Prof Phoebe Barnard
@phoebebarnard.bsky.social
The world doesn't have to be this way. Climate & biodiversity science, risk &resilience, societal/planetary futures. Prof Univ Washington; research assoc African Climate & Development Initiative/ Fitztitute, UCapeTown, building global futures collaborative
Pinned
Africa’s forests transformed from carbon sink to carbon source, study finds
Alarming shift since 2010 means planet’s three main rainforest regions now contribute to climate breakdown
www.theguardian.com
Nature is still by far the only real #CDR game in town. If we want a future, science & our documentary series #TheClimateRestorers all confirm we must invest labor& funds massively in Nature conservation, restoration, & education. Why? A five-part 🧵
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Beautiful. Those tepuis 'sky islands' of Venezuela seem a particularly appropriate place to feature in this video. Thanks Vici. xx
January 5, 2026 at 9:51 AM
Beautiful. Those tepuis 'sky islands' of Venezuela seem a particularly appropriate place to feature in this video. Thanks Vici. xx
Ah Vici. May 2026 be a lot saner and wiser than 2025 proved to be. So far, I am not sure that if the world is left to those dominating the world headlines, it will be. In fact I'm quite sure it won't - of course. But I do think 2026 will be a year of human agency and moral courage on a vast scale.
January 5, 2026 at 9:48 AM
Ah Vici. May 2026 be a lot saner and wiser than 2025 proved to be. So far, I am not sure that if the world is left to those dominating the world headlines, it will be. In fact I'm quite sure it won't - of course. But I do think 2026 will be a year of human agency and moral courage on a vast scale.
Hope so, Gary! Public agency and action over moral decrepitude of leaders, I always say ;-)
January 5, 2026 at 9:46 AM
Hope so, Gary! Public agency and action over moral decrepitude of leaders, I always say ;-)
Fantastic. Well done Leo ☀️ I hope the designers have visited my recent place, Grenoble, France to see how public transit can actually be done. And cheaply, as a public good with societal goals rather than just profiteering ones.
January 5, 2026 at 8:50 AM
Fantastic. Well done Leo ☀️ I hope the designers have visited my recent place, Grenoble, France to see how public transit can actually be done. And cheaply, as a public good with societal goals rather than just profiteering ones.
She wrote an extremely forceful letter on our family chat reminding the rest of us that we're far too focused on Trump and for Venezuelans it's also about the failings of Chavez, Maduro, narco culture, imprisonment, torture, protest, violence, fear and scarcity. Which of us can deny this?
January 5, 2026 at 8:46 AM
She wrote an extremely forceful letter on our family chat reminding the rest of us that we're far too focused on Trump and for Venezuelans it's also about the failings of Chavez, Maduro, narco culture, imprisonment, torture, protest, violence, fear and scarcity. Which of us can deny this?
What I mean: while we in the privileged world of still partly-intact democracies see this as a black/white issue, for Venezuelans it's shades of ugly grey. I'm extremely aware of Trump's abysmal persona and moral / legal decrepitude. But for women like my DIL whose family lost everything, it's grey🧵
January 5, 2026 at 8:46 AM
What I mean: while we in the privileged world of still partly-intact democracies see this as a black/white issue, for Venezuelans it's shades of ugly grey. I'm extremely aware of Trump's abysmal persona and moral / legal decrepitude. But for women like my DIL whose family lost everything, it's grey🧵
I've long felt - no doubt you too - a surreal disjunct between bittersweet societal signs of placidity and normality - children playing in small-town playing fields in the USA; even Christmas shopping in France. (For me an anti-hyperconsumption activist this latter scene hurts, but nostalgically.)
January 5, 2026 at 8:24 AM
I've long felt - no doubt you too - a surreal disjunct between bittersweet societal signs of placidity and normality - children playing in small-town playing fields in the USA; even Christmas shopping in France. (For me an anti-hyperconsumption activist this latter scene hurts, but nostalgically.)
A case study of shades of grey, magnitudes of moral decrepitude. Quico is a friend. Some Venezuelans certainly celebrate. It's not that they love Trump. They don't. But they're exhausted by fear and loathing, torture, imprisonment, economic scarcity. My Vzn daughter in law expressed this forcefully.
January 5, 2026 at 8:17 AM
A case study of shades of grey, magnitudes of moral decrepitude. Quico is a friend. Some Venezuelans certainly celebrate. It's not that they love Trump. They don't. But they're exhausted by fear and loathing, torture, imprisonment, economic scarcity. My Vzn daughter in law expressed this forcefully.
It's a case study of shades of grey, magnitudes of moral decrepitude. Some Venezuelans certainly are celebrating. It's not that they love Trump. They don't. But they're exhausted by fear and loathing, by torture, by imprisonment, by economic scarcity. My Vz daughter in law expressed this forcefully.
January 5, 2026 at 8:13 AM
It's a case study of shades of grey, magnitudes of moral decrepitude. Some Venezuelans certainly are celebrating. It's not that they love Trump. They don't. But they're exhausted by fear and loathing, by torture, by imprisonment, by economic scarcity. My Vz daughter in law expressed this forcefully.
"No AI Safety Without Planetary Safety"
@neuralfoundry: "The connection between data center opposition+broader movements for energy justice is spot-on..those community groups aren't NIMBYs, they recognize the extraction model before it hardens into infrastucture." open.substack.com/pub/felixder...
@neuralfoundry: "The connection between data center opposition+broader movements for energy justice is spot-on..those community groups aren't NIMBYs, they recognize the extraction model before it hardens into infrastucture." open.substack.com/pub/felixder...
Beneath the Algorithm
Reframing AI Safety Within the Broader Defense of Life
open.substack.com
January 5, 2026 at 8:08 AM
"No AI Safety Without Planetary Safety"
@neuralfoundry: "The connection between data center opposition+broader movements for energy justice is spot-on..those community groups aren't NIMBYs, they recognize the extraction model before it hardens into infrastucture." open.substack.com/pub/felixder...
@neuralfoundry: "The connection between data center opposition+broader movements for energy justice is spot-on..those community groups aren't NIMBYs, they recognize the extraction model before it hardens into infrastucture." open.substack.com/pub/felixder...
Reposted by Prof Phoebe Barnard
Hard hitting piece by @rupertread.bsky.social on the dangers of “climate optimism” - at least 30 years of failure to take the threat seriously has led to multiplying risks and locked-in harm and suffering @climatemajority.bsky.social
The end of 2025 must be the end of the inane rule of climate ‘optimism’
We should admit that widely-mandated climate optimism has been actively harmful to the needful acknowledgement of reality - and to the active collective self-protection that we now desperately need to...
www.resilience.org
December 30, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Hard hitting piece by @rupertread.bsky.social on the dangers of “climate optimism” - at least 30 years of failure to take the threat seriously has led to multiplying risks and locked-in harm and suffering @climatemajority.bsky.social
It’s absolutely true that every 0.1•C matters - to millions of children, millions of species, thousands of cultures and ecosystems and cities and wars and migrants. So it’s not just about us. Although of course, all of those things ARE us.
January 1, 2026 at 6:00 PM
It’s absolutely true that every 0.1•C matters - to millions of children, millions of species, thousands of cultures and ecosystems and cities and wars and migrants. So it’s not just about us. Although of course, all of those things ARE us.
At this rate, the future for these babies when they’re my age is somewhere between a pretty significant risk of 3.6-4.4•C hotter and increasing risk of a turbulent arrival of increasing cold conditions and perilous food security with the weakening of the AMOC.
Thanks @andyscollick.bsky.social 🫤
Thanks @andyscollick.bsky.social 🫤
When these babies are 60 years' old, on 1st Jan 2086, the world will on average likely be at least 1.6-1.8°C hotter, possibly 3.6-4.4°C hotter, and probably 2.1-3.2°C hotter than the pre-industrial baseline (1850-1900) compared to 1.4°C now. Higher across much of Europe.
A much more extreme world.
A much more extreme world.
As the clock struck midnight last night, Ireland's first babies of the New Year were making their way into the world.
January 1, 2026 at 3:59 PM
At this rate, the future for these babies when they’re my age is somewhere between a pretty significant risk of 3.6-4.4•C hotter and increasing risk of a turbulent arrival of increasing cold conditions and perilous food security with the weakening of the AMOC.
Thanks @andyscollick.bsky.social 🫤
Thanks @andyscollick.bsky.social 🫤
I agree with your first two sentences - not the third. It’s not the only thing to do. That’s a cop-out. It’s just a major, important thing to do.
January 1, 2026 at 10:44 AM
I agree with your first two sentences - not the third. It’s not the only thing to do. That’s a cop-out. It’s just a major, important thing to do.
The CASCs matter immensely. @meadekrosby.bsky.social and team at the Northwest @nwcasc.bsky.social do high-priority, high-impact, pragmatic interdisciplinary work that the USA and world cannot afford to lose. The wrecking ball of this US administration is a crime against humanity and biosphere.
December 31, 2025 at 1:10 PM
The CASCs matter immensely. @meadekrosby.bsky.social and team at the Northwest @nwcasc.bsky.social do high-priority, high-impact, pragmatic interdisciplinary work that the USA and world cannot afford to lose. The wrecking ball of this US administration is a crime against humanity and biosphere.
Reposted by Prof Phoebe Barnard
@nickbreeze.genn.cc @operaatioarktis.bsky.social @hughhunt.bsky.social @hpacoalition.bsky.social @phoebebarnard.bsky.social @karenmessier.bsky.social @revkin.bsky.social @climaterealityproject.org
2025 was a year of record heat, shrinking ice, rising seas—and a dangerous “big shrug” from leaders. In our year‑end Climate Emergency Forum, we review the biggest climate shocks and solutions and how to break the silence. Watch & share @paulhbeckwith.bsky.social youtu.be/dyHZUGHwX1Q
Climate Emergency 2025: Year in Review
YouTube video by Climate Emergency Forum
youtu.be
December 30, 2025 at 8:25 PM
We are are doing it, all over the world. See e.g. Ecosystem Restoration Communities and our Global Restoration Collaborative, working to build common actions, values, languages and momentum by previously siloed groups. www.ecosystemrestorationcommunities.org and www.ecorestorationalliance.org/grc
Ecosystem Restoration Communities - The Mighty Movement
Ecosystem Restoration Communities - Join our restoration community. Learn ecosystem restoration, volunteer, or donate to help restore Earth.
www.ecosystemrestorationcommunities.org
December 31, 2025 at 12:44 PM
We are are doing it, all over the world. See e.g. Ecosystem Restoration Communities and our Global Restoration Collaborative, working to build common actions, values, languages and momentum by previously siloed groups. www.ecosystemrestorationcommunities.org and www.ecorestorationalliance.org/grc
In a letter to a friend today - a woman who also feels deeply - I decided to link this brief 2024 #film with me by #MichaelRaimondo.
"We are human if we can love. And we need to keep hold of that love now more than ever. Everything we know and love is at stake."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZny...
"We are human if we can love. And we need to keep hold of that love now more than ever. Everything we know and love is at stake."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZny...
The Secret to Emotional Freedom? Feel Everything
YouTube video by Reflections of Life
www.youtube.com
December 31, 2025 at 12:34 PM
In a letter to a friend today - a woman who also feels deeply - I decided to link this brief 2024 #film with me by #MichaelRaimondo.
"We are human if we can love. And we need to keep hold of that love now more than ever. Everything we know and love is at stake."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZny...
"We are human if we can love. And we need to keep hold of that love now more than ever. Everything we know and love is at stake."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZny...
“The ocean breathes carbon into the atmosphere.
The atmosphere weeps rain onto the land.
Plants drink light, exhale oxygen.
…We’re in church, not a science classroom.”
Beautiful, powerful, lyrical speech by @lgraumlich.bsky.social
Pass it on. Respond together.
open.substack.com/pub/lisagrau...
The atmosphere weeps rain onto the land.
Plants drink light, exhale oxygen.
…We’re in church, not a science classroom.”
Beautiful, powerful, lyrical speech by @lgraumlich.bsky.social
Pass it on. Respond together.
open.substack.com/pub/lisagrau...
THIN PLACES: CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEEING EARTH WHOLE
Published on the winter solstice, 2025 - a thin time for reflection and turning.
open.substack.com
December 30, 2025 at 1:08 AM
“The ocean breathes carbon into the atmosphere.
The atmosphere weeps rain onto the land.
Plants drink light, exhale oxygen.
…We’re in church, not a science classroom.”
Beautiful, powerful, lyrical speech by @lgraumlich.bsky.social
Pass it on. Respond together.
open.substack.com/pub/lisagrau...
The atmosphere weeps rain onto the land.
Plants drink light, exhale oxygen.
…We’re in church, not a science classroom.”
Beautiful, powerful, lyrical speech by @lgraumlich.bsky.social
Pass it on. Respond together.
open.substack.com/pub/lisagrau...
Staying in France at the end of a fast, efficient, clean, reliable tram network (in a small apartment in a 15th C château - nice juxtaposition) reminds me how central to local economies is an effective & cheap
public transit system. Our trams run every 4 mins - 16 mins on weekends in my experience.
public transit system. Our trams run every 4 mins - 16 mins on weekends in my experience.
December 26, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Staying in France at the end of a fast, efficient, clean, reliable tram network (in a small apartment in a 15th C château - nice juxtaposition) reminds me how central to local economies is an effective & cheap
public transit system. Our trams run every 4 mins - 16 mins on weekends in my experience.
public transit system. Our trams run every 4 mins - 16 mins on weekends in my experience.
In my teens I was a wannabe Keith Jarrett or Chick Corea, if without talent. So like almost everyone whose parents had a TV set in the 1970s, I grew up loving Vince Guaraldi’s soundtrack for A Charlie Brown Christmas. Great version below!
Tx @georgewachsmuth.bsky.social
Tx @georgewachsmuth.bsky.social
December 26, 2025 at 9:32 PM
In my teens I was a wannabe Keith Jarrett or Chick Corea, if without talent. So like almost everyone whose parents had a TV set in the 1970s, I grew up loving Vince Guaraldi’s soundtrack for A Charlie Brown Christmas. Great version below!
Tx @georgewachsmuth.bsky.social
Tx @georgewachsmuth.bsky.social
substack.com/@damiani/not...
This couldn’t be more true or more important. Build trust. Build community. Make friends. Look out for each other. Discuss, debate, be humans. The simplest, best act of resistance in a world where autocrats want us at each other’s throats. Tx @jessedamiani.bsky.social
This couldn’t be more true or more important. Build trust. Build community. Make friends. Look out for each other. Discuss, debate, be humans. The simplest, best act of resistance in a world where autocrats want us at each other’s throats. Tx @jessedamiani.bsky.social
Jesse Damiani (@damiani)
This is the simplest action you can take as a form of resistance. And it really, really matters.
🎥 @/themacadamien on Instagram
substack.com
December 23, 2025 at 11:38 PM
substack.com/@damiani/not...
This couldn’t be more true or more important. Build trust. Build community. Make friends. Look out for each other. Discuss, debate, be humans. The simplest, best act of resistance in a world where autocrats want us at each other’s throats. Tx @jessedamiani.bsky.social
This couldn’t be more true or more important. Build trust. Build community. Make friends. Look out for each other. Discuss, debate, be humans. The simplest, best act of resistance in a world where autocrats want us at each other’s throats. Tx @jessedamiani.bsky.social
December 23, 2025 at 8:30 PM
How much more clearly can we state this?
The climate crisis is accelerating - 2025 looks set to become UK’s hottest year on record. Good to see focus on importance of resilience on #r4today- pls take a moment to sign petition calling on Govt to introduce a fully funded national climate adaptation plan petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...
Petition: Fund a National Climate Resilience Plan: protect communities from climate impact
From floods to extreme temperatures, climate impacts risk damaging homes, health, businesses, services, and the economy. We want Government to prioritise adaptation; fund a new Resilience Plan that wo...
petition.parliament.uk
December 23, 2025 at 11:31 AM
How much more clearly can we state this?
Yikes - late December
December 23, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Yikes - late December