World’s longest-serving (56 yrs) environment hack. On Yorkshire Post, Observer, Independent on Sunday, Telegraph. Also in Guardian, Daily Mail, ipaper, Sun, BBC, Open Democracy, Evening Standard etc.Happy husband, dad, grandpa. Life measured in dogs.https://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mw7hjhr7fk2jAbout time! The Government is to advise Britons this autumn to stock up on food, water and other essentials to protect themselves against disruption in an increasingly unstable world. Many other countries took this sensible step years ago. https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/nine-doomsday-essentials-officially-stockpile-home-478218223 Sep 2026 19:20 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw7hjhr7fk2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mv5l5p2hns24We spend more than 33 times as much on destroying the life that sustains us as we do on preserving it. A staggering $7.3 trillion is spent each year in activities that devastate nature, compare to $220 billion on ones that assist it. https://www.unep.org/resources/state-finance-nature-202610 Sep 2026 07:54 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv5l5p2hns24https://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3muwa4nqxm22eThe world is “entering uncharted waters” with the developing El Niño, expected to be the strongest in 1000 years, warns UN Sec-Gen, as it will be piling heat into an already rapidly warming climate. Next year will “blow apart” the record for the hottest year. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/03/el-nino-supersizing-before-our-eyes-united-nations07 Sep 2026 09:48 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3muwa4nqxm22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mutksbs3ys2vThe enterprising @theipaper.com invited nine chiefs of England’s notorious water companies to swim in their own bathing waters. Not a single one accepted. Now why do you think that could be? https://inews.co.uk/news/water-firm-bosses-swim-zero-said-yes-461341506 Sep 2026 08:21 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mutksbs3ys2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mugxnilhck2nThere’s a one in four chance that a whole UK city or town will be “catastrophically” deprived of water by a cyberattack or climate change, say leaked official documents. Govt preparing to issue advice to stock up on food and water in a dangerous world. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/environment/article/water-risk-shortage-5xzr3spzk01 Sep 2026 08:06 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mugxnilhck2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3muelqkqz7k2pReally excellent mustread by @samfr.bsky.social on the increasingly tortuous, but often effective, arguments being made against action on climate change. https://samf.substack.com/p/how-to-kill-a-popular-policy31 Aug 2026 09:28 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3muelqkqz7k2phttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mueiphf2222nFive million hectares of desertified Sahel land has been restored by letting the surviving roots of long-felled trees regrow, when tree planting failed. Reviving this “underground forest”, which I first covered 15 years ago, has now spread to 20 countries. https://www.optimistdaily.com/2026/08/how-niger-restored-5-million-hectares-without-planting-a-single-tree/31 Aug 2026 08:34 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mueiphf2222nhttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mtwfauk3rk2kAbout time! The Government is finally preparing official advice to Britons to stock up on food and other essentials in the face of increasing food insecurity, cyberspace attacks, pandemics and climate change. Other Western nations issued it years ago. https://www.ft.com/content/5811d9e6-f48d-43ac-bc05-c273287a27d0?syn-25a6b1a6=1&gaa_at=la&gaa_n=AXbw80Qpe6S2xsOGoqlnnaXT-y7GiGkdiwSwfpn1OjC5y4pmnOI9TQ06DkBEfeYcBrM%3D&utm_source=newsshowcase&utm_medium=discover&utm_campaign=CCwqGAgwKg8IACoHCAow-4fWBzD4z0gwlOewBTCB14kG&utm_content=bullets&gaa_ts=6a8ddc2b&gaa_sig=EOmP6YAk-TYrB_cOP8YLiucpQ6RTdVo9VC7oFebG8cVO_acjm0gVA_T3okpd4usPsbARmMj7kCAxqrGKyOv_tw%3D%3D25 Aug 2026 17:55 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtwfauk3rk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mtsr5vzib225New plans to let mayors overrule local authorities on building big housing estates and tower blocks are anti-democratic and the next stage in a mendacious, authoritarian campaign to undermine planning and ruin the Green Belt. My latest for the @dailymail.co.uk. https://www.dailymail.com/debate/article-16074229/local-democracy-action-exact-opposite-GEOFFREY-LEAN.html24 Aug 2026 07:17 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtsr5vzib225https://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mtqhkn4kh22qBritain is gathering in its worst harvest in more than 40 years. food prices are already rising and farmers are warning of shortages within months. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/08/21/britain-faces-food-shortages-within-months-warn-farmers/23 Aug 2026 09:20 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtqhkn4kh22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mtnwo4vg5s2vThis is the energy/development solution for millions of Third World villages that grids will never reach. Iraq communities are electrifying themselves through installing decentralised solar power. https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2026/8/21/iraqs-solar-villages-show-how-to-build-an-energy-transition-that-lasts22 Aug 2026 09:12 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtnwo4vg5s2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mtiuxnvd222sUrgent climate action is an “important glue” holding much of Labour’s coalition together, reports @luketryl.bsky.social of @moreincommonuk.bsky.social. So it is essential for @andyburnham.bsky.social that he makes progress towards net zero. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/aug/19/labour-could-lose-seats-greens-new-drilling-north-sea20 Aug 2026 08:59 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtiuxnvd222shttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mtdwa6illk2wThere’s a huge disconnect on climate between the public and the elite Westminster/Whitehall/media bubble. Vast majority of people rightly link heatwaves with it, but other research has found that two thirds of newspaper articles on them failed to mention it. [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Aug 2026 09:38 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtdwa6illk2whttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mszunx4l4s2xResearch on the last time the world had high CO2, 56m years ago, has exploded the denier claim that the increased “‘plant food‘ will green the Earth. Fossils show that forests did thicken for a while, but then died, so the result was “browning”, not greening. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/13/forests-carbon-dioxide-emissions14 Aug 2026 09:43 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mszunx4l4s2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3msyeemhemc2oExcellent from @channel4news.bsky.social, again ahead of the rest of the media by leading on the climate crisis as the cause of the fires and heat, and calling the Government’s total lack of action to account. @michaelujacobs.bsky.social right on the button as usual.13 Aug 2026 19:19 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3msyeemhemc2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mskpbfbx6s2mBiteback. The clean energy lobby, including renewables firms, has funded successful electoral challenges to political opponents. I dislike big money in politics, but guess it’s understandable given the vast amounts fossil fuel interests spend….. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/07/how-solar-donors-helped-take-down-a-trump-backed-republican-0102820908 Aug 2026 08:57 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mskpbfbx6s2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3msindrb4gs2iA long-running scandal. When I first exposed polluters in 1971 - naming names by getting round a law that then made that illegal (!) - the Government replied that the UK’s rivers would be clean within five years. just look at them not five, but 55, years later. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/06/all-bodies-of-water-england-polluted-toxic-chemicals07 Aug 2026 13:17 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3msindrb4gs2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3msfqy3tvas2cEurope has saved €72 billion by scaling up solar and wind power to replace fossil fuel imports since the invasion of Ukraine, reports the Statistical Review of World Energy. In just four years the two renewables shot up from 19% to 30% of EU power supplies. https://cleantechnica.com/2026/08/05/european-countries-cut-tens-of-billions-of-euros-of-fossil-fuel-imports-from-wind-solar-power-growth/06 Aug 2026 09:44 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3msfqy3tvas2chttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3msb7omcxbc24Some good news. Coal has just slipped below 50% of China’s electricity generation for the first time: the amount burned is expected to peak in 2030. It’s capacity expected to be exceeded by solar this year. Long way to go but the coal addiction seems to be weakening. https://www.forbes.com/sites/current-climate/2026/08/03/china-starts-to-kick-it-coal-addiction/04 Aug 2026 14:24 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3msb7omcxbc24https://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3ms3s4fynxc2aMay seem counterintuitive, but solar parks above fields can actually boost crops, as here. In another case it increased yield by 30% through providing shelter. Sheep and panels can also go well together. Doesn’t apply universally, of course, but still good news. https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/mixing-solar-power-and-agriculture-a-blueberry-farm-does-a-test-run02 Aug 2026 10:38 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms3s4fynxc2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mrzmmn7les2nA review of over 500 studies has established that climate change is “reshaping” plankton communities in uk seas. Worrying since these form the very base of the marine food web, so there are potentially serious impacts on sea life and fisheries. https://oceanographicmagazine.com/news/from-plankton-to-plate-changing-uk-seas-are-shifting-food-webs/01 Aug 2026 13:54 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrzmmn7les2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mrwpks663c2gBig oil is increasingly pulling out of the North Sea.This suggests that the environmentalists’ description of a fast diminishing field is much truer than Trump‘s assertion (influencing Burnham) that it is a huge resource companies are itching to exploit. https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/BP-Puts-Its-North-Sea-Oil-Business-Up-for-Sale.html31 Jul 2026 10:09 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrwpks663c2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mrsi2v7x522dAs birth rates fall, more than 100 English schools have had to close, disturbing children and communities. How long will it be, as Western societies continue to age, before they start competing to attract, rather than repel, young immigrants? https://theconversation.com/falling-birth-rates-mean-schools-are-closing-affecting-whole-communities-28743829 Jul 2026 17:44 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrsi2v7x522dhttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mrrjtvqj5s2aExtraordinary. Research concludes that the impact of climate change on vegetation in the tropics - home to over half of the world’s species - in the next 24 years will be the same as has occurred naturally over the last 3.3 million years. https://theconversation.com/impact-of-climate-change-may-be-equivalent-to-3-3-million-years-of-transformations-in-tropical-vegetation-28807329 Jul 2026 08:43 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrrjtvqj5s2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mroxubov2s2zMadness. Trump has killed or cut back 216 clean energy projects in the last 18 months, cisting the US ecinomyb$90 billion, and sacrificing the creation of 470,00 new jobs. https://www.ecoportal.net/uk/216-clean-energy-projects-scrapped-since/2003/28 Jul 2026 08:16 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mroxubov2s2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mrkfz5zlcc2oYou’d think the ’ships of the desert’ could cope with global warming. But no. Nearly half of Somalia’s camel-owning households have lost at least one to drought, research finds. In parts of the north of the country this rises to almost three-quarters. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqlxvvw06pqo26 Jul 2026 12:46 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrkfz5zlcc2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/geofflean.bsky.social/post/3mrhfy3ntyk2aWater companies have discharged over 117,000 hours of #sewage from 1165 overflows near popular #bathing beaches so far this summer, reports @sascampaigns.bsky.social. Yet, it adds, the public is often told that the water at them is “excellent”. https://www.ft.com/content/1fd567d6-1591-4256-8976-95fac46f522b?syn-25a6b1a6=125 Jul 2026 08:07 +0000at://did:plc:fkfr5assftskfy4xpv3sgkhd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrhfy3ntyk2a