“I am more of an ironist than a rationalist – an isolated position in Australia, where irony never took on, except as a form of mockery,” writes Barry Jones. satpa.pe/YgZ7TEZ

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... Happy New Year Latrobe Valley! Good news.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12... Perhaps the congestion tax needs fine tuning? Extra fees to cover extra costs for experimental use by companies of public streets - "nobody" can't sit the London Knowledge test.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12... It is reasonable to expect to finish what you start. But consultants get paid in full when they move on - even if they leave chaos. Students have no support to finish the degree they paid for.

www.theguardian.com/environment/... Happy Festive Season, bird lovers! A great story #Extinction @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social

@iceho.bsky.social @nichecanada.bsky.social @austhistassoc.bsky.social

Don't forget the environmental costs of AI & data storage in the rush to lead the tech revolution www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12... Planning ahead is essential in a dry continent.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12... Every big new digital system for emergency management needs *small manual back ups* that run off batteries. The bigger the system, the worse it will fail. Poles & wires are a problem in storms & fires. #ABC radio is essential too. That old trannie can save lives. 📻

The symbolism of Australians racing to donate blood to help the victims of the antisemitic terror attack in Sydney should not be underestimated. This is a people saying: I give of my most inner self to help you, unknown friends. I give without credit. I recognise that humanity is one body. #auspol

@knitnannassyd.bsky.social may find this useful

@iceho.bsky.social @wildpasts.bsky.social @nichecanada.bsky.social

The 3rd Icelandic Santa (yule lad) is coming tonight.In English, they've translated his name to simply "Stubby." In Iceland, we call him Stúfur. He's very short and he sneaks into your kitchen to steal pots and pans so as to lick the old food crusts off them!

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... Good news. But what about all the injuries over the 6 years waiting for the court? Why is justice so slow?

www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/educati... Obscene salaries are fine if schools don't get public money. If they won't tell, gov can assume "independence", so no public money. If they are able to run a school well without subsidy & overpay leadership, they have enough. @janecaro.bsky.social

Are we afraid of ourselves? Nick Feik digs into the traction problem for big, complex stories about things we need to fix but keep procrastinating on... #ClimateActionNow & many others. Thank you Nick! We need your sort of work. It is under-recognised "for a reason" #VestedInterests

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d... More than human cost of anthropogenic climate disasters #Extinction @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social @climatecouncil.org.au @knitnannassyd.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... Great news for the people who love the library and its librarians! @austhistassoc.bsky.social

BOWMAN: the No 1 message is: expect the unexpected www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... Eroding trust in schools, universities, museums and public institutions is international practice of fossil fuel companies. Museums must eschew sponsorship with strings. New York had the same issue with Koch bros sponsorship. Public trust is too important.

Yet another serious fault with digital systems - AI can't deal with free form comments, so they are being excluded from crucial documentation. Fear of being sued by rapacious legal teams is getting in the way of the public interest.

Fir or faux: which Christmas tree is best for the environment? Why not decorate a tree you have already - in your garden or in a pot? Esp if it is summer... there are many ways to make Xmas celebratory.

‘There are still people recovering from the trauma’: The brutal Goldstein campaign was worse than we thought www.crikey.com.au/2025/12/04/a...

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12... Why not get big mining interests to pay for the new road? Their machinery busts roads. Or perhaps deduct road costs from mining subsidies.

Data centres sit alongside coal plant extensions as one of the worst threats to Australia’s climate progress in a long time.

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... Care by AI isn't efficient either. #Robodebt #StoptheRot

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/d... Oh dear...

How you do your accounting can kill an institution. Let's be wary of big consultancies that don't understand (or actively want to change) university culture & governance. Let's consult teachers, researchers and students about Unis & not accountants. australiainstitute.org.au/post/the-anu...

File under "Late Capitalism Afterall". Via Gallup polling

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... What could possibly go wrong? #Robodebt

www.iceho.org/prize First Verena Winiwarter Prize for global environmental history will be awarded in 2027 - articles published between 2024 and 2026 to be considered! Share widely @iceho.bsky.social @nichecanada.bsky.social @eseh.bsky.social @esehnextgate.bsky.social @austhistassoc.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... The "afterlife" of politics. A generation ago there were few party hacks & pollies served in an honorary capacity. Jobs for mates would not be a problem. We need permanent employees in Public Service jobs not piecemeal consultancies.

Now our beloved State Library is spending big on corporate management and AI systems and sacking human staff who are essential to research and collections. Please sign the petition to stop the rot: www.megaphone.org.au/petitions/ha...

Australia news live: activists lock onto Newcastle coal loaders on last day of Rising Tide protest; Greens call for 25% gas export tax www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

jobs.anu.edu.au/jobs/lesslie... A rare and interesting opportunity to bring scholarship and practical environmental understandings together. Please apply! @anufennerschool.bsky.social

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11... No more new fossil fuel projects #HothouseEarth scenario is terrifying.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... We don't need to lead the world in sports gambling. This is what happens when we do. Zoe Daniels tells it like it is.

"Good by" AI standards? Oh dear @abcnewsbot.bsky.social

…. and here they go! Paddling out into Newcastle Port to encounter the laden coal ships off to deliver their loads to pollute our world & wreck our kid’s futures. Getting profits for a few while they can. @risingtideAus.bsky.social

The University of Bristol will offer their summer school in Environmental Humanities again! @bristoluni.bsky.social #envhum #envhist

@knitnannassyd.bsky.social@sydneyknittingnannasandfriends A Nanna and Goliath moment @risingtide. Contemplating the coal ships through the pollution haze.

Today, we would like to highlight “Eagles, Marmots, Humans: Knowing Wildlife Through #Fieldwork” by environmental historian and anthropologist @monicavasile.bsky.social from the recently-published eighth issue of 𝘚𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. (1/3)

"They wouldn’t last beyond a week”: ABC chair Kim Williams says Australia needs to interrogate the double standard allowed to tech company bosses invested in AI.

It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of Emeritus Professor Graeme Turner AO FAHA FQA — one of Australia’s most influential humanities scholars and a towering figure in the Academy’s history. humanities.org.au/our-communit...

Kim Williams ABC chair critical of 'investors, founders and entrepreneurs in AI' with 'profoundly autocratic views of society' who force 'anti-democratic views' ... offered 'seemingly with little criticism.' Same people are on cultural boards incl. Universities. We need more diversity & criticism.

Human health cannot be based on planetary ill-health. Krill is too important for a #Swisse potion. Boycott ALL their products till they withdraw this product. @knitnannassyd.bsky.social swissekrills.org#action

Cross-benchers are SO important to the intellectual life and cultural future of Australia. They listen to people, not just vested interests. We DO need science. We also need policy that listens to it, not suppression orders. Good work @davidpocock.bsky.social This is from #Guardian live-feed

#CFP: "The Ocean of Life. Humanities and the Ocean" International seminar, 3 July 2026, University of the Ryukus, Japan. Deadline for submissions: 19 December 2025 Info: international-seminar-ocean.my.canva.site #envhum #envhist #ecolit #bluehumanities