So Here We Are

Welcome to another month in the life of a planet whose ecological limits continue to be breached in more ways than can be counted on a blog of this size. Never mind: we're still here to read about what's actually been happening. Lord Howe stag beetle is back (image: Steve Smith  CC BY-ND-NC via inaturalist ) And it's amazing what comes bouncing back once whatever is suppressing it has been removed, as our friend above can testify. It's something we may(?) be able to say of certain world affairs shortly. Getting through that 'shortly' part may prove interesting, however. In the meantime...  Environment This was once an inland sea. Surprisingly, it still is in parts. ( NASA )   The Ugly Since when did Victoria need new gas fields: especially near natural attractions? As with all departments under the reign of Trump, the Bureau of Land Management has morphed into a mechanism for extraction. Going so far as rescinding grazing permits for bison herds , and recommenc...

If you take one thing from this posting, it should be the levelling trend at the end of this graph! - Climate Trace As usual, there were a flood of articles this month. Space and time (both yours and mine) mean that only a fraction of them get presented here. A couple of factors determine which ones I select. Personal choice, of course. I also try to represent themes (the take up of renewable energy, for instance) rather than more of the same. This can sometimes lead to the impression that not a lot is happening in some areas. If you think ICE activities have died down, you would be wrong. The classifications inspired by Sergio Leone ('Good', 'Bad', 'Ugly') are selected based on whether article indicates progress ('good'), a backslide or misstep ('bad'), and whether the backsliding is intentional ('ugly'). They are placed in the reverse order so that the good is the last thing you scan, and be left with 'reasons to be cheerful'. H...

Another month, and another set of articles to browse (or flee screaming from, depending on your current mental state). The usual actors continue to labour at turning Orwell's vision of a boot stamping on a human face into reality. There are wars, and rumours of war, famine, environmental breakdown, robot uprisings etc. etc. All of this does need to be watched, even as we also note that the world continues to turn, and turn up good news as well. The world's still turning, and so is the Moon, to which Artemis II has just begun its journey - DSCOVR. NASA We have a number of species that aren't going extinct just yet. Renewable energy is burgeoning. Medicinal research continues to amaze. Mainstream media is not the sole source of information. Fascism is not carrying all before it. City building isn't just for computers. So, on that cheery note, go and find something of interest below. Environment If the situation with several critical endangered species is any guide, things...