John Marchant

John Marchant

@johnmarchant.bsky.social

Birds, moths and other British wildlife: I have helped record our declining bird diversity for 50+ years as a BTO staffer and volunteer - in retirement, enjoying what’s left, and paying more attention to other taxa.

457 followers286 following80 posts

John Marchant reposted

The BBC needs to provide an explanation for this.

Reform Party UK Exposed@reformexposed.bsky.social

Yeah, this is getting absurd. Zero scrutiny. BBC News broadcasts Reform UK speeches in full without interruptions www.thenational.scot/news/2667178...

John Marchant reposted

There needs to be a major public outreach/education campaign that shows that the rush for profligate genAI usage is incompatible with myriad sustainable development goals.

Amanda Clare@amandaclare.bsky.social

Yes and I don’t see the point of turning a photo of my shelf of jam jars from over 10 years ago into a 3D animation. What a waste of resources.

John Marchant reposted

I warned 3 years ago that mink farms are a likely route to a new and horrific human pandemic, and once more I'm fervently praying it doesn't map out that way. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

theguardian.comBe warned: the next deadly pandemic is not inevitable, but all the elements are in place | George MonbiotBird flu is a mass killer, and mink farms are perfect for infection and transmission. They are a grave threat and must be banned, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
Kevin Uhrmacher@kevinuhrm.bsky.social

Wild new story from @natlash.bsky.social Bird flu has been raging uncontrolled on a mink farm for two months. Flu experts fear it could spark a devastating human pandemic. But officials haven’t acted, instead prioritizing the financial interests of the fur trade. www.propublica.org/article/bird...

John Marchant reposted

The chance to keep global warming below 1.5°C with no overshoot is gone. But urgent action can still limit the overshoot and bring warming back to 1.5°C by 2100. Current policies, however, put the 🌎 on course for up to 2.8°C this century. New #EmissionsGap Report: https://ow.ly/SNHX50ZZz8l

John Marchant reposted

AI fungi are getting more realistic, but there's still something off about them and they have a tendency towards the over detailed / densely textured look

John Marchant reposted

John Marchant reposted

John Marchant reposted

1/ Nature is in peril. Drastic declines and specialist species struggling is what the Wild Bird Indicators, using BTO data & published by Defra, show. Here’s what we know ⬇️ The All Bird Species Index shows 19% declines in the UK since 1970. This comprises 132 species. 📉 #Ornithology

John Marchant reposted

Trump has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court, and while his kids "negotiate" a Ukrainian peace deal, he's paying Putin to breach sanctions. Hegseth is live-streaming an execution by firing squad, and gave the UFC a binding contract to train the US military in hand to hand combat.

John Marchant reposted

608bn litres of industrial wastewater entered sewage plants last year. Sources include power stations, abattoirs, landfill, some with consents for chemicals such as mercury + cyanide - entering plants not designed to treat such waste. Our new report, out now: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

theguardian.comRevealed: the ‘black box’ wastewater trade that rakes in millions for UK utility companiesExclusive: Firms made more than £340m last year from processing industrial and commercial wastewater at sewage works that are unable to remove many chemical pollutants

John Marchant reposted

“I’ve seen first-hand how hard those in power have to be pushed before warm words become real actions. That’s why getting more Greens into Parliament really matters.” Caroline Lucas on why more Green voices in Parliament matter in the fight against climate change.

John Marchant reposted

“The only sensible solution at this point is a moratorium on datacentres until very basic questions about how many we need, what for, where, and how pollution will be avoided are answered satisfactorily by the government” - @olliehayes.bsky.social 👏

theguardian.comDrax datacentre could create nearly twice the yearly emissions of all Gatwick flightsExclusive: Campaign group’s analysis of North Yorkshire plans finds datacentre would have to burn 4.9m tonnes of wood a year

John Marchant reposted

The pitch here seems to be, ‘we’ll build the houses and infrastructure we failed to build during the 14 years we were in government, but we’ll do it in the most damaging and lowest quality way possible’. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

theguardian.comTories to pledge to scrap Environment Agency and Natural EnglandShadow chancellor will also promise to scrap affordable homes regulations as part of strategy to refocus on growth

John Marchant reposted

Revealed: Government quietly dropped plan to prepare England for wildfires I discovered via an FOI request that DEFRA’s commitment in the National Adaptation Programme to run a “wildfire risk programme” since 2023 “was not brought into effect”. #ClimateCrisis www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...

theguardian.comRevealed: Government quietly dropped plan to prepare England for wildfiresFOI request shows wildfire risk scheme scrapped, as data highlights many fire services lack proper protective gear

John Marchant reposted

George is quite right on this. I discovered via FOI requests that just 5% of all woodland creation grants go to support natural regeneration of trees, and 95% to tree planting. I’ll continue to push DEFRA to fix this. www.theguardian.com/environment/... bsky.app/profile/geor...

theguardian.comGovernment ‘failing to support natural regeneration of trees in England’Campaigners say targets for woodland creation are unlikely to be met because 95% of grants are for planting
George Monbiot@georgemonbiot.bsky.social

In terms of messaging, this is very positive, and a big shift from the nature-hatefest of the Starmer administration. Mind you, most tree-planting is unnecessary: I'd like to see much more emphasis on natural regeneration. 🧵 www.theguardian.com/environment/...

“Recorders’ notebooks from the pre-digital era are a treasure trove, often lost in house moves or destroyed in clearances. We probably don’t appreciate that our own notes can contribute to future understanding of changes in an area’s wildlife. How much is already lost?”

Julian Hughes@penrhynbirder.bsky.social

Do you have nature records in notebooks that you never look at and wonder what to do with? I've transcribed 10,000 records from the 1960-70s from a Welsh ornithological legend into @birdtrack.bsky.social and @cofnod.org.uk. And it was fascinating... #BirdingWales www.cofnod.org.uk/news/natural...

John Marchant reposted

We are proud to say that generic bird-monitoring initiatives are growing across Europe, with over 15,000 volunteers participating annually ! Data quality also seems to be improving, and more schemes are publishing their results openly. More: pecbms.info/update-on-th...

John Marchant reposted

This story is about so much more than one man and one company. It’s about the corruption of our British democracy through the subtle intermingling of the financial and political interests of our political class and the world’s most powerful corporations. open.substack.com/pub/zeteouk/...

open.substack.comWhy Is a Labour Lord Now Paid by Palantir – and What Does it Mean For Our Democracy?Ex-Labour deputy leader Tom Watson just got hired by a controversial US tech company seeking taxpayer-funded state contracts. The intermingling of politicians and corporations corrupts our democracy.

John Marchant reposted

100 seconds of Greens standing up for our climate. Following Zack Polanski’s recognition in The Independent’s Climate 100, a reminder that Greens have always led the way on climate action. From protecting nature to ending our reliance on fossil fuels, we’ll keep fighting for a liveable future.

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John Marchant reposted

This should be the moment people finally realise that Farage has turned them into fascists. If you’re choosing this dangerous inhumanity over the rescue work of the RNLI, you’ve lost your minds to racism and hatred.

John Marchant reposted

John Marchant reposted

“A real test of this government will be torule out new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. The reason they have decided not to announce that before the by-election in Holborn and St Pancras is incredibly telling.” Caroline Lucas on the government’s refusal to rule out new oil and gas on #BBCQT.

John Marchant reposted

It’s extraordinary how much the world worried about the ethics of genetic advances like cloning & how little is done about the ethics of genAI now. Look at our institutions- a persistent wildly enthusiastic uncritical call for AI adoption in everything. Where is the call for ethical scrutiny first?