MASmith
@masmith.bsky.social
Mostly here for renewable energy and public health news/insights, and appreciative of those on this site who share their expertise. Also enjoy the nature photography. Views are my own.
Not an engineer, but the opportunities for innovation around EV design for greater efficiency, economy, and utility seem remarkable.
arstechnica.com/cars/2025/12...
arstechnica.com/cars/2025/12...
Donut Lab’s hub motor meets WATT’s battery to create new EV skateboard
A prototype of the EV platform will be shown off at CES next month.
arstechnica.com
December 20, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Not an engineer, but the opportunities for innovation around EV design for greater efficiency, economy, and utility seem remarkable.
arstechnica.com/cars/2025/12...
arstechnica.com/cars/2025/12...
Reposted by MASmith
Science has named the seemingly unstoppable growth of renewable energy worldwide as the 2025 Breakthrough of the Year.
Learn more about this year's #BOTY and other big advances in science: https://scim.ag/493Tpgx
Learn more about this year's #BOTY and other big advances in science: https://scim.ag/493Tpgx
December 18, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Science has named the seemingly unstoppable growth of renewable energy worldwide as the 2025 Breakthrough of the Year.
Learn more about this year's #BOTY and other big advances in science: https://scim.ag/493Tpgx
Learn more about this year's #BOTY and other big advances in science: https://scim.ag/493Tpgx
Reposted by MASmith
Just took the EV6 in for a service and new tyres, got a petrol Kia Stonic as a loaner. What an absolute piece of shit, how does anyone drive a petrol car every day?
Honestly, try an EV and you'll never want to go back to the dark ages
#kikorangi
Honestly, try an EV and you'll never want to go back to the dark ages
#kikorangi
December 17, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Just took the EV6 in for a service and new tyres, got a petrol Kia Stonic as a loaner. What an absolute piece of shit, how does anyone drive a petrol car every day?
Honestly, try an EV and you'll never want to go back to the dark ages
#kikorangi
Honestly, try an EV and you'll never want to go back to the dark ages
#kikorangi
Reposted by MASmith
RSV is the leading cause of hospitalization for newborns.
#RSV vaccine protects older adults, and drug protects babies, but less so over time, studies suggest
Older adults and infants are especially vulnerable to severe RSV, with possible complications of bronchiolitis, pneumonia, and sepsis.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/r...
Older adults and infants are especially vulnerable to severe RSV, with possible complications of bronchiolitis, pneumonia, and sepsis.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/r...
December 17, 2025 at 11:13 PM
RSV is the leading cause of hospitalization for newborns.
The 7 AAP grants from HHS that were cut included "initiatives on reducing sudden infant deaths, improving adolescent health, preventing fetal alcohol syndrome and identifying autism early."
wapo.st/48U8yB2
wapo.st/48U8yB2
American Academy of Pediatrics loses HHS funding after criticizing RFK Jr.
HHS cuts key AAP grants, citing concerns about “identity-based language” and insufficient focus on agency priorities. The organization said the cuts could harm child health.
wapo.st
December 18, 2025 at 1:47 AM
The 7 AAP grants from HHS that were cut included "initiatives on reducing sudden infant deaths, improving adolescent health, preventing fetal alcohol syndrome and identifying autism early."
wapo.st/48U8yB2
wapo.st/48U8yB2
Reposted by MASmith
Emerging markets are now driving the global growth of BEV sales. 🧪🔌💡☀️💨💧 ember-energy.org/latest-insig...
The EV leapfrog - how emerging markets are driving a global EV boom | Ember
Growth in emerging markets has turbocharged global EV sales in 2025, with over a quarter of new cars sold being electric.
ember-energy.org
December 17, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Emerging markets are now driving the global growth of BEV sales. 🧪🔌💡☀️💨💧 ember-energy.org/latest-insig...
Reposted by MASmith
Just wanted to note that the hepatitis B shot was the world's first anti-cancer vaccine. It helps prevent liver cancer. The HPV shot is the second cancer vaccine to be developed. It protects against cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis anus and head and neck.
Pediatricians reject CDC advisers’ guidance, plan to continue vaccinating all newborns against hepatitis B
www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...
www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...
Pediatricians reject CDC advisers’ guidance, plan to continue vaccinating all newborns against hepatitis B
www.cidrap.umn.edu
December 17, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Just wanted to note that the hepatitis B shot was the world's first anti-cancer vaccine. It helps prevent liver cancer. The HPV shot is the second cancer vaccine to be developed. It protects against cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis anus and head and neck.
Reposted by MASmith
It hasn't even been twelve hours, but all three of us have been overwhelmed with requests from media for comment and I'm mostly writing this now so they'll leave me alone.
this is such a painful loss. my heart is broken.
“The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them — words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they’re brought out. But it’s more than that,...
wilwheaton.net
December 15, 2025 at 10:14 PM
It hasn't even been twelve hours, but all three of us have been overwhelmed with requests from media for comment and I'm mostly writing this now so they'll leave me alone.
Reposted by MASmith
Oh god no. He’s one of the nicest men I’ve ever met in my entire life. The one day I met him he went out of his way to make me feel welcomed and valued. Please let this be a mistake
December 15, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Oh god no. He’s one of the nicest men I’ve ever met in my entire life. The one day I met him he went out of his way to make me feel welcomed and valued. Please let this be a mistake
Reposted by MASmith
The cost of grid-scale solar plus batteries has become so cheap that spreading solar power out over 24 hours is now cost-competive with building new natural gas plants in many cases.
ember-energy.org/latest-insig...
ember-energy.org/latest-insig...
December 14, 2025 at 8:44 AM
The cost of grid-scale solar plus batteries has become so cheap that spreading solar power out over 24 hours is now cost-competive with building new natural gas plants in many cases.
ember-energy.org/latest-insig...
ember-energy.org/latest-insig...
Reposted by MASmith
Extraordinary courage from Ahmed al Ahmed, a Muslim, 43-year-old father of two, who bravely risked his life to save his neighbors celebrating Hanukkah.
Praying for his full & speedy recovery.
And so deeply inspired by his example.
Praying for his full & speedy recovery.
And so deeply inspired by his example.
December 14, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Extraordinary courage from Ahmed al Ahmed, a Muslim, 43-year-old father of two, who bravely risked his life to save his neighbors celebrating Hanukkah.
Praying for his full & speedy recovery.
And so deeply inspired by his example.
Praying for his full & speedy recovery.
And so deeply inspired by his example.
Good article describing the dilemma faced by US car manufacturers: living in a world set on adopting EVs and dealing with a government bent on making them “niche manufacturers of big gas guzzlers confined to the US”.
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/b...
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/b...
Ford’s Car of the Future, Hatched in a Skunk Works Near Los Angeles
www.nytimes.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Good article describing the dilemma faced by US car manufacturers: living in a world set on adopting EVs and dealing with a government bent on making them “niche manufacturers of big gas guzzlers confined to the US”.
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/b...
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/b...
Reposted by MASmith
Kentucky has lost three babies to pertussis, or whooping cough, along with two in Louisiana and two in Texas. The pertussis vaccine, given in combination with vaccines against diphtheria and tetanus, is safe and lifesaving.
PAHO warns of whooping cough vaccination gap
Pertussis vaccination coverage dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 87% coverage in the region for the first dose.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/p...
Pertussis vaccination coverage dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 87% coverage in the region for the first dose.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/p...
December 10, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Kentucky has lost three babies to pertussis, or whooping cough, along with two in Louisiana and two in Texas. The pertussis vaccine, given in combination with vaccines against diphtheria and tetanus, is safe and lifesaving.
Reposted by MASmith
Offshore wind is happening in the U.S., despite the Trump administration’s hostility to it.
I saw it up close, & from what I saw, these offshore turbines are co-existing with the marine environment & generating a reliable source of zero-carbon electricity
www.oneearthnow.org/p/offshore-w...
I saw it up close, & from what I saw, these offshore turbines are co-existing with the marine environment & generating a reliable source of zero-carbon electricity
www.oneearthnow.org/p/offshore-w...
Offshore Wind, Despite Facing Stiff Federal Headwinds, is Working
South Fork Wind, the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the US, is exceeding expectations for power generation and co-existing with the marine environment.
www.oneearthnow.org
December 8, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Offshore wind is happening in the U.S., despite the Trump administration’s hostility to it.
I saw it up close, & from what I saw, these offshore turbines are co-existing with the marine environment & generating a reliable source of zero-carbon electricity
www.oneearthnow.org/p/offshore-w...
I saw it up close, & from what I saw, these offshore turbines are co-existing with the marine environment & generating a reliable source of zero-carbon electricity
www.oneearthnow.org/p/offshore-w...
Marques Brownlee talking about Xiaomi SU7 electric car is talking about the future of autos, while the current administration tries to bring back gas guzzling dinosaurs. Yes, we’re cooked, unless there is a radical change in direction. youtu.be/Mb6H7trzMfI?...
Driving Xiaomi's Electric Car: Are we Cooked?
YouTube video by Marques Brownlee
youtu.be
December 9, 2025 at 3:29 AM
Marques Brownlee talking about Xiaomi SU7 electric car is talking about the future of autos, while the current administration tries to bring back gas guzzling dinosaurs. Yes, we’re cooked, unless there is a radical change in direction. youtu.be/Mb6H7trzMfI?...
Reposted by MASmith
For my latest @opinion.bloomberg.com, I wrote about this week's ACIP meeting-- yes, the CDC panel's terrible hep B vaccine decision, but the simple strategy RFK's handpicked members are using to sow confusion and distrust in vaccines. (🎁 link)
CDC Panel’s Hepatitis B Vaccine Vote Undid Decades of Progress
In a stunning decision that defies all expert advice and scientific evidence, the influential group that shapes US vaccine policy will no longer recommend that all infants receive the hepatitis B vacc...
www.bloomberg.com
December 7, 2025 at 2:35 PM
For my latest @opinion.bloomberg.com, I wrote about this week's ACIP meeting-- yes, the CDC panel's terrible hep B vaccine decision, but the simple strategy RFK's handpicked members are using to sow confusion and distrust in vaccines. (🎁 link)
Reposted by MASmith
"Large language models can only predict the next thing a human would say. Train one on texts from the late 1800s and it won’t invent airplanes or rockets. It will channel ideas from that period, when leading scientists thought human flight was impossible." www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o...
Opinion | Don’t Fear the Bubble Bursting
www.nytimes.com
December 8, 2025 at 10:11 AM
"Large language models can only predict the next thing a human would say. Train one on texts from the late 1800s and it won’t invent airplanes or rockets. It will channel ideas from that period, when leading scientists thought human flight was impossible." www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o...
Chief Justice Roberts: “Excessive partisanship in districting leads to results that reasonably seem unjust,” he wrote. He added, ... that “such gerrymandering is ‘incompatible with democratic principles.’” Per his own words, he is destroying our democracy.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/u...
The Supreme Court, Once Wary of Partisan Gerrymandering, Goes All In
www.nytimes.com
December 8, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Chief Justice Roberts: “Excessive partisanship in districting leads to results that reasonably seem unjust,” he wrote. He added, ... that “such gerrymandering is ‘incompatible with democratic principles.’” Per his own words, he is destroying our democracy.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/u...
Looking to the horizon to see the December Cold Moon, which they say is around 10–14% larger and noticeably brighter than an average full moon.
December 5, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Looking to the horizon to see the December Cold Moon, which they say is around 10–14% larger and noticeably brighter than an average full moon.
Reposted by MASmith
As the U.S. doubles down on gas powered vehicles, the world will quickly move to smarter choices.
I read this week how one of the top marketing people at GM was still talking about range anxiety.
I read this week how one of the top marketing people at GM was still talking about range anxiety.
December 4, 2025 at 12:10 PM
As the U.S. doubles down on gas powered vehicles, the world will quickly move to smarter choices.
I read this week how one of the top marketing people at GM was still talking about range anxiety.
I read this week how one of the top marketing people at GM was still talking about range anxiety.
Reposted by MASmith
Are you familiar with the story of the Antarctica sequences?
If not, good for you: you didn't clutter your brain with yet another Covid-origin damp squib, where innocuous data were made to look suspicious by misrepresenting a date.
For the curious, here's the story. ▫️1/9 🧵 #CovidOrigin
If not, good for you: you didn't clutter your brain with yet another Covid-origin damp squib, where innocuous data were made to look suspicious by misrepresenting a date.
For the curious, here's the story. ▫️1/9 🧵 #CovidOrigin
December 3, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Are you familiar with the story of the Antarctica sequences?
If not, good for you: you didn't clutter your brain with yet another Covid-origin damp squib, where innocuous data were made to look suspicious by misrepresenting a date.
For the curious, here's the story. ▫️1/9 🧵 #CovidOrigin
If not, good for you: you didn't clutter your brain with yet another Covid-origin damp squib, where innocuous data were made to look suspicious by misrepresenting a date.
For the curious, here's the story. ▫️1/9 🧵 #CovidOrigin
Reposted by MASmith
“Delaying the first hepatitis B vaccine dose beyond the newborn period introduces risks that have lifelong detrimental consequences and no measurable health benefit.”
Important and timely piece by an amazing team - Mike Abers, Angela Ulrich, & Rochelle Walensky. 👏👏
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Important and timely piece by an amazing team - Mike Abers, Angela Ulrich, & Rochelle Walensky. 👏👏
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Risks of Revising Newborn Hepatitis B Vaccination Recommendation
This Viewpoint from infectious disease experts cautions about the consequences of rescinding the ACIP policy to immunize all newborns against hepatitis B.
jamanetwork.com
December 4, 2025 at 1:49 AM
“Delaying the first hepatitis B vaccine dose beyond the newborn period introduces risks that have lifelong detrimental consequences and no measurable health benefit.”
Important and timely piece by an amazing team - Mike Abers, Angela Ulrich, & Rochelle Walensky. 👏👏
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Important and timely piece by an amazing team - Mike Abers, Angela Ulrich, & Rochelle Walensky. 👏👏
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Reposted by MASmith
Yeesh. Look at the thousands of kids who died before vaccines were available: 1,822 deaths from diptheria; >4,000 from pertussis (whooping cough); 400 from measles; 3,292 from polio; 472 from tetanus; 24 from rubella.
Is this what we're going back to?
Is this what we're going back to?
December 4, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Yeesh. Look at the thousands of kids who died before vaccines were available: 1,822 deaths from diptheria; >4,000 from pertussis (whooping cough); 400 from measles; 3,292 from polio; 472 from tetanus; 24 from rubella.
Is this what we're going back to?
Is this what we're going back to?
Reposted by MASmith
Volvo’s right — laws and bans matter. When the EU wavers on 2035 and the US softens clean-car rules, they’re not helping legacy automakers; they’re slowing themselves while China accelerates. Regulation is the spine of every transition. Without it, the West bends. With it, it competes. ⚡🌍 #EVS #LFP
Volvo's CEO Just Said The Quiet Part Loud About 2035's Gas Car Ban
Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelson and his counterpart at Polestar both oppose the European Union's retreat from a 2035 ban on new gas and diesel cars. Here's why.
insideevs.com
December 3, 2025 at 8:43 PM