researchers and making an affirmativ...

news.mit.edu

Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 26d

Today is International Red #Panda Day. This wonderful, small creature has, alas, become endangered of late. Native to the Himalayas, it is arboreal and feeds mainly on bamboo. And, as you can see, the #RedPanda really knows how to #relax, even on a tree limb! (GettyPhoto)
#naps #wildlife #Earth

A red panda sleeping on a tree limb in a forest; all four legs and tail hanging down over the limb, eyes closed, the panda looks completely relaxed napping on the tree.

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Earthling @earthling5.bsky.social · 26d

Cool #infographic! This wheel shows the annual sequence of generations + migration of eastern Monarch #butterflies. The 4th/"Methusala" generation, which migrates to overwinter + breed in Mexican forests, lives up to 9 months. #Pollinators #Monarchs #Nature #PlantMilkweed (Image: Nat'l Park Service)

An infographic wheel that shows the annual sequence of 4 generations and the migration of eastern Monarch #butterflies. The 4th/"Methusala" generation, which migrates to overwinter + breed in Mexican forests, lives up to 9 months.

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