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James Bullock

@jmbecologist.bsky.social
4.7K followers 461 following 1.8K posts

Applied ecologist working on the ecological emergency Studying ecosystem restoration, rewilding, dispersal, spatial ecology, ecosystem services, agro-ecology, global change. Views are my own & personal/unofficial

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Reposted by James Bullock
Good Law Project @goodlawproject.org · 3h
Isn’t it strange how, when you start being paid by private companies instead of elected by the public, the people become the “mob”? Palantir’s record deserves scrutiny – from politicians and the public. bit.ly/47avtHW
theguardian.com
Palantir’s Tom Watson says ‘mob rule’ must not dictate awarding of government contracts
Former Labour deputy leader says tech firm would work with a Reform UK government on immigration crackdowns
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Reposted by James Bullock
James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
OK, some think we need positive stories to show nature can recover But the abiding message of this report is that nature continues to decline & conservation is not enough Humans need to change how we live & how we exploit the planet Tell it how it is, please www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
UK bluefin tuna comeback shows nature can recover, says WWF
The tuna is one of several wildlife recoveries highlighted in a major new report from WWF.
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 21h
My rather uncharitable observation is that many people will use any excuse to give up
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
bsky.app/profile/jmbe...
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
“AI psychosis for dummies” www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
OK, some think we need positive stories to show nature can recover But the abiding message of this report is that nature continues to decline & conservation is not enough Humans need to change how we live & how we exploit the planet Tell it how it is, please www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
UK bluefin tuna comeback shows nature can recover, says WWF
The tuna is one of several wildlife recoveries highlighted in a major new report from WWF.
1019350
James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
If you don’t let us continue destroying the world, we will take our money elsewhere Time-honoured & disingenuous strategy by a business founded on exploiting the planet www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Equinor may stop investing in UK if oil and gas fields do not get go-ahead
The boss of the Norwegian state company says further investment in the UK could be at risk if Rosebank and Jackdaw are not approved.
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Reposted by James Bullock
dr. gianluca grimalda @ggrimalda.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Thrilled to commute back to Europe from the Pacific over 23,000km refusing to flying (again!). Press release in English: docs.google.com/document/d/1... E in italiano: docs.google.com/document/d/1... I'll reduce my carbon emissions by 6 times,~4,5t. It's negligible, but it's all I can do now. 1/
My no-fly itinerary from Bougainville to the Czech Republic
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
And why do humans so often respond to such problems by deciding to kill more animals rather than finding other solutions?
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Reposted by James Bullock
James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Trophy hunting is the killing of an animal for pleasure in order to display part or all of their bodies as trophies While it can bring in money for conservation or communities, trophy hunters themselves show a cruel disdain for the lives of other creatures
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Trophy hunting is the killing of an animal for pleasure in order to display part or all of their bodies as trophies While it can bring in money for conservation or communities, trophy hunters themselves show a cruel disdain for the lives of other creatures
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Reposted by James Bullock
James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Remember 30x30? The global target to effectively conserve at least 30% of the Earth's land, freshwater, and oceans by 2030 We’re slightly over 3 yrs away from 2030 & by the Government’s calculation, England is only at 7.1% for land Feeling this is another conservation target that will be missed
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
So one has to ask why come up with this target. A cynic might say it allows govts to imply they are on the case - until they set the next target The 7.1% figure excludes the many SSSIs that are in a bad way
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
www.gov.uk/government/p...
gov.uk
30by30 on land in England: confirmed criteria and next steps
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Reposted by James Bullock
Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
The Tories have announced they would abolish Natural England, support a Third Runway & pull the UK out of the Aarhus Convention - in further signs they’ve totally given up on Middle England, don’t give a toss about the environment & just want to please some wealthy grouse moor owners & raving YIMBYs
Tory party press release: “[We will leave the Aarhus] Convention that powers the lawfare hindering every major infrastructure project in this country.”

“Abolish Natural England and the Environment Agency, moving to a more streamlined regulatory landscape to protect our environment.”Tory PR: “Support a Third Runway at Heathrow Airport and wider expansion, increasing capacity to deliver cheaper flights, better connections for passengers, and more exports of high-value British goods.”
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Remember 30x30? The global target to effectively conserve at least 30% of the Earth's land, freshwater, and oceans by 2030 We’re slightly over 3 yrs away from 2030 & by the Government’s calculation, England is only at 7.1% for land Feeling this is another conservation target that will be missed
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
‘Hayes strikes me as a natural rebel, but he bristles at this for the same reason he doesn’t like being described as “a campaigner”: he thinks it diminishes taking a rational stand against an issue by suggesting it is a personality trait’ www.theguardian.com/books/2026/o...
theguardian.com
‘We have been dispossessed’: Nick Hayes on land rights and a peaceful revolution at the real Toad Hall
The co-founder of the Right to Roam campaign and author of The Book of Trespass discusses the Oxfordshire riverside community he calls home and how Hardwick Hall has been taken back by the people
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
The full report was redacted. Many have called for it to be published in full. See below (although as usual the news media conflate the nature & climate emergencies) www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Why is the UK’s suppressed climate national security report significant?
Warnings about the catastrophic effects of vital ecosystems collapsing were not published under previous prime minister
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Reposted by James Bullock
James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
While there is still controversy about the redaction of the ‘Nature security assessment’ we should also discuss what was published - an unexplained selection of a handful of ‘critical ecosystems’ How & why were these selected? There are so many other critical ecosystems www.gov.uk/government/p...
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
While there is still controversy about the redaction of the ‘Nature security assessment’ we should also discuss what was published - an unexplained selection of a handful of ‘critical ecosystems’ How & why were these selected? There are so many other critical ecosystems www.gov.uk/government/p...
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Thanks. Chalk grasslands are so lovely & important - for nature & culture. Looking forward to it
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Reposted by James Bullock
James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Nature recovery = More trees? Nope! But that rhetoric is rife in scientific papers, policy & news media It is particularly damaging for open ecosystems - grasslands, heaths, savannas, etc - which are implied as being of lesser value
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Only if you can tell me the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Can involve planting trees, but too often the 2 are seen as equivalent - across the globe
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Nature recovery = More trees? Nope! But that rhetoric is rife in scientific papers, policy & news media It is particularly damaging for open ecosystems - grasslands, heaths, savannas, etc - which are implied as being of lesser value
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Reposted by James Bullock
James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Restoration ecologists have long known that many ecosystems are so degraded that simply leaving them to recover naturally will not work Dispersal limitation, damaged substrate, excess nutrients, altered hydrology, etc mean active intervention is needed to recreate rich ecosystems in a timely way
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Definitely. As the climate changes we may need to create new ecosystems, but that even more so will require active intervention. See our study besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Revisiting the case for assisted colonisation under rapid climate change
Maintaining functioning ecosystems in a hotter world will require mass-scale assisted colonisation, so appropriate conservation policy, legislative frameworks and regulating bodies must be urgently d...
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Restoration ecologists have long known that many ecosystems are so degraded that simply leaving them to recover naturally will not work Dispersal limitation, damaged substrate, excess nutrients, altered hydrology, etc mean active intervention is needed to recreate rich ecosystems in a timely way
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Reposted by James Bullock
Extinction Rebellion Wimborne @xrwimborne.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🚨 WIMBORNE NEEDS TO KNOW What could climate & nature crises mean for our food, water, health, energy & security? 🎥 People’s Emergency Briefing THU 22 OCT, 12.50pm for 1pm Wimborne Community Centre 🗣️Stay for the discussion if you can •FREE• tickets www.tickettailor.com/events/extin...
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Reposted by James Bullock
Amy Westervelt @amywestervelt.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I keep hearing from sources about these but had no idea it was THIS many. of course these are also the orgs that squawk about the importance of "academic freedom" www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
Inside the anti-climate campaign against researchers
A POLITICO investigation reveals more than 100 open records requests demanding documents from climate scientists nationwide.
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
It is and no one is clean. I think the issue is that funding some green activity is too often seen as providing absolution
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Sadly, at a time when more & more people are aiming to not fly, we are losing some of our cross-Channel ferry routes Seems Brexit is to blame www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Brittany Ferries ends Poole - Cherbourg route early
Barfleur's final crossing from Poole has been brought forward from the start of November.
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Major issue. If you can’t publish the data or work, it is of little value
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Reposted by James Bullock
James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
At another meeting in which private sector financing of restoration was discussed And yet again, my question on how we avoid supporting greenwash - businesses giving money to conservation while carrying on their environmentally destructive activities unchecked - was quietly sidestepped
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I’ve certainly heard of developers asking what is the problem with destroying say heath or mire as they are doing BNG elsewhere. They often don’t get that you can’t simply replace natural systems. More generally by saying ok we accept you need to destroy nature we have already given way
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Also a lot of work by people like @watts-km.bsky.social showing natural colonisation is a very limited approach (large constraints on seed sources & dispersal distances) if one wants extensive & rapid nature recovery.
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Reposted by James Bullock
Dr Charlie Gardner @charliejgardner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Here's the paper that the article draws from, co-authored with @jmbecologist.bsky.social
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Revisiting the case for assisted colonisation under rapid climate change
Maintaining functioning ecosystems in a hotter world will require mass-scale assisted colonisation, so appropriate conservation policy, legislative frameworks and regulating bodies must be urgently d....
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Agree. Greenwash is where private sector funding is a cover up for not addressing avoidable damage (and much would be if businesses focussed on sustainable supply chains, etc)
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Sounds suspiciously like offsetting. Wouldn’t it be preferable for businesses to ramp down the damage they do?
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
At another meeting in which private sector financing of restoration was discussed And yet again, my question on how we avoid supporting greenwash - businesses giving money to conservation while carrying on their environmentally destructive activities unchecked - was quietly sidestepped
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Not to gainsay that but climate is not the only reason for nature recovery - unfortunately that has become a dominate narrative, leading to perversities in conservation actions www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Nature-based solutions in open ecosystems must support biodiversity and people - Nature Geoscience
Nature-based solutions in savannas and grasslands that seek to maximize tree cover and carbon uptake can erode biodiversity, create fragile carbon stocks and disrupt the livelihoods of people who depe...
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Reposted by James Bullock
James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Would reintroduced wolves significantly impact deer in UK ecosystems? These papers show it’s complicated We need science, not wishful thinking besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Wolves recolonize novel ecosystems leading to novel interactions
Understanding these novel interactions and the context dependence of ecosystem impacts could guide us to act to improve conditions to enable wolves to exert their ecosystem impacts again. These novel...
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Agree to some extent. My post was about using BNG as an excuse to destroy or damage valuable habitat But more generally it is also used as an excuse to spread onto greenbelt It gives developers an out rather than focusing on the Avoid part of the mitigation hierarchy
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Would reintroduced wolves significantly impact deer in UK ecosystems? These papers show it’s complicated We need science, not wishful thinking besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Wolves recolonize novel ecosystems leading to novel interactions
Understanding these novel interactions and the context dependence of ecosystem impacts could guide us to act to improve conditions to enable wolves to exert their ecosystem impacts again. These novel...
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Reposted by James Bullock
Flight Free UK @flightfreeuk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
One for the bucket list. 🚆🧭Eurostar to Brussels and keep heading north. All the way by rail - no flight required. 💚
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Reposted by James Bullock
James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The big lie peddled by developers about ‘Biodiversity Net Gain’ is that that they can destroy natural places & somehow make it good by habitat creation elsewhere Ecological restoration is about reversing historical damage to nature It is not about justifying further destruction
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Reposted by James Bullock
hannah @hannahkateboast.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I'm on strike for the next five weeks with @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social because management continues to threaten mass compulsory redundancies. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Edinburgh University lecturers begin five-week strike over cuts
Members of the University and Colleges Union are walking out in part of a long-running dispute over job and course cuts.
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I would say not. It allows developers to damage or destroy complex, established local ecosystems in exchange for offset areas. Newly planted habitats or distant offsets fail to replace the intricate local biodiversity that was lost
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Reposted by James Bullock
Extinction Rebellion Wimborne @xrwimborne.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
People’s Emergency Briefing screening. Wimborne Community Centre. 12.50 for 1pm, 22 October. Book FREE tickets now www.tickettailor.com/events/extin...
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