helenczerski

helenczerski, 1 month ago to climate

I have just discovered that those odd waste/recycling bins that are all over the oldest bits of Bergen, Norway, link to an UNDERGROUND PNEUMATIC WASTE TRANSPORT SYSTEM. The waste collects for a bit and then WHOOSH... it's off to the recycling centre. All underground. No bin lorries (garbage trucks), fewer road vehicles, less noise... amazing. @davidho says that my (considerable) excitement about this is entirely unreasonable. I disagree.
https://www.envacgroup.com/how-it-works/the-envac-system/

#climate #waste #Norway

helenczerski, 9 months ago to random

The evidence that cars don’t work as primary mass transport in cities is everywhere: traffic jams, air pollution, accident rates, the shocking fraction of city space taken up by parking spaces, safety barriers/bollards etc. This 100 year experiment should be declared over, and we should put proper effort into the systems that HAVE been shown to work and scale: walking, cycling, e-cargo bikes, cheap/accessible/reliable public transport. This “argument” about LTNs is just lazy delay. #LTN #cities

helenczerski, 1 year ago (edited 1 year ago) to climate

In the late 1800s, when steam ships were replacing sailing cargo ships, one of the last roles for the sailing ships was to carry coal around the world to supply ports where steamships wanted to go. A clean technology was essential to enable the growth of a dirty technology. And even today, fossil fuels aren’t magically just everywhere. A gigantic *** 40% *** of global shipping is just moving fossil fuels. So eliminating fossil fuel also drastically cuts global shipping emissions. #climate #ships

helenczerski, 3 months ago to climate

Just found a new (to me) psychology phrase: "pluralistic ignorance". It refers to people holding one view but mistakenly assuming that the majority of others hold a different view, so they keep quiet. Very relevant for climate change action, where lots want action but think they're in the minority.

#climate #science #action

helenczerski, 6 months ago to mastodon

Maybe you all knew about this, but @davidho has just introduced me to this useful tool for expanding your Mastondon world:

https://followgraph.vercel.app/#searchForm

It looks at the people you follow and the people they follow and ranks them by the number of follows from your followed. Hopefully you will find some people who were on here all along but who you hadn't found yet - I did.

#mastodon #network

helenczerski, 10 months ago to ocean

One of the biggest habits that humanity has to kick is that of seeing a human-free space and assuming it’s worthless/empty unless we fill it up with something. It’s happening with plans for the ocean, deforestation for “development”, talk of delivery drones filling the future sky, cube sats that will hide the stars. This “space” is the planetary engine, and it’s incredibly valuable NOW. doing all sorts of things that keep us alive & enrich our lives. We should protect it. #ocean #climate #Earth

helenczerski, 10 months ago to science

Ooh, this year’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year shortlist has been released by Royal Museums Greenwich. And they’re (obviously, and as always) stunning: https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/astronomy-photographer-year/galleries/2023-shortlist #science #photography #astronomy

helenczerski, 10 months ago (edited 10 months ago) to random

Favourite summary of the current situation, from the Guardian and @firstdogonthemoon : https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/07/twitter-is-burning-bluesky-is-smug-where-is-the-best-place-to-do-your-pathetic-doomscrolling?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

helenczerski, 2 months ago to mastodon

University College London shoutout! UCL is unwilling to set up a Mastodon account now, but they say that if there's lots of UCL presence here already it will nudge them in this direction. If you're at UCL or know someone who is, and you're on here, please reply to this to let us know! Current chief plotters: @sellathechemist , me and maybe more)

#UCL #Mastodon #Universities

helenczerski, 9 months ago to science

Well. "Open sesame" is actually a thing.

Just googled where sesame seeds come from (it never occurred to me to ask before) and found that they grow in pods that are hung upside down to ripen until they burst open and release their seeds. The treasure is revealed.

https://awkwardbotany.com/2022/03/30/dispersal-by-open-sesame/

#seeds #science #OpenSesame

helenczerski, 9 months ago to climate

“By announcing hundreds of new oil and gas licences, the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has become a “dangerous radical” pursuing “moral and economic madness”.

That is not the judgment of Just Stop Oil, or any other environmental campaign group, but the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/31/new-oil-gas-licences-rishi-sunak-un-climate-crisis?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

#climate #oil

helenczerski, 7 months ago to climate

This is a horrendous decision: Rosebank, the largest untapped oilfield in UK waters, has been approved by the UK government. This comes via the regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority, which is in severe need of reform.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been working on a podcast series about the structure and ownership of the UK oil sector, because this is essential understanding for dismantling it. It’s been eye-opening, but empowering. It’ll be out in 2-3 weeks.

#Rosebank #oil #climate

helenczerski, 7 months ago to climate

I think I'm still in recovery from learning a few weeks ago that Canadian fossil fuel companies tell people that because it's "natural" gas that they produce, burning it can't hurt the environment. And people believe them. I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, remember that and 🤯🤯🤯🤯

#climate #oil #gas #natural

helenczerski, 6 months ago to science

I look forward to the day when we have to explain the oil industry to the next generation in the same way that our history teachers explain that yes, it used to be common to use lead in makeup, to smoke on planes, and to teach workers using radioactive paint to lick their brushes.

#science #oil #history

helenczerski, 3 months ago to cars

Is it time that we started fat-shaming unnecessarily large cars? Because it's ludicrous for this trend to continue - quite apart from the dangers, what a waste of materials, space and energy!

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/22/cars-growing-wider-europe-report?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

#cars #climate #SUV

helenczerski, 8 months ago to Trains

Listen up, UK. THIS is how you do bikes on trains. Well done Germany.
#bikes #train

helenczerski, 10 months ago to ocean

This is a horrendous situation to be in. The deep sea is a huge & biodiverse wilderness. These nodules can take two MILLION years to form. We absolutely do not need minerals from the seabed - battery designers are designing them out - and it will be almost impossible to monitor the significant damage that mining would cause. We must say no.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/08/future-of-deep-sea-mining-hangs-in-balance-as-opposition-grows?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other #ocean #Seabed

helenczerski, 7 months ago to climate

The "net" in "Net Zero" is a distraction. We need to aim for "zero carbon".

Here's yet another reminder that carbon offsets mostly aren't worth the paper they're written on: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/19/do-carbon-credit-reduce-emissions-greenhouse-gases

We cannot use offsets to excuse further fossil fuel burning. The aim has to be zero carbon emissions. Even if we try hard, we'll miss by a bit, and by then there might be techniques to take in carbon to reach net zero. But decarbonisation must be as complete as possible

#NetZero #climate #offsets

helenczerski, 9 months ago to books

And here's another book I’ve just finished, for anyone who has studied (or is studying) maths. It’s a lovely gallop through the parts of mathematical history that we don’t hear about, steering away from the stories that focus on the “Great Men” of the white western world, and digging around in a far more global and diverse view of how mathematics was developed. Especially highly recommended for anyone teaching maths at any level. It’s out in a couple of weeks. #maths #books #history

helenczerski, 8 months ago to science

The UK is to rejoin the EU’s Horizon research scheme AND Copernicus (the Earth observation satellite system). Very cheering news to start the day!

It doesn’t really make up for the stupidity of leaving in the first place, or the damage done to our research base when our contributions stopped, though.

https://www.ft.com/content/87093b77-5a94-41b1-b943-9a89ac71118b

#science #Copernicus #EU

helenczerski, 1 month ago to random

The death of Peter Higgs is sad news. I remember him being in the green room at the Cheltenham Science Festival years ago, and he was so humble and polite to everyone. Dara Ó Briain (the comedian) was there, and he'd brought an empty jam jar with a hand-written label that said "this jar contains 1 Higgs Boson. Certified by... " and he got Peter Higgs to sign the bottom. (apparently that's the average number present). The jam jar made everyone very happy.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/apr/09/peter-higgs-physicist-who-discovered-higgs-boson-dies-aged-94

helenczerski, 9 months ago to ocean

We generally think that over-fishing is about fish that humans eat. But around a third of all wild-caught fish are turned into fishmeal, because fishmeal is around 65% protein and therefore in demand for for feeding farmed fish and pigs. It's an almost invisible trade with huge consequences. But it's not an efficient way to make more protein. We need to re-think these links and ask whether it's really worth the damage to the ocean & communities.#ocean #fish #fishmeal

https://hakaimagazine.com/news/the-fervent-fight-over-fish-meal/?omhide=true&utm_source=Hakai+Magazine+Weekly&utm_campaign=f37dd9c2c5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_09_06_COPY_03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0fc1967411-f37dd9c2c5-121628661

helenczerski, 2 months ago to Women

I am not generally an angry person, but if true, this statistic makes me HOPPING MAD. It’s straight-up unacceptable misogyny.

“Four in 10 medical schools do not even include menopause as part of their mandatory curriculum”

#women #health #menopause

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/25/observer-view-on-why-we--all-need-educating-about-rights-of-menopausal-women-in-workplace?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

helenczerski, 1 year ago to climate

I keep thinking back to this Microlino at Fully Charged Live. Reusable water bottles became acceptable, being vegan is now cool, and so is wearing vintage clothes. So who is going to step up to the critical task of making small cars fashionable? The trend towards giant SUVs is ludicrous, incredibly wasteful and dangerous, and bad for our cities. If you must use a car, it should be as small as possible. Where are the micro-car visionaries/influencers? WE NEED YOU. #cars #SUV #climate

helenczerski, 9 months ago to random

ARGHHH.