Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Gill Steele

@squirreltower.bsky.social

880 followers 930 following 830 posts

Working in renewables since 2005.Believe in land reform & social justice.I want a fairer society & realise now I have to help make that happen. Sucker for volunteering.Owned by a cat,dog & children.Just don’t self build😜 .English bird 30 years in Scotland

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Gill Steele @squirreltower.bsky.social · Nov 21

Introduce yourself with four climbs
Cioch nose - A’ Chioch Ridge
Savage Slit - Cairn Lochan
Etive Slabs - Beinn Trilleachan
Tower Ridge - Beinn Nibheis

Reposted by Gill Steele

Pat Kane @patkane.bsky.social · 4d

Radiation leaks in Scotland—from collapsing old reactors, decrepit nuclear sub bases…We need Indy, just 2 clean up the place. But can we also make a virtue out of decentralised renewable power, as a positive alternative energy system? My @ScotNational col www.thenational.scot/politics/255...

6 9

Reposted by Gill Steele

Dr Paul Dorfman @drpauldorfman.bsky.social · 5d

'#Scotland #nuclear facilities, civilian and military, are leaking.'
www.thenational.scot/politics/255...

Pat Kane: Boldness is needed to take on toxicity of nuclear power

Scotland's nuclear facilities, civilian and military, are leaking. Is this an occasional hazard to bear, as we resolutely defend and power…

www.thenational.scot

1 14 17

Gill Steele @squirreltower.bsky.social · 4h

I’m certain you are right, but the question is will the SNP/Greens bend on this issue?

They didn’t when England abandoned the WFD post-Brexit

I know maintaining EU alignment as much as possible is a long term SNP strategy to allow relatively seamless re-joining the EU post-independence

1 3

Gill Steele @squirreltower.bsky.social · 4h

Ecologists who work both sides of the border despair about what’s being allowed to happen in England
Currently with ineffective regulation by Natural England & “Biodiversity Net Gain” in combination with this upcoming Planning Bill

Maintain environmental regulation in Scotland vote Green & SNP 2026

1 4 9

Gill Steele @squirreltower.bsky.social · 4h

Scotland retained (post-Brexit) EU derived environmental protection systems. In planning, Scotland still applies the precautionary principle & assesses/measures potential Environmental Impacts of new development

Vote Labour (or Reform) in 2026 to see the same crappy deregulation happen up here

1 4 9

Gill Steele @squirreltower.bsky.social · 4h

This isn’t happening in Scotland only because the SNP government holds power

“The bill will enable developers to bulldoze precious wild places, as long as they pay into a fund that may create alternative habitats or green spaces somewhere else. Irreplaceble ecosystems will be sold for cash.”

George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 5h

Today's column is about the government's huge, unprecedented assault on nature ... and about the eerie, astonishing silence of the big nature groups. The RSPB, National Trust, Wildlife Trusts have 7.5m members between them. A vast force, completely unmobilised. 🧵
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Wage war on nature to build new homes: that’s Labour’s offer, but it’s a con trick | George Monbiot

The government’s new planning bill is tearing down environmental protections to benefit developers. This nation of nature lovers won’t stand for it, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

www.theguardian.com

1 6 9

Reposted by Gill Steele

Reform Party UK Exposed @reformexposed.bsky.social · 4d

Calls for transparency on political funding after first crypto donation made to UK party

Calls for transparency on political funding after first c...

Electoral Commission notified of financial contribution, which is understood to have been handed to Reform UK

observer.co.uk

4 35 76

Reposted by Gill Steele

The National @scotnational.bsky.social · 2d

BREAKING: The SNP Government will 'step in' and sponsor care worker visas to get around UK Labour's ban, John Swinney has announced

Read more on this: www.thenational.scot/news/2...

4 53 100

Gill Steele @squirreltower.bsky.social · 3d

That’s an unusually informative article from the DM. I usually rain scepticism down on my elderly mother when she quotes the Mail to tell me ‘it’s predicted to be snowy this winter’

1 2

Gill Steele @squirreltower.bsky.social · 3d

It’s excellent a proper patisserie

My walk there (it’s my local patch) diverts up old paths in the oak woods above Tenandry Church. So up the zig-zag path to Creag na h-Uamha and the ruined settlement then loops down. Much quieter and great views

1 3

Reposted by Gill Steele

Helen Todd @helenrambler.bsky.social · 4d

This is such a great manifesto from the main outdoor recreation organisations.

A set of clear, achievable actions that would benefit everyone, including land managers. Real win-wins. Hope the political parties are reading it!

Ramblers Scotland @ramblersscotland.bsky.social · 7d

🌳Scotland needs Paths Into Nature!🚶

We’ve launched an ambitious joint manifesto ahead of the 2026 Holyrood election, backed by 7 partner orgs in Scottish Outdoor Recreation Alliance.

Our goal? ✅ Make Scotland’s world-class access rights an everyday reality for all!

ramblers.org.uk/scotmanifesto

3 4

Reposted by Gill Steele

Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 4d

Israel used 3D scans developed by the Scottish Maritime Museum in propaganda animations, which were a key part of its attempts to justify attacks on hospitals and residential areas in Gaza, Syria and Iran. The 3D scans, developed for boatbuilding workshops, were used without the museum's knowledge.

How a Scottish maritime museum ended up in Israel’s 3D propaganda

An analysis of dozens of Israeli army animations discovered digital assets sourced not from classified intelligence but commercial libraries and content creators.

www.972mag.com

7 41 57

Reposted by Gill Steele

John Swinney @johnswinney.bsky.social · 4d

Westminster caused this cost of living crisis - and they’re unable and unwilling to fix it.

Independence is how we raise your living standards, grow our economy and make Scotland’s energy wealth work for the people who live here.

12 110 240

Gill Steele @squirreltower.bsky.social · 4d

‘I’m also old enough to remember when mainstream British politicians, who should know better, stirred up racial hatred as a path to power.
You’re old enough to remember this too because it was last Tuesday. And it was Robert Jenrick.’

THE NERVE @thenerve.news · 4d

🔗 Read the full piece

www.thenerve.news/p/stewart-le...

Stewart Lee: The thugs have taken my flag. So I’ve taken theirs

What do you do with a lot of cheap banners hanging from motorway bridges once you’ve torn them down?

www.thenerve.news

Gill Steele @squirreltower.bsky.social · 4d

Yep Glasgows got some amazing places to eat.
You should check out The Skinny, it’s our local review mag

www.theskinny.co.uk/food-and-drink

Food and Drink Reviews, News and Features - The Skinny

The Skinny food and drink guide offering restaurant news and reviews of some of the most exciting venues across Scotland.

www.theskinny.co.uk

Reposted by Gill Steele

Dave Watson @ecosystemunraveller.com · 6d

Good morning. And hey, it’s Friday!

1 2 17

Reposted by Gill Steele

Hanna Wheatley @hannawheatley.bsky.social · 6d

Our recent research has shown that peatland restoration is a poor fit for private finance, unless the Scottish Government bends over backwards to de-risk investment. This ultimately shifts risk onto the public while allowing investors to capture profits. Our work explores a public-led alternative.

Future Economy Scotland @futureeconscot.bsky.social · 6d

Last week, BrewDog sold its Kinrara estate to a natural capital investor

Some say the deal proves private investors can fund nature restoration. But in reality, it shows why private finance can’t fix the nature crisis

New blog by @hannawheatley.bsky.social:

Peat, Profit and the Myth of the Nature Finance Fix

BrewDog's sale of the Kinrara estate shows why private finance is unlikely to fix the nature crisis

www.futureeconomy.scot

4 13

Reposted by Gill Steele

Neil Reid @cairngormwanderer.bsky.social · 6d

I still think the campfire ban in the @cairngormsnews.bsky.social Cairngorms National Park is right, but it's long past time landowners were held to account too and made to behave responsibly themselves.

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · 6d

Prof Douglas MacMillan's post earlier this week on the cause of fires in the Cairngorms National Park shows the Scottish Government's sleekit announcement today that muirburn licensing will be delayed for another nine months is highly political parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/08/w...

Why the ban on camp fires in the Cairngorms National Park maybe political rather than sustainable..... - parkswatchscotland

NIMBYism’ and ‘Park politics’ rather than fire risk is probably behind the move to ban camp fires (see here). My bet is that the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNP) has caved in to pressure from...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

2 1 5

Reposted by Gill Steele

Adam Ramsay @adamramsay.bsky.social · 6d

I spoke to @neweconomics.bsky.social about why @zackpolanski.bsky.social’s strategy is working.

New Economics Foundation @neweconomics.bsky.social · 7d

People want politicians to match the scale of the crises we face.

@adamramsay.bsky.social talking about Zack Polanski's shake-up of the Green Party on the New Economics Podcast. Subscribe on all good podcast apps.

4 5

Reposted by Gill Steele

The National @scotnational.bsky.social · 7d

A new electric bus route between Glasgow and Inverness has been unveiled for October 👇

New electric bus service linking three Scottish cities unveiled

www.thenational.scot

12 28

Reposted by Gill Steele

National Theatre of Scotland @ntsonline.bsky.social · 7d

#BlackHoleSign opens at the @traversetheatre.bsky.social tonight and plays until the 18 Oct, you don't miss it!

BOOK NOW🎟️
www.traverse.co.uk/whats-on/eve...

📸Mihaela Bodlovic

A porter and a nurse in a hospital ward, looking up at the ceiling. An elderly woman is in a wheelchair wearing a gown and sparkly silver boots. There is text overlaid which reads '4 Stars - "achieves a rare and subtle balance between tragedy and ecomedy, despair and faith, that tastes like reality itself", The Scotsman'

A man is sitting up in a hospital bed, shouting, with a gown half hanging off his shoulder. There is text overlaid which reads '4 stars "a fine example of powerful, thought-provoking, disturbing dark comedy done well" Lisa in the Theatre'

A nurse sits at a desk, looking at a computer monitor with a pensive expression. There is text overlaid which reads '5 stars "a masterful piece of theatre" North West End'

A nurse wearing a raincoat is facing forward, in front of a dimly lit green curtain. There is text overlaid which reads '4 stars "sharp, funny and thought provoking" Theatre and Tonic"

1 2 5

Reposted by Gill Steele

Ellie Mae O'Hagan @elliemaeohagan.bsky.social · 7d

This makes me want to go full gorilla mode www.theguardian.com/environment/...

National security threatened by climate crisis, UK intelligence chiefs due to warn

Report by joint intelligence committee delayed, with concerns expressed that it may not be published

www.theguardian.com

3 14 35

Reposted by Gill Steele

Scottish History Society @scothistorysociety.bsky.social · 7d

We've joined the blue sky! Just as the skies darken for winter too

Please let your followers know that the Scottish History Society has arrived!

Find out more about memberships, the society, and events at our website: scottishhistorysociety.com

The Scottish History Society

scottishhistorysociety.com