Just saw Pete Hegseth's ridiculous speech to US military and, for the first time since my father (USAF Colonel) died 5 years ago, I am relieved he is not alive to see what a mockery is being made of the the cause he dedicated his life too. 😔

This is a good summary of healing words of @barackobama.bsky.social in Dublin last night, but fails to mention what struck me most: #climatechange comprised at least 20% of the conversation & was first issue mentioned as priority for #ObamaFoundation. 💚 #BarackObama www.rte.ie/news/us/2025...

If you are at the National Ploughing Championship today, come say hello!

On the 20yr anniversary of #HurricaneKatrina, I dusted off my 2017 blog after my last trip to my former home of NOLA. It still holds up! www.caraaugustenborg.com/latest-news/...

Thank you @yurikageyama.bsky.social for a feel good story amid the gloom. I have a bug loving kid here in Ireland, but they seem to be a rare breed here! A culture of bug loving kids sounds like just what the world needs. 🐛🪲🐞

Actor Mandy Patinkin’s plea for Jews to consider how what Netanyahu’s Israeli government is doing to Gaza is not just harming Palestinians and killing kids — but also endangering Jews across the globe.

Good morning! ☀️ We are looking for a researcher (or research team) to support an exciting new report on how clean flexibility solutions can replace fossil gas. More info below 👇 Please share with your networks and/or names of any suitable candidates. Merci! beyondfossilfuels.org/about-us/wor...

🚨2 years after Irish gov launched €15m Shared Island sports club EV charger scheme, none have been fitted. Now a report warns the delays pose a ‘reputational risk’ to government climate initiatives @caugustenborg.bsky.social @irishnews.com @ucddublin.bsky.social www.irishnews.com/news/norther...

In today's Irish Times, my perspective as a former Fulbright scholar and current Programme Director for University College Dublin Environmental Policy MSc programme, where we are seeing significant increases in US/international applicant numbers this year. www.irishtimes.com/ireland/educ...

Sign of the day…

Right Now, most of the American can relate to this message from the 90's.

Not so fun fact: Every hour a person spends in space emits the same climate harming pollution as 2,000-4,600 people on earth (source link below), but today I heard Katy Perry say "everyone should do this to help them love themselves" 🙄 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Here's a first look at sea surface temperature data from the new NOAA ERSSTv6 dataset... this animation shows the yearly anomalies over the last 100 years. Data available at www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/cmb...

Holey moley.

Couldn't have picked a nicer day for a field trip with my UCD MSc Environmental Policy students! Thanks to Baron Randal Plunkett for the personal tour of his novel ecosystem & beautiful estate at Dunsany Castle- to inspire our own campus biodiversity efforts back home!

I knew it was bad, but not this bad. An entire road through the amazon built for the Climate COP! If anyone is wondering whether this might be the COP to avoid, I would say yes. www.bbc.com/news/article...

interesting to read a very strong case against liquified gas investments WITHOUT even talking about the dangers of climate breakdown: - running costs are enormous (and households pay) - doesn't prevent weather-related disruption - renewables are so cheap and fast they make it redundant

The rise and triumph of the fascist Idiocracy, brilliantly foretold in five frames by @tomtomorrow.bsky.social

Our final @epaireland.bsky.social-funded policy brief on administrative frictions in Climate Action Plans has just been published, examining the Shared Island Sports Clubs EV Charger Scheme launched in February 2023. To date, no chargers have been installed... 1/X publicpolicy.ie/environment/...

There are lessons to be learned from across the pond... #datacentres #Ireland

A climate ad at the #Superbowl was not on my bingo card! 👏👏

This article made me so sad for young people in Ireland. Their lives are uncertain & lacking in the joy & hope I remember from my 20s. One even mentioned uncertainty of climate change as a contributor. 1/2 www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...

Our second of three policy briefs, conducting "sludge audits" to assess the administrative frictions (i.e. "red tape") in schemes within Ireland's Climate Action Plan is live. This one looks at the Solar for Schools scheme to put solar panels on every school in IRL. publicpolicy.ie/environment/...

Yesterday, our UCD Environmental Policy MSc students toured our campus biodiversity initiatives to inspire their Spring trimester project for my Tools for Sustainable Development module, joined by surprise guest, Eamon Ryan - Frmr G'ment Minister for Climate, Environment & Transport (& UCD alum!).

RTÉ News has long had a well documented problem with its #climate coverage, but it has improved in recent times. However, as @caugustenborg.bsky.social reports, its coverage of Storm Éowyn has been problematic. www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

Not linking extreme weather and #StormEowyn damage to climate change in reporting was a missed opportunity. Even though we don’t yet know how much climate change turbocharged this event, this disruption is consistent with what we expect from a warming world.

I wasn't thrilled with RTE's reporting of #StormÉowyn wrt #climatechange last week... Thanks to @irishexaminer.bsky.social for letting me express my concerns on the costs of RTE's "muddled climate messaging" and why it matters so much here 1/2: www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

My contribution to this week's @rte.ie #PrimeTime on what to expect from Trump's US Presidency from min. 5 here : www.rte.ie/player/serie...

Wow. Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde fearlessly calls out Trump and Vance to their faces. This is heroic. (posting in 3 parts due to Bluesky's 1 minute limit)

This morning, I was asked on RTE Countrywide to discuss Programme for G'ment. While I normally focus on my climate policy expertise, I felt a moral duty to raise significant concerns about lack of Government priorities to address biodiversity crisis. 1/x www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

Some thoughtful analysis of government commitments and action on climate. A great read. No clickbait, just good attention to the data. Love it!

I'll be on RTE Countrywide with @philipb-h.bsky.social from about 8:15 to talk about this week's Draft Programme for Government. Get the coffee on and join us! ☕️ www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

No one has been tracking Programme for Governments as closely as Cara over the years. Great insights 👇

My reflections from a decade of climate politics in Ireland, including manifestos, Programmes for Government, elections, report cards - and even thoughts on Eamon Ryan's legacy as he leaves politics... all in this Earth Comment for UCD's Earth Institute www.ucd.ie/earth/commen...

This is the most comprehensive media analysis of environmental commitments in the Draft Programme for Government that I've read so far. My 2025 comms prediction: "Climate cakeism" (c/o @oisinc.bsky.social ) becomes the successor buzz word to "climate laggard" (also c/o Oisin Coghlan!)

Good summary of opinions on the environment & climate commitments within Ireland's newly published draft Programme for Government care of @thejournal.ie. My take home: "It was more than I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting much." 1/2 www.thejournal.ie/programme-fo...

It is a good time to remember that human history has been most defined not by progress but by struggle, and our job is to find our place in the struggle, not lament that we cannot enjoy a life of luxury — for this never was, and never will be, what it means to be fully alive.

My hot take on the environmental commitments in Ireland's 2025 Draft Programme for Government (published yesterday) is summarised in 4 pages on OSF: doi.org/10.17605/OSF... 1/x #GE2024

Clinate contributions from Prof. John Sweeney, Prof. Peter Thorne, & I in today's Sunday Times article by Patrick O’Donoghue 👇 My own reflection: "We have an absolute blind spot about the impact of climate change on our ­current agricultural system..." www.thetimes.com/article/bb2e...

...and the line I may quote forever more to anyone who says climate reporting is too doomy: "The problem is that the problem is so big that to even describe it factually sounds like scaremongering"

Work started early for me this morning with this @newstalkfm.bsky.social Breakfast interview, explaining the science of #copernicus 2024 report that our planet exceeded 1.5C warming. 1/2 www.newstalk.com/news/alarm-b...

Dusted off the albums today to look back at these snaps I got of former President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter in Budapest as an 18yr old backpacking through Europe. He was 1st president of my lifetime and ahead of his time on so many issues, including energy conservation & renewable energy. RIP

@ccacireland.bsky.social are at #BTYSTE this year & the atmosphere is electric! I highly recommend popping in between now & Saturday. The intellect & enthusiasm of the students presenting is truely inspiring & provides a much-needed dose of hope in dark times. #climatechange #speirgorm

I spent 4 great years in LA for grad school & this is breaking my heart. #climatechange

Occasional reminder that there’s no, “it’s too late, its over” for anthropogenic climate change. Every molecule of CO2 that doesn’t go into the atmosphere makes a difference. Preventing 0.1 degree of warming makes a difference. Every bit of climate resilience we build together makes a difference.

1. As Zuckerberg abandons fact checking in the name of “free speech”, let’s take a moment to examine this concept. 🧵

This lovely calf picked a dreadful week to be born prematurely at my family's farm in Kerry, so they brought her into the back kitchen to stay warm as the county could reach -10°C tonight. The thought of a calf in the kitchen is strangely heart warming to me. #Sneachta #SpeirGorm #StayWarm

Thanks to @danieltmurray.bsky.social for including my take on climate in his piece in today's Business Post on the critical challenges facing the next government. We've all got our work cut out for us! www.businesspost.ie/news-focus/t...

Lots of eNGO/academic insights on Ireland's future for environmental protection in this article www.irishtimes.com/politics/202...