Jon Owen

Climate emissions resulting from approving drilling at Rosebank, expanding Heathrow airport, watering down UK’s EV targets, cutting heat pump grants would be 402m tonnes of CO2 over the next 25 years Greater than the annual emissions of 106 coal plants www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Not going to be a climate-literate progressive budget, is it? In the cycling industry, when a brand changes essentially nothing about a bike model from year to year, but tries to kid us otherwise, industry commentators call it a 'BND' (Brand New Decals [stickers]) event. Bracing for a BND budget.

Electrifying cars is very much not a silver bullet, not only in terms of transitioning to a low carbon, post-oil society, but also and especially in terms of public health and equitable use of public space. But EVs are 'less worse' than their ICE cousins in a number of ways, including in this way:

"What makes these experiences feel related to me isn’t that a bicycle is somehow inherently queer; it’s that both can put you in the position of being treated as though your presence requires an explanation." This is such an insightful article.

As @taylornoakes.com wrote last week in this piece for @cultmtl.com - albeit about Montreal, but the point still stands - "In the era of the climate crisis, politicians campaigning against bike lanes aren’t fit for office." cultmtl.com/2025/10/in-t...

"Why do aggressive men in cars want to yell at queer people, women, and cyclists? Cyclists feel like the oddball in this list; two of these are about sexual politics, and the third is about… transportation?" #motonormativity ✍️ @jesusurbanist.bsky.social jesusurbanist.substack.com/p/what-queer...

From 2022 to 2025, funded by the NIHR, @active-ata.bsky.social (and colleagues) wrote 10 peer-reviewed research articles on Low Traffic Neighbourhoods. And, they say, there are more in the pipeline. This great thread is a summary of their papers so far (and they're all open access):

'“It has been done in the wrong way," said Antti Jakonen, a resident of Muhos. "American style. No sense. No sense at all."' Harsh but fair, I'd say. ✍️ - @joeonhere.bsky.social for @futurism.com futurism.com/future-socie...

Trump is a Russian asset. And the UK government is finally waking from its decade-long slumber. ✍️ - @carolecadwalla.bsky.social Today's essential read, this. broligarchy.substack.com/p/the-dark-t...

Modern Life is Rubbish: Example number 6,107. And that counter resets at midnight, so that's just today. So far.

Hot and cold in the mountain #MountainMonday #BlueSkyMonday #photography #scape

As David goes on to say, "It turns out that everyone wants individual regulation even while complaining about the cumulative impact."

Illustration of current Paris urban planning trends: this is an avenue Daumesnil before and after Where did the cars go ? Well, Parisians owning a car has also gone down: in 1990, 46,3% of homes owned a car. In 2019, that number decreased to a third of Parisian homes (according to l’INSEE)

This is a beautiful, beautiful thing

Eriskay, 2024 #otd

A study by the Danish Road Directorate found only 5% of cyclists broke road rules while riding on cycle infrastructure, versus 14% when there was no cycling infrastructure present, and 66% of motorists who broke rules while driving. cyclingmagazine.ca/sections/new...

“Halloween Hay Ride”, a folk art painting created by American artist Debbie Criswell.

Let’s Start Naming Climate-Related Disasters for Polluters and Their Enablers. www.scientificamerican.com/article/lets...

The last thing we need is a business-as-usual Budget. This should be a Budget to make life affordable. To tax extreme wealth and profits. To invest in our long-term climate resilience. This is the scale of change Britain desperately needs. Only the @greenparty.org.uk has a plan to deliver it.

“In some sense, the absolute numbers of the heat-related deaths estimated across the 854 urban areas are indeed staggering,” said Malcolm Mistry .. who co-authored the study. “But perhaps what is even more alarming is the proportion of these deaths that we attribute to anthropogenic climate change.”

#photography #unedited

...and, of course, Liz Truss' "bold" Mini Budget

'Friends of the Lower Lune' - Very cool. More power to their elbows. To get involved, you can email contact@northlancs.greenparty.org.uk and, with your permission, they will pass on your details to the team when they are formed.

There is a light that never goes out youtu.be/wQ0rEnp8kmw?...

"Overall, we are seeing some very odd deal talks that are supposedly a part of ending the war in Ukraine. But in fact, evidence shows these deals are structured (in the most recent case secretly until now) to financially benefit Russia or business partners of the Trump and Witkoff families."

A gambling company closely linked to Nigel Farage’s right-hand man "Posh George" Cottrell got its licence using a document that appears to have been faked. ✍️ - @georgegreenwood.bsky.social with @petergeoghegan.bsky.social and Cormac Kehoe

Person peers at the perilously poised pier.

Outro: "The trial continues." Just let me know when he's been locked up, yeah? www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

free range

Whenever someone says that electricity is expensive because of decarbonisation, there are only two possibilities Either they are knowingly lying to you Or they are the victims of disinformation, and have been fooled by someone who was lying to them

Call out lifeless countryside? "Farmer bashing" Call out deadzone tree plantations? "You hate foresters" Call out our empty seas? "You're attacking fishermen" Call out our trashed National Parks? "You're denigrating park rangers" This is how they try to shut down any dissent to nature's dying.

Train Painting: #FridayFence at Machynlleth Station

Once again we are arriving at that time of year when robins absolutely do not give a fuck about any of your opinions.

Right now, all over Britain, drunk robins are dismantling the system and making up their own rules.

As @taylornoakes.com wrote last week in this piece for @cultmtl.com, "In the era of the climate crisis, politicians campaigning against bike lanes aren’t fit for office." cultmtl.com/2025/10/in-t...