Fredrik Albritton Jonsson
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fredrikjonsson.bsky.social
Fredrik Albritton Jonsson
@fredrikjonsson.bsky.social

Historian at the University of Chicago. Co-editor of The Journal of Modern History. New book: Scarcity with Carl Wennerlind (Harvard 2023). Next: Britain's fossil transition 1760-1870 and, with Moritz von Brescius, The Long Acceleration 1500-1950. .. more

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson is a historian at the University of Chicago. He is the Author of Enlightenment's Frontier: The Scottish Highlands and the Origins of Environmentalism and the coauthor of Green Victorians: The Simple Life in John Ruskin's Lake District. He currently serves as the co-editor of The Journal of Modern History. .. more

Economics 20%
History 19%
Pinned
With @mbrescius.bsky.social I am very happy to announce the launch of a major new project in #Anthropocene history. The Long Acceleration brings together more than 20 scholars to consider the planetary emergency. Many thanks to Moritz and the Institute for European Global Studies for hosting us.

Dawn is breaking
For a bit I forgot that the current political movement was won with a weak minority and is managed by annoying dorks who nobody likes who have terrible vibes. This video has 1.3 million likes and is a good reminder that better things are possible, even for those of us outside NYC. A good night!
For a bit I forgot that the current political movement was won with a weak minority and is managed by annoying dorks who nobody likes who have terrible vibes. This video has 1.3 million likes and is a good reminder that better things are possible, even for those of us outside NYC. A good night!
JOB
Assistant Professor in the History of Knowledge Pre-1400,
University of Cambridge

www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/assista...
Assistant Professor in History of Knowledge Pre-1400
Applications are invited for the position of Assistant Professor in History of Knowledge Pre-1400, in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. Please note
www.cam.ac.uk
🚨EXCLUSIVE🚨
Many things are changing before our eyes. Others are harder to see

Like the US economy

Americans are spending more 💲 recovering from disasters and preparing for the next one. 36% of US GDP growth since 2000 is related to climate disasters.

Welcome to the Disaster Industrial Complex 🎁🔗
Disaster Recovery Is an $8 Trillion Driver of US Growth
Investors are on the hunt for companies powering the disaster industrial complex, which are fueling US growth and outpacing the S&P 500
www.bloomberg.com
There's just a day to go until @manchesterup.bsky.social publish my latest book Songs of Seven Dials: An intimate history of 1920s and 1930s London.

I thought I should explain a bit about where the book came from.

1/15
“what happens if we also reconnect with the mule? What can mules teach us about the black history of land and violence in the United States?”

A terrific piece of #envhist on mules, labor, and how “empire doesn’t always win” from @roguechieftan.bsky.social

www.sciencehistory.org/stories/maga...
Mule Power
Unpacking empires and diaspora in Mexico and the United States.
www.sciencehistory.org
Gripping video of the last 2 Slender-billed Curlews at www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/S.... I couldn't afford to join some mates who did a trip to Morocco to see them in 1992, 2 years before they disappeared. And last week, we declared the species extinct in our update to the IUCN Red List 😢
Slender-billed Curlew Declared Extinct
IUCN confirms the loss of a once-widespread Western Palearctic wader after three decades without a verified record
www.rarebirdalert.co.uk
Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

Hi Michael. Yes, absolutely. That said, Wrigley's Continuity, Chance and Change is probably a little easier to digest for UGs but if you want to talk about energy the later book is much better since it has the benefit of Paul Warde's path-breaking empirical work.

☺️ Thanks Robert!

Hi Jeff,
I have a book on the making of Britain's fossil fuel economy in the works, which should be out next year if all goes well. In the meantime, I warmly recommend Emma Griffin's introduction to the Industrial Revolution and Maxine Berg and Pat Hudson's book on slavery and industry.

I'm on your wife's side, but it goes without saying the trade-off between bikes and pedestrians is a pretty nice problem to have. In Chicago, bicycling is a dangerous business in many places.

I am struck by how narrow the pedestrian lanes are in many places and how quick the traffic lights are compared with Stockholm or Chicago. Bicycles really seem to be the norm, even compared to walking.

Congratulations Thea. Very glad to read and teach your book

Thanks Matthew. Glad to hear our little book was of some use. Moritz and I have not forgotten about your kind invitation.

Excellent! Hope you enjoy it. Especially curious to hear what you make of the chapter about the Collingwood children's magazine Nothing Much.

This is really excellent work. Looking forward to the book!

Reposted by Marc Bloch

Excellent article from @jamborg.bsky.social about "genetic" mercantilism. Highly recommended
'Mercantilisme animal. Contrebande de #races animales, diplomatie du mouton et #géopolitique du capital génétique dans la France du xviiie siècle'

par @jamborg.bsky.social (Uppsala)

👉 dx.doi.org/10.1017/ahss...

#skystorians #race #climate #merinos 🐑
'Mercantilisme animal. Contrebande de #races animales, diplomatie du mouton et #géopolitique du capital génétique dans la France du xviiie siècle'

par @jamborg.bsky.social (Uppsala)

👉 dx.doi.org/10.1017/ahss...

#skystorians #race #climate #merinos 🐑
For the last several months, I've been digging through endless scientific literature on what happens when pregnant mothers are exposed to plastic chemicals in their food, water, and everyday household products.

The result is this story.

I hope you'll take the time to read.
wapo.st/4g3ZoFc
The health risks from plastics almost nobody knows about
Researchers have linked phthalates, chemicals found in plastics, to premature birth, infertility and ADHD.
wapo.st

Thanks Paul

let's see if others corroborate. There is a high probability of new oil discoveries in the polar regions... the main question is how big they are.

I don't think we fully grasped yet how important solar will be as an energy source.

Great graph @carbonbrief.org based on @iea.org data.

Please take a moment to join the class action!
There are tons of graphic novels, academic papers, film and TV scripts, & prose novels/nonfiction on the LibGen list Anthropic used.

As settlement approaches, make it easy for the class action lawyers to contact you! Here’s how

Part 1: is your work in Libgen?

www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI
Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.
www.theatlantic.com
There are tons of graphic novels, academic papers, film and TV scripts, & prose novels/nonfiction on the LibGen list Anthropic used.

As settlement approaches, make it easy for the class action lawyers to contact you! Here’s how

Part 1: is your work in Libgen?

www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI
Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.
www.theatlantic.com
New data paper out: Ammonia doesn't often make the headlines – but it’s one of the major drivers of biodiversity loss and air pollution in Europe, harming ecosystems and our health. > 90% of it in Europe comes from one source: agricultural fertiliser and manure 🧵

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Apropos of nothing, a reminder that German stock markets kept climbing in an almost uninterrupted fashion in the run-up to WW2. Investors are really, really bad at pricing serious institutional and political risks.
Do not trust AI or ChatGPT-5 to do the most basic things like labeling a picture of the hydrologic cycle. Here's what it gave me.
(Evaporation arrow pointing into the ground. Both surface water and the "ocean" labels underground. Transpiration arrow coming from the #water surface, not plants...]
The Call for Papers for 'Talking Records: Pollution in the Archive', a symposium at The National Archives in London, 4 December 2025, is now open!

Submission deadline: Friday 19 Sept

See the CFP and details about bursaries for speakers here: orlo.uk/Z8StS

#envhum #envhist