A catastrophic climate event is upon us. Here is why you’ve heard so little about it | George Monbiot Scientists say a crucial Atlantic system is set to collapse. But the billionaire death cult that steers humanity’s destiny just doesn’t do existential crises, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

While we are transfixed by the antics of our supposed "leaders", a catastrophe of astonishing proportions has been creeping up on us. Climate scientists now believe it is more likely than not to happen, and soon.
This week's column.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Takeaways From the Big Long COVID Clinical Trials - Health Rising Only 10 major long COVID clinical trials have been published thus far but that's enough to come away with some interesting takeaways. They include treatments that prevent long COVID don't necessarily ...

Health Rising: 'Takeaways From the Big Long COVID Clinical Trials'

'With estimates suggesting that 20–25 million people in the U.S., ~2–3 million in Canada, and ~20–40 million in Europe are currently living with long COVID, long COVID’s impact has been huge.'

www.healthrising.org/blog/2026/04...

Sunrise, Thursday, 23 April, from Wainui Beach, Aotearoa / New Zealand.

Ata mārie / Good Morning ☀️

What even happens when you report a car parked over a footpath? A guide on when reporting vehicles is worth your time.

A guide on when reporting vehicles is worth your time.

. @davetuller1.bsky.social & I amongst others were interviewed for this.
#MEcfs #LongCovid #PwME

Excellent piece in New Scientist on exercise research in #LongCovid and #MECFS.

Highlights studies ignoring post-exertional malaise, the PACE trial, and comments from David Tuller, Tom Kindlon and Todd Davenport.

Full article:
archive.is/2026.04.22-1...

Exercise advice for long covid may be doing more harm than good Exercise has been touted as a tool for managing and treating long covid, but much of the evidence has neglected one of its most debilitating symptoms: post-exertional malaise

💡 "We should be as cautious with exercise in long covid as we have come to be in ME/CFS...I don’t know how often we need to continue to put our finger on that light socket.” @sunsopeningband.bsky.social

GREAT article - completely debunks those trying to push exercise 🙌

Meet the shortlisted writers for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction. Today, the Women’s Prize Trust announced the shortlist for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction, narrowed down to six from a longlist of sixteen. The winner, who will be announced on June 2, will be …

Today, the Women’s Prize Trust announced the shortlist for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction, narrowed down to six from a longlist of sixteen.

Green Party releases final candidate list for the 2026 General Election We are building a future where we do more, faster, to protect our planet and make sure everyone is treated equally.

Introducing our official Candidate List for 2026! Party Vote Green, e te whānau.

💚✅🌏✨

www.greens.org.nz/green_party_...

The detailed agenda for the International ME/CFS Conference 2026 is out and it is just amazing. Top-notch novel research, 2 ministers, 50 researchers, focus on the hard (but needed) neuroimmunology road...

Have a look. No stone unturned! Just impressive 👏👍

events.mecfs-research.org/en/events/co...

Bateman Horne Center logo with large navy text reading "Not all days look the same"

Symptoms change. Capacity changes.

These tools help communicate what that actually looks like:

• Good Day / Bad Day Questionnaire
• Communication Cards
• Crash Survival Guide

Built to support understanding.

Find these resources freely available at https://bit.ly/4dJIQ6t

Unpicking alcohol protections: New Bill set to increase harm and reduce public voice Proposed changes to alcohol laws in Aotearoa New Zealand will increase availability and restrict community input, leading to greater alcohol-related harm and inequities.

Proposed changes to alcohol laws in Aotearoa New Zealand would increase availability and limit community input, contributing to greater harm and inequities. Evidence shows more access leads to more harm. @AlcHealthwatch www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/unp...

Black background with WHN branding at the top reading “whn.global.” Large pink and white text says: “Masks don’t work.” Below it: “Let’s debunk this →” Smaller text near the bottom reads: “Short answer: They do, but only when used correctly, and not all ‘masks’ are created equal.” At the bottom: “World Health Network — Science for a safer, healthier world.”

Black background with “whn.global” at the top. Large pink text says: “The physics is clear: well-fitted respirators (N95/FFP2 or better) cut what you breathe out and what you breathe in.” Below, white text with one pink-highlighted phrase says: “Confusion often comes from studies that used loose surgical/medical masks, allowed people to take masks off while exposed, or mixed very different mask types and fits, conditions that blur the true benefit.” At the bottom: “World Health Network — Science for a safer, healthier world.”

Black background with “whn.global” at the top. Large pink heading says: “Dose matters.” Below, large white text says: “Infection risk rises with the dose you inhale; cutting that dose (even partially) lowers risk. When both people mask, the reduction compounds, dropping exposure much more than one person masking alone.” At the bottom: “World Health Network — Science for a safer, healthier world.”

Black background with “whn.global” at the top. Large pink heading says: “Fit is crucial.” Below, white text says: “Respirators are designed to seal and maintain high filtration across a range of particle sizes. Loose surgical/medical masks mainly help with source control and can leak around the edges; a well-fitted respirator protects you and others.” Lower down, smaller white and pink text says: “For more information, visit our ‘Yes, We Continue Wearing Masks’ page: whn.global/yes-we-continue-wearing-masks/” At the bottom: “World Health Network — Science for a safer, healthier world.”

“Masks don’t work.”

We still hear this a lot, and it usually comes down to misunderstanding how masks actually work.

Masks aren’t just tiny strainers. High-quality masks (like N95s) use electrostatic charge to attract and trap airborne particles, including those that carry viruses.

The pandemic is ongoing, it continues, it’s NOW. Everyone remains vulnerable to the harms of COVID. We’re past only the initial acute stage of the pandemic. We likely still await the population-wide long term effects—tragically.

Sunrise, Tuesday, 21 April from Wainui Beach, Aotearoa / New Zealand.

The sun has not quite cleared the low clouds on the horizon, but I had to get to work.

Ata mārie / Good Morning ☀️

Graphic styled as a reminder note pinned to a calendar. A blue sticky note reads: “Reminder – Online Support Group.” Event title: “Who Am I Now? Identity and Chronic Illness.” Date and time: Tuesday, April 21 at 1:00 pm MDT. Background shows a monthly calendar layout, reinforcing the reminder theme. Bateman Horne Center logo appears at the bottom.

When illness changes your life, it can also change how you see yourself.

This Support Group is a space to gently explore identity, meaning, and who you are becoming, alongside others who understand.

Join us Tues, April 21 💙
🔗 https://batemanhornecenter.org/events/

How Covid spreads, Plague parallels, Long Covid underreported, Heart disease, Pandemic stress & grief, and more Bonus Lots about Long Covid this week

How Covid spreads, Plague parallels, Long Covid underreported, Heart disease, Pandemic stress & grief, and more

open.substack.com/pub/johndupu...

It’d be really freaking great if our healthy allies would participate, too.

Thank you❤️

#MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #pwME

An ‘ordinary’ storm with extraordinary impacts: what made Wellington’s deluge so intense? Analysis: The storm is part of an increasingly familiar pattern reminding us that our communities and infrastructure aren't yet prepared to cope with what a warmer, wilder future holds.

Why an ordinary storm can have an extraordinary impact - a great explainer about the Wellington events by @cubaraglanguy.bsky.social www.rnz.co.nz/news/weather...

It's just so tough to hear people talk about how difficult early pandemic was, and in the same breath just not care about the millions of us still suffering.

Glad you're over it, maybe hold on to some empathy for those of us who have been left behind! There is *so* much that could be done to help.

#MCAS folks—

The newly formed International Society for Mast Cell Activation Syndromes has a 10-min survey to learn how they can best serve MCAS patients and caregivers.

Please take it, please share it!

Survey: forms.office.com/e/N4RDJYVep0

Org: ismcas.org

Qs: advocacy@ismcas.org

I don't want to "adapt" to terrifying weather Devastating climate change is here, thanks to oil companies and politicians. What are we going to do about it?

This piece from @emilywrites.co.nz is really worth reading, on the human impact of this weather and exactly how much this government has not just refused to act, but instead consistently acted against the interests of us all. www.emilywrites.co.nz/i-dont-want-...

There are no words that adequately describe how much I miss being able to go out to gigs, to parties, to festivals, just having a basic normal social life.

Long Covid took all that from me, and it could take it from anyone.

'A storm every eight days' - country's biggest insurer calls for systemic response An increasing number of severe weather events were now happening in spring and summer, IAG says.

Wow, that hits hard.

A storm hit New Zealand every eight days on average in the last year.

Insurance claims more than tripled.

This is the #climatecrisis and it will get much worse — but how much worse, is still up to us.

An ‘ordinary’ storm with extraordinary impacts: what made Wellington’s deluge so intense? Wellington’s extreme deluge was caused by an unfortunate combination of weather factors. But a warming climate is upping the odds of more of these events in future.

An ‘ordinary’ storm with extraordinary impacts: what made Wellington’s deluge so intense?

James Renwick, Professor of Physical Geography at our School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, explains.

Iwi leader voices need for government to support marae with severe weather A Northland iwi leader says some form of ongoing support is needed in order for marae to continue responding effectively to severe weather events.

A Northland iwi leader says some form of ongoing support is needed in order for marae to continue responding effectively to severe weather events.

We’ve toiled and lost jobs just to end up with this crappy economy The Coalition has trampled over social cohesion only to leave us back where we started - or worse.

“We’ve toiled and lost jobs just to end up with this crappy economy”

I wish it was just jobs & toil. The govt have gutted pay equity, housing, food banks, disability support at the same time as pumping money into landlords, tobacco companies, & any pet projects that help donors not NZers #nzpol

NZ Govt has taken a huge bet on fossil fuels. NZ was already spending $8 billion a year importing fossil fuels, and now the global fuel crisis is going to make that worse. Betting on fossil fuels has turned out to be a losing bet for NZ. This is the 14 point policy record of 2 years of the NZ Govt:

The Hutt River has about 10 times the flow now (in cubic metres a second) than it was having at 3pm [link works in Chrome but seems a bit iffy in Safari] graphs.gw.govt.nz/envmon?view=...

ANALYSIS: Government set to reduce Treaty in legislation to lowest possible standard - what it means Sweeping changes to Treaty clauses across 23 laws could lower te Tiriti to its weakest legal standard, reshaping how it influences decisions in health, environment and beyond.

Māni Dunlop is so good at this. And the photo editing. #NzPol