It has always been much easier to rule it all out, than use it for the little bits that are deemed convenient. It's the only way to support the arts through it all imo

😱😱that’s us scuppered if it continues to weaken

It’s impossible to see how our current ‘problems could be tackled without the skills that the arts and humanities offer: rigorous critical reflection, creative problem solving, the capacity to dwell in complexity and ambiguity, and the historical long-view’. www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...

Whenever things get tough, I ask myself, “What would Jesus do?”, and then I hide in a cave for three days

The extent to which the public has been told to worry about the recycling of wind turbine blades intrigues me. The fossil fuel industry is leaving us with planetary wreckage.

Denmark has just voted to drastically reduce the allowable nitrogen level in their drinking water for public health. 'Denmark is putting health protection first, opposing the deregulation agenda...' As for Ireland? Derogation talks, clean water...meh. www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/issu...

I really still sometimes struggle to believe that western governments and especially America are going to just lead us straight into major oil shortages with no attempts at demand management ahead of time, but that’s what all the evidence points to.

The government is terribly worried about the impact of social media on kids, yet stays on X. No, it doesn’t make any sense at all.

Sorry to hear that Marjane Satrapi, writer of Persepolis, director of Chicken With Plums and Radioactive, and a fierce critic of the Iranian regime, has died. www.france24.com/en/culture/2...

There is no evidence of an urban-rural divide when it comes to people's level of worry and willingness to take action in response to climate change, a new study from the Economic and Social Reseach Institute (ESRI) has found. jrnl.ie/7059388

“It offers a set of bold policy proposals, including hefty wealth taxes on billionaires, sharp reductions in working hours, a change in diets and a shift of investment from materially intense sectors, such as industry and mining, to education and health.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...

“An authoritarian leader could go further and faster on British shores. We have no codified constitution, no first amendment-style protection of free speech, no state governments, no federal courts.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

“Data processing accounts for 21% of Irish electricity use – compared to just 4% in the US and 1% in China.” www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026...

Taking the batteries out of the fire alarm

Scorched Earth I took this today following a wildfire in the Dublin Hills at the weekend. Nothing survived. 1/🧵

Two people arrested after violent rioters injure 11 police, terrorise a community and leave "trail of destruction" across Southampton Over 2,700 people arrested for holding signs in support of Palestine Action

If only we had billions of euro of spare change to deploy domestic solar, batteries, e-bikes and bike infrastructure (for example).

Over the past week, Elon Musk has written more than 110 posts, retweets and replies about UK politics on his social media platform X, focusing on the murder of student Henry Nowak. ft.trib.al/5vWbQw9

‘We won’t hit target’: O’Brien admission leaves Ireland braced for hefty climate fines

I figure, based on no evidence, that the tech companies basically say to the Irish govt, if you want the jobs and the corporate tax windfall, you have to take all these data centres no one else wants, in exchange.

Tell friends and strangers about Little Deer please! Our Rent-O-Meter hasn’t moved in days (we didn’t even clear €100 in sales today). There were so many deliveries today the shop is overflowing (and still two boxes to log tomorrow) The only thing missing are customers! littledeercomics.ie

"Terrorism" on the left. "Protest" on the right.

This is why it’s awkward for Labour now: they’ve spent forever telling people that the crackpot right and the most depraved parts of our press are 100% correct and everyone who says otherwise is scum who needs to be crushed. And now, *they* are the scum who must be crushed. Awkward indeed.

Starting Thursday, European Parliament will replace Google with the French search engine Qwant as the default search tool on in-house computers, “in line with the Parliament's commitment to digital sovereignty and the protection of users' personal data.”

Cartoon by Steve Breen. Especially relevant to Ireland. #SpeirGorm

My sincere condolences go out to the family, friends, and loved ones of the Nigerian man (Qayyum Balogun) who tragically lost his life following the stabbing in Dublin yesterday. 1/4

How are we doing on our 2030 climate targets? A better question might be - How is ireland doing on the 2020 target? We still havent reached it and wont until 2029 at the earliest. Listen: 👉 www.rte.ie/radio/radio1... #climate #speirgorm

There is an 80% chance of the warming El Niño phenomenon developing between June and August, increasing the risk of extreme weather events, the World Meteorological Organization has said.

I’m dismayed by the decline in the quality of everyday items, systems, and interactions. Not only because our quality of life is eroding, but because once you’ve normalized the enshittification of everything, it’s much harder to notice it or to fight it.

I have quite a bit of old consumer-grade technology, stuff from the 80s, that still works and that I still use today, and quite a bit of more recent technology (including laptops and speakers) that can no longer be used. Truly durable goods are incompatible with the economics of today.

University staff say €4.55bn research fund ignores arts and humanities. Almost 2,000 sign open letter criticising Research Ireland for favouring industry and commercial interests. www.irishtimes.com/ireland/educ...

"We can't have false inhibitors to growth. I'm pro-aviation. It's good for jobs, it's good for our economy." Okaaay ... so what about "true" inhibitors to growth then? 'Coz physics ain't negotiating...

England just had its warmest spring on record. The record was last set in spring 2025. Before that, spring 2024. 9 of the 10 warmest springs have occurred since 2007. It's almost like there's a long-term driver causing this... www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/new...

Peak El Niño median forecast is now forecast ONI at +3.3°C (RONI +2.7°C) up .2°C from last month so far. If it verifies, it will be by far the strongest El Niño on record. Thanks @hausfath for the great visual.

Inuk artist Kenojuak Ashevak, Birds from the Sea (1960) #WomensArt

Spot on. "With climate change and the other geopolitical challenges around the world, food security can't be taken for granted any more." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This is counter-productive, authoritarian and chilling. The British state should not be in the business of banning commentators and journalists from entering the country, without compelling reason. Finding their views objectionable is nowhere near enough. www.theguardian.com/media/2026/j...

'🇦🇺 wheat harvest to drop almost 50% as farmers adapt… Farmers have drastically scaled back their wheat crops this year in a trend that threatens to worsen the country’s cost-of-living crisis after soaring fuel & fertiliser prices from the Iran war & dry weather…' www.afr.com/markets/comm...

By 2029 France and Germany could have far-right (or far-right led) governments, and beyond "looking on in horror", there's been so little reaction...

#onthisday, 1 June 1872, the People's #TurkishBaths opened in Thomas's Lane, #Dublin at 6d a bath. After Mrs C G Donovan's women's campaign failed to get the city to provide the baths, they were built as a gift to Dublin by Mr Richard Barter, eldest son of Dr Barter. Open till at least 1892 🗃️ #C19th

Liza Adamczewski (aka the Accidental Ecologist), artist who has created a series of 'Garden Icons' - mini paintings inspired by local wildlife #June1st #Summer

“This is censorship... This is a demonstration that some of the worst abuses in our time are not confined to kings, emperors, governments … but to a class of companies that have assumed the sovereign affect, and seek to assert their power the same way that some of those despotic nation states do.”

Yes. Using a computer now feels like this at all times.

God, reading about UK politics is depressing. There is a massive, coordinated media attack on Net Zero, led by the RW press (& accelerated by Musk's X). It is *wildly* out of sync with public opinion, but it is slowly working, convincing even labour MPs that the public is more right than it is.

Imagine if a woman president crashed the economy and started a war with no end in sight, and her biggest, seemingly ONLY concern was building a ballroom and redecorating the White House.

Hard to believe I’m even writing this. Meteorological summer hasn’t even begun, yet Paris, France has already logged more days above 32°C than its annual average.

IMPORTANT: For any artists/writers/etc etc, using Linktree to point people to their work, from 5 July, they'll be feeding all imagery you use on your landing page into DALL-E by OpenAI. I deleted my account this morning.

The Irish Times asked me to put a bit of a response together to the Pope's so-called 'AI encyclical'