Tess McClure
@tessairini.bsky.social
editor, biodiversity & nature @guardian
Pinned
Tess McClure
@tessairini.bsky.social
· Nov 28
The great abandonment: what happens to the natural world when people disappear?
The long read: Across the globe, vast swathes of land are being left to be reclaimed by nature. To see what could be coming, look to Bulgaria
www.theguardian.com
i wrote for about the enormous, unseen abandonment taking place around the world (some estimate up to 400m hectares- the size of the EU) and what actually happens when people disappear from a landscape www.theguardian.com/news/2024/no...
Reposted by Tess McClure
Holy wow, +3.5 ppm CO₂ last year, up from +2.4 ppm average the past decade, and +0.6 ppm in the 1960s.
It gets scarier the closer you look at it. All this is a stress test for the planet, and it's buckling.
Two big reasons for the massive increase: wildfires, and the ocean sinks are shutting down.
It gets scarier the closer you look at it. All this is a stress test for the planet, and it's buckling.
Two big reasons for the massive increase: wildfires, and the ocean sinks are shutting down.
October 16, 2025 at 7:02 AM
Holy wow, +3.5 ppm CO₂ last year, up from +2.4 ppm average the past decade, and +0.6 ppm in the 1960s.
It gets scarier the closer you look at it. All this is a stress test for the planet, and it's buckling.
Two big reasons for the massive increase: wildfires, and the ocean sinks are shutting down.
It gets scarier the closer you look at it. All this is a stress test for the planet, and it's buckling.
Two big reasons for the massive increase: wildfires, and the ocean sinks are shutting down.
Reposted by Tess McClure
This is a super interesting study of bird migration, and follows 3 specific birds on their journeys. Very beautifully visualised also.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Bird migration is changing. What does this reveal about our planet? – visualised
Bird migrations rank as one of nature’s greatest spectacles. Thanks to GPS tracking, scientists are uncovering extraordinary insights into ancient and mysterious journeys – and new threats that are re...
www.theguardian.com
October 16, 2025 at 9:06 AM
This is a super interesting study of bird migration, and follows 3 specific birds on their journeys. Very beautifully visualised also.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
A new island erupted from the sea – can it show us how nature works without human interference?
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
A new island erupted from the sea – can it show us how nature works without human interference?
The volcanic island of Surtsey emerged in the 1960s, and scientists say studying its development offers hope for damaged ecosystems worldwide
www.theguardian.com
October 13, 2025 at 9:05 AM
A new island erupted from the sea – can it show us how nature works without human interference?
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
a bleak fable www.theguardian.com/environment/...
As forests are cut down, butterflies are losing their colours
The insects’ brilliant hues evolved in lush ecosystems to help them survive. Now they are becoming more muted to adapt to degraded landscapes – and they are not the only things dulling down
www.theguardian.com
October 7, 2025 at 8:48 AM
a bleak fable www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Tess McClure
Fade to grey: as forests are cut down, butterflies are losing their colours
Fade to grey: as forests are cut down, butterflies are losing their colours
The insects’ brilliant hues evolved in lush ecosystems to help them survive. Now they are becoming more muted to adapt to degraded landscapes – and they are not the only things dulling down
www.theguardian.com
October 6, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Fade to grey: as forests are cut down, butterflies are losing their colours
Reposted by Tess McClure
"Across observed tropical bird populations, impacts of climate change have typically been larger than direct human pressure"
Large reductions in tropical bird abundance attributable to heat extreme intensification - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Climate change poses a growing threat to biodiversity, but disentangling its overall impact from other anthropogenic stressors is challenging. Here the authors use a data-driven climate attribution fr...
www.nature.com
August 12, 2025 at 6:34 PM
"Across observed tropical bird populations, impacts of climate change have typically been larger than direct human pressure"
Reposted by Tess McClure
Four Al Jazeera staff, including reporter Anas Al Sharif, were killed in an Israeli attack on a tent for journalists outside the main gate of Gaza's al-Shifa hospital aje.io/onll19
Anas al-Sharif among five Al Jazeera journalists killed by Israel in Gaza
Al Jazeera staff killed in targeted Israeli attack on a tent housing journalists near al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza City.
aje.io
August 10, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Four Al Jazeera staff, including reporter Anas Al Sharif, were killed in an Israeli attack on a tent for journalists outside the main gate of Gaza's al-Shifa hospital aje.io/onll19
beautiful photographs by Zed Nelson, on nature as spectacle: www.theguardian.com/environment/...
I travelled the globe to document how humans became addicted to faking the natural world. Here’s what I found
In his new book, The Anthropocene Illusion, photographer Zed Nelson reflects on the surreal environments created as people destroy nature, yet crave connection to it
www.theguardian.com
July 24, 2025 at 10:05 AM
beautiful photographs by Zed Nelson, on nature as spectacle: www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The Guardian editorial board: "on starvation in Gaza: it will take more than words to halt Israel’s genocide" www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Guardian view on starvation in Gaza: it will take more than words to halt Israel’s genocide | Editorial
Editorial: Condemnation is rightly growing. But until concrete action is taken, western allies will remain complicit with these horrifying crimes
www.theguardian.com
July 24, 2025 at 10:04 AM
The Guardian editorial board: "on starvation in Gaza: it will take more than words to halt Israel’s genocide" www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Tess McClure
‘The place is bleached, a dead zone’: @phoebeweston.bsky.social on how the UK’s most beloved, iconic landscapes became biodiversity deserts www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘The place is bleached, a dead zone’: how the UK’s most beloved landscapes became biodiversity deserts
National parks, famous for their rich natural heritage, should be at the heart of efforts to protect habitats and wildlife. Instead, experts say they are declining – fast
www.theguardian.com
July 22, 2025 at 3:56 PM
‘The place is bleached, a dead zone’: @phoebeweston.bsky.social on how the UK’s most beloved, iconic landscapes became biodiversity deserts www.theguardian.com/environment/...
in Ukraine’s bombed out reservoir, a huge forest has grown – is it a return to life or a toxic timebomb? the first of a new series we're launching, 'the aftermath', which looks at the complexity of how nature responds to transformation and catastrophe www.theguardian.com/environment/...
In Ukraine’s bombed out reservoir a huge forest has grown – is it a return to life or a toxic timebomb?
Two years after the Nova Kakhovka dam was destroyed in Ukraine, nature has returned in abundance to the drained land in a ‘big natural experiment’ – but it could be lost as quickly as it appeared
www.theguardian.com
July 22, 2025 at 3:35 PM
in Ukraine’s bombed out reservoir, a huge forest has grown – is it a return to life or a toxic timebomb? the first of a new series we're launching, 'the aftermath', which looks at the complexity of how nature responds to transformation and catastrophe www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Tess McClure
The web of life, evolved over countless aeons, being torn apart in our time.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Half the tree of life’: ecologists’ horror as nature reserves are emptied of insects
A new point in history has been reached, entomologists say, as climate-led species’ collapse moves up the food chain even in supposedly protected regions free of pesticides
www.theguardian.com
July 18, 2025 at 6:46 AM
The web of life, evolved over countless aeons, being torn apart in our time.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Tess McClure
Reposted by Tess McClure
Women and girls in Tigray were gang raped by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers. Nail clippers, rusted screws and other objects were shoved up their vaginas with the intention of making them infertile.
A horrific but must-read story by
@ximenaborrazas.bsky.social and @tessairini.bsky.social
A horrific but must-read story by
@ximenaborrazas.bsky.social and @tessairini.bsky.social
Rusted screws, metal spikes and plastic rubbish: the horrific sexual violence used against Tigray’s women
Tens of thousands of Tigrayan women report brutal wartime abuse by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers, such as gang-rape and the insertion of objects into their uteruses. But justice seems a distant pros...
www.theguardian.com
June 30, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Women and girls in Tigray were gang raped by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers. Nail clippers, rusted screws and other objects were shoved up their vaginas with the intention of making them infertile.
A horrific but must-read story by
@ximenaborrazas.bsky.social and @tessairini.bsky.social
A horrific but must-read story by
@ximenaborrazas.bsky.social and @tessairini.bsky.social
total horror is being inflicted on the women of tigray. here we document the attempts by soldiers to destroy their fertility, and their hopes for justice as most of the world looks away www.theguardian.com/global-devel... @ximenaborrazas.bsky.social
Rusted screws, metal spikes and plastic rubbish: the horrific sexual violence used against Tigray’s women
Tens of thousands of Tigrayan women report brutal wartime abuse by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers, such as gang-rape and the insertion of objects into their uteruses. But justice seems a distant pros...
www.theguardian.com
June 30, 2025 at 1:43 PM
total horror is being inflicted on the women of tigray. here we document the attempts by soldiers to destroy their fertility, and their hopes for justice as most of the world looks away www.theguardian.com/global-devel... @ximenaborrazas.bsky.social
Reposted by Tess McClure
The Alt National Park Service account calls itself the official "resistance" team of the US National Park Service. With 887k followers, is one of the biggest accounts on Bluesky. It is the 11 most followed account according to some trackers.
This thread will dive into its activity.
🧵 1/x.
This thread will dive into its activity.
🧵 1/x.
June 17, 2025 at 9:55 PM
The Alt National Park Service account calls itself the official "resistance" team of the US National Park Service. With 887k followers, is one of the biggest accounts on Bluesky. It is the 11 most followed account according to some trackers.
This thread will dive into its activity.
🧵 1/x.
This thread will dive into its activity.
🧵 1/x.
lots of great reporting and editing jobs going at the guardian in the US at the moment - a whole team of enterprise & investigative political reporters/editor, plus newsletters, arts editors, podcasting workforus.theguardian.com/search-jobs-... #journalismjobs #journojobs
The Guardian :: Search jobs and apply
Step up to your new career
workforus.theguardian.com
June 17, 2025 at 3:31 PM
lots of great reporting and editing jobs going at the guardian in the US at the moment - a whole team of enterprise & investigative political reporters/editor, plus newsletters, arts editors, podcasting workforus.theguardian.com/search-jobs-... #journalismjobs #journojobs
Reposted by Tess McClure
“To mark the anniversary of the killings of Dom & Bruno, the Guardian – which is today launching a major investigative podcast series about the men called Missing in the Amazon – joined a gruelling week-long expedition in the rainforest”
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
‘This is my mission, my destiny’: a treacherous Amazon journey in the footsteps of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira
Three years after the deaths of the British journalist and Brazilian activist, the Guardian joined the Indigenous peoples continuing their dangerous and often gruelling work to protect the rainforest
www.theguardian.com
June 5, 2025 at 8:24 AM
“To mark the anniversary of the killings of Dom & Bruno, the Guardian – which is today launching a major investigative podcast series about the men called Missing in the Amazon – joined a gruelling week-long expedition in the rainforest”
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Reposted by Tess McClure
When warnings of Insectageddon were issued a few years ago, there was widespread denial. Less so now. It's devastating. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Half the tree of life’: ecologists’ horror as nature reserves are emptied of insects
A new point in history has been reached, entomologists say, as climate-led species’ collapse moves up the food chain even in supposedly protected regions free of pesticides
www.theguardian.com
June 3, 2025 at 9:12 AM
When warnings of Insectageddon were issued a few years ago, there was widespread denial. Less so now. It's devastating. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
i wrote about the incredible die-offs that we are now seeing around the world in 'protected' places far from human touch - and about the people who are bearing witness to them www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Half the tree of life’: ecologists’ horror as nature reserves are emptied of insects
A new point in history has been reached, entomologists say, as climate-led species’ collapse moves up the food chain even in supposedly protected regions free of pesticides
www.theguardian.com
June 3, 2025 at 12:05 PM
i wrote about the incredible die-offs that we are now seeing around the world in 'protected' places far from human touch - and about the people who are bearing witness to them www.theguardian.com/environment/...
last week i drove into the swiss alps to find what was left of Blatten, the village buried beneath a collapsing glacier - report here: www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘This is ground zero for Blatten’: the tiny Swiss village engulfed by a mountain
‘The memories preserved in countless books, photo albums, documentation – everything is gone,’ says village’s mayor
www.theguardian.com
June 2, 2025 at 12:08 PM
last week i drove into the swiss alps to find what was left of Blatten, the village buried beneath a collapsing glacier - report here: www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Tess McClure
'For now, the only version of Blatten village that exists is invisible, the village’s mayor, Matthias Bellwald, says, held in the minds of the people that have left. “We carry that with us very carefully, as a memory.”'
@tessairini.bsky.social reports:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
@tessairini.bsky.social reports:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘This is ground zero for Blatten’: the tiny Swiss village engulfed by a mountain
‘The memories preserved in countless books, photo albums, documentation – everything is gone,’ says village’s mayor
www.theguardian.com
June 1, 2025 at 6:03 PM
'For now, the only version of Blatten village that exists is invisible, the village’s mayor, Matthias Bellwald, says, held in the minds of the people that have left. “We carry that with us very carefully, as a memory.”'
@tessairini.bsky.social reports:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
@tessairini.bsky.social reports:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Tess McClure
The Gran Chaco forest is South America’s second largest after the Amazon.
But vast green expanses – home to jaguars, giant armadillos and howler monkeys – have been turned to fields of dust as loggers plunder its trees.
Dispatch 👇
www.theguardian.com/environment/... @tessairini.bsky.social
But vast green expanses – home to jaguars, giant armadillos and howler monkeys – have been turned to fields of dust as loggers plunder its trees.
Dispatch 👇
www.theguardian.com/environment/... @tessairini.bsky.social
‘A cemetery of trees’: vast green expanses turned to dust as loggers plunder South America’s Gran Chaco
Jaguars, giant armadillos and ocelots among species threatened by shrinking habitat in one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world
www.theguardian.com
May 7, 2025 at 2:22 PM
The Gran Chaco forest is South America’s second largest after the Amazon.
But vast green expanses – home to jaguars, giant armadillos and howler monkeys – have been turned to fields of dust as loggers plunder its trees.
Dispatch 👇
www.theguardian.com/environment/... @tessairini.bsky.social
But vast green expanses – home to jaguars, giant armadillos and howler monkeys – have been turned to fields of dust as loggers plunder its trees.
Dispatch 👇
www.theguardian.com/environment/... @tessairini.bsky.social
Reposted by Tess McClure
this is wild: vehicle capacity of freeway lanes dropped 10 percent as SUVs took over the road -- not just bc they are bigger. they also take more time and space to slow down and obscure other drivers' sightlines.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
How SUVs Are Making Traffic Worse
As larger, taller sport utility vehicles took over US roads, they also aggravated highway congestion, according to a new study. It’s yet another ill effect of “car bloat.”
www.bloomberg.com
April 14, 2025 at 8:52 PM
this is wild: vehicle capacity of freeway lanes dropped 10 percent as SUVs took over the road -- not just bc they are bigger. they also take more time and space to slow down and obscure other drivers' sightlines.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...