Rob Ralston
@policyrelevant.bsky.social
Lecturer in Public Policy at Edinburgh Uni researching corporate power and planetary health - currently global plastics treaty | ‘most improved PhD student’ 2017-18 | part-time Kieran Tierney Ultra
Reposted by Rob Ralston
history will ultimately decide this but i think joyce carol oates might have just landed the most devastating burn in human history. like the death star trench run of posting
November 10, 2025 at 7:03 PM
history will ultimately decide this but i think joyce carol oates might have just landed the most devastating burn in human history. like the death star trench run of posting
Reposted by Rob Ralston
It’s one thing to have different environmental/health priorities for your foundation, it’s quite another to have been bankrolling one of the primary sources of bullshit on the topic.
Bill Gates Gave $3.5M to Think Tank Run by Climate Crisis Denier Bjorn Lomborg
By @rtakver.bsky.social @desmog.com
www.desmog.com/2025/11/05/b...
By @rtakver.bsky.social @desmog.com
www.desmog.com/2025/11/05/b...
Bill Gates Gave $3.5M to Think Tank Run by Climate Crisis Denier Bjorn Lomborg
Tax records reveal that the billionaire’s foundation has donated for years to Lomborg’s Copenhagen Consensus Center.
www.desmog.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:27 PM
It’s one thing to have different environmental/health priorities for your foundation, it’s quite another to have been bankrolling one of the primary sources of bullshit on the topic.
Reposted by Rob Ralston
Opinion
America First and the Fragmentation of Global Health: How Africa can Reimagine Its Agency
www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/06/11/2...
America First and the Fragmentation of Global Health: How Africa can Reimagine Its Agency
www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/06/11/2...
November 6, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Opinion
America First and the Fragmentation of Global Health: How Africa can Reimagine Its Agency
www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/06/11/2...
America First and the Fragmentation of Global Health: How Africa can Reimagine Its Agency
www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/06/11/2...
Reposted by Rob Ralston
They just gutted Teen Vogue which had top notch political journalism. The media is continuing to purge any sort of political dissent to Trump and the oligarchs.
www.vogue.com/article/teen...
www.vogue.com/article/teen...
November 3, 2025 at 8:01 PM
They just gutted Teen Vogue which had top notch political journalism. The media is continuing to purge any sort of political dissent to Trump and the oligarchs.
www.vogue.com/article/teen...
www.vogue.com/article/teen...
PepsiCo follows Coca-Cola in backtracking on commitments to reduce virgin plastic + abandoning reuse
despite all the talk of corporate sustainbility in UN plastic treaty negotiations, the reality is that Big Food companies are continuin to expand their use of single use plastics
despite all the talk of corporate sustainbility in UN plastic treaty negotiations, the reality is that Big Food companies are continuin to expand their use of single use plastics
PepsiCo downgrades its sustainability goals
PepsiCo, in its latest sustainability update, becomes the latest major company to scale back its climate targets.
trellis.net
October 27, 2025 at 2:05 PM
PepsiCo follows Coca-Cola in backtracking on commitments to reduce virgin plastic + abandoning reuse
despite all the talk of corporate sustainbility in UN plastic treaty negotiations, the reality is that Big Food companies are continuin to expand their use of single use plastics
despite all the talk of corporate sustainbility in UN plastic treaty negotiations, the reality is that Big Food companies are continuin to expand their use of single use plastics
I’ve said this jokingly to colleagues but a universal research income (URI) of 10k would be a far more equitable and productive system than the current funding model
staggering to think of the time and effort put into applications that have a 1% chance of getting funded
staggering to think of the time and effort put into applications that have a 1% chance of getting funded
After submitting a FOIA request UKRI, I obtained success rates by three grant call scheme and I can only say that I am disheartened by the results:
- AHRC Responsive Mode 2025: 2%
- ESRC New Investigator Grant 2025: 1%
- ESRC Research Grant Round 2025: 1%
- AHRC Responsive Mode 2025: 2%
- ESRC New Investigator Grant 2025: 1%
- ESRC Research Grant Round 2025: 1%
October 23, 2025 at 11:45 AM
I’ve said this jokingly to colleagues but a universal research income (URI) of 10k would be a far more equitable and productive system than the current funding model
staggering to think of the time and effort put into applications that have a 1% chance of getting funded
staggering to think of the time and effort put into applications that have a 1% chance of getting funded
Reposted by Rob Ralston
🚨 New working paper alert 🚨
Missing summer — and the Tour de France? Don’t worry, we got you covered. 🚴♂️🚴♂️🚴♂️
In this paper, we show that being on the route of Tour de France reduces far-right voting. osf.io/preprints/so...
Missing summer — and the Tour de France? Don’t worry, we got you covered. 🚴♂️🚴♂️🚴♂️
In this paper, we show that being on the route of Tour de France reduces far-right voting. osf.io/preprints/so...
September 16, 2025 at 10:25 AM
🚨 New working paper alert 🚨
Missing summer — and the Tour de France? Don’t worry, we got you covered. 🚴♂️🚴♂️🚴♂️
In this paper, we show that being on the route of Tour de France reduces far-right voting. osf.io/preprints/so...
Missing summer — and the Tour de France? Don’t worry, we got you covered. 🚴♂️🚴♂️🚴♂️
In this paper, we show that being on the route of Tour de France reduces far-right voting. osf.io/preprints/so...
shamelessly promoting this paper again - open access thanks to @uoe-sps.bsky.social
new article in @reggovjournal.bsky.social that examines how corporations engage in 'venue hopping' as a means to advance agendas in multiple spaces and at multiple levels
This riffs off Baumgartner and Jones' notion of venue shopping, but adapts it for an increasingly multistakeholder world
This riffs off Baumgartner and Jones' notion of venue shopping, but adapts it for an increasingly multistakeholder world
Corporate Power in a Multistakeholder World: Venue Hopping and the Multilevel Politics of Ultra‐Processed Food
The regulation of business is increasingly characterized by “soft” governance regimes that blur the boundaries of public and private authority, as signaled by the rapid proliferation of multistakehol...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 21, 2025 at 10:47 AM
shamelessly promoting this paper again - open access thanks to @uoe-sps.bsky.social
Reposted by Rob Ralston
🚨New from me & @fieldnotes.co in @theguardian.com → Revealed: The network of GOP hired guns behind Big Soda’s bid to turn MAGA against MAHA www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Inside the Republican network behind big soda’s bid to pit Maga against Maha
A Guardian investigation finds the US soda and snack-food industries, threatened by RFK Jr’s movement to change Americans’ eating habits, have turned to a group of well-connected strategists, shadowy ...
www.theguardian.com
October 19, 2025 at 12:09 PM
🚨New from me & @fieldnotes.co in @theguardian.com → Revealed: The network of GOP hired guns behind Big Soda’s bid to turn MAGA against MAHA www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
[stares forlornly at inertia of Edinburgh city council]
Cardiff will be the first UK city to introduce a surcharge for oversized SUVs and trucks, "while very large vehicles – those over 3,500kg – will be excluded from residential permits entirely."
Cardiff set to tackle SUV 'carspreading' in UK first
Cardiff Council is set to become the first local authority in the UK to introduce higher parking charges for SUVs and other heavy vehicles, in a move campaigners say will make city streets safer and f...
nation.cymru
October 16, 2025 at 7:41 AM
[stares forlornly at inertia of Edinburgh city council]
Reposted by Rob Ralston
"If geoengineering works well initially & you see this temperature drop, the tempempation to keep going & extracting fossil fuels will be greater than ever, because it will seem that you have a technologically that can cut off the link between temperature rises & fossil fuel combustion."
Overshoot & Climate Breakdown - Wim Carton & Andreas Malm | #39
YouTube video by Jesse Damiani
youtu.be
October 15, 2025 at 9:38 AM
"If geoengineering works well initially & you see this temperature drop, the tempempation to keep going & extracting fossil fuels will be greater than ever, because it will seem that you have a technologically that can cut off the link between temperature rises & fossil fuel combustion."
new article in @reggovjournal.bsky.social that examines how corporations engage in 'venue hopping' as a means to advance agendas in multiple spaces and at multiple levels
This riffs off Baumgartner and Jones' notion of venue shopping, but adapts it for an increasingly multistakeholder world
This riffs off Baumgartner and Jones' notion of venue shopping, but adapts it for an increasingly multistakeholder world
Corporate Power in a Multistakeholder World: Venue Hopping and the Multilevel Politics of Ultra‐Processed Food
The regulation of business is increasingly characterized by “soft” governance regimes that blur the boundaries of public and private authority, as signaled by the rapid proliferation of multistakehol...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 13, 2025 at 11:41 AM
new article in @reggovjournal.bsky.social that examines how corporations engage in 'venue hopping' as a means to advance agendas in multiple spaces and at multiple levels
This riffs off Baumgartner and Jones' notion of venue shopping, but adapts it for an increasingly multistakeholder world
This riffs off Baumgartner and Jones' notion of venue shopping, but adapts it for an increasingly multistakeholder world
Reposted by Rob Ralston
Reposted by Rob Ralston
📚 new open access book: "Climate Assemblies - New Civic Institutions for a Climate-Changed World" 🌍
✅ 25 co-authors examine the state of the field and the reasons behind the growing hope and hype about climate assemblies
✅Free PDF available here 👉🏼 www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
✅ 25 co-authors examine the state of the field and the reasons behind the growing hope and hype about climate assemblies
✅Free PDF available here 👉🏼 www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
August 25, 2025 at 9:51 AM
📚 new open access book: "Climate Assemblies - New Civic Institutions for a Climate-Changed World" 🌍
✅ 25 co-authors examine the state of the field and the reasons behind the growing hope and hype about climate assemblies
✅Free PDF available here 👉🏼 www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
✅ 25 co-authors examine the state of the field and the reasons behind the growing hope and hype about climate assemblies
✅Free PDF available here 👉🏼 www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
Reposted by Rob Ralston
Is meat the new oil? Five lessons from fossil fuel governance for industrial meat governance
By @cleoverk.bsky.social
www.sei.org/perspectives...
By @cleoverk.bsky.social
www.sei.org/perspectives...
Is meat the new oil? Five lessons from fossil fuel governance for industrial meat governance
In this perspective, SEI Senior Scientist Cleo Verkuijl outlines lessons from fossil fuel governance that can guide transformation of the global food system.
www.sei.org
October 8, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Is meat the new oil? Five lessons from fossil fuel governance for industrial meat governance
By @cleoverk.bsky.social
www.sei.org/perspectives...
By @cleoverk.bsky.social
www.sei.org/perspectives...
no coincidence that efforts by governments, development banks and the plastics industry to 'derisk' investment in risky, unproven recycling technologies has targeted countries like Indonesia, which have the highest imports of toxic plastic waste
Sharp rise in UK plastic exports shows how behind the country is
The EU has agreed to ban exports of waste to poorer nations. The ban comes into force in November 2026
The UK does not have a similar ban in place
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The EU has agreed to ban exports of waste to poorer nations. The ban comes into force in November 2026
The UK does not have a similar ban in place
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
UK plastic waste exports to developing countries rose 84% in a year, data shows
Campaigners say increase in exports mostly to Malaysia and Indonesia is ‘unethical and irresponsible waste imperialism’
www.theguardian.com
October 8, 2025 at 9:06 AM
no coincidence that efforts by governments, development banks and the plastics industry to 'derisk' investment in risky, unproven recycling technologies has targeted countries like Indonesia, which have the highest imports of toxic plastic waste
I'm not sure how far these developments have leaked beyond the global plastics sphere, but UNEP do not come out this looking good
UN plastics treaty chair to step down with process in turmoil
Exclusive: Luis Vayas Valdivieso says he is quitting for personal and professional reasons after reports of pressure behind the scenes
www.theguardian.com
October 7, 2025 at 11:57 AM
I'm not sure how far these developments have leaked beyond the global plastics sphere, but UNEP do not come out this looking good
Reposted by Rob Ralston
Meat vs EAT-Lancet Planetary Health Diet: The dynamics of an industry-orchestrated online backlash
Report by the Changing Markets Foundation
changingmarkets.org/report/meat-...
Report by the Changing Markets Foundation
changingmarkets.org/report/meat-...
Meat vs EAT-Lancet: The dynamics of an industry-orchestrated online backlash • Changing Markets
The EAT-Lancet Commission publish EAT-Lancet 2.0: an update to the planetary health diet 2019. One of the most influential academic studies ever released, it also faced significant online backlash – o...
changingmarkets.org
September 24, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Meat vs EAT-Lancet Planetary Health Diet: The dynamics of an industry-orchestrated online backlash
Report by the Changing Markets Foundation
changingmarkets.org/report/meat-...
Report by the Changing Markets Foundation
changingmarkets.org/report/meat-...
Reposted by Rob Ralston
When your custom character appears in a cut scene
October 6, 2025 at 5:06 PM
When your custom character appears in a cut scene
an advert so good that I joined the waitlist for a synthesiser I would have no idea how to use
"How to Orchid" by Telepathic Instruments
YouTube video by Telepathic Instruments
www.youtube.com
October 2, 2025 at 12:07 PM
an advert so good that I joined the waitlist for a synthesiser I would have no idea how to use
Reposted by Rob Ralston
Philadelphia filed an extremely thorough lawsuit on Wed against SC Johnson (Ziploc) and Bimbo Bakeries over claims that their plastic bags are recyclable, accusing the companies of engaging in a "coordinated campaign of deception." @grist.org grist.org/accountabili...
A ‘coordinated campaign of deception’: Philly sues 2 companies over misleading recycling labels
The lawsuit targets SC Johnson, owner of Ziploc bags, and Bimbo Bakeries, the country's biggest bread and snack food manufacturer.
grist.org
September 26, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Philadelphia filed an extremely thorough lawsuit on Wed against SC Johnson (Ziploc) and Bimbo Bakeries over claims that their plastic bags are recyclable, accusing the companies of engaging in a "coordinated campaign of deception." @grist.org grist.org/accountabili...
new blog by @benjaminfaude.bsky.social and @jacktaggart.bsky.social on the UN SDGs, drawing on a recent special issue in @globalpolicy.bsky.social
lots of great contributions, including a paper by myself and Jack Taggart on institutional hybridity in global plastics governance
lots of great contributions, including a paper by myself and Jack Taggart on institutional hybridity in global plastics governance
The Sustainable Development Goals at 10: how global governance is undermining progress
This month marks ten years since the adoption of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Yet there is little cause for celebration: progress has been dismal. Benjamin Faude and Jack Taggart argue that...
theloop.ecpr.eu
September 26, 2025 at 11:08 AM
new blog by @benjaminfaude.bsky.social and @jacktaggart.bsky.social on the UN SDGs, drawing on a recent special issue in @globalpolicy.bsky.social
lots of great contributions, including a paper by myself and Jack Taggart on institutional hybridity in global plastics governance
lots of great contributions, including a paper by myself and Jack Taggart on institutional hybridity in global plastics governance
Ignorance can be strategically used to promote 'non-knowledge' and deny liability
Rather than view this in terms of a lack of knowledge, we need to understand how strategic ignorance is being used as a source of power
Rather than view this in terms of a lack of knowledge, we need to understand how strategic ignorance is being used as a source of power
"We were told thalidomide was a safe drug and it wasn't..."
Nigel Farage says he has 'no idea' if Donald Trump is right about paracetamol being linked to autism.
Nigel Farage says he has 'no idea' if Donald Trump is right about paracetamol being linked to autism.
September 24, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Ignorance can be strategically used to promote 'non-knowledge' and deny liability
Rather than view this in terms of a lack of knowledge, we need to understand how strategic ignorance is being used as a source of power
Rather than view this in terms of a lack of knowledge, we need to understand how strategic ignorance is being used as a source of power
amateurish reporting that uncritically reproduces pseudoscientific and eugenic frames
@politico.com must retract this piece and issue an apology for using damaging and offensive phrases like the ‘autism problem’
@politico.com must retract this piece and issue an apology for using damaging and offensive phrases like the ‘autism problem’
Trump’s Tylenol diatribe was rooted in frustration.
The president wants to stem rising autism rates even if it means pregnant patients don’t treat their pain and delay their kids’ vaccinations.
The president wants to stem rising autism rates even if it means pregnant patients don’t treat their pain and delay their kids’ vaccinations.
Trump’s Tylenol diatribe was rooted in frustration
The president wants to stem rising autism rates even if it means pregnant women don’t treat their pain and delay their kids’ vaccinations.
www.politico.com
September 24, 2025 at 7:53 AM
amateurish reporting that uncritically reproduces pseudoscientific and eugenic frames
@politico.com must retract this piece and issue an apology for using damaging and offensive phrases like the ‘autism problem’
@politico.com must retract this piece and issue an apology for using damaging and offensive phrases like the ‘autism problem’
the Cass Sunstein new yorker interview is as bad as everyone is saying, but I would say is not entirely unrepresentative of his work
the behavioural economics of 'nudge' is characterised by the same tensions and inconsistencies evident in this piece
www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
the behavioural economics of 'nudge' is characterised by the same tensions and inconsistencies evident in this piece
www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
September 23, 2025 at 7:33 PM
the Cass Sunstein new yorker interview is as bad as everyone is saying, but I would say is not entirely unrepresentative of his work
the behavioural economics of 'nudge' is characterised by the same tensions and inconsistencies evident in this piece
www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
the behavioural economics of 'nudge' is characterised by the same tensions and inconsistencies evident in this piece
www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...