Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · 55m

Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere soared by a record amount in 2024 to the highest ever. Scientists warn of 3 key concerns:

Unrelenting fossil fuel burning

Wildfires surging in a record-hot year and releasing Co2

Nature’s carbon sinks may be failing

#ClimateCrisis

Record leap in CO2 fuels fears of accelerating global heating

CO2 in air hit new high last year, with scientists concerned natural land and ocean carbon sinks are weakening

www.theguardian.com

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · 1d

“Water quality has declined across rivers, lakes and estuaries… the EPA has warned that it means Ireland is on track to fail to meet national and EU goals for water quality in the next two years.”

jrnl.ie/6843246

Ireland's water quality is declining, with pesticides, drainage and sewage making it worse

Nearly half of Ireland’s surface waters were of bad, poor or moderate status between 2019 and 2024.

jrnl.ie

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · 3d

“We tell our children each night that the world hasn’t forgotten them, they are watching your boats coming and we are telling them stories of this, that while this genocide happened people from the world were sailing, because they love Palestinian people”.

www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

Sarah Clancy: Flotillas show that ordinary people must be the antidote to toxic world powers

After arrest, imprisonment, and deportation from Israel, Sarah Clancy, an Irish Gaza flotilla participant, reflects on solidarity, conscience, and the power of ordinary people

www.irishexaminer.com

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Reposted by Ali Sheridan

Pádraic Fogarty @whittledaway.bsky.social · 12d

A tragic loss. Manchán has helped us define a different kind of relationship with nature based on our language and traditions. RIP.

RTÉ News @news.rte.ie · 12d

The writer, broadcaster and documentary maker Manchán Magan has died at the age of 55, his family has confirmed

Broadcaster and scríbhneoir Manchán Magan dies aged 55

The writer, broadcaster and documentary maker Manchán Magan has died at the age of 55, his family has confirmed.

www.rte.ie

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · 10d

“Although global GDP doubled between 2000 and 2022 … only modest improvements were achieved in reducing social shortfalls worldwide, whereas ecological overshoot increased rapidly, disrupting the critical planetary processes on which all life depends.“

@doughnuteconomics.bsky.social

Kate Raworth @kateraworth.bsky.social · 13d

Big Doughnutty News.
Just out in Nature: the all-new 2025 Doughnut. Transformed from a single-year snapshot to an annual global monitor of 21st century social & ecological thriving. Available to all in an open-access paper by @andrewlfanning.bsky.social and me. 🧵 1/
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · 11d

“Every September, the Civil Contingencies Agency runs Preparedness Week, educating the public on preparing for emergencies… Voluntary civil defence groups receive ongoing basic training in first aid, food handling, language skills and flood management.”

www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

Ella McSweeney: After Storm Éowyn, Ireland must do what Sweden did 20 years ago

Storm Gudrun shocked the Nordic country into building a new, climate-proofed power grid. Will Ireland follow suit?

www.irishtimes.com

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · 13d

Dublin's Metrolink project has been granted planning permission jrnl.ie/6832816

Dublin's Metrolink project has (finally) been granted planning permission

The 18.8km route will connect Dublin Airport to the city centre.

jrnl.ie

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Reposted by Ali Sheridan

Kate Raworth @kateraworth.bsky.social · 13d

Big Doughnutty News.
Just out in Nature: the all-new 2025 Doughnut. Transformed from a single-year snapshot to an annual global monitor of 21st century social & ecological thriving. Available to all in an open-access paper by @andrewlfanning.bsky.social and me. 🧵 1/
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Reposted by Ali Sheridan

Drilled @drilledmedia.bsky.social · 13d

In this week's episode, we dig into the psychology of mis/disinformation and why it works so well. We thought we knew a lot about disinformation, and then we talked to these experts!

drilled.media/podcasts/dri...

S14, Ep3 | The Psychology of Misinformation: Why Does It Work So Well?

Investigating the obstacles to action on climate change.

drilled.media

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · 13d

‘Solar power is reshaping economies, industrial systems and geopolitics, largely under the radar of mainstream debate. We are living through an energy transition that, for once, feels exponential rather than incremental.’

@hannahdaly.ie

www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

Let the sun shine: solar is fast becoming the world’s new energy superpower

Solar power is reshaping economies, industrial systems and geopolitics

www.irishtimes.com

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · 18d

“We are on a path to breach the 1.5°C multi-decadal boundary within the next 5 to 10 years. Here, we must admit failure. Failure to protect peoples and nations from unmanageable impacts of human-induced climate change. But we don’t have to keep failing…

Failure is not inevitable. It is a choice.”

The window to a manageable climate future is still open. Failure isn't inevitable. It's a choice.

This week I had the honor of addressing heads of state, ministers and world leaders at the UN Secretary General’s Climate Summit during the United Nations General Assembly High-level Week 2025 in New ...

www.linkedin.com

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · 22d

“Countries are now collectively planning even more fossil fuel production than 2 years ago, with projected 2030 production exceeding levels consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C by more than 120%.”

productiongap.org/wp-content/u...

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · 23d

A long term vision, creating the conditions for change and society wide engagement…

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solu...

He got an entire country running on clean energy. Can he do it again?

Ramón Méndez Galain helped Uruguay decarbonize its grid in just five years, with 98 percent of its energy coming from renewable sources.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · 25d

“From innovations in the financial sector to community-scale organizations, pockets of bold and ambitious action are already emerging. It is only by helping them to flourish that we might better face up to life in a harsher and less predictable world.”

www.chathamhouse.org/publications...

Are we ready for life beyond 1.5°C of global warming?

We are on the verge of crossing the threshold set out in the Paris Climate Agreement. David Gunn and Matthew Harris explore the ideas that may help us navigate a world of more frequent and severe clim...

www.chathamhouse.org

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · 28d

“These numbers represent real people who have lost their lives,” said Friederike Otto, a co-author of the study. “If we continue on the path that we are now — continue burning fossil fuels — these deaths will only increase.”

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Climate Change Led to At Least 16,500 Heat Deaths in Europe This Summer

A new study tracked the effects of higher temperatures in hundreds of European cities.

www.bloomberg.com

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · Sep 12

“Almost 1,500 hectares of land is now being managed by 250 farmers and landowners to conserve the corncrake.”

Irish corncrake numbers have increased by a fifth, while breeding territories for the endangered bird have increased substantially

www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

Surge in Irish corncrake numbers and in breeding territories, survey shows

Farming community key to success in recovery of bird threatened with local extinction

www.irishtimes.com

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · Sep 9

“1-in-5 children live in families below the poverty line when housing costs are accounted for… This rate is largely unchanged in recent years and differs little from that seen from 2007 to 2009 when the financial crisis was unfolding.”

www.tcd.ie/news_events/...

Child poverty at similar levels to financial crisis when housing costs accounted for

The latest ESRI report on child poverty was co-authored by Trinity economists Barra Roantree, Mide Griffin, and Tara Mitchell.

www.tcd.ie

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · Sep 7

Ireland’s climate transition should not only address emissions, but also existing inequalities.

We have a unique opportunity to harness the climate transformation ahead to deliver better, safer and fairer futures for everyone.

Some great inspiration here:

10 ways to make Dublin better: From public baths to scrapping gated communities

Open schoolyards at weekends, softer lighting and more places to sit down would help

www.irishtimes.com

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · Sep 3

“Provisional Met Éireann data shows that summer 2025 is the warmest on record since 1900, when this temperature dataset began…Future projections show that summer temperatures are expected to continue increasing under moderate and high emission scenarios.”

jrnl.ie/6806023

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · Sep 2

“We have to change the way people think about oil, gas and coal, which are responsible for 86% of the CO2 emissions that are trapped in our atmosphere. The world is on track to produce 110% more oil, gas and coal by 2030 than we can ever burn if we want to keep global warming below 2C…”

‘Every company wants to produce the last barrel sold’: the treaty to stop fossil fuel production

Tzeporah Berman’s campaign group believes Cop30 will help its initiative to phase out oil, coal and gas take shape

www.theguardian.com

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · Aug 29

“When the AMOC collapses, the Northwestern European climate changes drastically and this will likely induce severe societal impacts.”

Rapid climate action is needed to avoid the increasing risk of a climate transition that is by disaster rather than by design.

Physics‐Based Indicators for the Onset of an AMOC Collapse Under Climate Change

Multiple AMOC collapses are simulated in the CESM under transient climate change scenarios A physics-based indicator derived from surface buoyancy fluxes is proposed for the onset of an AMOC coll...

agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · Aug 25

“The faster our world heats up, the faster the divide between the cooled and the cooked will widen. Ultimately, it is symptomatic of the larger injustice of the climate crisis, which is that the people who have done the least to cause it are the ones who will suffer the most from its impacts.”

Opinion | The New American Inequality: The Cooled vs. the Cooked

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Ali Sheridan

The Irish Times @irishtimes.com · Aug 23

Blackwater mass fish kill confirmed as due to pollution incident

Marine Institute experts are not yet able to identify chemical involved in Co Cork incident or where it came from

www.irishtimes.com

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · Aug 23

Hundreds of people have died in Pakistan from deadly flooding.

Rising temperatures due to burning fossil fuels allow the atmosphere to hold more moisture, leading to heavier downpours during storms.

Pakistan is responsible for less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Monsoon floods kill more than 700 in Pakistan, with heavy rains set to continue

Heavy monsoon rains and flash floods have killed at least 739 people across Pakistan since late June, displacing thousands and destroying homes and crops, with more severe weather expected in the week...

news.un.org

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Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · Aug 15

Storm Éowyn was most expensive weather event in history for Irish insurers, costing €301m
Breakdown of figures shows 33,768 claims were lodged following storm

#ClimateRisk

www.irishtimes.com/business/202...

Storm Éowyn was most expensive weather event in history for Irish insurers, costing €301m

Breakdown of figures shows 33,768 claims were lodged following storm

www.irishtimes.com

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