Mastodawn

Here's a petition I broadly support, with caveats. It calls for a referendum on bringing the UK water industry into public ownership.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/762640

Caveats:
* Not a fan of plebiscites. Parliament should Just Do It. But needs must.
* "Public ownership" needs nuance. Natural monopolies should be run by non-profits (TfL is an examplar; CICs are great) under public oversight. Infrastructure should be leased to them by the state, not owned.

#UKPol #Water #Petition

Petition: Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership

Hold a binding national referendum on whether the water industry should be returned to public ownership. Water is a basic human necessity; we believe our privatised system has failed, so the public should decide who owns and controls it.

Petitions - UK Government and Parliament

HGourlayUCL 3d ago

Woodland in England in spring, with bluebells. #ukcountryside #AncientWoodland

HGourlayUCL 4d ago

El Duvelle 5d ago

"Why are flights in the UK so often cheaper than taking the train?"

Some of the reasons are nonsensical:
for trains:

"The fuel is subject to VAT at 5% on diesel and 20% on electricity.".

this should be the reverse?!?

for planes:

"Fuel accounts for a much bigger part of airlines’ costs, but they do not have to pay VAT or duty on it.".

whyyyy??
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/nov/19/why-are-flights-in-the-uk-so-often-cheaper-than-taking-the-train

#SaveThePlanet and tax planes in proportion of the damage they do to their environment!

Why are flights in the UK so often cheaper than taking the train?

The environmental costs of flying are much higher, and the government subsidises rail travel, so what explains the baffling price difference when travelling domestically?

The Guardian

HGourlayUCL Mar 28

David Ho Mar 27

I don't think people fully appreciate how apocalyptic things are for US science. I haven't received any new funding since 2024, but I'm still ok since grants are typically for 3 years. This means next year I will be completely out of funding and will have to fire everyone in the lab. It's not great.

In my 25-year career, I’ve never NOT had funding. I typically have 4 to 8 grants, which you need if you’re running an observation science program and have a technician, students, and postdocs.

HGourlayUCL Mar 25

Let's hope Rebecca Solnit is right: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/mar/25/rebecca-solnit-slow-revolution-far-right-cannot-tolerate? #slowrevolution

‘A new world is being born’: author Rebecca Solnit on the ‘slow revolution’ the far right cannot tolerate

It’s easy to focus on authoritarians and their petty victories. But zoom out and the picture is more encouraging, says the woman who popularised the term ‘mansplaining’, whether it’s in feminism, or the environment, or civil rights

The Guardian

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HGourlayUCL Mar 25

@garyackerman 1. Cost. Schools typically bought stuff they couldn't afford to replace at the same rate tech companies required them to upgrade. 2. Lack of market research. No one asked me what would help me do my job. They gave me changes to e.g. Excel so regular that they impeded me doing my job. 3. Lack of understanding of what teachers do. 4. Lack of understanding of what will support learning. 5. Focus on making money rather than children's/customers' needs. #computersinschools

HGourlayUCL Mar 23

John Leach Mar 22

Spotted my first tiny balancing sheep in the wilds of Wales!

#tinybalancingsheep #wales

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HGourlayUCL Mar 23

@skinnylatte Everyone has emotions. Some of the "you're too emotional" people are currently leaking their anger into wars and other violence. #emotions

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HGourlayUCL Mar 22

@garyackerman It's the edumyth that refuses to die. Candidates write about it in their applications sometimes. Arguably we then have too little time on education courses to tackle it. It's like alternative conceptions in science - resistant to change.

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HGourlayUCL Mar 22

@garyackerman No. Arguably, it's the most reductive definition, though. It's arrived after focusing for a long period on passing standardized tests to the exclusion of other aspects of education. Broader definitions exist, which are probably more helpful to us if we want people to flourish.