Barbara McFarlane
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barbaramcfarlane.bsky.social
Barbara McFarlane
@barbaramcfarlane.bsky.social
Architect, activist, follower of green initiatives, active in local amenity groups / loves sea-kayaking, outdoor swimming, art, exploring wildlandscapes and literature. Strong ties with Northwich.
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
This couldn’t be clearer. Bannon’s texts to Epstein in mid July 2018 - “overthrowing May right now” and in “London with Boris” as well as his appearance on LBC with Nigel Farage are prettying damning evidence of a cross party plot with foreign backing
February 11, 2026 at 12:18 PM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
“We are the dinosaurs of construction in Europe,” Barbara Jones summed it up nicely
Britain’s building standards are now so bad, even the super-rich are facing housing misery | Phineas Harper
Residents of the UK’s most expensive flats have won a court case over defective pipework. If their homes are shoddily built, what hope do the rest of us have, asks writer and curator Phineas Harper
www.theguardian.com
February 11, 2026 at 10:19 AM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
Food & Water x The Sameer Project are providing food & water to people in Gaza if you want to donate chuffed.org/project/help...
Food & Water x The Sameer Project
Translating Falasteen (Palestine), in collaboration with The Sameer Project, launched a fundraising campaign to support families in Gaza facing severe hardships. Our mission is to provide food & water...
chuffed.org
February 8, 2026 at 11:13 AM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
"Inadequate food supplies and collapsing rainforests must be recognised as national security threats – not pigeonholed as green issues"
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Guardian view on risks from biodiversity collapse: warnings must be heeded before it’s too late | Editorial
Editorial: Inadequate food supplies and collapsing rainforests must be recognised as national security threats – not pigeonholed as green issues
www.theguardian.com
February 1, 2026 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
OPINION | Shropshire Council’s push to demolish its former HQ, the late 1960s Shirehall in Shrewsbury, encapsulates everything wrong with how we treat our existing buildings, argues Leanne Tritton.
Why is it so hard to reuse buildings in Britain?
Why is it so hard to reuse buildings in Britain?
www.architectsjournal.co.uk
January 29, 2026 at 1:07 PM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
This week's column is about something that's arguably more important than anything in the news, crucial as some of the other issues are.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The UK government didn't want you to see this report on ecosystem collapse. I'm not surprised | George Monbiot
It took an FOI request to bring this national security assessment to light. For ‘doomsayers’ like us, it is the ultimate vindication, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
January 27, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
Writing with @rupertread.bsky.social about just how devastating the Government- suppressed security report is, particularly its conclusions about our food insecurity. Ministers should be helping to build our resilience to these threats, not burying the report that contains them 👇
It's ecological breakdown that should put us on a war-footing: official
Admissions of extreme, eco-caused national security threats foreground importance of climate adaptation to bring much needed urgency and agency.
www.resilience.org
January 27, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
RheEnergise use a mineral-rich suspension 2.5 times denser than water which can then operate like a conventional hydro

Only needs hills -not mountains - so can be more widely deployed

Allows long-duration storage at (they claim) half price of lithium batteries

www.theguardian.com/business/202...
First of its kind ‘high-density’ hydro system begins generating electricity in Devon
Project employs technology that can be used to store and release renewable energy using even gentle slopes
www.theguardian.com
January 27, 2026 at 8:04 AM
Sustainable Hackney screening of the ‘Happy Man Tree' Fri 6 Feb ticket www.sustainablehackney.org.uk/event-detail.... Campaign to save a Plane tree. Panel agreed: katymcgahan.com www.noticethistree.org @paulpowlesland.bsky.social Paul Wood thestreettree.substack.com @sarahwoodberrydown.bsky.social
January 26, 2026 at 5:57 PM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
You may’ve seen coverage of a new report on the threat to national security from environmental collapse.

A common response that’s got my goat is: “Look, it’s not just tree-hugging enviros saying this, it’s hard-nosed spooks!”

A short thread on why this framing is bad history & bad politics🧵😡😉
Biodiversity collapse threatens UK security, intelligence chiefs warn
Ecosystem destruction will increase food shortages, disorder and mass migration, with effects already being felt
www.theguardian.com
January 24, 2026 at 4:42 AM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
Aramco have acquired a majority stake in chemicals + plastics firm SABIC, + bought into huge Chinese plastics + chemicals projects from Korea to Texas, with the aim that production of plastics 'would drive nearly half of oil-demand growth by mid-century':

www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...
January 21, 2026 at 8:51 AM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
When a licence is refused - and gamebirds are released anyway.

Today's news: A Wild Justice supporter helps uncover unlawful release of gamebirds at the Deben Estuary.

Read the full blog: tinyurl.com/gamebirdrele...
January 14, 2026 at 10:25 AM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
The government sits and watches as Heba dies. It's heartbreaking, horrible, almost impossible to compute. Didn't people vote in the hope (however forlorn) of ending the Tories' psychopathic mode of government? Yet on it goes, under Keir Starmer. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Imprisoned hunger striker linked to Palestine Action tells friend: ‘I’m dying’
Francesca Nadin visited Heba Muraisi, 31, in a Wakefield prison at the weekend and says ‘her body is shutting down’
www.theguardian.com
January 12, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Sustainable Hackney screening of the ‘Happy Man Tree' film, on Friday 6 Feb www.sustainablehackney.org.uk/event-detail.... Campaign to save a 150 yr old London Plane tree.

More info & invitation to reflect & connect www.noticethistree.org @paulpowlesland.bsky.social @saveleamarshes.bsky.social
January 7, 2026 at 10:13 AM
@paulpowlesland.bsky.social hi Paul can you contact me? Re the showing of the Happy Man Tree film 6 Feb?
January 7, 2026 at 10:09 AM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
Who is feeling the weight of this at the moment? People seem to have lost their voices on social media.

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
US attack on Greenland would mean end of Nato, says Danish PM
Mette Frederiksen criticises Donald Trump’s ‘unacceptable pressure’ as Greenland counterpart condemns ‘fantasies’
www.theguardian.com
January 6, 2026 at 9:49 AM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
‘A silent majority’: Politicians strongly underestimate support for green policies, study reveals

- From solar subsidies to meat taxes, minority rightwing voices appear to drown out the consensus

Research by Lisa-Maria Tanase et al
Story by me
#climatecrisis
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘A silent majority’: MPs underestimate support for green policies, study reveals
Exclusive: From solar subsidies to meat taxes, minority rightwing voices appear to drown out the consensus
www.theguardian.com
January 5, 2026 at 12:58 PM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
Free, Free South America.
January 3, 2026 at 7:23 PM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
Our current agricultural system is choking birds out of existence + farmers out of business. The report identifies a need for:

- better agri-environment schemes to protect grass margin + fallow habitats
- engagement with farmers to support bird-friendly practices

www.birdguides.com/news/farmlan...
Farmland birds in steady decline across Scotland, new report finds
A comprehensive report finds continued declines in Scotland's farmland birds, highlighting significant losses for Tree Sparrow, Grey Partridge and other priority species, and calling for strengthened ...
www.birdguides.com
January 3, 2026 at 1:09 PM
@fuelpovertyaction.bsky.social have details of misery caused by defects of ECO4, insulation, ASHP, solar. Various facebook groups eg www.facebook.com/share/g/1Adj.... @martingillie.bsky.social. Data in NAC report unclear. Fabric 1st & renewables & proper oversight of procurement! No silver bullet!
December 30, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
Sweden has declared Snowy Owl nationally extinct, marking the first official loss of a bird species in the country for two decades:
Snowy Owl declared extinct in Sweden after decade without breeding
Sweden has declared Snowy Owl nationally extinct after no breeding records since 2015. Climate change, declining prey and shifting ecosystems are believed to have driven the iconic Arctic owl from the country.
bit.ly
December 27, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
The UK’s largest planned data centre—a project by US firm QTS—is understating its true water consumption by a factor of 50, says new analysis by @watershed-i.bsky.social & @aiarmsracebook.bsky.social @digiconomist.bsky.social No mistake; AI is a heavy, polluting industry. shorturl.at/KXQxJ
UK’s largest proposed datacentre ‘understating planned water use’
Analysis suggests consumption at Northumberland site could be 50 times higher than US operator QTS estimates
www.theguardian.com
December 19, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
'Rewilding' presented as merely another investment opportunity.

Capitalism is like a highly corrosive acid, relentlessly seeking to corrupt and neutralise everything that offers ways out of the dead end nightmare IT is creating.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Unashamedly capitalist’ rewilders claim ‘Moneyball’ approach could make millions – but experts sceptical
Rich Stockdale says model of ‘regenerative capitalism’ would maximise profits by planting trees, restoring peatlands, and installing windfarms across its estates
www.theguardian.com
December 22, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Reposted by Barbara McFarlane
"She's been on remand for over a year, her trial's not until April next year and bail keeps getting denied." news.sky.com/story/fears-...
Fears Palestine Action hunger striker will die in prison after 43 days without food
Teuta Hoxha's body is the "only form of resistance she has and that's what she is using against the state", her sister says.
news.sky.com
December 22, 2025 at 9:32 PM