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Ralph Martin

@ralphmartin.bsky.social
465 followers 447 following 30 posts

Ally of First Nations, Inuit and Metis and committed to organic agriculture, ecology, reducing waste and minimimizing consumption

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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 2h
“Swiss glaciers shrank by 5.5% in first 8 mo of 2026, after a summer of scorching heatwaves that followed a winter with little snow. The reduction in ice volume falls just shy of record set in 2022 and brings total loss of glacier ice since 2021 to 19.4%” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘Explosion of melt rates’: 20% of Swiss glaciers lost in five years
Alpine regions in Europe experiencing extreme glacier collapse due to heat-trapping effects of fossil fuel pollution
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 2h
“A battle for commercial domination of undersea realm could turn into surface war between world’s most powerful fleets. We could just recycle our tech and aim to use no new rare earths at all: That’s what the European Union is focusing on.” www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
theguardian.com
Inside the undersea kingdom: the secret, sinister battle to control what lies beneath the waves
Every day, trillions of dollars, oil and gas and 99% of the world’s web traffic move through undersea pipelines under no state’s protection. With superpowers and corporations now vying for control, sh...
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 5h
“Invasive prickly pear cactus Opuntia stricta gets worse during dry spells; only plant that surivives … lose goats and sheep … as crop or livestock losses mount, some households forced to migrate. Invasive species effects combine with drought, poverty, climate change” www.nature.com/articles/d44...
nature.com
Invasive plants are pushing African communities from their land
Across rural Africa, invasive species are shrinking grazing and farming land, and damaging livelihoods.
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
“Chimpanzees recorded applying insects to treat open wounds, while more than 200 bird species use ants to remove parasites or maintain feathers. Other birds build nests near wasps or other stinging insects, in a likely effort to gain protection from predators” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Insects play critical role in ecosystems beyond just providing food, new research shows
Insects provide protection, sanitation and even shelter to vertebrates, making them a priority for conservation efforts
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
“Oceans have absorbed about one-third of the carbon dioxide that humanity has spewed and about 90% of the extra heat that greenhouse gas pollution has trapped in the Earth’s system” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
World’s oceans absorbed record heat equal to 40 times annual global energy use
The injection of thermal energy comes amid an increasing rise in sea levels and continuing acidification
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
“The onus of blame – both within the family home and more widely in society – tends to fall on women. As one poster at Wednesday’s march pointed out, “no one ever asks what the rapist was wearing”” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...
theguardian.com
‘We want justice’: series of rapes trigger mass protests at Indian universities
Women say nothing has changed since Delhi’s infamous Nirbhaya bus rape case 14 years ago
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
“More than 60 Palestinian communities in occupied West Bank wiped off map since October 2023 and 18 others have been partly displaced, according to Israeli rights group B’Tselem. Nearly 5,000 people have been forced from their homes, almost half of them children” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Israeli forces overwhelmed by violent settlers in ‘terrorist attack’ on Palestinian family
Settler violence in West Bank makes everyday life ‘untenable’ for Palestinians, says ICRC after assault on family trying to return home in Jalud
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
“Warming of 0–6°C (which can already happen during marine heatwaves) led to 19% lower omega-3 fatty acids in fish in experiments lasting between 24 hours and six months” theconversation.com/climate-chan...
theconversation.com
Climate change may halve omega-3 fatty acids in fish and the organisms they eat
This is very bad news for human health but also for the health of other animals in the food web.
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
“Chiefs of BC warned that fast-tracking projects in national interest could override First Nations ... every major project risks becoming a legal fight over who speaks for whom and with what authority. Investors call this certainty. First Nations call it respect” www.therecord.com/opinion/cont...
therecord.com
If Mark Carney’s government is serious about ‘Build Canada,’ it has to deal with this reality first
First Nations must be equal partners in the new fervour for building, write Frances Abele and Lloyd Axworthy.
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
“Poorer people and older people aren’t turning on the AC because of the cost and when you get back-to-back heatwaves they may die because of that.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘It’s just cruel’: US households hit by surge in electricity shutoffs amid record hot summer
Utility disconnections were up 28% in 10 states in July 2026 – the hottest month ever recorded in the US – compared with July 2024, data shows
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
“Every year, ~ 127m hectares of forest affected by fires, with further damage caused by insects, diseases and severe weather events. Forests ever more vulnerable, with pressure from farm expansion, climate crisis, pollution, extraction of fossil fuels etc.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
UN warns of ‘narrowing window’ to restore world’s forests
Food and Agriculture Organization urges governments to make forest restoration a national priority
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
“Flagstaff, Arizona, was the first city to have outdoor lighting rules, adding them in 1958. In 2001, Flagstaff became the first recognized Dark Sky City. Their rules regulate how much light can be used, what type, and where it can shine” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
The night sky is getting 10% brighter every year. We’re forgetting what darkness feels like
If more cities start regulating outdoor lighting, we humans could make the environment better for all living creatures
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
“Electronic trash AI generates in next 25 years could fill shipping containers to encircle globe 6x … no plan to deal with that waste, with toxins like lead, mercury, cadmium and forever chemicals, as well as valuable metals that are challenging to reclaim” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Datacenter rush will create ‘tsunami’ of discarded electronics, report says
Global push will triple toxic e-waste annually in 25 years, filling enough shipping containers to circle globe six times
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
“New ocean heat record in Aug is especially remarkable as global sea temperatures are typically highest in March and April, after austral summer. Southern hemisphere has significantly more ocean area than northern … hotter ocean is less efficient at absorbing CO2” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
World’s oceans hit hottest temperature on record in August
Average sea surface temperature outside polar regions was 21.1C on Saturday, latest data finds
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
“A seafarer from Kenya has gone eight months without pay and needs to send money home to cover cost of an operation for his six-year-old son. A crew on one boat told him they were down to 1 meal a day. “This is modern slavery. This is systemic exploitation”" www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
theglobeandmail.com
Crews on hundreds of ships in the Persian Gulf stuck at sea, many in dire conditions
Unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, many have gone without pay for months, and some are running out of food and medicine
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
“Canadian government can now quietly bypass the Species at Risk Act and other statutes by using its super law to clear any environmental hurdles — nixing legal protections for the southern resident killer whale population in the process” www.therecord.com/politics/pol...
therecord.com
Mark Carney’s Building Canada Act is a threat to the rule of law, and here’s a good example
The "national interest" legislation should be revoked rather than utilized, Althia Raj writes.
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
“Failure of ice to form could have intensified a heatwave over the continent’s peninsular last week that saw daytime temperatures peak at 15.4C which is more than 20C above average … third time in four years that sea ice had been very low in the region” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
theguardian.com
Antarctica’s west coast missing an area of sea ice the size of France as temperatures peak 20C above average
A vast area of the Bellingshausen Sea should be covered by sea ice by now, with one expert calling the loss of ice ‘depressing’
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
“There is no health without land. The well-being of Indigenous peoples is inseparable from our lands, waters, and territories,” Kotierk said in her closing speech on Friday. “To restore health, we must advance decolonization.” www.nationalobserver.com/2026/05/21/n...
nationalobserver.com
The uncertain future of the UN’s leading voice on Indigenous rights
The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is facing questions about its effectiveness amid a broader budget crisis.
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
“Sand mined to build homes, roads and sea walls in concrete production, foundations, masonry work, windows, silicon chips and solar panels. Just as crucial left in place: it regulates rivers, protects coastal aquifers, filters water and sustains biodiversity” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
The global sand crisis: it’s being used up faster than it can be replaced
It is the most extracted solid material on Earth – but this extraction can threaten ecosystems and livelihoods
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
“Between 2011 and 2020, Indigenous peoples and local communities involved in land tenure and forest management received less than 1 per cent of global funding for climate change mitigation and adaptation” www.nationalobserver.com/2026/05/12/n...
nationalobserver.com
Indigenous peoples bear the brunt of climate change — and get almost none of the money to fight it
Billion-dollar climate funds have structural barriers that keep Indigenous peoples from accessing them. Advocates say that's not a bug, it's a feature.
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
“She found that Otto Schaefer, member of Order of Canada described on federal website as “one of great pioneers of Arctic medicine,” had conducted “a slew” of “unethical studies done without informed consent on patients in segregated Indigenous hospitals” www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/arti...
theglobeandmail.com
With weeks to live, Elaine Dewar finished her most personal book
Oblivious puts a spotlight on systemic harms that she and many Canadians never knew had afflicted many Indigenous communities
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
“If people worldwide biked at rates of Dutch, avg 2.6 km per person per day, global emissions could fall by 686 million tonnes of CO2 annually, comparable to Canada’s total annual emissions … For short trips, cycling is often faster, cheaper, and healthier” www.nationalobserver.com/2026/04/07/o...
nationalobserver.com
What Ontario can learn from Amsterdam’s cycling culture
In Amsterdam, a bicycle is not a quirky accessory. It is standard urban infrastructure. That sight left me curious about its implications for mobility and emissions in Ontario.
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
“If the data centre project is entirely powered by natural gas and doesn't capture any of those emissions, it will set Canada back 20 years in carbon emissions reductions and wipe out the reductions gained by phasing out coal” www.nationalobserver.com/2026/04/03/n...
nationalobserver.com
Alberta scraps environmental assessment for Kevin O'Leary's 'world's largest' data centre
Danielle Smith's government is exempting celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary's massive Wonder Valley data centre near Grande Prairie, Alta., from a provincial environmental assessment, Canada's National ...
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
“Recycled wool saves 60% of the virgin alternative’s negative impacts. Annually, recycled textiles save 60 million kw of energy, 18,000 t of CO2, and 500,000 cubic m of water worldwide. … Mycelium Leather can see 85 to 94% reduction in CO2 emissions” www.nationalobserver.com/2025/08/08/a...
nationalobserver.com
How Canada's sustainable fashion startups are unravelling our throwaway clothing culture
As emissions from the global apparel sector keep rising, a handful of Canadian textile and clothing makers are challenging cheap fast fashion with sustainable alternatives. Will consumers pay more?
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
“Guardians, Indigenous version of park ranger or a coast guard, who pass province’s ranger training now have authority to enforce both BC and Indigenous laws in provincial parks, and they’re the main eyes and ears monitoring the Central Coast today.” www.nationalobserver.com/2025/08/07/n...
nationalobserver.com
Welcome to the Great Bear Sea
After decades of discord, Canada and First Nations are working together to build a network of marine protected areas stretching from Vancouver Island to Alaska.
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
“A classroom-worth of children killed each day in Gaza since war began.…Tens of thousands of children injured; many are amputees. Children of Gaza have rights of children anywhere – to water, to food, to shelter, to education, to play, to hope, to joy. To life.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The Guardian view on the children of Gaza: when 17,000 die, it’s more than a mistake | Editorial
Editorial: Israel’s military blamed the deaths of six Palestinian children on Sunday on a technical error. But a staggering toll continues to mount
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
“25% of the micro-agrivoltaics farmers reported no change in crop yield under solar panels; 35% reported marginally higher yields; while 40% reported significantly higher yields under solar panels (>20% higher).” www.iisd.org/articles/ins...
iisd.org
Micro-Agrivoltaics: Hiding in plain sight
As India explores the promise of agrivoltaics, small and marginal farmers are cultivating crops beneath solar panels without formal support or mainstream recognition.
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Reposted by Ralph Martin
The New Quarterly @thenewquarterly.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
Featured this week in The New Quarterly is Cate Sandilands' "Cli-Fi", from our latest Issue 174! Click here to read the full story: tnq.ca/story/cli-fi/
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
“In natural forest, trees die, decay where they fall. Nutrients are slowly recycled through complex, interconnected, interdependent processes that take centuries. Modern forestry speeds everything up. We log, burn, mulch, pelletize. We ship out whole trees.” www.nationalobserver.com/2025/05/13/o...
nationalobserver.com
The 'silent crisis' in BC's forest industry
We call current forestry “sustainable,” but it isn’t — not in any real or lasting way.
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 26/08/2024
“Before 2018, CA's largest wildfire was the Thomas fire (280,000 acres). The current Park fire burned more in it's first 3 days. It's the state's fourth-largest on record, at 430,000 acres -- joining the rapidly swelling ranks of unprecedented megafires.” www.nationalobserver.com/2024/08/26/a...
nationalobserver.com
What this year's California megafire tells us about the future
Fossil fuel pollution has been searing the golden state into a hot, dry tinderbox. The megafires have followed in accelerating frequency and fury -- charts.
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Ralph Martin @ralphmartin.bsky.social · 22/08/2024
Guilbeault said, “species are still going extinct, we're still unsustainably using natural resources, we're not protecting critical habitats and we've still not collectively realized that in the fight against climate change, our biggest ally is nature.” www.nationalobserver.com/2024/08/22/n...
nationalobserver.com
Earth's 'combined crisis' demands common solutions, officials say
The planet is facing interconnected threats from climate change, nature loss and plastic pollution. Officials say that three upcoming environmental conferences could be key to develop strategies to ad...
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