Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Matthew MacLeod @mattmacleod.bsky.social · 13d

Fun with the @washingtonpost.com 's new AI...

Screenshot of the Washington Post AI bot refusing to answer a question about whether "personal liberties and free markets" could sometime lead to collective harms.

Reposted by Matthew MacLeod

Rob Ralston @policyrelevant.bsky.social · 19d

a month on, @magnuslovold.bsky.social comments on the final day of UN global plastic treaty negotiations in Geneva

there were rumours circulating in whatsapp groups about UNEP engaging in what might best be termed 'discretionary governance' - this blog details some of the chaos that unfolded

Palace intrigues

The plastics treaty talks in Geneva ended without a deal. As negotiators weigh their options about the way forward, troubling questions are…

medium.com

1 4 5

Reposted by Matthew MacLeod

Stockholm University @stockholm-uni.bsky.social · 20d

For the first time since Stockholm Univ. was awarded UN observer status, a researcher (Prado Domercq) attended negotiations on a global treaty to end plastic pollution as part of the Scientists' Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty. @marleneagerstrand.bsky.social
www.su.se/department-o...

When science meets politics: Inside the stalled plastics treaty negotiations - Department of Environmental Science

This August, delegates from 183 nations gathered in a spacious UN hall in Geneva with a daunting task: to negotiate the world’s first legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution. More than 2,600 p...

www.su.se

6 10

Matthew MacLeod @mattmacleod.bsky.social · 24d

Plastishere: “the ecosystem composed of airborne plastic and its inhabiting microbiome.”

Is a nice, concise definition... ;)

2

Reposted by Matthew MacLeod

Bolin Centre for Climate Research @bolincentre.bsky.social · 26d

See Prof. Nina Kirchner, director of @tarfalaresstation.bsky.social, in @svtnyheter.bsky.social earlier today on how the southern peak of #Kebenekaise continues to melt. 1,5 meters since last year... 🌡️⛰️🥵

(In Swedish)

Stockholm University @stockholm-uni.bsky.social · 26d

Kebnekaises sydtopp fortsätter att minska. Årets sommarmätning av glaciologiprofessor Nina Kirchner och hennes kollegor vid @tarfalaresstation.bsky.social visar att toppen minskat med 1,5 meter jämfört med förra året. #Klimat #Kebnekaise Se inslag i SVT:
www.svt.se/nyheter/loka...

Kebnekaises sydtopp fortsätter smälta

Kebnekaises sydtopp fortsätter att minska. Årets sommarmätning visar att toppen minskat med 1,5 meter jämfört med förra året.

www.svt.se

2 7

Matthew MacLeod @mattmacleod.bsky.social · Aug 28

Hm. CO2 can escape to space...

www.quora.com/Why-is-CO2-n...

... just very slowly.

But it seems very likely to me that at least some CO2 that was once part of a plastic toothbrush has left the planet by now...

Why is CO2 not escaping to space?

Answer (1 of 8): It is escaping to space, just not very fast. Thermal escape involves temperature, molecular mass, and gravity. CO2 has more molecular mass than water, hydrogen, oxygen, or nitrogen. ...

www.quora.com

Matthew MacLeod @mattmacleod.bsky.social · Aug 28

I had to think for a while about how this statement could possibly be true.

The only way is if you count CO2 from plastic that has been burned or mineralized as "in existence in some form".

Which is fair enough, I guess...

1

Reposted by Matthew MacLeod

tarfalaresstation.bsky.social @tarfalaresstation.bsky.social · Aug 25

Tarfala's 80 Year Anniversary Conference @stockholm-uni.bsky.social @bolincentre.bsky.social has just started! Thank your our international speakers from Switzerland, Norway, Germany and UK making the first sessions really exciting! Artwork in the conference logo by @dominoajones.bsky.social

4 3

Reposted by Matthew MacLeod

Stockholm University @stockholm-uni.bsky.social · Aug 19

Scientists from Stockholm University + Swedish Museum of Natural history, in collaboration with partners in Greenland and Canada, have identified a previously undocumented class of #PFAS in blubber of killer whales. New study in Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
www.su.se/english/news...

New ‘forever chemicals’ found in whale blubber challenge our understanding of PFAS - Stockholm University

Scientists from Stockholm University and the Swedish Museum of Natural history, in collaboration with partners in Greenland and Canada, have identified a previously undocumented class of PFAS* in the ...

www.su.se

3 6

Reposted by Matthew MacLeod

Erik Angner @erikangner.com · Aug 19

Fans of "slow television" are in for a treat, as Swedish TV is live-streaming the effort to move an entire church in Kiruna from one place to another over the course of two days: www.svtplay.se/video/KnDgQ9... Enjoy!

Den stora kyrkflytten – Första dagen

I direktsändning följer vi den världsunika flytten av Kiruna kyrka, från gamla stadskärnan till dess nya plats, fem kilometer bort. Den stora kyrkflytten tar två dagar och är en del av den omfattande ...

www.svtplay.se

2 35 73

Matthew MacLeod @mattmacleod.bsky.social · Aug 14

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

We Grant Personhood to Companies. Why Not to Nature?

Giving legal rights to rivers, forests and mountains is a useful way to elevate consideration of the ecosystem.

www.bloomberg.com

1 2

Reposted by Matthew MacLeod

tarfalaresstation.bsky.social @tarfalaresstation.bsky.social · Aug 2

July was warm. Here are #warmingstripes @edhawkins.org showing average july temperature at #TarfalaResearchStation @stockholmuni.bsky.social @bolincentre.bsky.social. One definition of the Arctic is that July temps stay below 10 C - according to this, we are not in the Arctic...But we are...

2 2

Reposted by Matthew MacLeod

Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · Jul 10

High concentrations of nanoplastic particles were found in locations across the North Atlantic Ocean, particularly in the top 10 metres of water and near coastlines, according to an analysis in Nature. go.nature.com/44ohIok 🌊 🧪

This is figure 2, which shows the horizontal and vertical distribution of nanoplastics in the water column of the North Atlantic.

12 20

Reposted by Matthew MacLeod

IngerAndersen.bsky.social @ingerandersen.bsky.social · Jun 20

Today we made history.

Countries have come together & agreed the new Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution that will provide the 🌍 with robust, independent science.

Environmental multilateralism delivering again, #ForPeopleForPlanet.

www.unep.org/news-and-sto...

2 48 110

Reposted by Matthew MacLeod

Stockholm University @stockholm-uni.bsky.social · Jun 11

In a new paper, 22 scientists—including Professor Ian Cousins and Associate Professor Marlene Ågerstrand at Department of Environmental Science @stockholm-uni.bsky.social —defend the current definition of PFASs established by the OECD. #PFAS #Chemistry
www.su.se/department-o...

Scientists defend widely used definition of PFASs - Department of Environmental Science

In a new paper published today in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 22 scientists—including Professor Ian Cousins and Associate Professor Marlene Ågerstrand from the Department of Environmen...

www.su.se

2 15 15

Matthew MacLeod @mattmacleod.bsky.social · Jun 10

{Corporations : Chronic Disease :: Mosquitoes : Communicable Disease}

Enlightening analogy by @traceywoodruff.bsky.social in @newscientist.com

www.newscientist.com/article/2481...

Do corporations actually have more control over your health than you?

From the food on supermarket shelves to the air we breathe, large companies exert a greater impact on our health than we might realise, argues health scientist Tracey Woodruff

www.newscientist.com

2

Reposted by Matthew MacLeod

Erik Angner @erikangner.com · Jun 5

Complaints about "viewpoint diversity" were always affirmative action for conservatives

The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · Jun 5

In an effort to attract more conservative faculty, some elite universities are borrowing tactics long used to promote racial diversity, Rose Horowitch writes.

The Era of DEI for Conservatives Has Begun

In an effort to attract more right-leaning faculty, some elite universities are borrowing tactics long used to promote racial diversity.

bit.ly

2 6

Reposted by Matthew MacLeod

Lucien Hinderling @lhinderling.bsky.social · Jun 2

Inkscape plugin to rescale figures without distorting the text, and other useful features!
github.com/burghoff/Sci...

6 46 150

Reposted by Matthew MacLeod

Prof. Carrie McDonough @carrieamcdphd.bsky.social · May 30

The MAHA report highlights the need to "understand and reduce the cumulative chemical load on our children" and calls for "new risk evaluation tools" that incorporate AI... explain to me why, then, our grant from the EPA to do pretty much EXACTLY THAT was terminated 2 months after it was awarded.

High-throughput method development to acquire chemical data needed to inform environmental molecular lifecycles that guide sustainable chemical assessment | Research Project Database | Grantee Re...

cfpub.epa.gov

1 4 9

Reposted by Matthew MacLeod

Dr. Melanie Bergmann @melaniebergma18.bsky.social · May 22

New review concludes: "Nonetheless, emerging evidence indicates microplastics interact, traverse and compromise the integrity of these complex barriers."
doi.org/10.1016/j.en...

1 5 7

Reposted by Matthew MacLeod

Naomi Oreskes @naomioreskes.bsky.social · May 19

Proud to be a part of this important work.

iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

Gaps in public trust between scientists and climate scientists: a 68 country study - IOPscienceSearch

Gaps in public trust between scientists and climate scientists: a 68 country study, Ghasemi, Omid, Cologna, Viktoria, Mede, Niels G, Stanley, Samantha K, Strahm, Noel, Ross, Robert, Alfano, Mark, Kerr, John R, Marques, Mathew D, Berger, Sebastian, Besley, John C, Brick, Cameron, Joubert, Marina, Maibach, Edward, Mihelj, Sabina, Newell, Ben R, Oreskes, Naomi, Schäfer, Mike S

iopscience.iop.org

1 8 39

Reposted by Matthew MacLeod

Dr. Melanie Bergmann @melaniebergma18.bsky.social · May 12

🦄 Clever new accounting tricks like this intransparent mass balance scheme will not solve the #plastic crisis but rather enable increasing plastic production via #greenwashing 🔽

Grist @grist.org · May 12

The misleading accounting behind your ‘recycled’ plastic.

A convoluted credit system allows companies to label virgin plastic as recycled. Here's how it works.

grist.org/accountabili...

#Plastic #Recycling #Environment #Health #Wellness #Climate

The misleading accounting behind your ‘recycled’ plastic

A convoluted credit system allows companies to label virgin plastic as recycled. Here's how it works.

grist.org

3 6

Reposted by Matthew MacLeod

UN Environment Programme @unep.org · May 6

Last year alone, the world generated around 400 million tonnes of plastic waste.

Ahead of #WorldEnvironmentDay, here’s a closer look at what plastic pollution is, why it’s such a problem, and what can be done about it.
www.unep.org/news-and-sto...

A discarded plastic bottle partially buried in the sand on a beach. The text on the image reads: 'Everything you need to know about plastic pollution.' At the bottom right corner, there is a small caption that says 'PhotoMat from Getty Images.

3 17 31

Reposted by Matthew MacLeod

tarfalaresstation.bsky.social @tarfalaresstation.bsky.social · May 5

Register for Tarfala Research Stations 80 Year Anniversary Conference! @stockholm-uni.bsky.social @bolincentre.bsky.social @vaw-glaciology.bsky.social @swisspolar.bsky.social @matthias-huss.bsky.social #SwedishPolarResearch #SMHI. Artwork by @dominoajones.bsky.social
bsky.app/profile/tarf...

4 7