Notices by kim_harding ✅ (kim_harding@mastodon.scot)

Sepa gave 400 Scottish lochs 'good' environmental status but only checked 54 of them
https://www.theferret.scot/scandal-sea-lochs-scotland/
Lochs are classified as having a “good” environmental status based on samples from other lochs many miles away – and as much as a decade old – prompting concerns that environmental regulation isn’t “fit for purpose”.

Scientists Reveal 4 Stark Options For Saving Venice From Rising Seas
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-reveal-4-stark-options-for-saving-venice-from-rising-seas

Original research here https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-39108-z

The UK avoided the need for gas imports worth £1bn in March 2026 thanks to record electricity generation from wind and solar, reveals Carbon Brief analysis.
https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-record-wind-and-solar-saved-uk-from-gas-imports-worth-1bn-in-march-2026/
Wind generation hit a new record for the month of March on the island of Great Britain, up 38% year-on-year, while solar nearly matched the output of last year’s exceptionally sunny spring.

Japan relaxes privacy laws to make itself the ‘easiest country to develop AI’
https://www.theregister.com/2026/04/08/japan_privacy_law_changes_ai/
Opting out of personal data use won't be an option because Minister says that's a 'very big obstacle' to AI adoption

Over 100 Scottish terrorism charges have been linked to Palestine Action. That's more in seven months than all other groups faced in 25 years
https://www.theferret.scot/more-palestine-action-supporters-charged-terrorism/
The number of Scottish terrorism charges in relation to Palestine Action in the last seven months is more than all the other charges put together since the 2000 Terrorism Act came into force, new figures reveal

Dozens charged for supporting loyalist paramilitary groups banned under terror laws
https://www.theferret.scot/loyalist-paramilitary-groups-terror-laws/
A freedom of information response revealed there have been 193 charges in Scotland under the Terrorism Act 2000. The alleged offences link to banned groups like the Ulster Volunteer Force, Ulster Freedom Fighters, the IRA, and neo-Nazi group, National Action.

Study pinpoints when bow and arrow came to North America
https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/03/study-pinpoints-when-bow-and-arrow-came-to-north-america/
Radiocarbon results suggest a single origin and rapid diffusion through cultural transition networks.

Original paper here https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/5/3/pgag040/8524400

How moss could help roads cope with heavy rain and reduce air pollution
https://theconversation.com/how-moss-could-help-roads-cope-with-heavy-rain-and-reduce-air-pollution-277686

Don't Just Tax the Uber Rich, Reform the Corporate Structure That Creates Them
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/reform-corporate-structure
The real engine of inequality is structural: corporate and financial practices that concentrate wealth among shareholders while shortchanging other stakeholders who should be benefiting from corporate profits

tRump threatens ‘very bad’ future for NATO if allies fail to help secure strait of Hormuz
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/mar/16/iran-war-live-updates-news-oil-trump-hormuz-dubai-airport-israel-targets

Does Donut tRump really not understand that NATO is not going to come to his rescue? Especially after he threatened to invade other NATO countries...

Men who shout at hotels are not protecting women
https://bylines.scot/society/men-who-shout-at-hotels-are-not-protecting-women/
Far-right groups protest about asylum accommodation in Aberdeen, claiming to be protecting women, but they regularly target women for abuse

The planet is overheating. Why is the news looking away?
https://grist.org/language/global-heating-climate-news-drought-chaos/
Since 2021, global media coverage of climate change has dropped 38 percent. Blame wars, political chaos, and Jeffrey Epstein.

#DontLookUp #ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming

Decoupled: how Spain cut the link between gas and power prices using renewables
https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/decoupled-how-spain-cut-the-link-between-gas-and-power-prices-using-renewables/
Spain has some of the lowest wholesale electricity prices in Europe, largely owing to the country’s strong solar and wind growth which reduced the influence of expensive coal and gas power on the electricity market.

‘An epidemic of suffering’: Why are conservationists breaking down?
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/an-epidemic-of-suffering-why-are-conservationists-breaking-down/
▪️ Research finds that more than 27% of conservationists are struggling with moderate to severe distress, as conservationists tell Mongabay the industry is in a mental health “crisis.”
▪️ Conservationists are struggling with their mental health for many reasons, but one of the largest is watching ecological destruction in real time.

New iron nanomaterial wipes out cancer cells without harming healthy tissue
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260228093456.htm

Original research here https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adfm.202529194

Palantir Sues Swiss Magazine For Accurately Reporting That The Swiss Government Didn’t Want Palantir
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/02/27/palantir-sues-swiss-magazine-for-accurately-reporting-that-the-swiss-government-didnt-want-palantir/

Please note that Palantir would rather that you didn't share this story, it makes them look even more stupid if you do...

The invisible man whose millions are transforming British politics
https://observer.co.uk/news/politics/article/the-invisible-man-whose-millions-are-transforming-british-politics
Nigel Farage aims to win big in May’s elections, helped by a record-breaking £9m donation from a secretive billionaire. Christopher Harborne lives in Thailand, made a fortune in cryptocurrency and bankrolled the Brexit party before backing Reform. What does his money buy?

#StandingStoneSunday #SilentSunday

Mood for today...

Just though I would post this, for no particular reason... 😉

Who Funds Reform? Nigel Farage’s Party Received 92 Percent of its Donations from Fossil Fuel Interests, Polluters, and Climate Deniers
https://www.desmog.com/2024/06/04/nigel-farage-reform-uk-party-2-3-million-fossil-fuel-interests-climate-deniers-polluters-since-2019-election/
The anti-net zero party has been bankrolled by oil and gas investors, aviation entrepreneurs, and those who reject climate science.