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Helen Czerski @helenczerski.bsky.social · 11d

The first steam-powered passenger rail trip was on 27th Sept 1825 (200th bday is nuanced - regular passenger steam slightly later). Here's transport carbon footprint today - Eurostar easily cleanest cos fully electrified. I hope the next 200 yrs has even more (electric) trains! With lower prices...

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Anton Larsson @antonyaolarsson.bsky.social · 12d

Here is the first more in-depth article on the truly breathtaking discovery of a 6 kg silver hoard, containing thousands of late 1100s AD coins and ample Viking Age jewelry, found near Stockholm. Paywalled, but surely not the last you will hear of this. www.dn.se/sverige/hon-...

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James Comey @jamescomey.bsky.social · 12d

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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 28d

Something important is that the Bitcoin debate also featured the same reactionary anti-environmentalist reflexives arguing that we can't argue against something because it's extremely energy intensive.

Fast forward four years: Bitcoin now consumes as much power as Pakistan

archive.ph/BZZbB

Bitcoin, Weed, and NFTs
The Case for Frivolity in a Future of Abundance
Mar 12, 2021

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Climate advocates seem increasingly concerned about fun and frivolity. I am here to defend it.

But let me begin by (partially) agreeing with climate hawks’ fashionable antipathy towards one particular frivolity: Bitcoin.

My case against Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is simple: we already have money and it works great. A successful future for Bitcoin will either see it displace fiat currency under a still heavily-regulated monetary system, in which case the alleged comparative advantages of crypto disappear, or it will achieve its final form as a truly untraceable, unregulatable digital currency, which will further unmoor the public trust in institutions and state capacity that observers across the political spectrum warn has eroded. No thanks.

Now contrast my argument here with those of climate hawks, whose case against Bitcoin tends to begin and end with its carbon footprint. We shouldn’t fret about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies centrally because of their carbon intensity. We should fret because, by and large, they serve no useful social function.

It’s a crucial distinction with implications beyond Bitcoin: We should not oppose emerging technologies and activities merely because they consume a lot of energy. As I wrote a few years ago, “Bitcoin may be a bad idea, but desalination and wastewater treatment, large-scale materials recycling, direct-air carbon capture, vertical farming and aquaculture, and spaceflight have a lot to say for them — and all will come with significant energy demands.” A planet of seven going on nine or ten billion people later this century will require significantly more energy than is produced today, most of it, hopefully, from low-carbon technologies.

But it’s not just essential industries and services that deserve a place in a clean energy future. Even energy-intensive sourc…

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Akshat Rathi @akshatrathi.bsky.social · 28d

Here are 10 provocations on climate and energy. Tell me if you agree, disagree or have a nuanced take. Drop your own provocations in reply or quote post.

Start:

1. By 2030, the use of air conditioning will lead to greater increase in electricity demand than data centers. And it's not even close!

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Philipp Heimberger @heimbergecon.bsky.social · 28d

Statistically insignificant results are at least as interesting as significant ones (but often end up in the file drawer because deemed less publishable). Results are interesting if they change what we believe. No reason that only non-zero findings should change our beliefs.

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Indra Overland @indraoverland.bsky.social · Sep 2

ASEAN megacities face congestion, air pollution, traffic safety issues. Public transport could help remedy all three + mitigate climate change. But in the ASEAN countries' NDCs, only 2.2% of targets covers it. 6 of 10 ASEAN country NDCs make no mention at all. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Does ASEAN climate policy pay sufficient attention to public transportation? - Discover Sustainability

Expansion of public transportation is a climate mitigation measure with many potential co-benefits and positive externalities: reduced congestion, lower air and noise pollution, improved road safety, ...

link.springer.com

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Indra Overland @indraoverland.bsky.social · Aug 12

Our article has just been published:
"Does ASEAN climate policy pay sufficient attention to public transportation?"
If you've ever been in a Jakarta/Manila/Ho Chi Minh City traffic jam, you can probably guess that the answer is "no".
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

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Climate Policy @climate-policy.bsky.social · Jul 9

Climate actions of civil society organisations (CSOs) generally align with national #climate strategies, but there is a notable implementation gap: Yuhao Ba & Zounachuan Sun (NUS) find that efforts focus on advocacy rather than direct programme delivery. Capacity-building should be prioritised ⬇️

Empowering change: implementation of civil society climate actions in Southeast Asia

www.tandfonline.com

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Tamar Haspel @tamarhaspel.bsky.social · Jul 15

People disagree about nearly everything in the climate space.

EXCEPT BIOFUELS.

Absolutely everybody thinks using corn & soy for fuel is a terrible idea - except the people who stand to gain from it, and the people who want those folks' votes.

www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

Biofuel demand to soak up more than half of US soyoil production next year, USDA says

U.S. biofuel makers will consume more than half of all soybean oil produced in the United States next year as a recent flurry of federal policy moves has transformed the sector, including higher blending mandates and curbs on foreign biofuel imports and feedstocks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday.

www.reuters.com

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ian bremmer @ianbremmer.com · Jul 15

high income countries increasingly seeing importance of economic ties with china
meanwhile, that view on the usa is dropping:

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Steven T. Dennis @steventdennis.bsky.social · Jul 12

I think people have yet to wake up to just how amazing e-bikes are. I commute about 20 miles a day, using about 10 cents of electricity. (Mostly on safe trails.)
Every time I ride my brain is ecstatic. I get a workout, but don’t need to shower when I get to work.

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Indra Overland @indraoverland.bsky.social · Jul 12

Does everything climate-related seem hopeless? Here is a ray of light from climate economist Michael Jakob @ct-economics.bsky.social

Michael Jakob @ct-economics.bsky.social · Jul 3

The ESSD update on key climate indicators that came out recently paints a rather sobering picture for climate policy.

Nevertheless, some developments offer reasons to be optimistic that we can still achieve a transition to climate neutrality.

The Case Against Climate Doom

This open access book provides hope against climate pessimism and outline practical ways to combat climate change.

link.springer.com

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Michael Jakob @ct-economics.bsky.social · Jul 3

The ESSD update on key climate indicators that came out recently paints a rather sobering picture for climate policy.

Nevertheless, some developments offer reasons to be optimistic that we can still achieve a transition to climate neutrality.

The Case Against Climate Doom

This open access book provides hope against climate pessimism and outline practical ways to combat climate change.

link.springer.com

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Michael Pettis @michaelpettis.bsky.social · Jul 11

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Katie Martin is right: "Europe is getting a little taster of a high-class problem: the downsides that come with operating a world-beating reserve currency."
www.ft.com/content/8768...

The double-edged sword of a strong euro

Doubts about the dollar bring a new set of problems for Europe

www.ft.com

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Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · Jul 11

I always assumed hydrogen was main path to zero-carbon virgin steel but there might be alternatives:

ArcelorMittal & John Cockerill plan to build world’s first industrial-scale low-temp iron electrolysis plant by 2027 potentially revolutionising steel.

corporate.arcelormittal.com/media/press-...

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Nicolas Fulghum @nicolasfulghum.bsky.social · Jul 11

EU coal power fell to a record low in June, making up just 6.1% of EU electricity generation. 🇪🇺⚡️

Ten years ago, in June 2015, coal still supplied a quarter (25.3%) of EU electricity.

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Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · Jul 8

So much of the media reporting on energy is unhelpful or misleading.

Take the debate around coal in the UK - for years parts of the media reported a coal comeback which was due to seasonal fluctuations only.

In September 2024 the last coal power plant went offline.

Clear case for more nuance.

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Max Roser @maxroser.bsky.social · Jul 5

In 2014, half of Greece's electricity was generated by coal.

A decade later, that share has fallen to just 6%.

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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · Jul 6

reminder: climate fatalism becomes starkly absurd when you put it in literal, immediate and physical terms.

Oh no there's just no way we can ever stop handing billions in subsidies to this coal mining company. Damn, we're doomed. Guess we just keep on doin it

Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · Aug 15

You realise "climate change is inevitable" is absurd when you reword it as "fossil fuels are inevitable" or "Exxon is inevitable" or "Rishi Sunak is inevitable"

It's a threat built of causes which we can identify and fight. Fatalism is pro-fossil. Be pro-fighting, instead ✊🏽

Blue and light-yellows show past temps slightly rising up to now -from now things either get orange-red or very dark red-purple, reflecting least-bad and most-bad respectively. Raw text below

Adverse impacts from human- caused climate change will continue to intensify
The extent to which current and future generations will experience a hotter and different world depends on choices now and in the near-term.
2020
Future emissions
2011-2020 was around 1.1°C warmer- than 1850-1900
1900
1940
1980
scenarios:
very high
2060
2100
high
intermediate
warming continues beyond 2100
low
very low
future experiences depend on how we address climate change.
°C Global temperature change above 1850-1900 levels
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3 3.5
4
born in 1980
born in 2020
70 years old in 2050
born in 1950
Sixth Assessment Report | Synthesis Report
70 years old in 2020
70 years old in 2090
ipcc INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON
climate change
www NEP

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Zachary Lipton @zacharylipton.bsky.social · Jul 5

Small idiosyncratic language errors in otherwise clear technical papers are now a plus; assurance that I'm not wasting my time trying to read GPT spam. #neurips2025

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MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 @maks23.bsky.social · Jul 5

🇺🇦👀 "In the coming months, the Defense Forces will close the skies from Shaheds with interceptor drones," — Achilles Regiment Commander Yuriy Fedorenko

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Go Green @ecowarriorss.bsky.social · Jul 5

Humans are terminating life on Earth in greatest extinction in 252 million years
No fewer than 10,443 species of animal, plant and fungi found on Earth are close to the brink of extinction

14% of Critically Endangered species may already be extinct
www.birdlife.org/news/2025/07...

Close to extinction: the status of Critically Endangered species

A new study co-authored by BirdLife’s Chief Scientist Dr Stuart Butchart and published in Nature Reviews Biodiversity reveals the fortunes of Critically Endangered species, the threats facing them and...

www.birdlife.org

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Jim Woodgett @jwoodgett.bsky.social · Jul 4

Quebec has been one of the better markets for EVs in Canada with rebates, etc. From a story today in the Globe & Mail: "Tesla has taken an even bigger hit here with just 524 registrations in Quebec in the first quarter of 2025, a 90-per-cent decrease compared to the fourth quarter of 2024." 🎻

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Igor Sushko @igorsushko.bsky.social · Jul 4

🇺🇸 Happy July 4th!
As evening approaches, a reminder not to do this:

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