Fiona Armstrong
farmstrong.bsky.social
Fiona Armstrong
@farmstrong.bsky.social

Climate, environment, biodiversity, health, strategy, systems change, collaboration, imagination, cohousing, surfing, art

Public Health 41%
Medicine 26%
What I always hear: “We can’t afford to pay our workers more than $15 an hour.”

What I never hear: “We can’t afford to pay our CEO millions of dollars a year.”

Funny how that works.

A precursor to slavery?
European governments that have pledged to clamp down on immigration are still expanding schemes for workers to come on short-term visas.

Their goal is to maximize predatory exploitation of migrant workers without giving them any rights or security.
Guest Worker Schemes Are a Machine for Labor Exploitation
European governments that have pledged to clamp down on immigration are still expanding schemes for workers to come on short-term visas. Their goal is to maximize predatory exploitation of migrant workers without giving them any rights or security.
jacobin.com

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

At an unusual event in Queens on Sunday, everyday New Yorkers lined up to offer their expertise and experience to democratic socialist mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
Zohran Mamdani Is Listening — and Taking Notes
At an unusual event in Queens on Sunday, everyday New Yorkers lined up to offer their expertise and experience to democratic socialist mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
jacobin.com

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

European governments that have pledged to clamp down on immigration are still expanding schemes for workers to come on short-term visas.

Their goal is to maximize predatory exploitation of migrant workers without giving them any rights or security.
Guest Worker Schemes Are a Machine for Labor Exploitation
European governments that have pledged to clamp down on immigration are still expanding schemes for workers to come on short-term visas. Their goal is to maximize predatory exploitation of migrant workers without giving them any rights or security.
jacobin.com

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

“We asked the question a little differently: did places with more gun buybacks experience a larger drop in gun homicide and suicide? The answer turned out to be a resounding yes.”
The upsides of the gun buyback • Andrew Leigh
John Howard’s buyback scheme had more than one clear benefit
inside.org.au

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

Of course people of Jewish faith have the right to live without fear, George. This has my FULL support.

Exactly like people of Muslim faith have the right to live without fear as well as without settler-colonial violence, apartheid, illegal occupation of their lands & genocide. #auspol #BondiBeach
Australian here 👋

Stop saying the tragedy in Sydney demonstrates that strict gun laws don’t work.

There were ZERO mass shootings in Australia in the two decades after strict gun laws were passed in 1996.

We have so much we need to do, but strict gun laws remain a critical part of the solution.
Because it’s not getting reported on enough:

Muslim fruit shop owner Ahmed al Ahmed, father of two, was the hero who bravely tackled one of the Bondi Beach shooters and took away his gun.

He saved lives during a major terror attack. Say his name, and honor the lives of the victims of the shooters

4%?
If someone wanted to destroy the US automobile industry and tremendously strengthen the Chinese automobile industry, they wouldn't be doing anything differently than what Trump is doing now. China is now producing smarter, cheaper, cleaner cars than the US.

www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
Trump to Roll Back Fuel Economy Rules in Nod to Rising Car Prices
It’s not clear that relaxing the standard will lower costs for consumers.
www.bloomberg.com

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

David Shoebridge doesn’t hold back after Chief of Defence David Johnstone repeatedly refuses to state his salary
“You get paid $896,373 a yr, & the Chief of Def in the US gets paid $343,000 a yr. You get paid 3 times as much! Is that why you didn’t want to tell me?”🔥 #Estimates

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

South Australia’s treatment of dingoes is draconian, and wrapped up in a system that favours colonialists over Fist Nations’ concerns, and the health of ecosystems www.indailysa.com.au/news/just-in.... Some commentary from me in this article by Charlie Gilchrist.
New Dog Fence on track as livestock attacks down but not out - News | InDaily, Inside South Australia
A multimillion dollar rebuild of South Australia’s dog fence, aiming to protect its $4 billion livestock industry, is on track for completion.
www.indailysa.com.au

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

'A thinktank known for its rejection of the climate crisis & a conservation group that has opposed renewable energy projects refused to identify their funders during a fiery Senate inquiry into climate & energy misinformation on Wednesday'.

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Climate-sceptic IPA refuses to reveal funders in fiery Senate inquiry
Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart has previously donated to Institute of Public Affairs but thinktank won’t say if she remains a donor
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

At COPs, countries like Norway, Australia, the U.S. and Canada argue for high climate ambition. Back at home, they have collectively increased oil and gas production by 40% since Paris Agreement. This is why climate negotiation demands shouldn't be interpreted as action
drilled.media/news/COP30-OCI
Running into COP30 with Oil and Gas
As COP30 gets underway in Brazil, a new report spotlights increased oil and gas production from the U.S., Australia, Norway and Canada since the Paris Climate Agreement was signed a decade ago.
drilled.media

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

This was a very good discussion of what is wrong with ecomodernism (spoiler: you can have all the tech you want, it will not magically produce painless redistribution because the effects of property and prices will not automatically disappear in the future)! www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
How to Blow Up a Planet | Trevor Jackson
What happened to the future? When did we lose it, and what has taken its place? Political scientists have found a continual decline in visions of a shared
www.nybooks.com

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

🌍 #COP30: A turning point for climate & gender justice?
Women, particularly racialised & marginalised women are on the frontlines of climate & environmental injustice.Yet their leadership, knowledge & solutions are often overlooked in decision-making spaces like COP.
www.wen.org.uk/2025/11/10/c...
COP30: A TURNING POINT FOR CLIMATE AND GENDER JUSTICE?
As COP30 kicks off in Belém, Brazil, the need for bold, intersectional feminist climate action has never been more urgent.
www.wen.org.uk

You couldn't make this up.
Over the weekend, the NIH director spoke at the annual conference of an anti-public health, conspiracy-promoting dark money group.

He was there to receive an award from the organization, which was founded by his friend and ally—a man recently revealed to have been accused of sexual harassment.
NIH Director Accepts Award From Anti-Vax Dark Money Group Founded By Accused Sexual Harasser
Jay Bhattacharya reunited with his old ally Jeffrey Tucker weeks after the political operative was revealed to have faced a sexual harassment scandal.
www.importantcontext.news

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

By 2030, the shipping sector needs to shrink its carbon footprint by almost half, yet the International Maritime Organisation's Net-Zero Framework will shave at most a tenth off the sector's emissions, our latest research reveals.

carbonmarketwatch.org/2025/11/06/i...

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

Over the weekend, the NIH director spoke at the annual conference of an anti-public health, conspiracy-promoting dark money group.

He was there to receive an award from the organization, which was founded by his friend and ally—a man recently revealed to have been accused of sexual harassment.
NIH Director Accepts Award From Anti-Vax Dark Money Group Founded By Accused Sexual Harasser
Jay Bhattacharya reunited with his old ally Jeffrey Tucker weeks after the political operative was revealed to have faced a sexual harassment scandal.
www.importantcontext.news

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

LETTER: “Youth climate activist urges leaders to prioritize science over politics.” So proud of @sophiamathur.bsky.social for speaking truth to power. We made a pinky promise 8 yrs ago to do our part to tackle the climate crisis & she lives up to it every day! www.baytoday.ca/letters-to-t...
LETTER: Youth climate activist urges leaders to prioritize science over politics
'Climate change is here, it is deadly, and it is stealing the dreams of young people like me'
www.baytoday.ca
“In union, there is strength.” ― Aesop

Please, all in the conservation movement, do not do deals that simply favour your pet areas, in exchange for publicly endorsing @australianlabor.bsky.social's pathetic environmental law reform bill.

Demand the whole package is improved, back in the science!

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

Stunning @desmog.com story from @geoffdembicki.bsky.social - showing how oil major ExxonMobil bankrolled climate science denial in the global south prior to crucial global summits...

www.desmog.com/2025/11/03/a...
‘A Pretty Ugly History’: How Exxon Exported Climate Denial to the Global South
With Brazil about to host COP30, DeSmog has obtained copies of checks Exxon mailed to the right-wing Atlas Network in the 1990s to turn Latin America against climate treaties.
www.desmog.com

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

A beam of light in the darkness of the world from Naarm last night.

I'm proud to live in a state that has accomplished something so important in passing Australia's first Indigenous treaty.

Always was, always will be Aboriginal land 🖤💛❤️
If @billgates.bsky.social were to read #ScienceUnderSiege by @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social & myself, he would know that climate change is amplifying deadly pandemics. Only someone ignorant of the science adopts the fallacy that we can treat global health and the climate crisis as separate threats

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

“The owners of the biggest cattle station in the world have been charged over allegedly building illegal dams on inland rivers & waterholes in outback SA..The native title holders are the Arabana who said they first noticed the earthworks while doing a heritage survey”
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...
Cattle station owners face charges over alleged illegal dams
The owners of Anna Creek Station, the biggest cattle station in the world, have been charged over allegedly building illegal dams on inland rivers and waterholes in outback South Australia.
www.abc.net.au

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

On this day 18 yrs ago @albomp.bsky.social said in Parliament, during a debate on climate change that "we simply cannot afford to wait any longer."

allouryesterdays.info/2025/10/29/o...
Amazon just announced 14,000 layoffs. Its CEO made over $40M last year.

UPS announced 48,000 layoffs. Its CEO made over $24M last year.

Intel announced 20,000 layoffs. Its new CEO's pay package is valued at nearly $69M.

This is what I mean when I say the system is rigged.

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

What is an #EcoCivilisation?

What are its values?

Why do we need one and what will the Establishment do to maintain business as usual?

Most importantly, what can each of us do to live an #EcoCivilization into being?

accidentalgods.life/eco-civilisa...

#AccidentalGods #Podcast
Eco-Civilisation: the future we deserve and how we will get there with Jeremy Lent
What is an eco-civilisation? What are its values and what are the frames within which it works? Why do we need it in the first place and what will the Establishment do to maintain business as usual? M...
accidentalgods.life

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

Thanks to @sigladman.bsky.social Secular Agenda podcast for this crucial interview. Cults & hi-control churches are dangerous. We can’t let abuse continue under the polite veil of “respect” for “religion”. The stories here are gutting. #Auspol needs to copy #SpringSt

rationalist.com.au/podcasts/

Reposted by Fiona Armstrong

At age 60, about a quarter of women live in poverty, compared to 21 per cent of men. By age 80, over a third, or 36 per cent, of Australian women are living in relative poverty, a new report finds. satpa.pe/RX4GQGr
Confronting the superannuation gender gap
Advocates say more needs to be done as the tweaks made to superannuation tax offsets for low-income earners will barely help the quarter of women who retire in poverty.
satpa.pe