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@virshah.bsky.social
26 followers 20 following 22 posts

Architect | Urbanist | Films

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V @virshah.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
India’s rivers aren’t disappearing, they’re being rerouted - the ecosystems and communities that depend on them are mourning. The Ken-Betwa Link Project is one of the projects submerging forest land, displacing villages, and disrupting the natural rhythm of the rivers it claims to save! Read ⏬
indiawaterportal.org
Ken-Betwa river inter-linking: Inside India’s controversial water megaproject
Caught between Bundelkhand's severe drought and Panna Tiger Reserve’s submergence, India's first river-interlinking project faces fierce legal, environmental, and human rights battles.
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The Xylom @thexylom.com · 15/08/2026
One year ago, Atlanta residents flooded the streets to protest against the Trump administration’s research cuts and promotion of public health misinformation, after a man fired over 500 shots at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters and killed a police officer.
thexylom.com
Atlantans Sound Alarm Over Federal Cuts, Misinformation, Deadly CDC Shooting
A week after a deadly shooting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rattled the nation, Atlanta residents flooded the streets again Saturday morning to protest against the Trump…
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Rebecca R Helm @rebeccarhelm.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
The blue whale has been officially dethroned as the longest animal on earth*. In 2020, Schmidt Ocean Institute spotted this galaxy-shaped creature while doing an ROV dive off the coast of Australia. Based on their laser measurement system, they estimate the outer ring is 154 feet long...
Siphonophore imaged by Schmidt Ocean Institute
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Grist @grist.org · 12/08/2026
Canada’s wildfire season is taking a heavy toll on First Nations
dlvr.it
Canada’s wildfire season is taking a heavy toll on First Nations
Thousands have been forced from their homes as Indigenous leaders raise concerns about firefighting resources, emergency assistance, and who decides when communities are safe.
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V @virshah.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
‘The Night Of’ is a not a tv show, it’s a very long film - a wild film! My thoughts on @letterboxd.social 📽️ #TheNightOf #Film
boxd.it
A review of The Night Of (2016)
This review may contain spoilers. Visit the page to bypass this warning and read the review.
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V @virshah.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Had an opportunity to meet Dr. Melissa Sterry (@melissasterry.bsky.social) and discuss her work on Pyrophytic Architecture and our future in, as she calls it, the new 'Fire Age'! Read more about her work in this article by @icaruscomplexmag.bsky.social #Pyrophytic #Wildfires #FireAge
icaruscomplexmagazine.com
Architectural Futures in the New Fire Age - Icarus Complex
Designing for resilience at the advent of a new Fire Age.
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Grist @grist.org · 12/08/2026
Scientists define a new category of heat wave: ‘Snow eaters’
dlvr.it
Scientists define a new category of heat wave: ‘Snow eaters’
Unseasonably warm weather that rapidly melts snowpack is becoming more widespread in the U.S. West and happening earlier in the year.
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Yale Climate Connections @climateconnections.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Colonias in South Texas are highly vulnerable to climate-change-related flooding.
yaleclimateconnections.org
Flood mapping tool helps South Texas communities better understand flooding risks » Yale Climate Connections
The maps reveal which areas bear the greatest burden during extreme rain.
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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 05/08/2026
NEW STORY// August Social and The Urbanist x CityNerd: Building a Transit-Oriented Puget Sound By Diego Batres via @theurbanist.org
theurbanist.org
August Social and The Urbanist x CityNerd: Building a Transit-Oriented Puget Sound
Get your ticket to our September 15th Town Hall Seattle talk featuring CityNerd's Ray Delahanty and The Urbanist’s Ryan Packer. Attendees will get a sneak peek at a CityNerd video before a deep dive into light rail plans.
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Grist @grist.org · 05/08/2026
Wildfire season is changing. Spokane is showing how.
dlvr.it
Wildfire season is changing. Spokane is showing how.
As climate change primes the Pacific Northwest to burn, hundreds in Washington state's second-biggest city have lost their homes.
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V @virshah.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
My review of ‘The Invite’ on Letterboxd! @letterboxd.social 📽️ #TheInvite #FilmReviews #Letterboxd
boxd.it
A review of The Invite (2026)
The power of this film lives in its silences. Across 107 minutes, it’s the women who carry the screen for me. Olivia Wilde’s Angela is a live wire of nervous energy - her body language, her restless h...
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Icarus Complex Magazine @icaruscomplexmag.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
'Africa’s Longest Crude Oil Export Pipeline Isn’t Just Taking Indigenous Land, It Is Disturbing the Dead.' Originally published by @drilledmedia.bsky.social and re-published by @thexylom.com www.thexylom.com/post/tanzani... #CrudeOil #Africa #IndigenousLand
drilled.media
Africa’s Longest Crude Oil Export Pipeline Isn’t Just Taking Indigenous Land, It Is Disturbing the Dead
Indigenous communities say burial sites are being disturbed by the EACOP project in Uganda and Tanzania, and compensation is not adequate to move graves.
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V @virshah.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
looking forward to this one!
letterboxd.com
Wicker (2026)
On the outskirts of a village by the sea, lives a Fisherwoman; smelly, single and perpetually ridiculed. One day, fed up with her stuffy, small-minded neighbours, she commissions herself a husband to ...
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Lauren M @elenem.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
For what it's worth, I thought this review made incredible points too www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ju...
theguardian.com
A classicist’s verdict on Nolan’s Odyssey: a soulful hero flatters our times as women and nuance pushed overboard
Matt Damon’s sensitive and repentant Odysseus might come as a surprise to Homer, likewise some significant omissions concerning the poem’s female characters
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The Xylom @thexylom.com · 28/07/2026
Indigenous communities say burial sites are being disturbed by the EACOP project in Uganda and Tanzania, and compensation is not adequate to move graves. “It is unheard of in our culture to exhume a dead body,” said 45-year-old Ike Emoilit, a Maasai. “But they refused to listen to our pleas.”
thexylom.com
Africa’s Longest Crude Oil Export Pipeline Isn’t Just Taking Indigenous Land, It Is Disturbing the Dead
Indigenous communities say burial sites are being disturbed by the EACOP project in Uganda and Tanzania, and compensation is not adequate to move graves.
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Icarus Complex Magazine @icaruscomplexmag.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
ARTICLE | Fashion’s Excess 'What began as an effort to democratize luxury and maximize profitability has spiraled into a vicious cycle of waste creation in the forms of brands’ overproduction and consumers’ overconsumption habits, ending in environmental degradation.' Word by Felicia Garcia-Rivera
icaruscomplexmagazine.com
Fashion's Excess - Icarus Complex
How the massification of luxury fashion led to the industry's waste problem We are at a critical point of material excess in the fashion industry.
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V @virshah.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
A shithouse fuckery that Indian Education System is! Dissent is not equivalent to being anti-national. The government's indifference and systemic apathy seem to be more in line with what defines anti-national behavior.
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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 22/07/2026
Rahul Gandhi, the opposition leader in India, has previously accused Modi of bending to Trump's trade deal demands because of threats from the Epstein files and bribery probes against Modi's favorite oligarch (Adani successfully got Trump to drop the charges after pledging to invest $10 billion)
thexylom.com
This Indian Billionaire is Trying to Get Trump to Drop His Bribery Charges. Meanwhile, His Company is Forcing Out Another Indigenous Tribe for Coal.
Billionaire Gautam Adani is accused of building a global energy empire through bribes, bypassing sanctions, violating tribal rights, and targeting journalists. While his rival has been stopped by publ...
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 22/07/2026
Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal.
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Grist @grist.org · 21/07/2026
French Polynesia objects to an American seabed mining plan made without its input
dlvr.it
French Polynesia objects to an American seabed mining plan made without its input
French Polynesia says it was "approached, but not consulted" about a Bay Area startup's plan to explore seabed mining near its marine preserve.
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Icarus Complex Magazine @icaruscomplexmag.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
NEWS DIGEST | The Global Push Beyond Fossil Fuels Unlike formal UN negotiations, the summit in Santa Marta, Colombia, centred on implementation. Discussions focused on energy systems, financing, and debt, shifting attention from targets to how transitions actually happen. What we're tracking ⬇️
Nearly 60 countries gathered in Santa Marta, Colombia, for climate talks focused on moving beyond fossil fuels.

Unlike formal UN negotiations, the summit centred on implementation. Discussions focused on energy systems, financing, and debt, shifting attention from targets to how transitions actually happen.

The meeting forms part of an emerging ‘coalition of the willing’, as countries seek to move faster outside stalled global processes.

This is not a one-off moment. The process will continue with a second conference in Tuvalu in 2027, signalling a longer-term effort to coordinate a global transition away from fossil fuels.

Amid geopolitical instability and energy price volatility, fossil fuel dependence is increasingly framed as a structural risk. At the same time, unequal access to finance continues to shape who can transition, and how quickly.
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Icarus Complex Magazine @icaruscomplexmag.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Built Environment Series ft. Vir Shah ( @virshah.bsky.social ) Vir Shah is an architect, urbanist, and visual designer working at the intersection of ecology, climate, and the public realm. View all selected photographs via the link: icaruscomplexmagazine.com/experiences-... #BuiltEnvironment
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V @virshah.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
I love weims!
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Icarus Complex Magazine @icaruscomplexmag.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
SEEDS OF CIVILISATION As agriculture scaled, staple crops became tools of trade, taxation, and industrial profit. Today, they are reframed as ‘new’, despite long histories in communities of colour. How do we honour these foods — and the communities behind them? Read more here: bit.ly/478SbAt
SEEDS OF CIVILISATION | Staples That Shaped History

Grains and plant-based foods have sustained humans for millennia — from wild grasses and legumes to wheat, rice, and maize. These staples fed communities, built empires, and shaped global systems.

As agriculture scaled, staple crops became tools of trade, taxation, and industrial profit. Today, they dominate global calories, yet are often reframed as ‘new’, despite long histories in Black, Indigenous, and other communities of colour.

Food Empowerment Project (@foodempowermentproject) actively challenges this erasure, questioning how cultural foods — particularly from BIPOC communities — are adopted, rebranded, and stripped of context. Through their vegan cultural food guides, they centre community-shared recipes that preserve cultural roots while supporting more compassionate food choices.

Their blog ‘A Reflection on My Veganism this AANHPI Month’ explores this further.

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This post was developed in conversation with collaborators including @nongmoproject and @foodintegritycollective, whose work interrogates power, transparency, and justice across food systems.

How do we honour these foods — and the communities behind them?
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Grist @grist.org · 16/03/2026
Is the world heating up faster than we thought?
dlvr.it
Is the world heating up faster than we thought?
A new study says global warming is accelerating. Some aren't ready to agree.
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Icarus Complex Magazine @icaruscomplexmag.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
NEWS DIGEST | Fossils Expansion on Trial A landmark civil case in the Paris Judicial Court could reshape how fossil fuel companies are held accountable for climate harm. Sources: @insideclimatenews.org Read relevant articles: bit.ly/3PzGVXNMg #TotalEnergies #ClimateNews #FossilExpansion
NEWS DIGEST | Fossil Expansion on Trial

A landmark civil case in the Paris Judicial Court could reshape how fossil fuel companies are held accountable for climate harm. The City of Paris and a coalition of NGOs and municipalities are seeking to compel TotalEnergies to rapidly cut emissions across its entire value chain under France’s ‘duty of vigilance’ law.

The hearings examine whether courts can require oil and gas majors to align operations with climate limits, as litigation becomes an increasingly central tool in climate governance. Observers say the outcome may influence similar cases globally, particularly as legal strategies shift from compensation towards forcing operational change.

The case sits within a growing wave of lawsuits targeting major carbon producers and testing the role of courts in enforcing climate commitments beyond voluntary pledges.
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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 08/03/2026
YIKES: marta is single-tracking the entire system, running trains every 20 minutes, despite an Atlanta Hawks game and the Atlanta United season opener, creating immense chaos downtown. marta previously promised that they would never cut service during any event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium:
docs.google.com
MARTA Weekend Service Dashboard
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Icarus Complex Magazine @icaruscomplexmag.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
NEWS DIGEST | Sumatra Floods Extreme rainfall, landslides, and river surges hit the western Sumatra provinces (Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra). The floods have killed around 950 people and left hundreds missing. Sources: @climatechangenews.com @japantimes.co.jp @antaranews #ClimateShift
Deadly floods have struck Aceh and North and West Sumatra, fuelled by extreme rain and years of forest loss that stripped hillsides of their natural defences. Rivers became ‘conveyor belts’ of timber, whole villages were swept away, and thousands remain missing.

Officials are now investigating upstream logging and land-clearance as more than 12 companies come under scrutiny.

Communities, wildlife and vital watersheds face long recovery ahead — a stark reminder that climate-driven storms become catastrophic when ecosystems are already weakened.
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Stand.earth @stand.earth · 04/12/2025
The Arctic is worth protecting. www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1fpvH1jpjg
youtube.com
The Arctic and Black Carbon
YouTube video by Clean Arctic Alliance
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Icarus Complex Magazine @icaruscomplexmag.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
NEWS DIGEST | Indigenous Cultural Burns As wildfires intensify, two essential traditions, Cultural and Prescribed burns, offer a powerful path to healthier forests and stronger communities. Full article by @insideclimatenews.org: insideclimatenews.org/news/2911202... #Wildfires #CulturalBurns
NEWS DIGEST | Indigenous Cultural Burning

As wildfires intensify, Indigenous cultural burns offer a path to healthier forests and stronger community stewardship. These small, frequent and seasonally timed fires create resilient mosaics, support biodiversity and help reduce the risk of megafires. Fire guardian programmes across Canada are reviving this knowledge, training youth and restoring cultural relationships with land.

Read the full article by @insideclimatenews via the link in the caption 🔗
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Icarus Complex Magazine @icaruscomplexmag.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
ARTICLE | 'The Ocean is Alive, but Slowly Choking' Lea D’Auriol, founder of Oceanic Global, explains what real protection looks like: banning bottom trawling, supporting locally led stewardship, and reconnecting emotionally with the sea. Full article: bit.ly/3LQquor #OceanJustice #ClimateStory
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Icarus Complex Magazine @icaruscomplexmag.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
SERIES | CLIMATE × SPORTS ft. Pacha Light In this interview, we delve into Pacha Light's off-grid childhood, competitive surfing journey, and how her career and love for the ocean promote marine conservation and Indigenous empowerment. Full interview: 'From Fear to Flow' bit.ly/4r7aqOW #Surfing
From Ecuador’s cloud forest to the shores of Australia — pro surfer and environmental advocate Pacha Light takes us deep into the relationship between nature, fear, and the power that surfing can have in conservation.

🌀

Launching our series Climate × Sports with Pacha Light, we explore her unique childhood immersed in off-grid living, her path into competitive surfing, and how her career and passion for the ocean have become a driver of marine conservation and Indigenous empowerment.

Ceibo — Pacha’s new documentary, and a love letter to Ecuador, as she calls it — shines a light on four powerful Ecuadorian women, each working to protect their lands, oceans, and communities across the Andes, the Amazon, the coast, and the Galápagos. Now screening across Europe.

From what conservation means beyond protecting a specific place, to the importance of Indigenous wisdom in environmental work, and the role of professional surfers, major surf brands, and environmental organisations in the shift toward a more climate-supportive system — let’s dive in.
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V @virshah.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
C'mon, 11695!
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Yale Environment 360 @yalee360.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
A new study reveals how a tiny desert shrub manages to thrive in the searing heat of Death Valley, California. The findings could help scientists engineer more heat-resistant crops.
e360.yale.edu
In a Death Valley Shrub, a Blueprint for Heat-Proof Crops
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Dr. Aaron Thierry @thierryaaron.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
'A shutdown of the AMOC “cannot be considered a low likelihood risk anymore in view of the evolving science over the past years,” said @rahmstorf.bsky.social , a physical oceanographer and climatologist who has studied the AMOC at @pik-potsdam.bsky.social '
edition.cnn.com
A crucial system of ocean currents may be on course to collapse. This country just declared it a national security threat | CNN
Without warm currents from the South Atlantic, Iceland would be much icier and stormier. Now, those currents are at risk of collapse and the country is preparing for this “existential threat.”
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FoodPrint @foodprintorg.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
One name has become synonymous with vegan cheese, and it’s a mononym: Miyoko. Long admired for her vegan cheesemaking enterprise, Miyoko’s Creamery, Miyoko Schinner has just put out the book “The Vegan Creamery,” further cementing her position as the nondairy queen. Learn more in our latest:
foodprint.org
How Miyoko Schinner upped the game for vegan dairy
Miyoko Schinner’s new book The Vegan Creamery shows how she revolutionized vegan cheese and offers new recipes for home cooks.
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Eye For Film @eyeforfilm.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
"Unlike other movies, where the music and the dancing usually serve as a sort of ill.ustrative, colourful background, here they dictate the rhythmic backbone of Hungarian Wedding" - www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/hunga... #FilmSky🎬 #PÖFF29
eyeforfilm.co.uk
Hungarian Wedding - Film Review - Eye For Film
András and Péter are two young men trying to make it big with their rock band in Budapest in the early 1980s. When the opportunity arises to attend the wedding of András’s cousin in Transylvania, they...
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The Uproot Project @uprootproject.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
The Mountain Club of Uganda is working to make rock climbing more accessible for its community. Uprooter KC Cheng for @csmonitor.bsky.social www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/...
csmonitor.com
Mountain Club of Uganda makes strides in making climbing more accessible
Muyenga quarry is the only outdoor rock-climbing crag in Kampala. A national club is working to expand options for climbers.
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Center for Biological Diversity @biologicaldiversity.org · 17/11/2025
At #COP30, we're advocating for species harmed by fossil-fueled #ClimateChange. From Atlantic puffins to Pacific walruses, warming oceans cost lives. And even mountain-dwelling pikas are dying from overheating. Learn more in "The Climate Emergency: Closing in on Wildlife" ➡️ bit.ly/498vAWA
A young Pacific walrus floats in dark, gray water with only its face visible above the surface.A group of around ten puffins gather on a rocky surface on the edge of dark blue water. An American Pika, a small, round mammal, stands on a rocky surface with a bunch of leaves crammed in its mouth.
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Icarus Complex Magazine @icaruscomplexmag.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
IC SERIES | CLIMATE × SPORTS 🌊 As COP30 unfolds, we’re excited to launch our Climate × Sports series on BlueSky — starting with surfing and the ocean. Through stories from athletes worldwide, we explore how climate change is reshaping passion, profession, and place. 🌎✨ #Climate #Sports #Surfing
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Icarus Complex Magazine @icaruscomplexmag.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
PHOTO STORY | 'A Thousand Thorns' Photographer Deepti Asthana follows the lives of Pushpa and Pushta, two young women who work as wildlife custodians in Rajasthan, India. Full article: icaruscomplexmagazine.com/a-thousand-t... Photographs and words: Deepti Asthana #GenderSystems #IcarusComplex
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PIK_climate @pik-potsdam.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
"The science is evolving quite rapidly and time is running out to do anything about it because the tipping point may well be quite close," says PIK's @rahmstorf.bsky.social in this piece on Iceland declaring the potential collapse of #AMOC a national security risk. 👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1op...
youtube.com
Iceland on alert amid Atlantic Ocean current's possible collapse | REUTERS
YouTube video by Reuters
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V @virshah.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Dinner Reminder! #Weimaraner #BestFriend
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Icarus Complex Magazine @icaruscomplexmag.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
@climateconnections.bsky.social have compiled an excellent selection of readings to help us understand the discussions and concepts related to the climate movement as we prepare for the kickoff of COP30 in Brazil. Read here: yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/11/must...
yaleclimateconnections.org
Must-reads to mark the start of COP30 in Belém, Brazil » Yale Climate Connections
These books and reports will bring you up to speed on the latest climate developments, from emissions gaps to climate justice.
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V @virshah.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
TukTuk says Hi! 🫶 #Weimaraner #Dog
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Icarus Complex Magazine @icaruscomplexmag.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
Local Law 97 - A city law that imposes increasing limits on large buildings' greenhouse gas emissions, requiring landlords to pay fines for exceeding their allowed amount. Buildings in New York City are responsible for nearly two-thirds (~70%) of the city’s emissions #ClimatePolicy #NewYorkHousing
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V @virshah.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
Recently watched ‘The Florida Project’ and it almost felt as if Sean Baker was sitting next to you on a plane, regaling you with a colourful and gripping real-life “Florida” story! 📽️ #TheFloridaProject #SeanBaker #filmsky
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V @virshah.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
I’m starting to question whether our approach and intent to “community engagement” has become stagnant or saturated. It seems to be either a catch-all solution for every problem or just a convenient excuse for poor Urban planning/design choices! What do you think? #Urbanism #CommunityEngagement
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V @virshah.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
!!
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