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Neil R. Edwards

@neil-r-edwards.bsky.social
100 followers 68 following 85 posts

Earth System Modeller, #climate and #sustainability researcher, Director for Sustainability Research, Open Societal Challenges Programme, The Open University, UK

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Reposted by Neil R. Edwards
Abilu Tangwa. @abilutangwa.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
We know exactly what works: • Rapid fossil fuel phase-out • Massive renewable expansion • Nature restoration • Fair climate finance Emissions are still rising, but the tools to reverse this exist. The only missing ingredient is political will. Demand better. Vote better. Act better.
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Reposted by Neil R. Edwards
Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
‘Trump has shown how this can be done. And we are already following the US in many respects. Huge political donations. Oligarchic capture. ‘But Britain is not inevitably destined to become the United States’ New by me democracyforsale.substack.com/p/dont-eat-t...
democracyforsale.substack.com
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Gastrolith shape correlates with feeding strategy in dinosaur clades or how stones in the gut helped birds to fly www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Gastrolith shape as an indicator of digestive function and its implications for dinosaurian digestive strategies | Paleobiology | Cambridge Core
Gastrolith shape as an indicator of digestive function and its implications for dinosaurian digestive strategies
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
theconversation.com/storms-that-...
theconversation.com
Storms that built a graveyard: ancient monsoons created a spectacular dinosaur fossil site
A new study has found that layers in the rock record days, not years, representing storms.
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Reposted by Neil R. Edwards
Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
🔴 For the past year @lucasamin.bsky.social and I have been investigating Palantir in the UK What we found was a company with unrivalled political access, selling a product many data experts in the NHS don’t use, and don’t rate Please read and share democracyforsale.substack.com/p/its-just-a...
democracyforsale.substack.com
"It's just a waste of time": inside Palantir's £330m NHS failure
Our new investigation reveals the problems with Palantir’s NHS tech - and the unrivalled political access that fuelled the firm’s march into the British state
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
theconversation.com/hummingbirds...
theconversation.com
Hummingbirds and pineapples: why this ancient relationship hits the evolutionary sweetspot
Hummingbirds are responsible for some of the fastest evolution in the plant kingdom.
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Another stranger than fiction #cactus story. What is it about #cacti @jamiet-42.bsky.social ? theconversation.com/the-strange-...
theconversation.com
The strange history of Czech cactus hunters – and why some see themselves as Robin Hood figures
Some collectors believe breaking the law can help save endangered plants.
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Here’s the link act.38degrees.org.uk/act/to-do-li...
act.38degrees.org.uk
☝️ The public's to do list for the new PM. Help make it unmissable.
Day one in the job? Join me and help set the agenda by backing six pledges that would improve all our lives!
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Top six priorities for new #pm? Difficult to disagree with lobby group @38degrees.bsky.social ’ pick, with #environment, #inequality progressive taxation & social welfare all up there @alchap.bsky.social
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Prof Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
While we cook in Europe, it's worth remembering that this isn't just a European story. Across the Arctic and other high-latitude regions, temperature anomalies are reaching extraordinary levels, with some areas forecast to be >10–20°C above historical averages. The climate signal is global.
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
UK Met Office issues rare amber extreme heat warning, first issued in only 2021, funny thinking back on all those years we were banging on about something way off in the future www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Met Office issues rare amber extreme heat warning for parts of England and Wales
Temperatures expected to climb to 30C over the weekend in southern England and south-east Wales
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
One of Britain’s oldest and most famous trees, Sherwood Forest’s 1,000-year-old Major oak dies. Likely causes include excessive trampling and artificial support for ailing branches increasing water demand, and #climate change www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘Most famous tree in the world’: Sherwood Forest’s 1,000-year-old Major oak dies
Nottinghamshire tree, one of Europe’s oldest and largest, fails to produce leaves after being stressed by series of hot, dry summers
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Met Office - weather and climate @metoffice.gov.uk · 25/05/2026
Today has been the hottest day in May on record with Kew Gardens provisionally reaching 34.8°C - exceeding the previous highest May temperature in the UK by a full 2 degrees Celsius🌡️ This heat would be exceptional in the UK even in mid summer, let alone in May📈
A map of the UK showing a temperature of 34.8 degrees Celsius, recorded in Kew Gardens, London on Monday 25 May 2026
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
And John Ruskin was better informed about the value of #biodiversity in the 19th century than most in the 21st
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Looks like early medieval Ireland was better at legislation to protect pollinators than we are now theconversation.com/why-early-me...
theconversation.com
Why early medieval Ireland had laws for bees
Medieval Irish bees had a legal status because they were classified as domestic livestock.
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The Open University @openuniversity.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Happy 100th birthday Sir David Attenborough 🎉 For 25 years, many of Sir David Attenborough's documentaries have been supported by academics from The Open University. Take a look back at the co-productions that have influenced how we view the natural world 🌎 ow.ly/4UGV50YVZ3h
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Tax Justice UK @taxjusticeuk.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
🚨BREAKING🚨 Our friends @taxwatch.bsky.social expose how one of the UK's biggest oil traders, Glencore Energy UK, shifts 80% of its profits to Switzerland & why HMRC can't take them to court in the UK over their outstanding £1.5 billion tax bill. bit.ly/4ulkkxl
bit.ly
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Page "private-justice" not found.
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Prof Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Wars don’t just destroy lives. They drive massive, largely uncounted emissions. Militaries may account for ~5.5% of global CO2, yet reporting is mostly optional. Why are war emissions still missing from climate policy? theconversation.com/wars-destroy...
theconversation.com
Wars destroy lives and the climate. Why aren’t we counting military emissions?
Wars release massive emissions, and they are being generated with no formal mechanism to record them, and no accountability for the climate costs that affect people in conflict zones and far beyond.
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
What happened to the world of the #dinosaurs? We are still in it. Not a comment on current geopolitics but observation that 1 birds are not just descended from dinosaurs, they technically are dinosaurs 2. There are 10,000 species, twice as many as mammals theconversation.com/theres-a-rea...
theconversation.com
There’s a reason we don’t have birds the size of elephants: the mysterious story of how dinosaurs evolved – expert Q&A
Birds didn’t just evolve from dinosaurs. They are dinosaurs.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
The richest 0.1 percent of the global population are hiding nearly $3 trillion in offshore accounts to evade taxes — more than the wealth held by the entire bottom half of humanity. It would take about $93 billion per year to eradicate extreme hunger by 2030. Taxing the rich is a global necessity.
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Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
“Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited.” Geneva Convention Additional Protocol I and Department of Defense Law of War Manual, § 5.2.2
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
The US military has 22 sites in the UK. Every day long range US bombers are taking off here to drop bombs on Iran. This is a rogue state carrying out war crimes, and threatening more. The UK Government must grow a spine - and stop our bases being used for this war.
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Major international study of integrity of #AI news assistants finds 45% of reports contained important flaws
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National Secular Society @natsecsoc.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Public support for an end to religious privilege is consistent across the various constitutional arrangements that offer the Church of England unparalleled access to the levers of political power. It's time for #Disestablishment.
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Erich Fischer @erichfischer.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Excellent summary on our study in @nature.com by @ayeshatandon.carbonbrief.org (@carbonbrief.org) with comments from Rowan Sutton, Karen McKinnon and @robertvautard.bsky.social www.carbonbrief.org/limiting-glo...
carbonbrief.org
Limiting global warming to 2C would not ‘rule out’ extreme impacts - Carbon Brief
Limiting warming to 2C above pre-industrial temperatures may not be enough to prevent “extreme global climate outcomes”.
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Milton Keynes and Tempsford in Bedfordshire confirmed among 7 locations for new and extended UK towns with 40,000 new houses and rapid transport system planned in MK. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
theguardian.com
Ministers confirm locations for seven new towns in England
Programme is being billed as the most ambitious housebuilding project in England for half a century
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Jeremy Hsu @jeremyhsu.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
"One fifth, one third, one third, two fifth, nearly one half – these are the respective shares of global exports of liquefied natural gas, crude oil, fertilisers, helium and sulphur normally passing through the Strait of Hormuz."
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Who’s getting rich from the oil-price spike? Hint - who caused it? Our research at @ou-eees.bsky.social with @gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social @isabellamweber.bsky.social and friends featured in today’s Guardian www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
We can tell you who will really get rich from this oil crisis – and how we can stop them | Isabella Weber and Gregor Semieniuk
Soaring oil costs signal the great transfer of wealth away from households, but also a new opportunity to redistribute it, say economists Isabella Weber and Gregor Semieniuk
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Dr Suresh Singh @palaeosingh.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Few spaces left now so do hurry if you want to get involved in some #palaeontology fieldwork in the UK! This #Carboniferous site is already yielding great floral fossils & we’re hopeful to find some more faunal fossils soon!🤞 See below for more details ⬇️ #Fossils #Science #Research #Geology
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Gregor Semieniuk @gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Middle Eastern crude for physical delivery (loading outside the Strait oh Hormuz) now costing upward of $150/barrel, more than the 2008 record of Brent. Just a first sign of the economic crisis in the making… www.newsofbahrain.com/world/128628...
newsofbahrain.com
Middle East Crude Prices Hit Record Highs as Supply Disruptions Rattle Global Oil Market | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN
email: online@newsofbahrain.com  Singapore: Middle East crude benchmarks have surged to...
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Jamie Thompson @jamiet-42.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
New paper in Nature Scientific Data! 🌵 We introduce CactEcoDB, an open database integrating trait, spatial, environmental, phylogenetic, and diversification data for the #cactus family. We hope it enables research and grows as new data are made available. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
Great work by @leverhulme.ac.uk funded researcher @palaeosingh.bsky.social at the OU bringing #biodiversity and #dinosaur research to the big stage
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
The additional cost of ONE fossil fuel price spike on the scale of 2022 = the ENTIRE COST of Net Zero by 2050. We get precisely nothing in return for the first cost, and a whole new, more secure and cheaper energy system from the second one. #NoBrainer www.theccc.org.uk/2026/03/11/c...
theccc.org.uk
​​​​Cost of Net Zero by 2050 less than a single fossil fuel price shock​ – CCC  - Climate Change Committee
The independent, statutory body tested its cost and energy security conclusions against different scenarios. It found that the total additional cost of a single fossil fuel price spike of 2022 magnitu...
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Dr Suresh Singh @palaeosingh.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Smith & Sidor present a new shuvosaurid, Sonselasuchus cedrus, from the Late #Triassic Chinle Fm. in Arizona 🇺🇸 & a mass assemblage of at least 36 individuals. Seems these crocodile-line ‘dinosaur mimics’ were quite abundant! ⬇️ #Paleontology #Fossils #Science www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Osteology and relationships of a new shuvosaurid (Pseudosuchia, Poposauroidea) from the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation of Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, U.S.A.
Shuvosauridae is a clade of pseudosuchian archosaurs currently represented by three named species characterized by a body plan strikingly convergent with that of ornithomimid theropod dinosaurs. Th...
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Fascinating and astonishing paper in Ecology Letters finds #biodiversity increased by ‘people’s contribution to nature’ through farming mosaics from 0-1300 CE then crashed as population plummeted in Black Death. Important Implications for rewilding theconversation.com/the-black-de...
theconversation.com
The Black Death’s counterintuitive effect: as human numbers fell, so did plant diversity
New study finds that plant biodiversity collapsed in landscapes where arable production was abandoned during and after the Black Death era.
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News Eye @newseye.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Quietly, calmly and forensically, BBC just dismantled the Trump communications shitshow on Iran. No hyperbole, just laying out an unprecedented military, diplomatic and reputational shambles. Worth a watch. (🎥 BBC News/BBC Verify)
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Alessio Capobianco @acapomorphic.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
New paper out from @hoehna.bsky.social Lab, led by the brilliant @bjorntko.bsky.social! We applied the Pesto software (Kopperud & Höhna, 2025) to look at lineage-specific shifts in diversification rate on large, densely-sampled phylogenies across the Tree of Life doi.org/10.1093/evle...
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Our paper on oil price profits led by @gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social with @isabellamweber.bsky.social et al more relevant than ever, and receiving media coverage again - see thread from Gregor
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Isabella M. Weber @isabellamweber.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Fossil fuel stocks are exploding in response to the war on Iran. Who stands to benefit? The richest of the rich. Who stands to lose? All of us who have to pay higher prices for energy and a new round of sellers' inflation.
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Peter Jacobs @pjacobs.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Excellent blog post for global surface temperature record enthusiasts 🤓 about a new preprint. 🧪⚒️
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Here we go again and our paper with @gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social shows likely result - fat profits for the rich and increasing #inequality
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Dr Suresh Singh @palaeosingh.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
New paper by Angielczyk et al. reports new #synapsids from the early #Permian tetrapod fauna of the Pedra de Fogo Formation, Brazil 🇧🇷 - South America’s first pelycosaurs! ⬇️ #Paleontology #Fossils #Science www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Early synapsids from the Cisuralian (lower Permian) Pedra de Fogo Formation, Parnaíba Basin, Brazil: the first definitive South American “pelycosaurs”
The paleotropics of Euramerica provide nearly our entire picture of Permo–Carboniferous terrestrial tetrapod evolution. The geographic sampling bias inherent in this record obscures important event...
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Ed Hawkins @edhawkins.org · 26/02/2026
This aircraft recently had a ~£50 million upgrade to extend its life, and has now been cancelled to save £37 million.
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Dr Suresh Singh @palaeosingh.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Nice to see more spinosaur skull material published. Sereno et al. present a new species of #Spinosaurus, S. mirabilis - with a snazzy cranial crest. #Paleontology #Science #Dinosaurs www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Scimitar-crested Spinosaurus species from the Sahara caps stepwise spinosaurid radiation
We describe a close relative of Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, the sail-backed, fish-eating giant from nearshore deposits of northern Africa. Spinosaurus mirabilis sp. nov., discovered in the central Sahara...
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Neil R. Edwards @neil-r-edwards.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
And in case you’re into crocs and #biodiversity #evolution or just into all things remotely #dinosaur related here’s the paper anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
A second species of non‐crocodyliform crocodylomorph from the Late Triassic fissure deposits of southwestern UK: Implications for locomotory ecological diversity in Saltoposuchidae
You have to enable JavaScript in your browser's settings in order to use the eReader.
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Dr Matt Dempsey @sketchy-raptor.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Here's Galahadosuchus, a new saltoposuchid from Gloucestershire that I was brought on to illustrate. Congrats to Ewan Bodenham, Stephan Spiekman (@stephanspiekman.bsky.social), Susie Maidment (@tweetisaurus.bsky.social), Paul Upchurch, and Phil Mannion (@pdmannion.bsky.social) on the publication!
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Prof Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Climate change coverage fell 14% globally in 2025, while the world endured record heat, raging wildfires, and devastating floods. The crisis intensified. The headlines didn’t. Less coverage = less urgency. www.colorado.edu/today/2026/0...
colorado.edu
Climate change media coverage fell 14% in 2025
Despite rising impacts, climate change received less attention in media around the world in 2025. CU Boulder sociologist Max Boykoff shares the reasons and
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Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
The messages between the far-right former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein reveal how Bannon worked with Boris Johnson and Farage to “overthrow” Theresa May at the height of the 2018 Brexit crisis in the UK bylinetimes.com/2026/02/16/b...
bylinetimes.com
Bannon, Epstein, Farage and Johnson and the Plot to 'Topple' Theresa May
The far-right former Trump adviser told Jeffrey Epstein that "we are overthrowing May right now" as he worked with Boris Johnson to remove the then Conservative Prime Minister from office
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Yesterday: we exposed the terrifying extent of corporate capture in British politics Three Labour select committee chairs came out calling for urgent action in response Today: Labour government's Elections Bill lands. Does almost *nothing* to tackle any of the issues we exposed. 🤦
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