UG Botany & MSc Biodiversity & Conservation. Zoology PhD candidate studying Kelp in TCD. Interests in: Plants. Fungi. Algae. Soil. Genetics. Eco. Evo 🏳️🌈🌿🧬
he/him
Joined September 2019
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Simon Benson retweeted
The protests in Ireland are not about just fuel! They are about the distance between Ireland on this graph and every other modern and developed economy. Ireland is second wealthiest but gets waaaaay less than any other country for that wealth. By a golden mile.
That visual gap in this graph? That’s what people are protesting. It’s a lack of infrastructure and the everyday enshittification of services, the economy, and the additional difficulty of trying to live, relative to peers in any other country. It also highlights why people don’t get uniformly listened to! - because there is no government architecture to engage meaningfully across this huge gap.
That gap is a three hour drive to work in traffic, a 14 month wait for an MRI, buses that don’t arrive, trains that don’t exist, schools that have no places for your kids, houses that are unaffordable, pubs that close before midnight, €12 sandwiches, expensive fuel.
People feel this gap, even if they can’t explain it precisely. And that builds into resentment, and ultimately protest. Fuel just happened to be the next thing that could be pointed to, today.
Simon Benson retweeted
Tonight was one of those nights where we were left speechless. Six 6-foot tables that were filled with food were emptied after 45 minutes. We handed out 260 meals and still had around fifty people without food. This is the second week that this has happened and we don’t understand what’s going on. There’s been a huge increase in our soup run and we need to start thinking strategically for future soup runs.
It is absolutely heartbreaking for someone to be at the end of the queue and know that there’s not a hot meal for that person. For the people that were left, we handed out fruit and goodies but that was still not a proper meal. Tonight we have no words, we feel defeated. We need to plan properly for next week to ensure that we have enough meals - this week 300 was not enough. If you would like to sponsor a hot meal, it’s €3 per person. If any restaurants would like to sponsor hot meals, please contact us.
If you would like to help us or donate, please visit msoe.ie/donate/.
Simon Benson retweeted
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Kildare company to stop exporting parts used in fighter jets to Israeli weapons firm thecurrency.news/articles/18…
Simon Benson retweeted
In case people are curious what red wolf conservationists actually think of the situation, we have a public statement now.
Simon Benson retweeted
This is HUGE!!!
Massachusetts just banned this shit. Drone fishing is banned statewide and all shark gear is banned on Cape Cod and surrounding coastlines.
Poachers will no longer be able to get away with targeting protected sharks. Which state will be next?
@NYSDEC @MyFWC
Simon Benson retweeted
I brought back the dire lotus from extinction by using CRISPR in Arabidopsis!
Same Arabidopsis thaliana species, just four mutations..
TIME's new cover: The dire wolf is back after over 10,000 years. Here's what that means for other extinct species ti.me/4jlJB54
Simon Benson retweeted
You don't need wildflower mixes to make a meadow.
Just mow less. Real, local wildflower seeds are already in the soil waiting for a chance to emerge.
Choose patience, not packets, and let those Dandelions bloom 💚🐝
Simon Benson retweeted
fucking insane. some fish use electrical signals to navigate; if two fish on the same frequency encounter each other, they automatically switch frequencies to avoid "signal jamming" each other. exactly like how your wifi router does at home. wow.
Simon Benson retweeted
We just received word that the RTB has upheld the students' complaint against the @tcddublin overnight guests policy. After getting legal advice on the ruling, we can state:
(1) The current overnight guests policy is struck by law. If any student's guest is denied entry, 1/3
Simon Benson retweeted
2020 we came close, this time we want to go all the way.
We've had an amazing people-powered campaign full of hope and energy.
Vote Reddy 1 in #DublinNorthWest and transfer left. Spread the word!
#AnotherIrelandIsPossible #GE2024 – at Dublin City, Ireland
Simon Benson retweeted
🇮🇪 had some of the cheapest electricity in 🇪🇺 when ESB had a not-for-profit mandate
🇮🇪 now has the most expensive electricity in 🇪🇺, while ESB Group made over €1Bn in profit last year.
Bring back the mandate. Allow cross-subsidisation. Invest in PUBLIC renewable generation – at Dublin City, Ireland
Simon Benson retweeted
Students interested in STEM should probably know that if you create an anonymous forum for biologists, you get constant posts from people having existential crises over being pressured into mass mouse murder 🧵
Simon Benson retweeted
We are delighted to announce that we, in collaboration with @tcdsu_amlct, have agreed upon a new PGR Council within TCD. All PGRs will have democratic, purpose-built representation as workers within the structures of Trinity.
Here's what that means:
1/5
universitytimes.ie/2024/08/p…
Simon Benson retweeted
You might imagine that the rhododendron engulfing Killarney National Park confines itself to the forest, etc, lower down. But that isn't the case: here it is above the existing treeline.
This triffid-like invasive is a scourge of native habitats on acid soils across Ireland.
Simon Benson retweeted
Ireland’s housing crisis is ‘on a different level’ to other countries around the world – with population growing four times faster than new homes are being delivered.
newstalk.com/news/housing-cr…
Simon Benson retweeted
An outsourcing company charges the HSE almost €30 an hour per worker for a major contract – while these workers are paid the minimum wage.
The HSE pays Abtran €29.27 an hour per worker. In turn Abtran pays these workers €12.70 per hour.
ontheditch.com/abtran-hse/
Simon Benson retweeted
Carrifran 1999 and today 26th July 2024.
Landscape scale habitat restoration in Scotland. 🌳🏴
#RewildScotland #RewildOurPlanet
Simon Benson retweeted
The real question is when are prosecutors going to charge scientific journals and scientific societies under RICO for their decades conspiracy to bilk taxpayers of billions of dollars to provide access to publicly funded research that always should have been in the public domain.
