Sonny Whitelaw
@ecomigrant.bsky.social
Australian-born novelist and coastal geomorphologist migrated to Aotearoa New Zealand. Climate change technical advisor; curator of http://climatechange.org.nz
Pinned
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
Check out the recent "warmth" over #Antarctica! Maps show temperature anomalies over the last month (left), 3 months (center), and 12 months (right) across the Southern Hemisphere. Red areas denote warmer than average temperatures.
Data from @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social ERA5 reanalysis.
Data from @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social ERA5 reanalysis.
December 7, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Check out the recent "warmth" over #Antarctica! Maps show temperature anomalies over the last month (left), 3 months (center), and 12 months (right) across the Southern Hemisphere. Red areas denote warmer than average temperatures.
Data from @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social ERA5 reanalysis.
Data from @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social ERA5 reanalysis.
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
Team fish - we need your help! We are trying to build a database of all the fish chromosome-scale genomes where sex chromosomes have been identified. Have you build one or some? Do you know someone who has? Can you post the link in the comments? Please spread the word and repost! Thank you!
November 20, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Team fish - we need your help! We are trying to build a database of all the fish chromosome-scale genomes where sex chromosomes have been identified. Have you build one or some? Do you know someone who has? Can you post the link in the comments? Please spread the word and repost! Thank you!
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
Your daily #Thwaites update 07.12.2025
Small moves are visible as the sea ice slowly breaks down
Another 10 days to go to see bigger moves IMO
#ClimateCrisis #cryosphere #Antarctica
Small moves are visible as the sea ice slowly breaks down
Another 10 days to go to see bigger moves IMO
#ClimateCrisis #cryosphere #Antarctica
December 7, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Your daily #Thwaites update 07.12.2025
Small moves are visible as the sea ice slowly breaks down
Another 10 days to go to see bigger moves IMO
#ClimateCrisis #cryosphere #Antarctica
Small moves are visible as the sea ice slowly breaks down
Another 10 days to go to see bigger moves IMO
#ClimateCrisis #cryosphere #Antarctica
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
Your daily #Thwaites update 07.11.2025
Last 3 days in the area in a GIF ...Sea ice is finally breaking up in "the bay"
#ClimateCrisis #cryosphere #Antarctica
Last 3 days in the area in a GIF ...Sea ice is finally breaking up in "the bay"
#ClimateCrisis #cryosphere #Antarctica
December 7, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Your daily #Thwaites update 07.11.2025
Last 3 days in the area in a GIF ...Sea ice is finally breaking up in "the bay"
#ClimateCrisis #cryosphere #Antarctica
Last 3 days in the area in a GIF ...Sea ice is finally breaking up in "the bay"
#ClimateCrisis #cryosphere #Antarctica
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
Here are the latest monthly-averaged observations of global methane (CH₄)... 🧪⚒️
August 2025 - 1930.95 ppb
August 2024 - 1924.87 ppb
+ Data: gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends_...
+ Learn more: doi.org/10.5194/essd...
August 2025 - 1930.95 ppb
August 2024 - 1924.87 ppb
+ Data: gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends_...
+ Learn more: doi.org/10.5194/essd...
December 7, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Here are the latest monthly-averaged observations of global methane (CH₄)... 🧪⚒️
August 2025 - 1930.95 ppb
August 2024 - 1924.87 ppb
+ Data: gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends_...
+ Learn more: doi.org/10.5194/essd...
August 2025 - 1930.95 ppb
August 2024 - 1924.87 ppb
+ Data: gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends_...
+ Learn more: doi.org/10.5194/essd...
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
1. Some good news at last. This week’s column is about the amazing thing a couple of us stumbled into three years ago, which we’ve now developed into a global research programme. It doesn’t change everything, of course, but it could help change quite a lot. + 🧵 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Over a pint in Oxford, we may have stumbled upon the holy grail of agriculture | George Monbiot
I knew that a revolution in our understanding of soil could change the world. Then came a eureka moment – and the birth of the Earth Rover Program, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
December 5, 2025 at 6:55 AM
1. Some good news at last. This week’s column is about the amazing thing a couple of us stumbled into three years ago, which we’ve now developed into a global research programme. It doesn’t change everything, of course, but it could help change quite a lot. + 🧵 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
PRESS RELEASE: Nitrate levels in Glenavy town water supply dangerously close to Blue Baby risk level www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/pre... #nzpol
Nitrate levels in Glenavy dangerously close to Blue Baby risk level - Greenpeace Aotearoa
Almost exactly one year after the Glenavy water supply exceeded the legal health limits for nitrate, the town’s water supply nitrate levels are rising – and fast.
www.greenpeace.org
December 5, 2025 at 11:09 PM
PRESS RELEASE: Nitrate levels in Glenavy town water supply dangerously close to Blue Baby risk level www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/pre... #nzpol
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
Scoop: A trove of briefings and Cabinet documents released under the OIA reveals the Govt was advised its new methane target is only consistent with warming of 2-2.7C (and possibly up to 4.5C).
Climate scientists have said 2.7C would represent 'unprecedented peril'.
newsroom.co.nz/2025/12/04/g...
Climate scientists have said 2.7C would represent 'unprecedented peril'.
newsroom.co.nz/2025/12/04/g...
Govt warned new methane target aligned with 'catastrophic' warming
Newly released documents reveal the Govt's new methane target is associated with 2.7C of warming – a level labelled 'catastrophic' by the UN.
newsroom.co.nz
December 3, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Scoop: A trove of briefings and Cabinet documents released under the OIA reveals the Govt was advised its new methane target is only consistent with warming of 2-2.7C (and possibly up to 4.5C).
Climate scientists have said 2.7C would represent 'unprecedented peril'.
newsroom.co.nz/2025/12/04/g...
Climate scientists have said 2.7C would represent 'unprecedented peril'.
newsroom.co.nz/2025/12/04/g...
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
I thought of the gold clam invasion in the Waikato mostly as a threat to ecosystems, but the clams' need for calcium to build their shells impairs arsenic removal during treatment, threatening drinking water for millions theconversation.com/gold-clam-in...
Gold clam invasion in NZ threatens drinking water for millions of people
The invasion threatens more than water. Clams could foul dam intakes and reduce hydroelectric efficiency in a river that generates 13% of New Zealand’s power.
theconversation.com
December 1, 2025 at 8:08 PM
I thought of the gold clam invasion in the Waikato mostly as a threat to ecosystems, but the clams' need for calcium to build their shells impairs arsenic removal during treatment, threatening drinking water for millions theconversation.com/gold-clam-in...
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...
#ExtremeHeat
#RecordHeat
#ExtremeCold
#RecordCold
#Jetstream
#PolarVortex
#ExtremeWeather
#WeatherWhiplash
#FossilFuelPollution
#AnthropogenicGlobalWarming
#ExtremeHeat
#RecordHeat
#ExtremeCold
#RecordCold
#Jetstream
#PolarVortex
#ExtremeWeather
#WeatherWhiplash
#FossilFuelPollution
#AnthropogenicGlobalWarming
Fire and ice in Australia on first day of summer
Summer has arrived in Australia with a bang, with fire and searing heat in the west, while a sprinkling of snow accompanied record cold temperatures in the south-east of the country.
www.abc.net.au
December 2, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
Africa’s forests have joined the Brazilian Amazon and Australian forests in becoming carbon sources rather than sinks. Around 2010 the previous storage of our carbon emissions flipped, mainly through deforestation and degradation.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#climatechange #deforestation #Africa
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#climatechange #deforestation #Africa
Loss of tropical moist broadleaf forest has turned Africa’s forests from a carbon sink into a source - Scientific Reports
Africa’s forests and woody savannas have historically acted as a carbon sink, removing atmospheric carbon and storing it as biomass. However, our novel analysis reveals a critical transition from a ca...
www.nature.com
November 30, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Africa’s forests have joined the Brazilian Amazon and Australian forests in becoming carbon sources rather than sinks. Around 2010 the previous storage of our carbon emissions flipped, mainly through deforestation and degradation.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#climatechange #deforestation #Africa
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#climatechange #deforestation #Africa
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
Please watch this important new video from Youtube channel “Just Have a Think”.
This is not the video I had planned to make.
YouTube video by Just Have a Think
youtu.be
November 30, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Please watch this important new video from Youtube channel “Just Have a Think”.
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
Week in Review:
Coalition Govt ministers insist their reform of regional councils is 'not a power grab' - but all the evidence suggests the opposite, to democracy's detriment
Coalition Govt ministers insist their reform of regional councils is 'not a power grab' - but all the evidence suggests the opposite, to democracy's detriment
Anne Salmond: We're reforming the wrong part of government
newsroom.co.nz
November 29, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Week in Review:
Coalition Govt ministers insist their reform of regional councils is 'not a power grab' - but all the evidence suggests the opposite, to democracy's detriment
Coalition Govt ministers insist their reform of regional councils is 'not a power grab' - but all the evidence suggests the opposite, to democracy's detriment
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
A new report by the Forests & Finance Coalition finds that despite years of voluntary climate commitments, banks and other financial institutions have continued to increase their investments in companies linked to deforestation.
Big finance still funds deforestation, 10 years after Paris pact
A new report by the Forests & Finance Coalition finds that despite years of voluntary climate commitments, banks and other financial institutions have continued to increase their investments in…
news.mongabay.com
November 27, 2025 at 7:18 PM
A new report by the Forests & Finance Coalition finds that despite years of voluntary climate commitments, banks and other financial institutions have continued to increase their investments in companies linked to deforestation.
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
Re-routing of ships around the Cape of Good Hope led to a natural experiment.
By "comparing NO₂ [unaffected by the sulfur-reducing regulations], with cloud droplet number, which is sensitive to sulfur, [they] found a 67% reduction in ships' cloud-altering abilities" after the new IMO regulations.
By "comparing NO₂ [unaffected by the sulfur-reducing regulations], with cloud droplet number, which is sensitive to sulfur, [they] found a 67% reduction in ships' cloud-altering abilities" after the new IMO regulations.
When trade routes shift, so do clouds: Researchers uncover ripple effects of new global shipping regulations
When militia attacks disrupted shipping lanes in the Red Sea, few imagined the ripple effects would reach the clouds over the South Atlantic. But for Florida State University atmospheric scientist Mic...
phys.org
November 22, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Re-routing of ships around the Cape of Good Hope led to a natural experiment.
By "comparing NO₂ [unaffected by the sulfur-reducing regulations], with cloud droplet number, which is sensitive to sulfur, [they] found a 67% reduction in ships' cloud-altering abilities" after the new IMO regulations.
By "comparing NO₂ [unaffected by the sulfur-reducing regulations], with cloud droplet number, which is sensitive to sulfur, [they] found a 67% reduction in ships' cloud-altering abilities" after the new IMO regulations.
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
We're the “woke, riddled munchkins who want to fry eggs on solar panels”
‘Demonic eggbeater’: Shane Jones has a normal one on RNZ
‘Demonic eggbeater’: Shane Jones has a normal one on RNZ
The hot air produced by our minister for resources this morning could’ve solved our energy crisis....
thespinoff.co.nz
November 27, 2025 at 8:15 PM
We're the “woke, riddled munchkins who want to fry eggs on solar panels”
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
Ken Henry (former Treasury secretary and chair of the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation) on the environment law overhaul
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Australia finally acknowledges environment underpins all else. That’s no small thing | Ken Henry
In what are dangerous times for democracies around the world, parliament’s overhaul of nature laws in the EPBC Act shows ambitious reform remains possible
www.theguardian.com
November 28, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Ken Henry (former Treasury secretary and chair of the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation) on the environment law overhaul
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
[PODCAST]
Filipino lawyer Nonette Royo, head of The Tenure Facility, shares how her team of “barefoot lawyers” has helped secure land rights across 34M hectares.
On Mongabay’s podcast, she discusses their Earthshot recognition and why tenure is key for people and planet.
Filipino lawyer Nonette Royo, head of The Tenure Facility, shares how her team of “barefoot lawyers” has helped secure land rights across 34M hectares.
On Mongabay’s podcast, she discusses their Earthshot recognition and why tenure is key for people and planet.
Rights to millions of hectares of Indigenous & local communities’ lands restored by ‘barefoot lawyers’
Nonette Royo is a lawyer from the Philippines and executive director of The Tenure Facility, a group of “barefoot lawyers” working to secure land tenure for Indigenous, local and Afro-descendant…
news.mongabay.com
November 28, 2025 at 12:10 AM
[PODCAST]
Filipino lawyer Nonette Royo, head of The Tenure Facility, shares how her team of “barefoot lawyers” has helped secure land rights across 34M hectares.
On Mongabay’s podcast, she discusses their Earthshot recognition and why tenure is key for people and planet.
Filipino lawyer Nonette Royo, head of The Tenure Facility, shares how her team of “barefoot lawyers” has helped secure land rights across 34M hectares.
On Mongabay’s podcast, she discusses their Earthshot recognition and why tenure is key for people and planet.
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
Since 1995, when the first Cop was held, carbon levels have increased from 360.67 parts per million to 426.68 parts now.
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/no...
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/no...
As I write my last column, the facts on climate crisis speak for themselves
Since 1995, when the first Cop was held, carbon levels have increased from 360.67 parts per million to 426.68 parts now
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Since 1995, when the first Cop was held, carbon levels have increased from 360.67 parts per million to 426.68 parts now.
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/no...
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/no...
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
As projected here www.nature.com/articles/s41... we are steadily moving toward a situation where are major town or city runs out of water
There are early signs of this everywhere, right now Iran seems to be a hotspot at ~1.5ºC of heating
We are *utterly* unprepared for what comes at 1.6, 1.7 & 2ºC
There are early signs of this everywhere, right now Iran seems to be a hotspot at ~1.5ºC of heating
We are *utterly* unprepared for what comes at 1.6, 1.7 & 2ºC
November 23, 2025 at 8:28 AM
As projected here www.nature.com/articles/s41... we are steadily moving toward a situation where are major town or city runs out of water
There are early signs of this everywhere, right now Iran seems to be a hotspot at ~1.5ºC of heating
We are *utterly* unprepared for what comes at 1.6, 1.7 & 2ºC
There are early signs of this everywhere, right now Iran seems to be a hotspot at ~1.5ºC of heating
We are *utterly* unprepared for what comes at 1.6, 1.7 & 2ºC
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
www.earth.com/news/rising-...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#Food
#CO2
#Nutrients
#Vegetation
#Trees
#Plants
#Ecosystems
#BiodiversityLoss
#Extinction
#FossilFuelPollution
#AnthropogenicGlobalWarming
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#Food
#CO2
#Nutrients
#Vegetation
#Trees
#Plants
#Ecosystems
#BiodiversityLoss
#Extinction
#FossilFuelPollution
#AnthropogenicGlobalWarming
Rising CO2 is quietly weakening the nutrients in our food
Rising CO2 is changing the nutrition in everyday foods. Crops may offer more calories but fewer essential nutrients, creating health risks.
www.earth.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
Well apparently the US is not the only nation turning its back on science...🤔
This is obscene.
The challenges facing the nation means we should be scaling up CSIRO, not cutting it to shreds.
While we are sending billions to the US for nuclear shipyards, our science and industrial base at home is falling apart for lack of funds and direction.
The challenges facing the nation means we should be scaling up CSIRO, not cutting it to shreds.
While we are sending billions to the US for nuclear shipyards, our science and industrial base at home is falling apart for lack of funds and direction.
‘Sad day for publicly funded science’: up to 350 more jobs to go at CSIRO
Australia’s national scientific agency announces more research job losses as it looks for budgetary savings
www.theguardian.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Well apparently the US is not the only nation turning its back on science...🤔
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
Absolutely terrible news of another Indigenous land defender killed in Brazil as #COP30 takes place
- Vicente Fernandes Vilhalva, a 36-year-old Guarani Kaiowá leader, was shot dead on Sunday morning
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
- Vicente Fernandes Vilhalva, a 36-year-old Guarani Kaiowá leader, was shot dead on Sunday morning
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Cop30: calls for new urgency to talks as studies show global warming may reach 2.5C – latest updates
As the summit goes into its second week, complex issues remain with anxiety growing over conference outcomes
www.theguardian.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Absolutely terrible news of another Indigenous land defender killed in Brazil as #COP30 takes place
- Vicente Fernandes Vilhalva, a 36-year-old Guarani Kaiowá leader, was shot dead on Sunday morning
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
- Vicente Fernandes Vilhalva, a 36-year-old Guarani Kaiowá leader, was shot dead on Sunday morning
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
“If we wait to cross tipping points before we act, it will be too late. The only credible risk management strategy is to act in advance.”
global-tipping-points.org/the-dartingt...
global-tipping-points.org/the-dartingt...
The Dartington Declaration - Global Tipping Points
The Dartington Declaration has emanated from scientific meetings held at Dartington Hall in England, and then a statement agreed at the Global Tipping Points Conference, on 30 June – 3 July 2025. It w...
global-tipping-points.org
November 15, 2025 at 3:21 PM
“If we wait to cross tipping points before we act, it will be too late. The only credible risk management strategy is to act in advance.”
global-tipping-points.org/the-dartingt...
global-tipping-points.org/the-dartingt...
Reposted by Sonny Whitelaw
The Global Reforestation Organization Directory provides data on more than 125 major tree-planting orgs so that donors can find groups matching their priorities.
The directory shows which orgs publicly discuss using scientific best practices, avoiding common mistakes and monitoring their results.
The directory shows which orgs publicly discuss using scientific best practices, avoiding common mistakes and monitoring their results.
New directory helps donors navigate the complex world of global reforestation
Planting trees is something most people can get behind, and tens of thousands of reforestation projects now operate worldwide. However, for donors and funders who want to support these efforts, it…
news.mongabay.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:17 PM
The Global Reforestation Organization Directory provides data on more than 125 major tree-planting orgs so that donors can find groups matching their priorities.
The directory shows which orgs publicly discuss using scientific best practices, avoiding common mistakes and monitoring their results.
The directory shows which orgs publicly discuss using scientific best practices, avoiding common mistakes and monitoring their results.