In a paper published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, Dr. Chris Macdonald explored the best sources of protein currently available.

To answer the question, Macdonald had to build a new holistic scoring system that combines measures of environmental impact, health, affordability and availability into a single framework.

Applying the scoring system to 20 commonly consumed protein-rich foods, the analysis found a striking pattern: every product in the highest-scoring quintile was plant-based, while every product in the lowest-scoring quintile was animal-based. Tofu ranked first overall, while cheddar cheese ranked last.

The paper argues that many existing food rating systems focus on only one aspect of a product. While useful, these single-dimension labels can obscure important trade-offs and make it difficult to compare foods comprehensively.

TOFU DOMINATION

Link to open access article https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1677796/full

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/49452624

UCLA law student Jonathan Hale and about 150 volunteers have painted unauthorized crosswalks at dangerous Los Angeles intersections, saying residents cannot wait for city action.

Advocates say traffic deaths rose 56% from 2015 to 2025 as the city’s Vision Zero effort faltered; officials say they maintain or add more than 1,000 crosswalks annually.

Hale, arrested while painting in Westwood before his case was dismissed, wants the city to legalize the work and recommit to Vision Zero. LADOT says it has met its commitments to him.

Archive link: https://web.archive.org/web/20261016121334/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-10-16/risking-arrest-he-paints-illicit-crosswalks-in-la-we-cant-wait

Fuck asking permission to make the world a better place, especially this late into collapse, just do it, break the law if (and only if) it means humans or creatures can be treated better, the law has no inherent legitimacy to block your kindness if only the poor have to follow the law.

Organizers emphasized that the event aimed to demonstrate that “zombies are also compassionate.” While donations were voluntary, participants were encouraged to contribute non-perishable food items.

The call for donations included food such as rice, beans, and canned goods, which were given to the organization Food for All, dedicated to distributing aid to vulnerable individuals and families.

Her fortunes changed in 2017, when the International Anti-Poaching Foundation began recruiting local women for Akashinga, a new wildlife protection initiative. Hoto was among 16 women selected from roughly 100 applicants. Many men in her community doubted that women could confront poachers or withstand the demands of ranger work. She went anyway. Within a few years, she had become a ranger sergeant, leading other women on patrol. She later returned to university, graduating in 2023 with a degree in wildlife, ecology and conservation. Today, she works as a biodiversity officer with Akashinga, using data collected by rangers to monitor wildlife and guide conservation decisions. In 2022, she received an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) International Ranger Award.

...

Speaking to Mongabay from Zimbabwe, Hoto reflects on her childhood, the painful decision to leave her marriage, encounters with lions and elephants, her return to school and the changes she has seen in both wildlife conservation and her own life. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

...

I thought that if I got married, maybe my life would become better. I thought I had found a good man who would support me and help me fulfill my dreams. But little did I know that I was getting myself into fire. At first, my husband seemed supportive. But later, he wasn’t supportive anymore, and he became violent toward me. I stayed in that marriage for almost four years, and I had a daughter. At some point, I realized my life wasn’t going anywhere. I was just stuck. So, I decided to divorce because of the violence.

...

But life was still tough. I had no job, and I had to look after myself and my daughter. I continued working in the garden and selling vegetables. At that time, I didn’t imagine my life would change. I didn’t think I could become the person I am today.

...

Mongabay: Did your family know what you had been experiencing during those four years?

Nyaradzo Auxilia Hoto: No. I was hiding it. My parents, my sisters, my brothers — they didn’t know what was happening in my marriage. Whenever they asked me, I would say, ‘Everything is fine. Everything is OK.’ But deep down in my heart, I was wounded and traumatized.

...

I couldn’t believe it. There were almost 100 women, and Akashinga needed only 16. I was surprised that I was among those selected. I kept thinking, how come I’m one of these 16 women? It was a very big moment for me.

Mongabay: And what about the first time you wore a ranger uniform?

We were very proud. I remember when Damien [Mander, the organization’s founder] took us to town to open bank accounts. We were wearing our uniforms.

We were excited because we now had bank accounts, and we knew we were going to receive salaries at the end of the month. Just walking through the streets in our uniforms was something special for us.

...

It eventually started walking away. We kept facing it and slowly moved away as well. I think the lion became less interested in us. But at that moment, you have to remain very careful. You cannot afford to panic. That experience really showed me the importance of our training. When you’re in the bush, you can suddenly find yourself facing a dangerous animal, and what you’ve learned can make a difference.

...

As rangers, when we’re on patrol, we’re not supposed to make unnecessary noise. We listen carefully to what is happening around us in the forest. Most of the time, lions and leopards will detect your presence before you see them. During the day, they tend to avoid people. Sometimes you can spend a very long time on patrol without actually seeing a lion, although you might come across its tracks. So, encounters like the one we experienced are not common. But when they happen, you have to remember your training and remain calm. The best thing is always to avoid getting that close to a wild animal in the first place.

Source: Star Fleet Technical Manual, 1975, ISBN 9780345340740

We have no future in the current trajectory of the world, act accordingly.

The discussion examines a speech by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse to the OSCE framing climate change as a security and economic threat, not only an environmental issue. It focuses on how fossil fuel pollution is damaging natural systems, while increasingly severe and frequent disasters could destabilize insurance, housing, and wider financial markets.

This video was recorded on October 14th, 2026, and published on October 18th, 2026, and represents the opinions of the discussion participants.

The panel discusses the accumulation of heat in the oceans, the risks of crossing planetary thresholds, and the possibility of food shortages and cascading economic impacts. Participants also criticize fossil fuel interests and political influence for obstructing climate action, and consider the unequal costs of disasters, including the loss of insurance and affordable housing.

The conversation turns to possible responses: honoring support for less wealthy countries, ending fossil fuel subsidies, sharing scientific information, and using elections to influence climate policy. The program closes with three climate updates: research on possible abrupt changes in the Arctic, political disputes over the timing of a major climate assessment, and evidence that urban heat risks are rising especially quickly in the Global South.

Don't listen to people who try to tell you we are not in a global fossil fuel war attempting to hold on to the value of fossil fuels at any cost, including and most especially all of our futures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWOzA2qFMeI

Mia talks with Faiza, a political analyst and feminist theorist in France about the French high school student protests and breaking out of our complacency.

I really like this podcast for illuminating the ways in which France is like so many places right now, it has reached the natural evolutionary endpoint of neoliberalism, austerity as a belief system and modern policing/law enforcement, which all existentially fail younger people and people in general.

anyone familiar with seed bombing? i love growing things, especially when they support pollinators or feed the birds so i'm intrigued by the idea, but i'm wondering if there's a zine or something for tips on how to do it effectively.

Three economic systems are driving most of nature’s decline: the energy system that fuels climate change; the global food system that leads to habitat loss and climate change; and the finance system that bankrolls it all. Triggering tipping points in those systems would see them rapidly transform for the better and reduce harm to the climate and nature. Once that threshold is passed, change can happen quickly as knowledge and technology advance, with solutions becoming cheaper and more accessible and as people learn from others. Encouragingly, progress is already under way – not everywhere, and not yet at the scale required – but enough to demonstrate that change is possible.

The world does not lack goals for 2030. What it lacks is the pace of implementation. With the Global Biodiversity Framework, the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement in place, governments have already agreed on a pathway. Focusing on implementing these agreements in full will create the conditions for rapid systemic change.

How is a monopoly organised? What does ‘the economy’ really mean? Is the conception of growth misleading?

To answer these big questions, Timothy Mitchell sits down with Alasdair to discuss his latest book, The Alibi of Capital: How We Broke the Earth to Steal the Future on the Promise of a Better Tomorrow.

The political theorist and historian, whose previous book analysed the political power of Big Oil, now seeks to re-examine modern understandings of the economy. He moves away from the idea of growth as owning or consuming more, and instead explains it as burdening future generations with the cost of resources consumed today.

Providing concrete examples, from Uber to billionaires, the housing market to AI, Timothy comments on the ‘Great Acceleration’ of human activity since 1950, and how all of this contributes to the current climate breakdown.

“We are continuously selling the future to those who can access the funds to purchase it, and the rest of us are living with the burden of having to pay it back at an increased price”.

This podcast episode isn't all about problems, it talks about solutions and ways of thinking differently in a way that in my opinion at least is very solarpunk.

"We're seeing a real title change of people's attitudes towards everything from inequality and the great sucking sound of wealth from the bottom to the top, to these tech bro billionaires, to what's happening in the Middle East."

Goodman is a proud granddaughter of an Orthodox rabbi on one side and a Hasidic great-grandfather on the other.

"I was imbued with what had happened, as was Tia, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor," Goodman says.

hey everyone, i wanted to share a democratic funding platform i recently launched.

every week or month (depending on how our funds hold out), we fund a new solarpunk project, with the winner determined by vote in our app. to make it fun, you swipe right on a project to vote for it.

right now, we have enough members to award about two $250 prizes per month. however, we have a problem...

we need project submissions! otherwise, there is nothing for people to vote for.

so, if you're working on an art project, or an ecology project, or a sustainability project, or really anything at the intersection of technology and nature, please submit your project! it is completely free to submit.

this is a work in progress, so i greatly appreciate any questions or feedback. thanks!

A news article about Merri-bek Tech, a local Melbourne (Victoria, Australia) community-hosting initiative, and discussing other digital sovereignty efforts including EU initiatives.

Modern forms of intensive grazing can be damaging to environmental health due to overstocking and overuse of static plots of land, but a growing body of research suggests the loss of practices like transhumance could have a similarly detrimental effect. Moving herds through seasonal ranges helps clear up dry vegetation without pushing pastures into an overgrazed state. The pathways carved by transhumant herds over create a system of natural firebreaks that make isolated spot fires less likely to explode into a full-blown inferno.

Also on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fDGcZ8qpPM

Highly adaptable to changing landscapes, leopard cats often live close to farms and villages. In northeastern Thailand, females are frequently found raising their litters in sugarcane fields. The tall leaves offer shelter from the sun, but proximity to humans exposes the cats to threats ranging from capture for the illegal trade to fires caused by agricultural burning — a traditional method used by farmers to clear fields and control pests.

Since 2023, the center says it has admitted between 40 and 65 leopard cats each year, up from an annual average of around 10 before that. Staff attribute the increase to a combination of worsening habitat fragmentation, rising fire activity and greater public use of the government’s wildlife hotline.

It is not unusual for farmers to find sick or lost leopard cat cubs in and around their fields, particularly during the burning season, which spans from January to April. Following recent government regulations on agricultural burning, fire rates on agricultural land in the northeast appeared to decline slightly this year. Yet overall fire activity increased this burning season, driven largely by forest fires. Between January and August 2026, the center admitted more than 60 leopard cat cubs from all over the region. According to the team, over half were found in charred fields, often with burn injuries.

Cats have nine lives, but sometimes they need a little help with it.

I came across this on former Mythbusters Adam Savage's Youtube channel. 20 MPH top speed, 35+ mile range, can get another 18 miles per day on solar charging alone. As Adam describes "It looks like a kid's drawing of a future vehicle, but not the way that you think".

Every society needs to have its fringe, transgressive counterculture. I would live at the abandoned strip mine, entreating the slumbering devil of ages past. Presuming the steel is not reclaimed for use in homes or ecological projects.

I would pray to it for resilience and to supplicate its spirit to never return. Its thirst for industry must be quelled with songs and the aromas of cooked food, lest it seep back out into the land and inspire folk to consume the earth again.

The creaks and groans of the metal in the wind would lull me to sleep, and its bulk would shelter me from rain.