Ian Kenway @iankenway@qoto.org

Save the planet in little ways # 1

Stop buying disposable ball point pens, they are clogging up our oceans and covering the earth. Use old fashioned pencils ( you can compost the sharpenings) or get yourself a fountain pen and a bottle of ink. Don't buy a cartridge pen, they just produce more plastic waste, buy a pen with a bladder!

#writing #pens #pencils #polution #LittleWays #SimpleLiving

Believe in Scotland is now on Mastodon

Many of our members thought it would be a good idea for Believe in Scotland to have a presence and put content out on Mastodon.

So, it's here https://mastodon.scot/@BelieveinScotland help us build our presence by giving us a follow and share!

You can also use the #BelieveinScotland hashtag on Mastodon too.

We are a university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Today, a little red bird finding shelter in a Tw* storm.

Ambulance workers in Wales won’t follow those in England out on strike over Christmas after the threshold for strike action was not met anywhere.

https://nation.cymru/news/ambulance-workers-in-wales-wont-follow-those-in-england-out-on-christmas-strike/

"Global multimillionaires have captured a disproportionate % of global wealth growth: the top 1% took 38% of all additional wealth accumulated since the mid-1990s, whereas the bottom 50% captured just 2% of it ... Since 1995, the share of global wealth possessed by billionaires has risen from 1% to over 3%. This increase was exacerbated during the COVID pandemic. In fact, 2020 marked the steepest increase in global billionaires’ share of wealth on record."

https://wir2022.wid.world/www-site/uploads/2022/03/0098-21_WIL_RIM_RAPPORT_A4.pdf @sociology

Jeff Bezos says he plans to give away the majority of his ~$117 billion net worth during his lifetime.

That’s nice, but can I let you in on a secret?

Billionaire philanthropy isn’t charity. It’s PR to distract you from low wages and a tax system that’s rigged for the rich.

The Scots Pine: one of our three native pine trees.

I am in the 750 acre Gregynog estate #Powys #cymru which was declared a National Nature Reserve, to protect the #AncientTrees and the rare lichens that grow on them, but also to ensure that many other habitats are conserved.
@CoedCadw are now working with the estate to map and record their many ancient #trees.
#photography

Big news! Two Finnish nature organisations Greenpeace Finland and The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation are taking the Finnish government to court because of insufficient climate measures. This will be Finland's first climate trial.

The organisations are seeking legal protection from the Supreme Administrative Court because Finland's carbon neutrality goal for 2035 is threatened to be unfulfilled, and the Government has not taken sufficient measures to fix the situation.

It was announced earlier this year that Finland's land use sector has changed from a carbon sink to a carbon source. The reason is estimated to be excessive felling and the slowing down of forest growth.

In Finland, logging is still increasing. This is pressured by, for example, new pulp mill projects that increase the demand for wood. It is coming more and more to light how terrible Finland's forestry sector is for people, climate and biodiversity.

The appeal demands the annual climate report be returned to preparation, and the government decides on the necessary additional measures to achieve carbon neutrality.

I personally think this is wonderful, I am glad Finland is being held accountable for its poor climate plans. Finland is portrayed to be one of the greenest countries in the world, but a lot of that is greenwashing. Now it is time to live up to their title.

#ClimateChange #Climate #Biodiversity #Carbonsink #Nature #Forest #Ilmasto

#GreatBarrierReef should be placed on #WorldHeritage ‘in danger’ list, UN-backed report says | Great Barrier Reef | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/28/great-barrier-reef-should-be-placed-on-world-heritage-in-danger-list-un-backed-report-says

#UN #UNESCO #Environment #Conservation #Ecology #Pollution #Australia #Queensland

Would the protests in China be illegal in the UK after the Police and Crime Bill have passed? If they were committing any public order offences then under the Online Safety Bill platforms would be legally required to censor that content. That should scare you deeply https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/online-safety-bill-will-the-upload-filter-ban-images-of-protest/

Here's something a little different today...

During the first Covid lockdown in 2020, I was really struggling creatively.

Rather than give up, I focused on being curious.

I slowed down and started looking for details that caught my eye. And they ideally had no correlation to the location they were photographed in.

I started seeing faces, crying eyes, and other things in the bark of the trunks in my local #woodland. This spawned a project called #tree textures.

#photomonday #photography

@clive
I had been looking for a book for years because it is so expensive for me.

Very surprised to finally buy it from a Tunbridge Wells Oxfam shop for £8.99.

Privatising The World by Oliver Letwin

Normally over £40 used and £60 plus new.
Even,the local library could not supply it for me.

I believe much of the content of this book has already happened 😥

#Books
#Reading
#Politics

“Good Law Project said the legal case will ‘put forward the case for more ambitious and urgent measures to reduce sewage discharges by water companies.’

“‘These sewage spills are threatening human health, biodiverse marine life and the fishing industry.’”
https://rb.gy/crmbfv

Brexit is proving the biggest headache for British businesses, ranking even higher than Russia’s war in Ukraine, Covid or rising energy costs. Meanwhile Rishi Sunak & his Chancellor continue to keep their heads firmly buried in the sand https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2022-11-28/supply-chain-latest-uk-business-struggle-with-brexit

For my non-Church friends, just to let you know that today is the first day of Advent. Advent starts on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, which may or may not fall on 1 December. Don’t be fooled by those chocolate filled calendars!

Two universities - QMUL and Wolverhampton - have threatened to dock the pay of striking academics indefinitely unless they undermine the strike by rescheduling teaching activities https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/nov/27/universities-condemned-over-threat-to-dock-all-pay-of-striking-staff

Not only are such moves outrageous, they may also violate the right to strike, which is recognised as part of the right to freedom of association under Article 11 ECHR - as this post by Alan Bogg and Michael Ford KC shows https://uklabourlawblog.com/2022/10/06/striking-pay-deductions-and-reasonable-orders-a-legal-analysis-by-alan-bogg-and-michael-ford-kc/

#UCUStrikes #UCURising #HumanRights

I read in nation.cymru that the First Minister says it's always been hard to have good North-South transport links. At one level, that's obviously correct but we have had a far more extensive rail network in the past than we have now. There's little chance of much change on that while rail infrastructure isn't devolved but it would be good to see fixing that become much more of a priority. The old GWR route map reminds us what it could look like...

Hello, Mastodon!
#Introduction
#Beatles
#Photography
#Catsanddogs 🙂
#Music
#Humor
Did I mention #Beatles ???

Don’t ever, ever forget: The Tories killed thousands of #NHS Staff with their greed, corruption and callous negligence during a 100% avoidable pandemic (the clue is we’re an *island*):

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-52145140