spencer 🦈

I wrote about why slugs are better than clankers.

🚨 Lebanon death toll surpasses 1,000 as strikes continue nationwide Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 1,001 people have been killed and 2,584 wounded since the start of Israeli attacks, according to official figures released March 19. At least 33 people were killed and 152 injured in the past 24 hours alone. ➤ 804 men, 79 women, and 118 children are among those killed ➤ 1,805 men, 414 women, and 365 children have been wounded ➤ 5 hospitals and 42 ambulances have been hit, along with 18 civil defense centers and 68 health facilities ➤ 40 healthcare workers have been killed and 107 injured, according to the ministry

Pigs don't just feel fear themselves. They also feel the fear of other pigs — and try to comfort them. In one study, pigs watching another pig in distress first showed fear themselves and then tried to comfort the distressed pig through snout-to-snout contact. Pigs who'd previously endured the same ordeal reacted even more intensely — they seemed to recognize what the distressed pig was going through. (Goumon & Špinka, 2016.) On factory farms, pigs trapped in gestation crates aren't just feeling afraid themselves. They're feeling the fear of all the other pigs around them. But the crate's iron bars stop them from even turning toward their fellow pigs — let alone comforting them with their snout.

Don’t ever let anyone tell you environmentalism is a first-world luxury. globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/l…

Never forget that Homero Gómez gave his life to protect this forest.

🚨 BREAKING: Israel has struck Iran’s South Pars gas field, the world’s largest natural gas field and a core pillar of Iran’s energy supply. The major escalation comes alongside reported impacts on other oil and petrochemical facilities in the Assaluyeh area of Bushehr province, according to multiple reports. IRGC-linked Tasnim News issued an urgent warning urging people to immediately leave major oil and gas sites in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, saying they had become “direct and legitimate targets” that could be struck within hours. They listed: ➤ Samref Refinery — Saudi Arabia ➤ Al Hosn Gas Field — UAE ➤ Jubail Petrochemical Complex — Saudi Arabia ➤ Mesaieed Petrochemical Complex — Qatar ➤ Ras Laffan Refinery — Qatar The report added: “Previously, clear and repeated warnings were given to your rulers about entering this dangerous path and gambling with the fate of their nations.”

Toxic oil waste is increasingly shooting out of the ground in Oklahoma, contaminating the state’s drinking water. We found that regulators identified 2,000 problem wells in a 2021 report. Then they ignored their findings. propublica.org/article/oklaho…

The urban-interface extinction crisis cannot truly be addressed without identifying its central driver: the hoarding of homes. We frame this process as a cultural failing and there is an aspect of it, but at its core, the eradication of urban habitat is caused by landlording.

We did it. First ever in astronomical winter. Los Angeles inland suburbs.

@drcrystalheath Incredible work!

Victory! Washington State University Cancels Elective Terminal Surgery Horse Lab x.com/i/broadcasts/1…

I will never be able to get over how normalised cruelty is towards non-mammal marine life

Marco Island is the latest city considering a shark fishing ban. Its city council will hear arguments TOMORROW. Shark fishermen are flying in from around the state to try to shut locals down. We need as many signatures and emails as possible. Let’s go. protectmarcobeaches.carrd.co

ANOTHER critically endangered great hammerhead washed up dead in Florida today. This time she was FINNED — in Juno Beach, a well-known land-based shark fishing hotspot. It’s past time for every city in Florida to stand up to these sick fucks and put an end to this carnage.

@JustynNakamura Poaching does not require killing the animal and even if it did, tons of these sharks die post-release.

@Unpop_Science Looks like they released it. How is that poaching?

not a rescue These assholes are notorious shark poachers. They hooked her, she got wrapped in the line struggling for her life. It was not an accident, they use specialized hooks, reels, and even drones. Tiger sharks are illegal to land in Florida. Ban land-based shark fishing.

@ThusSpokeStella No, anyone can sign. The city also cares what outsiders think because tourism is economically important there.

@Unpop_Science Is the petition for florida residents only?

My op-ed explaining the legal case for Florida cities’ authority to ban shark fishing is out today in the Marco Island local paper. This sleepy town has become the epicenter of a battle reverberating across the state. Sign/email today to stand w/ locals & their sharks. links ⬇️

Aren’t cows supposed to regenerate the land or something? But then why is this land so absolutely barren that you have to import hay???

braindead take Population is not dropping. Growth rate is decreasing. Population is stabilizing. Global temperature does not rise and fall with human population. It responds to greenhouse gas emissions. If we die off, carbon pollution does not just go away.

@yungdessalines @ceilingtwerker Any time someone singles out almonds when they’re describing widespread agricultural practices across dozens of crop sectors immediately outs themselves as a charlatan. Plenty to criticize in almond farming, but dairy is worse by every metric.

@ceilingtwerker This why I keep my foot on vegan necks. I appreciate the spirit of reduced meat consumption but turning it into dogma has lead to the ballooning of harmful industries like the almond industry, which, aside from harming bees is disproportionately linked to water scarcity in CA

Because of almonds. They ship almost every honeybee in America to California during almond season for pollination. Something like 50% of them die during the process

Poisoned carcasses, claws and teeth removed, and evidence of organised trade. This should deeply disturb every one of us who cares about the future of lions. iol.co.za/dailynews/opin…