I just watched Anton Petrov’s introduction to some recent discoveries in electrostatic ecology. At smaller scales electrostatic forces are very important and we’re increasingly discovering how lots of small animals (and plant parts like pollen) make use of electrostatic forces to jump and fly and sense other animals nearby.

For example, pollen grains jump onto pollinators that have gained a positive charge when they fly. Also, parasitic nematodes jump onto positively charged host insects as they fly past.

I expect there’s a lot more cool electrostatic natural history waiting to be discovered.

patreon.com/posts/149179163
youtube.com/watch?v=ql35lWxuaV…

Read more on Quanta at quantamagazine.org/the-hidden-…

#ElectrostaticEcology #nature #entomology #pollination #ecology

The Hidden World of Electrostatic Ecology | Quanta Magazine

Invisibly to us, insects and other tiny creatures use static electricity to travel, avoid predators, collect pollen and more. New experiments explore how evolution may have influenced this phenomenon.

^{Max G. Levy (Quanta Magazine)}

"Start small. Do a little garden bed here or there, and then expand it as you go. You don’t have to do the whole garden all at once.

"And you learn from it. When something doesn’t work, it gives you the opportunity to put something else in its place."

#rewilding #gardening #nativeplants #australia #melbourne #ecology #habitat

rewildingmag.com/its-always-ch…

“It’s always changing, and you just adapt”

This Australian urban gardener has spent the past 14 years transforming her yard into a native-plant paradise that welcomes local wildlife.

^{Kira Simpson (Rewilding Magazine)}

Analysis: Countries blocking climate action at COP30 are home to the world’s highest-carbon companies

Almost 60% of global emissions in 2024 were attributable to state-owned fossil fuel companies, & there is a high likelihood that these firms are influencing how national governments engage in international climate diplomacy

edie.net/analysis-countries-bl…

archive.ph/wip/tYvu8

#ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #UpheavalClimate #ClimateInstability #MassAtrocity #pollution #ecology #environment #climate

#Zurich #Swiss

Frequent flying wipes out Zurich residents’ green gains at home

Zurich residents fly more than 10,000 kilometres a year on average. Those flights cause more climate pollution per person than all the heating systems, cars, buses and energy used inside the city combined

swissinfo.ch/eng/climate-adapt…

#ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #UpheavalClimate #ClimateInstability #MassAtrocity #pollution #ecology #environment #climate

Frequent flying wipes out Zurich residents’ green gains at home

Zurich residents fly over 10,000 km a year on average. Those flights cause more climate pollution per person than all the heating systems, cars, buses and energy used in the city combined. 

^{Kristian.Brandt@swissinfo.ch (SWI swissinfo.ch)}