Ignorance can be strategically used to promote 'non-knowledge' and deny liability Rather than view this in terms of a lack of knowledge, we need to understand how strategic ignorance is being used as a source of power

amateurish reporting that uncritically reproduces pseudoscientific and eugenic frames @politico.com must retract this piece and issue an apology for using damaging and offensive phrases like the ‘autism problem’

the Cass Sunstein new yorker interview is as bad as everyone is saying, but I would say is not entirely unrepresentative of his work the behavioural economics of 'nudge' is characterised by the same tensions and inconsistencies evident in this piece www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...

almost have to laugh at how cartoonish the corporate donors to this are: big tobacco, the arms industry and tech companies specialising in citizen surveillance

a month on, @magnuslovold.bsky.social comments on the final day of UN global plastic treaty negotiations in Geneva there were rumours circulating in whatsapp groups about UNEP engaging in what might best be termed 'discretionary governance' - this blog details some of the chaos that unfolded

treating peoples lives as if it’s some ‘cutting the red tape’ deregulation initiative

6 years in and I have finally figured out the unwritten rules of academic CVs that nobody tells you about

This report explores the latest science on threats from plastics, petrochemicals, and climate change that impact Arctic People: stoppoisonplastic.org/blog/portfol... It highlights the voices and testimonies of Indigenous leaders who are engaged in efforts to protect their land and People.

Pretty significant breakthrough in tackling undue corporate influence in global climate governance After years of pressure from CSOs, UNFCCC will require observers to disclose who is funding their participation at COPs. More to do obviously, but a major step kickbigpollutersout.org/COP30-next-s...

"the rise of reactionary politics is an epochal trend that reshapes markets and capitalist systems in depth" @theobourgeron.bsky.social in @jcultecon.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

the only thing these technical fixes achieve is to delay having to confront the reality that we can only address climate change through massive reductions in fossil fuel extraction

I guess this is a logical consequence of financialised capitalism, but doesn’t make it any less wild

Radical right accommodation really does not work. New paper out with this exceptionally talented team @katharinalawall.bsky.social @robjohns75.bsky.social @drjennings.bsky.social @sarahobolt.bsky.social @zachdickson.bsky.social @danjdevine.bsky.social & @jack-bailey.co.uk doi.org/10.31235/osf...

For the last several months, I've been digging through endless scientific literature on what happens when pregnant mothers are exposed to plastic chemicals in their food, water, and everyday household products. The result is this story. I hope you'll take the time to read. wapo.st/4g3ZoFc

beaten by an incredible freekick from Szobozlai, but I have this persistent doubt about Arteta's systems-thinking and what seem like increasngly clear trade-offs between solidity and creativity

average nitrogen dioxide levels have fallen 50 percent in Paris thanks to regulation and public policy shows what can be achieved by political actors that are brave enough to challenge vested interests and prioritize public health and wellbeing

great reporting by @desmog.com on Saudi Aramco's strategy to 'future proof' its image, while continuing to massively expand fossil fuel and petrochemical production

Mind-boggling. This is not democracy. The "fossil fuel sector [is] primary force behind..$954-million (2024 USD) lobbying campaign [on] (CCUS etc.).. comprised at least 54,243 contacts of high-ranking government officials..w/ significant legislative results." www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

my ‘not a dictator even though many people are asking for one’ shirt has a lot of people asking questions already answered by the shirt

My lab's been attacked by an anti-wind group and their lawyers. They threatened the science funding of my whole university, to shut me and my undergraduate research assistants up. NYT just covered it. 1/n www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/c...

Please join us for the 6th Global Policy North workshop at @uofglasgow.bsky.social on 6-7 November 2025. Details in the CfP. Cc: @globalpolicy.bsky.social; @uofgsps.bsky.social.

📣 New article w/ @iliasalami.bsky.social & @tomchodor.bsky.social on the return of industrial policy globally @globalpolicy.bsky.social. Does this signal a 'New Washington Consensus'? And does the return of industrial policy 'rebuild the ladder' of economic development? 🔗➡️ tinyurl.com/yk2wvttc 1/12

a paper that went through a painful rejection and has been under review for 15 months at a different journal has finally been accepted, and it was on my birthday not sure how I’m ever going to get this dopamine hit again

I'll admit, I was skeptical when they said Gemini was just like a bunch of PhDs. But I gotta admit they nailed it.

Watch: IPEN Executive Director Björn Beeler speaks with CBS News to discuss the end of the Geneva session of the Plastics Treaty negotiations (INC-5.2) and the need for a meaningful, global agreement. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSur...

I need to properly sort my thoughts out as it’s been a long two weeks, but I think framing these talks as a failure overlooks the fact that high ambition states refused to accept a waste management treaty where we go from here is unclear, but I think there remains grounds for optimism

In the final hours of #PlasticsTreaty talks, the Chair has dropped a text. "This isn’t a treaty to end plastic pollution — it’s a gift to polluters." It's completely unacceptable. So, what’s next? @melissabluesky.bsky.social‬ explains.

we’re in the final stretch of #plasticstreaty and observers are witnessing the informalization of negotiations raises questions about democratic legitimacy and transparency and the extent to which opaque meetings can be justified

with plastic treaty negotiations reaching their end point, it is worth underlining that companies like DuPont knew that recycling wasn't technically and economically feasible as early as 1974 recycling is not, and has never been, the solution to the global crisis of plastics pollution

incredible visualization of the scale of global plastic production 2019 levels would fill Central Park to a height of 423 metres, with a project tripling of petrochemical production by 2060 (unless we do something about it)

critical plenary session of the plastics treaty happening right now

cool visualisation of lobbyists at plastic treaty talks, based on @ciel.org analysis important to point out that these ‘instrumental’ strategies are simply the most concrete dimension of corporate power - so much of the power of the petrochemical bloc comes from the power to shape technology

Post 2/2: Here is a link to @ienearth.bsky.social Indigenous Principles of Just Transition: www.ienearth.org/wp-content/u...

Thank you to the speakers who shared powerful testimonies & to the 100+ people at today's Affected Groups Allied for Justice Press Conference at #inc5_2! We demand #justtransition for Indigenous Peoples, #wastepickers & other frontline workers, & fenceline communities! #globalplasticstreaty

Big news: New Jersey has reached a $2 billion deal with DuPont and other companies to settle claims they contaminated the state with toxic #PFAS. NJ officials call it the “largest environmental settlement” ever awarded to a single state. whyy.org/articles/new...

🚨BREAKING: Greenpeace activists just exposed the Big Oil lobbyists inside UN #PlasticsTreaty talks partnering with oil producing countries to try to sell out the treaty. Tell world leaders and ministers: Deliver a strong treaty that cuts plastic production now www.greenpeace.org/PlasticsTreaty

⚠️ Fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists have flooded #PlasticsTreaty talks at a record high. They're working with petrostates to distract, delay, and drag the treaty toward the lowest common denominator. #KickPollutersOut #INC5-2 👉 Read more: bit.ly/41wUn1L

Break Free From Plastic are doing daily summaries of where we’re at with the plastics treaty negotiations ideal if you’re following from a distance, or, like me, struggling to follow all the talks happening in parallel @breakfreefromplastic.org

New from Pamela Mondliwa and me in @bigdatasoc.bsky.social: the wild story of how South African banks launched mobile apps and chat-bots that compromised their customer data while patting themselves on the back for promoting "financial inclusion." doi.org/10.1177/2053...

to absolutely nobody’s surprise, the US is defending the interests of the petrochemical bloc

played a small part in a blog led by my colleagues Cat Acheson and Alice Street on the emergence of human health as one of the defining frames of UN plastic treaty negotiations

reporting on the weighty issues at UN plastic treaty negotiations, which is that the UN AV logo that they have on all the cameras goes unnecessarily hard

huge turnout this morning for the side event on this new study the human health impacts of plastics pollution have emerged as one of the most important discourses framing the global plastic treaty negotiations

as the battle over plastics resumes at the final round of UN plastic treaty negotiations, I will be fighting my own battle as a pale scottish person suffering through a heatwave in Geneva

In a rare collective intervention, more than 60 global experts have published open letters demanding a binding UN plastics treaty, grounded in science, justice, and bold political will. Read more about the letters published in Cambridge Prisms: Plastics 🔗 cup.org/45a3rLc

great to see the building momentum among NGOs and wider publics for undue corporate influence to be tackled in a future plastics treaty for anyone interested in what's been happening in the negotiations, this Greenpeace report provides an excellent overview of industry tactics

Some people dismiss ghost-writing as inconsequential. In our latest paper, Sasha Kaurov & I show that is NOT the case. Thanks to @sfoucart.bsky.social @stephanehorel.bsky.social who first alerted me to the #Monsanto Papers and also Paul Thacker. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

[promotion panel]: can you tell us about your use of innovative teaching methods? [me, taking a sharp intake of breath]: well

Today there's a public briefing on the collection, "Act boldly or fail: academic perspectives at a pivotal moment in global plastics treaty negotiations," where 60+ experts outline the consequences of delayed or diluted action 1/ www.eurekalert.org/news-release...

🌍 BREAKING: Climate impunity ends today - by order of the world’s highest court. The International Court of Justice has spoken: ✅ States are legally obliged to act ✅ Inaction = human rights violation ✅ Polluters must be held accountable This is a legal revolution for our planet.