First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels Colombia and the Netherlands will host the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels. The Conference is designed as a space for countries, subnational governments and other stakeholders...

Good to see Australia among the countries signed up for the Transitioning away from Fossil Fuels Conference
transitionawayconference.com

Imagine what these androids will be able to do when they work out how to put wheels on them

Hungary election: Viktor Orbán ousted after 16 years in power as opposition heads for landslide - follow live The long-serving prime minister concedes defeat to Péter Magyar, who has promised closer EU ties and an anti-corruption drive.

"love won today, because love always wins", and thanks Hungarians for "not being afraid"
www.bbc.com/news/live/c2...

strawman based on false equivalence

Both are American imperialism

Wolf bites woman in shock German attack on busy Hamburg shopping street It is believed to be the first wolf attack on a human since the animals began to reestablish themselves in Germany decades ago.

If you encounter a wolf, don't think it will behave like a dog. Leave the wolf alone, contact an authority
bbc.com/news/article...

Anyway back here in reality, Hidalgo's Socialist Party successor just won a crushing victory with a 53% majority vs a weak 38% for the union of right wing parties (the remainder went to another left wing party) bsky.app/profile/egre...

AI reveals which predators chewed ancient humans’ bones – challenging ideas on which ‘Homo’ species was the first tool-using hunter Paleoanthropologists have thought that Homo habilis was the first stone-tool maker and meat-eater in our genus. But new research suggests H. habilis might not have been so advanced.

AI reveals which predators chewed ancient humans’ bones – challenging ideas on which ‘Homo’ species was the first tool-using hunter
theconversation.com/ai-reveals-w...

Petrol is running out! Is it time to panic?! Help help | First Dog on the Moon The government is asking people to remain calm which is always a sign that it is time to flip out massively

Are you sick and tired of being slugged at the bowser of life? Me too! (this is a good line but does not appear in this cartoon about fuel prices soz) www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Something tells me this guy would sanction murder of POWs

If you're invested in fossil fuels, congestion isn't a problem. It's profit

Iran war drives oil prices above $100 a barrel for first time since 2022 Trump says rise in energy prices is ‘very small price to pay’ as conflict sparks fresh stock market sell-off

Oil price surge is not a supply/demand problem. It's a car dependency problem
www.theguardian.com/business/202...

"There's always going to be debate in city planning. Always. But there's good faith debate, based on disagreements, and then there's deliberate lies and misinformation." Print article ICYMI of @brenttoderian.bsky.social’s ABC News interview on the truth and lies about “15-Minute Cities. #UrbanTruth

'If we're gonna police the world I want my donuts free'

Flawed economic models mean climate crisis could crash global economy, experts warn States and financial bodies using modelling that ignores shocks from extreme weather and climate tipping points

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

It existed 800 years ago, was home to 100,000 people – and was powered by poop | Discover Wildlife It’s white, it smells, and it may have been one of the main driving forces behind the rise of the Chincha Kingdom…

www.discoverwildlife.com/environment/...

I’ve attended baited wildlife photography workshops – is it ever okay to bait or should you always patiently wait? To bait or not to bait, that is the question? And while there isn’t an easy answer, I think every wildlife photographer should educate themselves on the subject

Is animal baiting ever ok? Animals say yes gimme the bait
www.digitalcameraworld.com/photography/...

Polar bears getting "fatter and healthier" amid ice loss Scientists think that Svalbard bears have adapted to recent ice loss by eating more land-based prey.

Possibly shifting to land based prey
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Dozens of bats entangled in Queensland golf club netting A mass wildlife rescue is again underway at the Noosa Golf Club after dozens of flying foxes became trapped in netting at its driving range for the fourth time this month.

Another reason to do away with golf courses
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...

A discreet intellectual network has been reshaping the world for 70 years. Here's how A constant battle of ideas reshapes the world we live in, and few groups have been more successful in winning the war than the little-known Atlas Network.

Brilliant reporting here by Gareth Hutchens on the Atlas Network and its insidious work across the world, including Australia

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...

Check out this adorable art - @angiesymon.bsky.social combines art with science, and after completing honours on #bandicoots, is now undertaking an internship at #zoosvic - check out Angie's page (and also decorated Conference lanyard!)

You can read more about Angie in our next newsletter!

A furrowed brow is a backlash? Why don't they punch back, ffs?

Queensland crocodile capture rates double as removal zones expand More crocodiles are going to commercial farms and zoos following a step-up in removals from the wild.

"New data from Queensland's Environment Department shows the number of estuarine crocodiles, or 'salties', captured in the state's waterways has more than doubled in the past six years"
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...

Rock art from at least 67,800 years ago in Sulawesi - Nature A hand stencil painted on a cave wall on a small island off the coast of Sulawesi more than 67,800 years ago suggests a very early occupation of Wallacea.

🧪🏺 WOWWWW
New dates in SE Asia for rock paintings - major implications:
- nature of early aesthetics, innovations
- relationship to oldest known Australian settlement?
- and (IMO) impacts claims that cave art in Europe >50 Ka is necessarily work of #Neanderthals
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I hope he also makes a point of highlighting the race of white people when they commit fraud

Trump’s board of peace is an imperial court completely unlike what was proposed The US president’s global club was endorsed by the security council on a false prospectus and seems aimed at displacing the United Nations

"The board of peace swaps this inequity [UN permanent member veto privilege] for another that is even more unjust – a permanence of a sort that can only be afforded by rich countries with a billion dollars to spare"
#NewImperialism
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

The private sector is so much more efficient than the public sector.

‘It’s AI blackface’: social media account hailed as the Aboriginal Steve Irwin is an AI character created in New Zealand More than 180,000 people follow the Bush Legend’s accounts across Meta platforms, but its Aboriginal host is a work of digital fiction

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

In the most cleared state in Australia, Victoria’s native wildlife needs our help after fires The Victorian fires burned though diverse environments across the state. Native animals suffered through heat and smoke, including thousands of dead flying foxes.

"As a wildlife ecologist and conservation expert, these fires bring an unwelcome but familiar mixture of deep sadness and intense frustration. As the climate gets hotter, such events will only become more likely and more severe."

My article about Victoria's fires
theconversation.com/in-the-most-...

Withdrawing the United States from International Organizations, Conventions, and Treaties that Are Contrary to the Interests of the United States MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United

50. US withdraws from @ipcc.bsky.social, @ipbes.net, @irena-official.bsky.social, Intl Union for the Conservation of Nature, UN Energy, UN Oceans, UN Water, @ununiversity.bsky.social, UNFCCC, among others (Jan. 7, 2026)