iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Blue Kirkhope

Zeke Hausfather @zekehausfather.com · 02/08/2026

I'm not sure folks have realized just how crazy the second half of 2026 and 2027 will be for global temperatures – on the back of a record-smashing El Niño event. Here is my latest estimate of where both years will end up compared to global temperatures since 1850.

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𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚊 𝚢𝚘𝚛𝚔𝚎 @loulayorke.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Blue Kirkhope advocating here for a new phrase to enter our vocabulary: climate fires.

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Blue Kirkhope @bluekirkhope.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

First essay in a very long while, on ecolinguistics and climate change. It's good to be back!

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Caught by the River @caughtbytheriver.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

'We need to talk about how we talk about nature and climate [...] How the misuse of tongue, teeth, mouth and throat can be as violent as a naked flame in an open, dry moorland.' Blue Kirkhope unpicks how the English language can catalyse the climate crisis www.caughtbytheriver.net/2026/07/word...

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Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 31/10/2025

Oidhche Shamhna – a South Uist #Halloween Ethnomusicologist, photographer, folklorist, & scholar Margaret Fay Shaw (1903–2004) recorded a traditional Hebridean Halloween on South Uist in the 1930s, in photographs & on film —via the National Trust for Scotland #Gaelic www.nts.org.uk/stories/oidh...

A black and white image of two children dressed for Halloween, standing on a flat patch of scrubby ground with a rocky hillside rising behind them. The children are wearing multiple layers of outsized clothes, bundled and knotted around them. Their hands are hidden within their sleeves, and they have huge adult work-boots on their feet. The figure on the left is wearing a crude mask with tiny eyeholes and a mouth hole; tufts of dried grass have been added to create a beard and moustache. The figure on the right doesn't seem to have a mask – just a large clump of heather for a head, protruding from a jacket collar swathed in scarves.

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Reposted by Blue Kirkhope

Shetland News @shetnews.co.uk · 15/10/2025

Shaetlan has finally been recognised as a language in its own right. The recognition comes after the local language was given its own ISO code by SIL Global, the organisation that handles the international Ethnologue database has been tasked with the handling of international language ISO codes.

shet.news

Shaetlan receives full recognition as a language

SHAETLAN has finally been recognised as a language in its own right. The recognition comes after the local language was given its own ISO code by SIL Global,...

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Blue Kirkhope @bluekirkhope.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

It began with meadow pipits and ended with a rainbow over the Sloy dam. Raindrops like pearls cast by bright sunbeams, sparkling slabs of glistening granite, scrambling up the craggy scree slopes and hauling my body 3000 ft high to panoramic views of the Arrochar Alps, Loch Lomond and beyond.

A rainbow descending into a valley, surrounded by bright green mountains and scattered rock beneath a cloudy yet blue sky.

A shadow of a person holding walking sticks on a road leading into a beautiful valley, Ben Vane towering overhead.

The peak of Ben Vane, in a luminescent green and featuring jagged rocks under an ominous grey sky.

3000 ft at the top of Ben Vane, with panoramic views of Loch Lomond.

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Reposted by Blue Kirkhope

Ross Greer (he/him) @ross-greer.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

Gaelic is on the verge of extinction. The rural housing crisis caused by an explosion of second homes & buy-to-lets is one of the major driving forces. Next week MSPs will vote on my proposal to increase the tax rate on those buying second homes in communities where Gaelic is still widely spoken.

thenational.scot

Greens to force vote on tax for second homes in Gaelic-speaking communities

THE Scottish Greens are set to force a vote on increasing taxes on holiday homes and short-term lets in Gaelic-speaking communities.

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Reposted by Blue Kirkhope

Shetland News @shetnews.co.uk · 13/09/2025

Summer is not quite over yet: A beautiful day-flying hummingbird hawk-moth in a Shetland garden earlier this week.

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Blue Kirkhope @bluekirkhope.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

Please excuse my absence, I have been staring at the floor.

Sunlight spilling over a living room with cheap, dark wooden flooring and white wooden Glasgow tenement windows.

Renovations begin. The cheap, wooden flooring is pulled up and door removed to reveal the original timber and an old bookcase.

The transformation: the old dirty timber floors are now shining bright under the sun in their pale hues.

Me showing off with my new floors. I’m a professional floor renovator now.

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Reposted by Blue Kirkhope

Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 29/08/2025

Whan du telt me hoo du thowt o ‘luck’ as nae mair as chance, de happy hubbelskju o aentropie, I thowt onnly o de ben-end o my grandmidder’s hoose an aa her talismans o tat… —Roseanne Watt, “Lukkie” #poem #poetry #Shetland www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/lukkie/

Lukkie
Roseanne Watt

Whan du telt me hoo du thowt o ‘luck’
as nae mair as chance, de happy hubbelskju
o aentropie, I thowt onnly o de ben-end
o my grandmidder’s hoose an aa her talismans
o tat. Inbi, luck wis acht an lenned lik coins,
hot fae de löf. Dere wis wyes aboot it:
a sixpence fir de scratchcairds; tree skoilts
o a gingernut wid gie dee a wish; a dram
onnly ivvir gied sungaets roond de room.
Ee time, ower supper, shö telt me hoo shö won
an aamos fae a haafman; a beaded bag
fir a skurtfoo o her luck at sea. I browt him
tae de dance dat week, but someen took him
fae de cloakroom. Less. Dere’s joost some tings
dat du canna keep a haad o. Dat’s true enoff.
It seems tae me wir luck his aye been wattir
cupped by hands at prayer, in a langwich
at his mair wirds fir ill-luckit tings as fair.
Nivir leet, shö says. De lotto’s demoarn.
Can I git dee a gingernut?

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Reposted by Blue Kirkhope

Mondoweiss @mondoweiss.net · 06/08/2025

THREAD: 🚨 Leaked Israeli government documents just dropped. Here’s what they reveal: Israeli media outlet Channel 13 published internal war cabinet transcripts from March 2025. They confirm that the Israeli government knowingly pursued a strategy of starvation in Gaza.

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Blue Kirkhope @bluekirkhope.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Front page! It was a real pleasure to work on this story with @craig-nisbet.bsky.social @stkildawhs.bsky.social @ellingbry.bsky.social on the first drone census of the gannet population at St Kilda, which has determined that it is once again the world’s largest colony #NTSSeabirds shorturl.at/PQxSg

‘Gannets milestone for St Kilda’ story on the front page of the Herald

‘St Kilda now has largest colony of gannets in the world’ story on page 7 of The Herald

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St Kilda World Heritage Site NTS @stkildawhs.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

Results from the 2023 #StKilda Gannet census are to be published in the December issue of #ScottishBirds, revealing relative stability in what is once again the world's largest colony, despite fears that #HPAI may have had a greater impact on the population #NTSSeabirds @scottishbirding.bsky.social

nts.org.uk

A bird’s-eye view of the gannet colony at St Kilda

The first drone census at St Kilda has revealed the islands are now home to the world’s largest gannet colony.

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RSPB Scotland @rspbscotland.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

A dark day for Scotland’s seabirds. We're incredibly concerned that Scottish Government have granted consent for the Berwick Bank offshore windfarm, which could catapult some of our most vulnerable species toward extinction 🚨 We will carefully scrutinise the details and consider our next steps.

“This is a very dark day for seabirds.
Berwick Bank would be catastrophic for Scotland’s globally important seabirds which are already facing alarming declines. Its impacts are so damaging it will make it very difficult for other, less-harmful windfarms to come forward. We are incredibly concerned that Scottish Government have granted consent for a project which could catapult some of Scotland’s most-loved seabird species towards extinction.”

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Laura Webster @lauraewebster.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

NEW: The Scottish community-owned island of Eigg has announced a boycott of Israel The island of 120 people has backed BDS and its sole shop will stop stocking goods from Israeli firms www.thenational.scot/news/2533509...

thenational.scot

Scottish community-owned island announces full boycott of Israel

The Isle of Eigg has announced a full boycott of Israel amid its genocide in Gaza ...

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Reposted by Blue Kirkhope

Mondoweiss @mondoweiss.net · 21/07/2025

Israel is starving Palestinians in Gaza. Israel is starving Palestinians in Gaza. Israel is starving Palestinians in Gaza. Israel is starving Palestinians in Gaza. Israel is starving Palestinians in Gaza. Israel is starving Palestinians in Gaza.

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Blue Kirkhope @bluekirkhope.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

LOVED Daisy LaFarge’s Lovebug. Ironically I have been too lovesick and heartbroken to ~consume~ anything related to love of late, but this both joyfully and horrifically demonstrates the destined symbiotic nature of all living things, the network, as opposed to the hierarchy, of it all.

Lovebug by Daisy LaFarge, a yellow cover with a microscopic image in pink.

“The now-ubiquitous genre of nature writing and its healing, revelatory encounters with an enchanting natural world wouldn't cut it. It is not always easy to be on the side of life; some relationships on earth remain irreducibly violent for one party involved.”

“All beings circulate through each other - Denis Diderot”

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Reposted by Blue Kirkhope

🎃Autopsy of Ashley Lynch 🔪🎞️ @ashleylynch.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

WeTransfer just changed their TOS giving themselves permission to train AI on any content you transfer and produce derivative works based on content you transfer that they are allowed to monetize and you are not allowed payment for. Stop using WeTransfer.

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Reposted by Blue Kirkhope

Natalie Berry @natalie-berry.com · 14/07/2025

At climbing sessions near Lviv in west Ukraine, the Mountain Seed Foundation gives children and families impacted by Russia's war an opportunity for respite on the rock, helping them to cope with trauma.

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Blue Kirkhope @bluekirkhope.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

When I was 22 years old (10 years ago now), I embarked on my first long-distance trail, with the assumption this may help cure my CPTSD in some form along the way. But it merely enhanced it, exacerbated it, in that I came out of it #NOTHEALED. I felt cheated, that there was something wrong with me.

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Helen Macdonald @hjm.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

Oh does it turn out that going out into nature can't cure rare neurodegenerative diseases? huh.

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Blue Kirkhope @bluekirkhope.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

I am SO HERE for The Salt Path scandal. Up yours, the “nature cure”. Happy fucking Sunday.

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Blue Kirkhope @bluekirkhope.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

Back on Clyde Built Radio with a new regular show called Fragments ✨ Expect the mellow and the melancholy, the sweet and the sexy. Love to play some of my most favourite recent listens in this wee green booth.

m.soundcloud.com

Fragments w/ Blue (28/6/25)

Stream Fragments w/ Blue (28/6/25) by Clyde Built Radio on desktop and mobile. Play over 320 million tracks for free on SoundCloud.

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Reposted by Blue Kirkhope

Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba @ainmean-aite.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

Mapa Gàidhlig na Seachdaine Glaschu ~ Glasgow buff.ly/beYkbTP #AinmÀite #Gàidhlig #Cleachdi #Placenames #Gaelic #Maps

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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

"The nature cure is only [an example of how] we exploit our environment for human gain, in which we seek to mine the hills and dredge the seas for the green gold of well-being. If we go to nature expecting it to heal us, we are not going to it for its own sake." www.plough.com/en/topics/li...

plough.com

The Myth of the Nature Cure

In the English Lake District I found companionship in nature, not a cure.

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Reposted by Blue Kirkhope

Noreen Masud @noreenmasud.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

the plan is to distract and deflect and overwhelm and numb until everyone is dead. and then they will say it’s in the past, and they will move into Gaza, and the western machinery will roll on as it always has. hard not to see proscribing Palestine Action is part of this plan

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The Scottish Parliament @parliament.scot · 17/06/2025

The Scottish Languages Bill has passed this evening @parliament.scot. The results of the vote at Stage 3 were: ✅ Yes - 112 ❎ No - 0 There were no abstentions. The Bill gives the #Gaelic and #Scots languages official status in Scotland and includes changes to Gaelic and Scots education.

Scottish Languages Bill. A bar graph shows the results of the vote: Yes - 112, No - 0, Abstain - 0.

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Ross Greer (he/him) @ross-greer.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

Delighted that we passed the Scottish Languages Bill today, recognising for the first time in law that Scots is one of our native languages and strengthening measures to support both it and Gaelic. 🧵 I passed about 50 amendments to strengthen the bill in various ways, inc:

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Blue Kirkhope @bluekirkhope.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

Canna House has officially reopened after a 9 year period of intricate restoration and repair, allowing visitors to roam amongst Margaret Fay Shaw and John Lorne Campbell's former home, their extensive collection of belongings and historic Gaelic archive. A total dream to work on this! Go visit!

The grey stone of Canna House with its white windows and the red roof of the conservatory standing proud beneath a cloudy blue sky.

The hallway of Canna House full to the brim with furniture and objects belonging to Margaret Fay Shaw and John Lorne Campbell.

A black and white portrait of a smiling Margaret Fay Shaw.

The study of Canna House projecting footage from the Gaelic archive amongst several objects belonging to Shaw and Campbell.

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Blue Kirkhope @bluekirkhope.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

Amazing corncrake content coming out of Mingulay!

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Jehad Abusalim @jehadabusalim.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

Madleen proves that Gaza is closer to us than Israel wants it to be. Israel seeks to keep Gaza distant, isolated, and inaccessible. Yet Madleen shows that you don't have to be a superpower to reach Gaza. All it takes is the will and courage to stand against tyranny and injustice.

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SAINT JAVELIN @saintjavelin.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

Birds on the front lines weave their nests from fiber optics.

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Mondoweiss @mondoweiss.net · 28/05/2025

In coming years, eco-apartheid will become more prominent worldwide as colonial violence is used to maintain and safeguard Western interests and profits. We are seeing this future in Gaza today.

mondoweiss.net

Palestine against an eco-apartheid world

In coming years, eco-apartheid will become more prominent worldwide as colonial violence is used to maintain and safeguard Western interests and profits. We are seeing this future in Gaza today.

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Diva Harris @divaeh.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

Latest Dog Walk Report is about land, language, liberty, and how the fight for land access rights should be international and universal

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Blue Kirkhope @bluekirkhope.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Nature does not have a responsibility to “heal” us, and this perpetuates the idea that it is something far away, over there, and other than us. I will repeat this statement for all of eternity. Great piece by @louisekenward.bsky.social, we need more stories like it, please.

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Tim Baxter @timinclimate.naruresearch.com.au · 27/05/2025

Here we go. I don't have much to say about this one to encourage you to read, and the title will turn many of you away - and maybe it should - but I don't know what I would do with myself if I didn't get this one out:

timinclimate.medium.com

I can’t pretend everything will be ok.

To love what we have as if it ever mattered to us at all, we must bear witness and grieve. Today I bear witness.

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The Alpine Club @alpineclub.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

A brilliant and moving article from @katejarmstrong.bsky.social on the impact of experiencing an accident in the mountains, complete with both insightful personal experience and advice for those going through the same things.

ukclimbing.com

FEATURE: Returning to Climbing After an Accident

It's up there as a climber's worst-case scenario: a sunny day out on a straightforward Alpine route, when a big chunk of the mountain comes away, the falling rocks cut through the rope, and...

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Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 15/05/2025

Here's a glimpse into the people, places, life, and culture of Palestine before the 1948 Nakba. 📷 Browse through what Palestine was like: aje.io/7tepix

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