Robert Macfarlane
@RobGMacfarlane
Books: Is A River Alive? (WIP) Underland, The Lost Words, The Old Ways, etc. | Films: River, Mountain, Upstream | Nature, climate, people | Prof @Cambridge_uni
ID:835252426265481216
https://linktr.ee/robmacfarlane 24-02-2017 22:17:51
31,2K Tweets
204,6K Followers
3,5K Following
Follow People
Hello â Johnny Flynn & I start our ten-day âRiver Callsâ tour tomorrow in Leeds; a song-story-journey-gig-show, with an amazing band.
Artist Jon Mackay has made this radiant screen-printed poster for the tour.
See you on the road!
Meanwhile back in the zany world of Thames Water đ§
'A third bottled water bank will be opened after parts of Oxford have been left with no running taps.'
We'll screw your bank account, screw your rivers and can't be bothered providing you with water. đ„ž
oxfordmail.co.uk/news/24281770.âŠ
Un grand merci Ă MontrĂ©al et metropolisbleu pour lâattribution aujourdâhui du prix PlanĂšte LitĂ©rrature pour un corpus dâoeuvre dâĂ©crivain.
(ça a Ă©tĂ© un bonheur de dĂ©rouiller mon français Ă©xĂ©crable pendant quelques joursâŠ)
âOur rivers have become disposal chutes not only for sewage & other pollutants, but also for political probity & the public interest.â
Flow-trimming, dividend-reaping: brilliant, terse âŠGeorge Monbiotâ© analysis of why so many of our rivers are dying. theguardian.com/commentisfree/âŠ
đ§”Yes, thatâs right! The budget for cleaning up the illegal landfill waste to #rescuehoadswood is ÂŁ10 million. đČ
cÂŁ3m of this is landfill tax (pocketed by the criminals) and VAT is cÂŁ1m. This cost doesnât include the value of irreplaceable ancient woodland! đđłđŠđŠđŠ (1/6)
22 yrs ago, while writing Mountains of the Mind, I studied George Mallory's original letters home from Everest in 1921, '22 & '24, in Magdalene College's archive.
Now they've digitised/published them all.
Fascinating, moving documents.
Open access here: magdalene.maxarchiveservices.co.uk/index.php/to-râŠ
'Something very interesting is happening in the UK to do with nature...': terrific to see this John Harris piece abt the emergence of a 'new kind of radical landscape politics', from land access campaigns to the Rights of Rivers movement. Yes!
theguardian.com/commentisfree/âŠ
This is (l to r) Sam, Reuben & Denzel of Elmhurst School in London.
They've learned the Jackdaw Spell from The Lost Spells by heart & here they are rocking it in the woods.
Poetry, outdoor learning, smiles, dance!
Will you give them a shout, tell them how awesome they are?
ââIt is an enormous scandal that manyâŠin the industry know about, but nobody wants to talk about,â said the whistleblower.â
Flow-trimming, equipment-fixing, sewage-sloughing: the deeper we dive, the dirtier & less accountable the UK water industry gets. theguardian.com/environment/20âŠ
Many of us feel furious about the state of the UK's riversââbut also powerless.
Now King's Legal Clinic have launched a 130-pp toolkit for change.
Citizen science, FOIs, reporting, legal remedies: it's all here.
It's brilliant.
Read it, share it, fight back!
kcl.ac.uk/legal-clinic/aâŠ
'Here the delicate calls of marsh tits are becoming harder to find, as populations plummet. The story from this wood is being played out nationally, as human noise gets louder & the sounds of nature vanish.'
On the thinning & dimming of birdsong. Familiar?
theguardian.com/environment/20âŠ
Publication day for Another England, by the always-inspirational Caroline Lucas â a book that tells another story about England & Englishness. I read it in proof: itâs brilliant. It delves deep & ranges wide, and re-thinks land, belonging & place in vital, urgent ways.
âThis is a death potion for the riverâŠâ.
Steve Backshall has commissioned private analysis of water from the Thames, results are in & they are horrifying.
âTreat the water as though it is a biohazard.â
Further analysis & rage from Steve below & on Instagram (@ backshall.steve)
The New School of the Anthropocene is a radical, trans-disciplinary, low-fee experiment in higher ed.
I teach there & find it a true convivium.
Applications are now open for 24-25; virtual/in-person.
Learn more about New School of the Anthropocene's ethos & apply here: nsota.org/intro
'A shy young girl, hiding her face behind her friend, said hesitantlyââ'the river has the right to sing'.'
A beautiful short Shrishtee Bajpai essay on river-rights & river-guardianship in the Ladakh region.
Here: vikalpsangam.org/article/walkinâŠ