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Josh Lepawsky

@jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

mastodon 4.7.3

Professor of Geography at Memorial University. Researching pollution and waste arising from electronics wherever they subsist and persist.

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26 Posts

Joined November 26, 2022

Pronouns:

he/him/his

Situation:

settler

Research:

https://electronicplanet.xyz/findings/publications/

Faculty page:

https://mun.ca/geography/people/faculty/josh-lepawsky/#d.en.167920

Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

Replying to

"In B.C. a significant boost to the private sector occurred in the early 2000s when the BC Liberal government required that all new electricity generation, except from large dams, be provided by independent power producers, or IPPs, rather than BC Hydro. This means that BC Hydro must buy new forms of “green” electricity, such as wind, solar and other hydro generation, from private companies" The establishment selling off our ability to control our own energy future to private interests is, in my opinion, not good. #Canada https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2026/07/24/Powell-River-Canada-Electricity-Future/

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 6mo ago

Replying to

We knew enrolments would drop if tuition were raised. Data were released today during an employee townhall. Guess what? We were right (shocker). See here (2021): https://www.caut.ca/bulletin/news-munfa-fighting-a-doubling-of-tuition-fees-and-pse-cuts-in-newfoundland-and-labrador/ And here (2022): https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/josh-lepawsky-nl-governments-underfunding-of-mun-undermines-its-educational-mission-and-the-very-foundations-on-which-democratic-social-life-is-built-100690441 And here for today's data: https://mun.ca/evolve/media/production/memorial/administrative/evolve/Employee-Town-Hall-March-2026-(002).pdf #munfa #MUN #newfoundland #labrador #postsecondary #university #canada

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 5mo ago

The ‘end of geography’ has been part of the Silicon Valley tech mythos and marketing for decades. With the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, old-timey ‘capes-and-bays’ geography has come roaring back...

https://joshlepawsky.site/semiconductors-and-the-limits-of-capes-and-bays-geography/

#tech #semiconductors #supplynetworks #geography

joshlepawsky.site

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 7mo ago

Housing or AI? Or housing for AI?

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2026/03/02/news/ontario-towns-cities-data-centres-mapped

#AI #tech #housing

nationalobserver.com

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 7mo ago

Today in 'Why is housing so expensive in Canada?' data visualizations

REIT's didn't exist before 1996.

https://breachmedia.ca/housing-crisis-toronto-black-tenants-corporate-landlords/

See also:
https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/hate-the-high-cost-of-rent-blame-the-1990s/

https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/why-private-investment-doesnt-solve-housing-issues/

#Canada #rent #housing #housingcrisis

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 6mo ago

Replying to

2/x The cuts at our university are happening despite the university repeatedly showing that for every $1 of public money put into it, $2 - 4 come out into the broader economy. This tells us that the arguments for cuts are based on 'something' other than evidence. #munfa #MUN #newfoundland #labrador #postsecondary #university #canada

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 6mo ago

Replying to

The stages of #enshittification helpfully visualized... The Norwegian Consumer Counci. 2026. Breaking Free: Pathways to a Fair Technological Future. https://storage02.forbrukerradet.no/media/2026/02/breaking-free-pathways-to-a-fair-technological-future.pdf #tech #enshittification

storage02.forbrukerradet.no

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 7mo ago

"If your experience of computing has been one of serial upgrades, with little thought to the source or destination of the device, it may be hard to appreciate the breadth of opportunity that the same set of components can present to people living in different economic contexts. Taken further, an anthropological approach to design helps us see that belief systems less centered on the Western individual embrace the notion of afterlives in ways that are far more common in daily life."

https://melgregg.com/2026/03/11/hardware-afterlives/

#tech #repair #restofworld #reuse

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 5mo ago

Replying to

5/x Meanwhile, Memorial University's senior administration continues to actively undermine the governance structure of the university by finding ways to route around Senate (the body with decision making power on academic matters) through the use of a private consultant. Details here: https://munfa.ca/administrations-spending-priorities-and-questions-about-shared-governance-at-memorial/ #munfa #MUN #newfoundland #labrador #postsecondary #university #canada

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 6mo ago

Replying to

Meanwhile, "Canadian driller, shipper enlisted to help tap Greenland oil" https://www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/article/massive-operation-canadian-driller-shipper-enlisted-to-help-tap-greenland-oil/

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@CowMan We concur 😎 It's the power over those spending decisions that needs to be changed. That's about senior admin and BOR power --- we have to change how those works.

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@CowMan We're on the same page, I think. Good money after bad doesn't square with what the data show though: every $1 dollar into MUN = $2 - 4 dollars out into the economy. Uni's governance is bad and that's why it would be great if faculty were able to sit on Board of Regents (who make / approve all financial decisions), but that's was barred by law until December 2023.

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 6mo ago

""When I think about education, I don't think about it as a cost. I think about it as an investment," Tony Wakeham told CBC Radio's On the Go."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/mun-budget-pc-tony-wakeham-1.7406105 #Canada #NL #education

Here's what an investment looks like: for every $1 of public money put into the university $2-4 come out into the economy...

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 19mo ago

@restartproject@mastodon.green is hiring! Details here:

https://therestartproject.org/about/jobs/?utm_source=restart&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&__s=nkx5e7tmss5rqj9oihs7

therestartproject.org

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 6mo ago

Replying to

The accompanying video is hilarious 😂 https://vimeo.com/1168468796?fl=pl&fe=sh #tech #enshittification

The Ensh*ttificator

Forbrukerrådet

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 6mo ago

Replying to

4/x Fund the Freedom to Learn "A plaque in the atrium of the Arts and Administration building on MUN’s St. John’s campus reminds us that our university was created as a living tribute to the enormous sacrifices made by the people of Newfoundland and Labrador on the battlefields of Europe: “In the freedom of learning their cause and sacrifice might not be forgotten.” This legacy is a moving testament to the desire of the people of this province to build something of beauty and meaning that helps us all live better together now and in the future of this place." https://themuse.ca/letter-fund-the-freedom-to-learn/ #munfa #MUN #newfoundland #labrador #postsecondary #university #canada

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

Replying to

"The fact that a Canadian Brookfield company will be selling to a U.S. Brookfield company also raises concerns about transfer pricing, that is privileging the U.S. subsidiary in the price it pays for Canadian electricity. " https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2026/07/24/Powell-River-Canada-Electricity-Future/ #Canada

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 7mo ago

I think war is bad. If you do too, here's a small thing you can do right now:

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/condemn-carneys-musings-about-dispatching-troops-to-iran?source=direct_link&

#Canada #war #politics

actionnetwork.org

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 7mo ago

RE: @openculture@toot.community

Barbra Streisand! Oooooo-wah-ah-woooo-ahhh...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Duck_Sauce_-_Barbra_Streisand_sample.ogg

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

RE: https://hachyderm.io/@molly0xfff/116992284596853424 The always excellent @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io offering us the mappings! Consider supporting the work if you can (I can, so I do).

Quoting

@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io

My newest Citation Needed project made an appearance on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver! It’s a work in progress, but you can see the new interactive version of my map of the Trump family’s crypto ventures at https://map.citationneeded.news/ The map contains hundreds of business entities and links to the Trump family (with more being added!), augmented with data from the president’s most recent financial filings to estimate how much money is flowing in. It will be queryable by other researchers/journalists.

Open quoted post

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 26mo ago

Replying to

@Ailantd@mastodon.art These are so great 😀 I always enjoy when your images pop into my feed here. Thank you!

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Josh Lepawsky @jlepawsky@hachyderm.io

· 2w ago

Replying to

@Captain_Jack_Sparrow@mastodon.world Manchester?

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