Phil Stevenson
@philstevenson.bsky.social
Prof in plant sciences | Kew.org | NRI.org | pollinators | sustainable food | chemical ecology | ecological pest management | guitarist | @sheducationband | evidence based views | FRES | FRSC |
https://www.kew.org/science/our-science/people/phil-stevenson
https://www.kew.org/science/our-science/people/phil-stevenson
Pinned
Phil Stevenson
@philstevenson.bsky.social
· Nov 17
Hello Folks - I'm following the crowd here - hoping it's a more benevolent and inclusive space where I can share and discuss with intelligent folk who value evidence and integrity.
Reposted by Phil Stevenson
We have never observed planetary boundaries. It's either time to start taking these issues seriously or get ready for massive 'unplanned degrowth'...
www.fao.org/newsroom/det...
www.fao.org/newsroom/det...
FAO report: 1.7 billion people experience lower crop yields due to land degradation
The State of Food and Agriculture 2025 report focuses on land degradation caused by human activities
www.fao.org
November 8, 2025 at 9:10 AM
We have never observed planetary boundaries. It's either time to start taking these issues seriously or get ready for massive 'unplanned degrowth'...
www.fao.org/newsroom/det...
www.fao.org/newsroom/det...
Reposted by Phil Stevenson
"Elon Musk is deliberately using his platform to poison our politics and divide our country
It’s time for the government to wake up to the threat he poses to our country"
It’s time for the government to wake up to the threat he poses to our country"
Elon Musk makes himself far-right fixture after White House departure
The Tesla CEO once hinted he was done with politics – but he’s been leaning further into the international far right
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 7:03 AM
"Elon Musk is deliberately using his platform to poison our politics and divide our country
It’s time for the government to wake up to the threat he poses to our country"
It’s time for the government to wake up to the threat he poses to our country"
The net worth of 10 richest US billionaires grew by $698bn in the past year. Thats ~10 times the annual amount required to end extreme global poverty. Why does Bill Gates advise directing money away from “near-term emissions goals” towards climate “adaptation” ? www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I wish we could ignore Bill Gates on the climate crisis. But he’s a billionaire, so we can’t | George Monbiot
Money talks – and his essay denouncing ‘near-term emissions goals’ at Cop30 mostly argues the case for letting the ultra-rich off the hook
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:57 AM
The net worth of 10 richest US billionaires grew by $698bn in the past year. Thats ~10 times the annual amount required to end extreme global poverty. Why does Bill Gates advise directing money away from “near-term emissions goals” towards climate “adaptation” ? www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Absolutely obscene. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Tesla shareholders approve $1tn pay package for Elon Musk
Chants of ‘Elon’ erupt after compensation plan approved despite opposition from several high-profile investors
www.theguardian.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Absolutely obscene. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Britain is one of the least ‘nature-connected’ nations in world – with Nepal the most. Lets get reconnected - it’s good for us.
Others languishing near bottom of 61-country study include Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan and Spain. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Others languishing near bottom of 61-country study include Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan and Spain. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Britain one of least ‘nature-connected’ nations in world – with Nepal the most
Others languishing near bottom of 61-country study include Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan and Spain
www.theguardian.com
November 4, 2025 at 6:15 AM
Britain is one of the least ‘nature-connected’ nations in world – with Nepal the most. Lets get reconnected - it’s good for us.
Others languishing near bottom of 61-country study include Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan and Spain. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Others languishing near bottom of 61-country study include Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan and Spain. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Northumberland Wildlife Trust in partnership with The Wildlife Trusts have a one-time-only opportunity to secure the future of the historic Rothbury Estate in Northumberland. We can help.
www.nwt.org.uk/what-we-do/p...
www.nwt.org.uk/what-we-do/p...
Saving Rothbury Estate | Northumberland Wildlife Trust
Northumberland Wildlife Trust - The Wildlife Trusts have purchased a large upland area of the Rothbury Estate in partnership with Northumberland Wildlife Trust.
www.nwt.org.uk
October 30, 2025 at 7:12 AM
Northumberland Wildlife Trust in partnership with The Wildlife Trusts have a one-time-only opportunity to secure the future of the historic Rothbury Estate in Northumberland. We can help.
www.nwt.org.uk/what-we-do/p...
www.nwt.org.uk/what-we-do/p...
Reposted by Phil Stevenson
A manifesto for plant science education
Alvey et al.
📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Societal Impact Statement also available in French.
#PlantScience @apaterlini.bsky.social @lizalvey.bsky.social @PlantTeaching.bsky.social @katharinehubbard.bsky.social
Alvey et al.
📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Societal Impact Statement also available in French.
#PlantScience @apaterlini.bsky.social @lizalvey.bsky.social @PlantTeaching.bsky.social @katharinehubbard.bsky.social
October 30, 2025 at 6:59 AM
A manifesto for plant science education
Alvey et al.
📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Societal Impact Statement also available in French.
#PlantScience @apaterlini.bsky.social @lizalvey.bsky.social @PlantTeaching.bsky.social @katharinehubbard.bsky.social
Alvey et al.
📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Societal Impact Statement also available in French.
#PlantScience @apaterlini.bsky.social @lizalvey.bsky.social @PlantTeaching.bsky.social @katharinehubbard.bsky.social
Wind power has cut £104bn from UK energy costs since 2010, study finds www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Wind power has cut £104bn from UK energy costs since 2010, study finds
Reduction comes from energy generated from windfarms and lower cost of gas owing to lower demand
www.theguardian.com
October 28, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Wind power has cut £104bn from UK energy costs since 2010, study finds www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Interesting study from #ubc in PNAS. Elevated virus infection of honeybee queens reduces methyl oleate production and destabilizes colony-level social structure. When methyloleate levels drop, workers "smell" the queen's weakness & begin preparing her successor.
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
doi.org
October 28, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Interesting study from #ubc in PNAS. Elevated virus infection of honeybee queens reduces methyl oleate production and destabilizes colony-level social structure. When methyloleate levels drop, workers "smell" the queen's weakness & begin preparing her successor.
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
I have a PhD opportunity with @juliakoricheva.bsky.social at @rhulbiology.bsky.social and @rbgkew.bsky.social to research the effect of forest diversification on understory forage provision for pollinators in an experimental mixed forest in Finland. www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/eff... please share
Effects of forest diversification on floral reward production for pollinators | TREES DLA
The herb layer in forests has a large potential to provide nectar and pollen for pollinators, but forest management practices such as planting tree species mixtures vs monocultures can affect floral r...
www.trees-dla.ac.uk
October 28, 2025 at 2:07 PM
I have a PhD opportunity with @juliakoricheva.bsky.social at @rhulbiology.bsky.social and @rbgkew.bsky.social to research the effect of forest diversification on understory forage provision for pollinators in an experimental mixed forest in Finland. www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/eff... please share
Reposted by Phil Stevenson
Green pathways to mental health: relationships between treescapes and well-being and distress @peopleandnature.bsky.social besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Green pathways to mental health: Relationships between treescapes and well‐being and distress
Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 25, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Green pathways to mental health: relationships between treescapes and well-being and distress @peopleandnature.bsky.social besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Bumblebees learn to use antennal and tarsal taste to predict the presence of nectar rewards in flowers. This means that bees can learn to associate no food floral trait – e.g., chemicals on the surfaces of petals – with the quality of floral rewards. @ox.ac.uk
doi.org/10.1242/jeb....
doi.org/10.1242/jeb....
Bumblebees learn to use antennal and tarsal taste to predict the presence of nectar rewards in flowers
Summary: Behavioural experiments and electrophysiological recordings show bumblebees can detect taste cues on surfaces of artificial flowers, including bitter toxins, and learn to use these to predict...
doi.org
October 25, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Bumblebees learn to use antennal and tarsal taste to predict the presence of nectar rewards in flowers. This means that bees can learn to associate no food floral trait – e.g., chemicals on the surfaces of petals – with the quality of floral rewards. @ox.ac.uk
doi.org/10.1242/jeb....
doi.org/10.1242/jeb....
Scientists have wondered what gives luxury ‘cat-poo’ coffee that has been through a Civet’s digestive tract its unique flavour. Well it’s pretty obvious - it’s been through the digestive tract of a Civet. Anyway - here’s a piece on the chemistry of cat-poo coffee.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
This luxury ‘cat poo’ coffee has a unique flavour: what’s behind it?
Civets enrich coffee beans they eat and excrete with two fatty acids often used in dairy products, study finds.
www.nature.com
October 24, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Scientists have wondered what gives luxury ‘cat-poo’ coffee that has been through a Civet’s digestive tract its unique flavour. Well it’s pretty obvious - it’s been through the digestive tract of a Civet. Anyway - here’s a piece on the chemistry of cat-poo coffee.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Phil Stevenson
New OA publication from TreE_PlaNat project @uktreescapes.bsky.social in Ecological Solutions and Evidence: Creating woodland through natural processes: Current understanding and knowledge gaps in Great Britain besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Creating woodland through natural processes: Current understanding and knowledge gaps in Great Britain
Natural colonisation can successfully create structurally diverse, locally adapted woodlands in Britain, but the outcomes of this process can vary considerably. Combining natural colonisation and tre...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 23, 2025 at 7:08 AM
New OA publication from TreE_PlaNat project @uktreescapes.bsky.social in Ecological Solutions and Evidence: Creating woodland through natural processes: Current understanding and knowledge gaps in Great Britain besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Great PhD opportunity to work with @juliakoricheva.bsky.social & me looking at floral rewards in forests. @rbgkew.bsky.social @rhulbiology.bsky.social
PhD applications are now open @treesdla.bsky.social for 2026 intake. Have a look at a project on effects of forest diversity on floral reward production for pollinators that we advertise with @philstevenson.bsky.social. Do apply/get in touch if you are interested! www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/eff...
October 21, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Great PhD opportunity to work with @juliakoricheva.bsky.social & me looking at floral rewards in forests. @rbgkew.bsky.social @rhulbiology.bsky.social
Irvine Welsh at #wimbledonbookfestival talking about his new book book Men In Love. And even got to meet the man himself in the pub afterwards.
October 20, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Irvine Welsh at #wimbledonbookfestival talking about his new book book Men In Love. And even got to meet the man himself in the pub afterwards.
Autumn here in force @rbgkew.bsky.social
October 20, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Autumn here in force @rbgkew.bsky.social
Happy Diwali!
a happy diwali greeting card with a candle in the shape of a flower on a plate .
ALT: a happy diwali greeting card with a candle in the shape of a flower on a plate .
media.tenor.com
October 20, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Happy Diwali!
It’s autumn in the bonsai house @rbgkew.bsky.social
October 18, 2025 at 3:39 PM
It’s autumn in the bonsai house @rbgkew.bsky.social
Government told to prepare for 2C warming by 2050. UK ”not yet adapted" to worsening weather extremes already occurring at current levels of warming, "let alone" what was expected to come, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) wrote in letter addressed to government.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Government told to prepare for 2C warming by 2050
The Climate Change Committee said the UK should make climate change adaptions beyond the Paris Agreement.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Government told to prepare for 2C warming by 2050. UK ”not yet adapted" to worsening weather extremes already occurring at current levels of warming, "let alone" what was expected to come, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) wrote in letter addressed to government.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Phil Stevenson
Australia’s only shrew has been declared extinct. Australia leads the world in mammal extinctions and ranks second for loss of biodiversity. We need better funding for conservation action and stronger environmental laws to uphold our international commitments to prevent further extinctions 🧪
October 13, 2025 at 4:25 AM
Australia’s only shrew has been declared extinct. Australia leads the world in mammal extinctions and ranks second for loss of biodiversity. We need better funding for conservation action and stronger environmental laws to uphold our international commitments to prevent further extinctions 🧪
Planet’s first catastrophic climate tipping point reached, as coral reefs face ‘widespread dieback’
Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘ASAP’ warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale’, a report by 160 scientists from 23 countries warns www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘ASAP’ warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale’, a report by 160 scientists from 23 countries warns www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Planet’s first catastrophic climate tipping point reached, report says, with coral reefs facing ‘widespread dieback’
Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘as fast as possible’, warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale’, a report by 160 scientists from 23 countries warns
www.theguardian.com
October 13, 2025 at 5:26 AM
Planet’s first catastrophic climate tipping point reached, as coral reefs face ‘widespread dieback’
Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘ASAP’ warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale’, a report by 160 scientists from 23 countries warns www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘ASAP’ warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale’, a report by 160 scientists from 23 countries warns www.theguardian.com/environment/...
There is a DIY movement to get artists and fans to quit the music app Spotify.
Musicians have long criticized the streaming service’s paltry payouts, but a new wave of boycotts is emerging. It invests in AI weapons tech & advertises ICE recruitment in the USA www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Musicians have long criticized the streaming service’s paltry payouts, but a new wave of boycotts is emerging. It invests in AI weapons tech & advertises ICE recruitment in the USA www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
‘Death to Spotify’: the DIY movement to get artists and fans to quit the music app
Musicians have long criticized the streaming service’s paltry payouts, but a new wave of boycotts is emerging
www.theguardian.com
October 12, 2025 at 9:09 PM
There is a DIY movement to get artists and fans to quit the music app Spotify.
Musicians have long criticized the streaming service’s paltry payouts, but a new wave of boycotts is emerging. It invests in AI weapons tech & advertises ICE recruitment in the USA www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Musicians have long criticized the streaming service’s paltry payouts, but a new wave of boycotts is emerging. It invests in AI weapons tech & advertises ICE recruitment in the USA www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
The plastic inside us: how microplastics may be reshaping our bodies and minds
The particles are in our blood, brains and guts – and we are only just beginning to learn what they do www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The particles are in our blood, brains and guts – and we are only just beginning to learn what they do www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The plastic inside us: how microplastics may be reshaping our bodies and minds
The particles are in our blood, brains and guts – and scientists are only beginning to learn what they do
www.theguardian.com
October 12, 2025 at 12:53 PM
The plastic inside us: how microplastics may be reshaping our bodies and minds
The particles are in our blood, brains and guts – and we are only just beginning to learn what they do www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The particles are in our blood, brains and guts – and we are only just beginning to learn what they do www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Phil Stevenson
Work on medical uses of mind-altering substances was sidelined for decades by the political backlash against drugs, a misstep that has echoes in today’s intolerance of some fields of study
Why abandoning psychedelic research in the 1970s was a blow to science
Work on medical uses of mind-altering substances was sidelined for decades by the political backlash against drugs, a misstep that has echoes in today’s intolerance of some fields of study
www.newscientist.com
October 11, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Work on medical uses of mind-altering substances was sidelined for decades by the political backlash against drugs, a misstep that has echoes in today’s intolerance of some fields of study