The transport sector is of concern with improvements in vehicle efficiency and the switch to EVs being offset by increases in vehicle miles travelled. We really are failing to get people out of their cars.

I can‘t help but notice the intermittency of…. gas and oil.

"Reducing methane emissions from oil and gas is one of the fastest, most cost-effective ways to slow climate change,” he said. And the technology exists today to achieve reductions. “This means the challenge is not about capability, but accountability.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Pretty fickle weather today but still some lovely signs of spring between the rain and the gales.

The marvellous Cuban pianist Elio Rojas at the Piano Sessions in Leeds last night. Seemless blending of classical, flamenco and Cuban rhythms. So clever. I could have listened for hours. Oh to have a Cuban musical education... (and this guy's endless talent).

‘What actually got people through emergencies - in the blitz, in floods, in foot and mouth, in 7/7 - was not the official machinery. It was the fabric of community that existed underneath it, and often despite it.’ Great from @pollymackenzie.bsky.social howtorunacountry.substack.com/p/what-to-do...

China is going full speed ahead on cleantech and electrification, but Europe has some successes of its own helping it stay in the cleantech race. 🧵⤵️

My resignation letter

This will make a much bigger difference than drilling for the last bit of methane gas in the North Sea news.sky.com/story/ed-mil...

A typical spring evening in Yorkshire. But can you name the year this brass hit made it to number 2 in the charts? Without searching obs.

“He used to rev the engine whenever he left the driveway. Now he just sort of rolls down the hill in neutral,” one neighbour said. theshovel.com.au/2026/03/18/d...

The fritillarias are here. Such beautiful plants.

The lad is two. Happy birthday Shep. I think this is supposed to be the day he becomes mature and calm. I live in hope. He's not been the easiest rescue but he's a very lovable rogue.

As always, proof of causality is hard, but precautionary principals seem to have been forgotten in recent years, so this is good news. Even if it allows time for further investigations and a change in strategy. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This is the number of scientific grants made by the US National Science Foundation in recent years. 2026 is... different. On Friday's Rare Earth, we'll be discussing the impact of US events on the climate/environment. How bad is it & will global progress just reshape itself, leaving the US out?

It's happening! Those of you that are old enough to remember Leeds Other Paper (me) might be pleased to hear of a new alternative paper launching in Leeds. It will be different of course, but still good.

No band rehearsal... this is exactly where I parked last week. It's a bit scary out there. Take care folks.

As a point of comparison, the US spent $21 billion in FY 2022 to feed billions of breakfasts and lunches to kids in schools across our whole country for an entire year under the universal school meals program that was later discontinued.

Over two thirds of the British public back proposals for solar panels to be installed on all new houses 87% believe govt policy should ensure new homes are designed to cut energy costs www.businessgreen.com/news/4526696...

Terrible photo of a brilliant performance of Gentlemen Jack the ballet at the Grand Theatre in Leeds last night. Clever staging and choreography against a beautiful score. It's touring. Go if you can. Although obs the Grand is the best place to see it...

Not far to go now...

For every pound spent on net zero, the benefits would outweigh the cost by between 2.2 and 4.1 times says @thecccuk.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/d163...

Surely this is going to be catastrophic for rail links to the south? For a long time?

I think it might actually be spring...

"Trying to compete with Reform not only feels inauthentic... but a betrayal of what Labour is supposed to represent. We must address the concerns and fears of voters, not play on them." Damning stuff from Sadiq Khan www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Ah the gorgeous Lisa O'neill. So good and hugely entertaining stories too. All in the equally gorgeous City Varieties where my grand parents used to watch The Good Old Days. Music, place, connections.

Anyway, Lisa was right. The wind didn't blow that far right. Really looking forward to seeing her live tomorrow. If I could just get rid of this assembly cough...

Yes, sectarian Muslims voting for a white female plumber from a party led by a gay Jewish man... Am guessing none of the other parties will learn the right lessons from this result for their own different reasons.

At last, a Telegraph headline that is actually true.

I'm on the old landfill site behind the house. Its a bit flooded at the bottom and there's masses of frog spawn. Finally a reason for all the rain.

Found a fascinating lecture on the nature of air pollution in Leeds from 1896. A really interesting description of measurement techniques. What caught my attention though, was that the discussion of costs of atmospheric soot was based around loss of fuel and damage en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Cha...

Getting rid of McSweeny seems to have worked then...

Rather jaded after a late night celebrating Carnival in Leeds. Here's the lovely roda de samba that formed part of it. So many Brazilians singing along. Really diverse crowd and great atmosphere. One reason why I love Leeds. And now for a quiet stress free night of curling...

This will be flowing through my local park a few miles further downstream. Not ok.

Nope. Even reading about the very interesting science hasn't made me feel any better about experiencing this. It has though, fed a little bit more support to my occasional desire to move to NW Scotland. Without the jet stream, there must surely be nowhere nicer.

I don’t know who needs to hear Jesse Jackson leading the kids on Sesame Street in this beautiful call-and-response reminding them that every child is somebody, but here it is

Say what you like about the BBC Olympics coverage, but Ed Leigh and Tim Warwood are hugely entertaining.

The situation is awful, but that was my experience of Havana too. A magical place despite everything the people have to endure.

Hurray. A break from the dirge. On Ilkley Moor with hat.

New drone footage from @floodlightnews.org - the fossil methane power plant Musk built specifically to create abusive and racist material on his social media website is still wildly breaching EPA regulations even after a ruling against using them -->>> floodlightnews.org/thermal-dron...

Happy birthday to Charles Darwin, patron saint of tired scientists, grumpy fieldworkers, and hating your own manuscript.

The phrase "There's no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing" is wearing a bit thin now. Hard to keep up with washing said clothing. Am now at the point of brushing the mud off and rewearing things for dog walking. Sorry if you bump into me...

Yes. It's ok, good even, to be a "determined irritant, a piece of grit in the machine". Excellent.

We’re celebrating International Day of Women and Girls in (Atmospheric) Science! Read 10 inspiring diverse career path stories from women at NCAS: ncas.ac.uk/in-conversat... #February11 #WomenInScience

The UK community energy movement is replete with some of the most tenacious and relentlessly upbeat people in the country. It is tremendously exciting to finally have a government that wants to help them to make things happen! “This is what good news looks like!” Joe Fortune, Cooperative Party 💫

Unfortunately, I think gen AI will be more like plastics: incredibly useful for a small number of applications, but pushed onto the masses in its least useful forms for the purposes of making a profit. The result will be an enormous impact on the environment.

I'm hardly the first person to note this, but it's enormously instructive that our President and his followers saw the message "THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE" and understood it, correctly, as an attack on them