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Brian Banks Ⓥ 🇨🇦

@brianbanks.bsky.social
5.6K followers 829 following 2.3K posts

Scribbler (mainly nature, conservation, critters, science, climate); Geographer (Fellow, Royal Canadian Geographical Society); Soy nature boy. brian.eco

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Reposted by Brian Banks Ⓥ 🇨🇦
Bill Comeau 🇨🇦 @bill-comeau.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Why on earth have we been meddling with clock times? A Canadian invented standard time and time zones so the local peak height of the sun would happen at 12 noon. This idiocy is still going on today. If you don't like school hours ending near dusk, then change school hours, not clocks!
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Far from taking pride in it, the men who killed this magnificent animal should be deeply ashamed. That swift, sleek, wonderful monster, flashing with holographic colours, reduced to a dead black lump. www.devonlive.com/news/devon-n...
devonlive.com
Monster 282kg tuna landed in Brixham is 'heaviest ever' catch
Giant £4,000 Bluefin tuna caught off Devon coast could be heading to Michelin-starred restaurants
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Brian Banks Ⓥ 🇨🇦 @brianbanks.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Interesting third item in here about the Baltimore Beat offering $5 obituaries. www.cjr.org/laurels-and-...
cjr.org
Laurels and Darts: Following the political money.
Illuminating campaign finance reporting from LAist on the city’s mayoral race. Plus: A poor choice of words in the Cornell case, and the value of five-dollar obituaries.
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Bruce Arthur @brucearthur.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Cool
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Brian Banks Ⓥ 🇨🇦 @brianbanks.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Dude earlier tonight on Sportsnet FAN Pregame predicted 3 homers off Nola in the first. He was close. It was a 3-run homer. #Phillies #Braves
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Brian Banks Ⓥ 🇨🇦 @brianbanks.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
“Everything about this referendum on separation and the other nine questions on the ballot … is contemptible. It’s a phony, illegitimate exercise Ms. Smith has lent credibility to in order to save her job.” Nice takedown from Gary Mason. www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/1760cd5...
theglobeandmail.com
The ugly reckoning coming for Danielle Smith
The referendum, including the nine non-secession questions, is contemptible
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Brian Banks Ⓥ 🇨🇦 @brianbanks.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
BrightDrop was making these exact vehicles in Ontario until GM pulled the plug. 🤷
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The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · 01/10/2026
⚡️Russian troop losses rose 46% since January, hit 2026 high in September, Ukraine says Russian forces suffered an estimated 46,230 personnel losses in September, the highest monthly figure recorded by Ukraine so far in 2026, Ukraine's General Staff said on Oct. 1.
kyivindependent.com
Russian troop losses rose 46% since January, hit 2026 high in September, Ukraine says
The September figure surpassed previous summer highs of 42,860 in July and 42,020 in August.
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Mongabay @mongabay.com · 01/10/2026
Driven in part by El Niño, Tokyo has logged a record 35 straight days of rain, nearly tripling its typical September average. Weather officials warn that saturated soil and unstable river levees leave the region highly vulnerable to landslides as more storms approach. Read more. mongabay.cc/gP0eNE
mongabay.cc
Tokyo records historic 35-day rain streak driven by El Niño and stalled fronts
Central Tokyo has experienced 35 consecutive days of rainfall, setting the longest continuous rainy streak since records began in 1886, reported local media citing Japan’s weather agency. Rains began…
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Brian Banks Ⓥ 🇨🇦 @brianbanks.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I wrote about the negligent release and growing invasive threat of golden oyster mushrooms for @ontarionature.bsky.social’s ON Nature magazine. Link to digital PDF: catalog.ontarionature.org/fall-2026/pa...
First page of magazine story “The Great Mushroom Escape” with text atop image of a flock of golden oyster mushrooms growing on a log on the forest floor.
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Brian Banks Ⓥ 🇨🇦 @brianbanks.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Nice short doc from @weanimals.bsky.social about Safe in Austin Rescue Ranch program in which rescued animals are paired with young people navigating trauma, neurodivergence, disability and other challenges, and the relationships that form between them. youtu.be/frUMDfLOkfU?...
youtu.be
The First to Trust
YouTube video by We Animals
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 30/09/2026
53 years ago, hip-hop was born at a back-to-school party in the Bronx. Now, the Bronx School of Hip Hop is preparing a new generation of artists to shape what comes next. I sat down with Nas to talk about the past, present, and future of hip-hop in NYC — from the turntables to our classrooms.
youtu.be
Mayor and Nas sit down to discuss the past, present and future of hip hop in NYC
YouTube video by NYC Mayor's Office
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 30/09/2026
From the team that brought you AI John Cena Who Sexts Your Kids comes a profoundly bad new way to hoover up your data.
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Stephen Fearing @sfearingmusic.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
U2's 50th. Mount Temple School Dublin 1978: I was 15, just out of frame in the foreground, a few of my friends on the wall beside. Unthinkable that there was so much more to come. 1981 living in Minneapolis-at Sam’s/1st Ave to see the U2 BOY show. How inspiring to see someone running down a dream.
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Electric Autonomy @electricautonomy.com · 30/09/2026
Despite delaying its St. Thomas battery plant to 2029, PowerCo Canada’s chief procurement officer, Joel Karlsberg, says the site remains a “cornerstone” of the VW subsidiary's North American strategy. Read the full report here: electricautonomy.ca/ev-supply-ch... #EVBattery #EVProduction
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Brian Banks Ⓥ 🇨🇦 @brianbanks.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Artist Kent Monkman’s first-ever public art commission unveiled today on the Lassonde Art Trail at Biidaasige Park. It commemorates the beaver. Looks awesome. lassondearttrail.org/art-trail/ke...
lassondearttrail.org
The Colony — Kent Monkman | Lassonde Art Trail
Kent Monkman's first-ever public art commission arrives at Biidaasige Park this September. The Colony is a monumental bronze installation, a permanent work to be gifted to the City of Toronto, from on...
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Andrew Lewis FC @andrewlewisfc.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Worst mayor in Ontario to use powers granted by the second worst Premier in Canada so said worst mayor in Ontario can frustrate federal government's urban intensification policies and municipal democracy at the same time. @shawnmicallef.bsky.social @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social
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Josh Gondelman @joshgondelman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
It’s going to be pretty fucked up when this baby yeti starts telling people to kill themselves.
Subway display ad for meta’s muse ai product billed as “ai that gets it done.” The mascot is a little smiling fuzzy white puppet guy.
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Alex Bozikovic @alexbozikovic.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Years of expensive construction, which will muck up car traffic, to make everything worse
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Society for Conservation Biology @society4conbio.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Singapore’s prime minister recently announced plans to merge several islands into a new “western island” to support “a new generation of industries.” It could bury up to 60% of Singapore’s remaining reefs, many of which are “mother” reefs. news.mongabay.com/2026/09/sing...
news.mongabay.com
Singapore's plan to merge several islands could wipe out coral reefs
SINGAPORE — “For seven thousand years, Singapore has changed around these reefs,” says Debby Ng, a Singaporean biologist who studies the city-state’s shrinking coastlines of seagrasses, mangroves and ...
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ashley (birthday month) 🕸️ @clearlyashley.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Andy Beshear forever, man
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Simon Little 🍁 @simonplittle.ca · 27/09/2026
No, we hate this too
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Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Not only guilty of genocide against Palestinians, he abetted the murder of thousands of Israelis.
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Brian Banks Ⓥ 🇨🇦 @brianbanks.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Hahahahahahahahaha
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Dr. Jonathan Foley @globalecoguy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Did you know that producing one pound of beef is 25-50x worse for climate change than burning a pound of coal? In fact, it’s one of the most polluting things we can consume. And grass-fed beef is usually *even worse* — thanks to its much higher land use and methane emissions.
Bar chart showing greenhouse gas emissions for different food items. Beef is the worst, by far.
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Bill McKibben @billmckibben.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Just a reminder that you can go millions of miles between oil changes when you drive an EV www.wsj.com/business/ret...
wsj.com
Iran War Is Driving Up the Cost of Your Next Oil Change
Higher gas prices were just the warm-up act for drivers, repair shops and retailers like Walmart and Costco.
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The Onion @theonion.com · 26/09/2026
“First of all, he’s got my face as his profile picture, so that right there gave me a high degree of confidence, because I know what I look like.” — Kash Patel
theonion.com
Kash Patel Phished By Scammer Posing As Kash Patel
WASHINGTON—Despite carefully checking and double-checking the credentials of the man who reached out to him via email, FBI director Kash Patel was reportedly phished Friday by a scammer posing as FBI ...
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Bruce Arthur @brucearthur.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
This column by @althiaraj.bsky.social is a good summation of the red flags around this bill. And I say that as someone who has been raising alarms about our particular moment in history for a while. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
thestar.com
Althia Raj: Whatever good is in Mark Carney’s Building Canada Strong Act is poisoned by the toxic rest
The Mark Carney government frames this law as part of its “Canada Strong” plan — and frankly, some parts are good — but toxic with good is still bad.
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Brian Banks Ⓥ 🇨🇦 @brianbanks.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Random sequence of posts reminds me that whorls are a thing throughout nature.
Screen grab of two Bluesky posts, one showing a hurricane spinning and the other a drawing of a snail shell.
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Steve Brusatte @stevebrusatte.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
We have finally published the full description of the Duntulm 'dinosaur disco'. With detailed maps made by drones. Handprints and footprints, made by sauropods the size of three elephants put together, some 170 million years ago when Scotland was a subtropical paradise!
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Don Davies @donvdavies.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The Liberals’ new bill allows the Minister to violate workers’ right to strike based solely on her opinion after taking into account any consideration she wants. That’s not guardrails at all - it’s pure discretion.
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Kate Armstrong @brainchain.ca · 22/09/2026
Fuck you, Doug. Incarceration doesn’t solve the root causes of poverty , lack of economic opportunity, social infrastructure and mental health.
An advert on a railway hoarding in monochrome with a welder welding that says ‘a safer Ontario: building  new jails
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Shawn Micallef @shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
We’ve already had fake AI-generated “neighbourhood” campaigns in Toronto. Now this.
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Brian Banks Ⓥ 🇨🇦 @brianbanks.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Lots of great period signage.
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Dr. Jonathan Foley @globalecoguy.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The idea that "regenerative" grazing is a climate solution has really taken hold in some quarters. But the science is clear: It doesn't work. Methane and land-use emissions just overwhelm any soil carbon benefits. Here's a great piece by @nicholasdcarter.bsky.social drawdown.org/insights/eig...
drawdown.org
Eight reasons regenerative grazing can’t make beef climate-friendly
An influential regenerative grazing movement continues to grow. But here's why the science doesn't back up the purported climate benefits.
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Brian Banks Ⓥ 🇨🇦 @brianbanks.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
This new wildlife tagging/tracking tech is getting lots of coverage. Seems to help when it involves monarch butterflies. www.cbc.ca/lite/story/9...
cbc.ca
New Bluetooth tags let anyone track monarch butterfly migration in real time
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Brian Banks Ⓥ 🇨🇦 @brianbanks.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Turkey vultures get their day in Port Hope. Coming next Sunday. kawarthanow.com/2026/07/08/k...
kawarthanow.com
‘Keep calm and carrion’: a new festival in Port Hope aims to change perception of turkey vultures | kawarthaNOW
By Megan Gallant. September 27 event at Rotary Park organized by Caolaidhe Keelor will include conservation, a scavenger hunt, wildlife interactions, and live music .
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Brian Banks Ⓥ 🇨🇦 @brianbanks.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Jays making the playoffs? “Not gonna happen, kid.”
Jays field manager John Schneider in screen grab from TV ad.
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Philip Bump @pbump.com · 19/09/2026
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Josh Kozelj @joshkozelj27.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Hey Bluesky! Do you know someone doing something cool for the planet? Well, I'm all ears! I help run a business section called What Works for The Tyee and I'm taking pitches. Basically, we profile people who run businesses — non-profits and for-profits — that are green and sustainable in some way.
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Bruce Arthur @brucearthur.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
This has been really striking. Elon has been encouraging race pogroms, spreading conspiracies, and generally going genuinely mad, and everyone is worried about Hasan Piker, a semi-smart streamer whose worst statement isn’t even close to a median GOP voter or politician statement
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Kristian Kiehling @kristiankiehling.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Kudos to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who reminded the cowardly right- and left-wing russian collaborators in the European Parliament in Strasbourg that "Goethe understood that ideals must be fought for and that values do not defend themselves".
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Steve Herman @newsguy.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The California governor's office says Gavin Newsom has signed an exec order accelerating a new state law to establish "first-in-the-nation independent oversight of AI companies and safety checks and advances the creation of an AI kill switch.”
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Carly Ziter @carlyziter.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I just know this is somebody’s dream job!
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Brian Banks Ⓥ 🇨🇦 @brianbanks.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Thanks for nothing, Wordle-bot.
Screen grab from Wordlebot telling my guess is a word but not part of its game dictionary.
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 16/09/2026
Today on Volts: Verrus wants to build data centers that use very little water, run quietly, and rely on giant batteries rather than diesel or natgas generators, which can make them grid assets that help reduce power prices. It hasn't overcome local opposition. I talk with the CEO.
volts.wtf
How to build a more flexible, quieter, less obnoxious data center
A conversation with Nelson Abramson of Verrus.
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Scott Dworkin @dworkin.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Putin decorated him at the Kremlin in April. In May he paid for Don Jr.'s island party in the Bahamas. Monday the Trumps called him a dear friend. Rep. Robert Garcia pulled the dates.
dworkinsubstack.com
Congress Just Demanded To Know What Don Jr. Owes A Putin Ally.
Plus: Whistleblower sounds alarm on agents posing as voters, a governor’s pen killed a Supreme Court case, and Letitia James is back for round two
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Brian Banks Ⓥ 🇨🇦 @brianbanks.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The #Jays were pretty much no-shows tonight with season on the line.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 16/09/2026
Ossoff: "We also need to ensure that the leaders at these AI labs are testifying before Congress in a setting where they are bound by law to tell the truth, because we need to understand what's really happening within these companies, and we need to understand what their motives are."
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cait (and adonis) @cait.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
who gives a shit
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