Jack McGovan
@jackmcgovan.bsky.social
Writer and environmental journalist @ Sentient, The Guardian, Hakai etc
www.sower.world
🇬🇧🏳️🌈
www.sower.world
🇬🇧🏳️🌈
Pinned
What if dinner was public infrastructure?
A Scottish charity wants to reintroduce state-subsidised diners for all—potentially a big ask in the current political climate.
www.sower.world
A charity is gaining momentum pushing for state-subsidised diners to be reintroduced across the UK to improve access to affordable, healthy, and climate-friendly food.
Not everyone is convinced, however, that there's a chance in the current political climate.
My latest for Sower ⬇️
Not everyone is convinced, however, that there's a chance in the current political climate.
My latest for Sower ⬇️
I had an interview recently where they wanted someone to produce high quality texts *specifically because* of all the AI slop around, and in the next breath they said they use AI in their workflow and want someone who is enthusiastic about it.
It's wild how delusional this tech makes people.
It's wild how delusional this tech makes people.
November 11, 2025 at 12:03 PM
I had an interview recently where they wanted someone to produce high quality texts *specifically because* of all the AI slop around, and in the next breath they said they use AI in their workflow and want someone who is enthusiastic about it.
It's wild how delusional this tech makes people.
It's wild how delusional this tech makes people.
Reposted by Jack McGovan
Climate and energy is not immune to today's discourse.
"From what I've seen firsthand, utility policy advocates working on questions of finance, governance, and operations are primarily cisgender, straight (and mostly, white) men. Women, people of color, and queer people work separately..."
"From what I've seen firsthand, utility policy advocates working on questions of finance, governance, and operations are primarily cisgender, straight (and mostly, white) men. Women, people of color, and queer people work separately..."
On Queer People in Climate and Energy
Any queer person who works on climate and energy issues—utility issues, especially—in a technical capacity of any kind is a marvel. A statistical miracle. On my first day working on utility policy, I ...
www.isaacsevier.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Climate and energy is not immune to today's discourse.
"From what I've seen firsthand, utility policy advocates working on questions of finance, governance, and operations are primarily cisgender, straight (and mostly, white) men. Women, people of color, and queer people work separately..."
"From what I've seen firsthand, utility policy advocates working on questions of finance, governance, and operations are primarily cisgender, straight (and mostly, white) men. Women, people of color, and queer people work separately..."
Reposted by Jack McGovan
Vital piece of investigative reporting from Sky. They've uncovered the X algorithm which feeds users extremist right wing material from the moment they join the site. It is a far-right radicalisation engine, by design.
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
news.sky.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Vital piece of investigative reporting from Sky. They've uncovered the X algorithm which feeds users extremist right wing material from the moment they join the site. It is a far-right radicalisation engine, by design.
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
Reposted by Jack McGovan
When environmental educator Mona Shomali submitted this essay about the misuse of "survival of the fittest" to us at @therevelator.org, I couldn't wait to share it with our readers...
Capitalism Loves Competition. Nature Has Other Ideas. therevelator.org/social-darwi...
Capitalism Loves Competition. Nature Has Other Ideas. therevelator.org/social-darwi...
Capitalism Loves Competition. Nature Has Other Ideas. • The Revelator
Social Darwinists use “survival of the fittest” as an excuse to privatize land or remove the social safety net. But that fails to recognize how nature really works.
therevelator.org
October 20, 2025 at 8:01 PM
When environmental educator Mona Shomali submitted this essay about the misuse of "survival of the fittest" to us at @therevelator.org, I couldn't wait to share it with our readers...
Capitalism Loves Competition. Nature Has Other Ideas. therevelator.org/social-darwi...
Capitalism Loves Competition. Nature Has Other Ideas. therevelator.org/social-darwi...
Reposted by Jack McGovan
A Scottish charity wants to reintroduce state-subsidised diners for all—a potentially a big ask in the current political climate. #universalbasicservices
www.sower.world/public-diner...
www.sower.world/public-diner...
What if dinner was public infrastructure?
A Scottish charity wants to reintroduce state-subsidised diners for all—a potentially a big ask in the current political climate.
www.sower.world
November 1, 2025 at 8:15 AM
A Scottish charity wants to reintroduce state-subsidised diners for all—a potentially a big ask in the current political climate. #universalbasicservices
www.sower.world/public-diner...
www.sower.world/public-diner...
A charity is gaining momentum pushing for state-subsidised diners to be reintroduced across the UK to improve access to affordable, healthy, and climate-friendly food.
Not everyone is convinced, however, that there's a chance in the current political climate.
My latest for Sower ⬇️
Not everyone is convinced, however, that there's a chance in the current political climate.
My latest for Sower ⬇️
What if dinner was public infrastructure?
A Scottish charity wants to reintroduce state-subsidised diners for all—potentially a big ask in the current political climate.
www.sower.world
October 30, 2025 at 1:39 PM
A charity is gaining momentum pushing for state-subsidised diners to be reintroduced across the UK to improve access to affordable, healthy, and climate-friendly food.
Not everyone is convinced, however, that there's a chance in the current political climate.
My latest for Sower ⬇️
Not everyone is convinced, however, that there's a chance in the current political climate.
My latest for Sower ⬇️
Reposted by Jack McGovan
This new reconstruction of global whale biomass shows that countries can successfully tackle environmental problems when they come together
But it's a story with an under-recognised hero
🧵 1/
But it's a story with an under-recognised hero
🧵 1/
October 28, 2025 at 4:40 PM
This new reconstruction of global whale biomass shows that countries can successfully tackle environmental problems when they come together
But it's a story with an under-recognised hero
🧵 1/
But it's a story with an under-recognised hero
🧵 1/
Resharing this since Musk has now said civil war is inevitable in the UK. It takes two minutes to email your MP asking them to demand the government leaves X!
Just emailed my MP asking him to join his colleagues in demanding that the government leaves X following Elon Musk's recent comments. It literally takes two minutes to do, and I encourage everyone to do the same: www.writetothem.com.
I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore.
So I wrote a blog about ten things you can do *right now* to help defeat Farage, Musk, and rightwing populism.
From scrutinising Reform councillors to demanding the UK Govt leave X - get involved:
guyshrubsole.substack.com/p/ten-things...
So I wrote a blog about ten things you can do *right now* to help defeat Farage, Musk, and rightwing populism.
From scrutinising Reform councillors to demanding the UK Govt leave X - get involved:
guyshrubsole.substack.com/p/ten-things...
October 29, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Resharing this since Musk has now said civil war is inevitable in the UK. It takes two minutes to email your MP asking them to demand the government leaves X!
Reposted by Jack McGovan
I'm Still On X For The Engagement
I Signed Up For StormFront Because That's Where The Influencers Are
I'm Staying On TruthSocial Because I Can't Let The Right Fill The Space
I Signed Up For StormFront Because That's Where The Influencers Are
I'm Staying On TruthSocial Because I Can't Let The Right Fill The Space
October 29, 2025 at 8:41 AM
I'm Still On X For The Engagement
I Signed Up For StormFront Because That's Where The Influencers Are
I'm Staying On TruthSocial Because I Can't Let The Right Fill The Space
I Signed Up For StormFront Because That's Where The Influencers Are
I'm Staying On TruthSocial Because I Can't Let The Right Fill The Space
Reposted by Jack McGovan
A stat we don't talk about enough: Newspapers have lost 77% of their jobs over the last 20 year, more than any of the 532 other industries tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
October 27, 2025 at 11:54 PM
A stat we don't talk about enough: Newspapers have lost 77% of their jobs over the last 20 year, more than any of the 532 other industries tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Reposted by Jack McGovan
stellan skarsgård seems like a good dude
October 27, 2025 at 11:48 PM
stellan skarsgård seems like a good dude
"In the two years since the state started charging a 4% surtax on incomes over $1 million, the effort has created a $5.7 billion windfall, with the surplus being used to fund bridge repairs, bolster literacy programs and address the transportation system’s budget deficit."
Taxing the rich works!
Taxing the rich works!
Millionaire Tax That Inspired Mamdani Fuels $5.7 Billion Haul in Massachusetts
A millionaire levy in Massachusetts that New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani holds up as a model for taxing the rich has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing...
www.bloomberg.com
October 23, 2025 at 10:25 AM
"In the two years since the state started charging a 4% surtax on incomes over $1 million, the effort has created a $5.7 billion windfall, with the surplus being used to fund bridge repairs, bolster literacy programs and address the transportation system’s budget deficit."
Taxing the rich works!
Taxing the rich works!
Reposted by Jack McGovan
Ada Lovelace, first AI denigrator
October 23, 2025 at 4:39 AM
Ada Lovelace, first AI denigrator
Reposted by Jack McGovan
“Now Scientific American has updated and re-released what it calls the “classic graphic” that shows that a human on a bicycle—able to coast, or freewheel, without pedaling—remains the world’s most energy effecient traveler.” @carltonreid.com on the re-release of the iconic graph in @forbes.com.
October 17, 2025 at 12:52 PM
“Now Scientific American has updated and re-released what it calls the “classic graphic” that shows that a human on a bicycle—able to coast, or freewheel, without pedaling—remains the world’s most energy effecient traveler.” @carltonreid.com on the re-release of the iconic graph in @forbes.com.
Reposted by Jack McGovan
🔥 The never-ending narrative…
This week, I’ve once again heard prominent climate researchers dismiss individual action as either irrelevant or a distraction instigated by the fossil fuel industry.
Here’s a 🧵 on why this argument frustrates me to no end and why I think it misses the bigger picture.
This week, I’ve once again heard prominent climate researchers dismiss individual action as either irrelevant or a distraction instigated by the fossil fuel industry.
Here’s a 🧵 on why this argument frustrates me to no end and why I think it misses the bigger picture.
October 15, 2025 at 11:50 AM
🔥 The never-ending narrative…
This week, I’ve once again heard prominent climate researchers dismiss individual action as either irrelevant or a distraction instigated by the fossil fuel industry.
Here’s a 🧵 on why this argument frustrates me to no end and why I think it misses the bigger picture.
This week, I’ve once again heard prominent climate researchers dismiss individual action as either irrelevant or a distraction instigated by the fossil fuel industry.
Here’s a 🧵 on why this argument frustrates me to no end and why I think it misses the bigger picture.
"Recent research shows that for every million dollars, public spending on the military-industrial complex buys five jobs, while education spending creates thirteen and health care investment creates nine."
Increasing military budgets as part of rising great-power competition is a disaster across multiple fronts: for the victims of wars, for an already burning planet, and for workers who don’t see real benefits from military conflict. New from me & @transitionsec.bsky.social co-director Khem Rogaly
All Guns and No Butter on a Burning Planet
The insatiable demands of the military industrial complex are a barrier to human flourishing on a livable planet.
jacobin.com
October 16, 2025 at 10:52 AM
"Recent research shows that for every million dollars, public spending on the military-industrial complex buys five jobs, while education spending creates thirteen and health care investment creates nine."
Reposted by Jack McGovan
1/6 We are the most terrifying animal in existence, even for wolves
They tested whether wolves (Tuchola Forest, Poland) fear the barking of dogs more than the human voice when speaking. The wolves fled sooner and faster when they heard our voices
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
They tested whether wolves (Tuchola Forest, Poland) fear the barking of dogs more than the human voice when speaking. The wolves fled sooner and faster when they heard our voices
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
October 15, 2025 at 7:10 PM
1/6 We are the most terrifying animal in existence, even for wolves
They tested whether wolves (Tuchola Forest, Poland) fear the barking of dogs more than the human voice when speaking. The wolves fled sooner and faster when they heard our voices
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
They tested whether wolves (Tuchola Forest, Poland) fear the barking of dogs more than the human voice when speaking. The wolves fled sooner and faster when they heard our voices
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Jack McGovan
Pretty freaking wild to hear "actually AI is useful for climate change" constantly and from people who should know better when the people deciding how the massive resources it consumes are used are saying stuff like this
Oh good, ChatGPT is getting "erotica for verified adults" later this year
October 14, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Pretty freaking wild to hear "actually AI is useful for climate change" constantly and from people who should know better when the people deciding how the massive resources it consumes are used are saying stuff like this
Reposted by Jack McGovan
Depressing that the IUCN's confirmation that an endangered species is in fact endangered is the closest thing I can provide to "good news."
Latest for @mongabay.com shows how a concerted effort by the biomedical research lobby to downgrade the IUCN listing of long-tailed macaques has failed.
Latest for @mongabay.com shows how a concerted effort by the biomedical research lobby to downgrade the IUCN listing of long-tailed macaques has failed.
IUCN upholds long-tailed macaques’ endangered status after complaint
BANGKOK — The long-tailed macaque will remain on the Red List of the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, despite objections from the biomedical industry arguing the designation hampers r...
news.mongabay.com
October 15, 2025 at 5:29 AM
Depressing that the IUCN's confirmation that an endangered species is in fact endangered is the closest thing I can provide to "good news."
Latest for @mongabay.com shows how a concerted effort by the biomedical research lobby to downgrade the IUCN listing of long-tailed macaques has failed.
Latest for @mongabay.com shows how a concerted effort by the biomedical research lobby to downgrade the IUCN listing of long-tailed macaques has failed.
Did you or somebody you know take part in the Basic Income for Artists scheme in Ireland? I’m looking to speak to some participants for a piece, anonymous is also fine!
DM or email is in bio, please share 🙏
#journorequest
DM or email is in bio, please share 🙏
#journorequest
October 13, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Did you or somebody you know take part in the Basic Income for Artists scheme in Ireland? I’m looking to speak to some participants for a piece, anonymous is also fine!
DM or email is in bio, please share 🙏
#journorequest
DM or email is in bio, please share 🙏
#journorequest
Reposted by Jack McGovan
Fully support what Jack is saying here, we need more recognition of collective work and not singling out individuals, especially when they're involved in super collective work. Why not award orgs and coalitions?
With Jane Goodall's death last week and the Nobel Prize announcements this week, I wrote about why it's a big problem that we lionise individuals for achievements that resulted from the work of collective groups of people.
We spend too much time lionising people like Jane Goodall
Idolising people only entrenches the idea that it is spectacular individuals, not collectives, who change the world.
www.sower.world
October 10, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Fully support what Jack is saying here, we need more recognition of collective work and not singling out individuals, especially when they're involved in super collective work. Why not award orgs and coalitions?
Reposted by Jack McGovan
LRT
“In 2017, Kenyan conservationist Dr Mordecai Ogada published the book The Big Conservation Lie, which criticised ‘white saviours’ like Goodall...Have any African conservationists received a damehood or regular well-paid speaking opportunities across the world for their work?”
“In 2017, Kenyan conservationist Dr Mordecai Ogada published the book The Big Conservation Lie, which criticised ‘white saviours’ like Goodall...Have any African conservationists received a damehood or regular well-paid speaking opportunities across the world for their work?”
With Jane Goodall's death last week and the Nobel Prize announcements this week, I wrote about why it's a big problem that we lionise individuals for achievements that resulted from the work of collective groups of people.
We spend too much time lionising people like Jane Goodall
Idolising people only entrenches the idea that it is spectacular individuals, not collectives, who change the world.
www.sower.world
October 9, 2025 at 8:13 PM
LRT
“In 2017, Kenyan conservationist Dr Mordecai Ogada published the book The Big Conservation Lie, which criticised ‘white saviours’ like Goodall...Have any African conservationists received a damehood or regular well-paid speaking opportunities across the world for their work?”
“In 2017, Kenyan conservationist Dr Mordecai Ogada published the book The Big Conservation Lie, which criticised ‘white saviours’ like Goodall...Have any African conservationists received a damehood or regular well-paid speaking opportunities across the world for their work?”
Reposted by Jack McGovan
"The economic system we live under has nurtured these Great Man narratives because it’s precisely what keeps it propped up. Our system teaches us that those who work hard will rise to the top on the basis of their merit and contribution to the world."
With Jane Goodall's death last week and the Nobel Prize announcements this week, I wrote about why it's a big problem that we lionise individuals for achievements that resulted from the work of collective groups of people.
We spend too much time lionising people like Jane Goodall
Idolising people only entrenches the idea that it is spectacular individuals, not collectives, who change the world.
www.sower.world
October 9, 2025 at 3:11 PM
"The economic system we live under has nurtured these Great Man narratives because it’s precisely what keeps it propped up. Our system teaches us that those who work hard will rise to the top on the basis of their merit and contribution to the world."
With Jane Goodall's death last week and the Nobel Prize announcements this week, I wrote about why it's a big problem that we lionise individuals for achievements that resulted from the work of collective groups of people.
We spend too much time lionising people like Jane Goodall
Idolising people only entrenches the idea that it is spectacular individuals, not collectives, who change the world.
www.sower.world
October 9, 2025 at 2:31 PM
With Jane Goodall's death last week and the Nobel Prize announcements this week, I wrote about why it's a big problem that we lionise individuals for achievements that resulted from the work of collective groups of people.
"No fight against the slaughterhouses will ever be successful if we do not also confront capitalism. Likewise, no fight against capitalism will fully succeed unless we also fight against slaughterhouses."
Can't encourage people enough to read this essay, it's incredibly important writing.
Can't encourage people enough to read this essay, it's incredibly important writing.
How Industrial Slaughter Became the Blueprint for Modern Capitalism
Henry Ford learned mass production from slaughterhouses. A century later, our modern economy still resembles a meatpacking plant.
www.currentaffairs.org
October 8, 2025 at 7:44 PM
"No fight against the slaughterhouses will ever be successful if we do not also confront capitalism. Likewise, no fight against capitalism will fully succeed unless we also fight against slaughterhouses."
Can't encourage people enough to read this essay, it's incredibly important writing.
Can't encourage people enough to read this essay, it's incredibly important writing.