Dr Keith Walker @SteelFolk@qoto.org

Anyone else feels like we need to delete the label 'carbon-neutral' from any sustainability vocabulary because, well, it's an enormous, gigantic lie whose only purpose is to shield business-as-usual and to make individuals feel good without them having to engage in any meaningful substancial change?

#ClimateDiary #Greenwashing

Trumpism has all the trappings of a classic cult of personality: a charismatic figure at the center who is worshiped as a modern messiah by his followers; a leader who seemingly can do no wrong, even while engaged in patterns of criminal behavior to grift money from them; a master manipulator who controls the behavior, thoughts, information, and emotions of his flock.

So, how do we stop this cult from spreading further? https://thinkbigpicture.substack.com/p/trumpism-maga-cult-deprogram-democracy

Inaccessibility Cycle

‼️ With 400 scientists we've written a call to politics:
a) our climate policies are not "ambitious", as is commonly claimed
b) climate politics is mired in partisan manoeuvring & infighting
👉 We call for 3 things:
1) Limited pollution: a transparent commitment to a CO2 budget
2) Justice: no self-serving CO2 budget, it has to be internationally fair
3) Responsibility: exceeding it raises liabilities for losses & damage
👉 needs coalitions across society & party lines
https://info-de.scientists4future.org/keine-parteigrenzen-fur-die-klimapolitik

This Guardian podcast is worth a listen, esp in light of recent crumbling concrete revelations. MPs can't even get on with fixing the place they work in, when next falling stone chunk might hit one of them (though ofc it's far more likely to be some poor sod who does the catering or whatever). Some want the repairs done round them, despite the increased cost & timeline. No wonder they're letting schools crumble!

Rats, fires and floods: why Parliament is falling down https://www.podbean.com/ea/dir-cq4dc-1a83eef7

So let me get this straight. Mark Meadows testified that he got involved in the fake electors scheme because (checks notes) he would be afraid Trump would yell at him if he didn’t? That’s his defense? Trump is mean and I was scared of him?

For fans of the show, truly iconic.
https://www.comicsands.com/heather-morris-naya-rivera-strike-2664433384.html?utm_source=threads&utm_medium=infeed&utm_campaign=linkprogram

A win for reason & the Earth!

A California lawsuit brought by the anti-nuclear group Friends of the Earth, to prevent the extension of Diablo Canyon #nuclear power plant, has been roundly rejected 'w/o leave to amend'.

Next, we must make it legal again to build more safe nuclear power plants California. Otherwise we'll be using more #gas & possibly even #coal into the future.

https://tinyurl.com/3e69uu92

#climatechange #environment #science #energy

A couple more next generation Covid vaccines are heading into clinical trials. That's some of the news in my monthly update (No 10) @PLOS https://absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2023/08/25/more-next-generation-covid-vaccines-are-heading-into-clinical-trials-update-10/

Both those new vaxes are supported by national health research agencies - a mucosal vax by NIH in the US, & a pancoronavirus vax by INSERM in France.

Other news includes US Project NextGen's first $1b for vax development, & the first clinical trial results for a pancoronavirus vax are around the corner (from Canada).

#Covid #vaccine

Stochastic terrorism is "the public demonization of a person or group resulting in the incitement of a violent act, which is statistically probable but whose specifics cannot be predicted." Donald Trump has been using social media to blast prosecutors, judges, and witnesses, and his followers have answered with calls for violence. If the ex-president is a stochastic terrorist, what should we do in response? https://thinkbigpicture.substack.com/p/donald-trump-stochastic-terrorist-threats