Simon Batterbury
@simonbatterbury.bsky.social
160 followers 31 following 130 posts
Day job: Environmental Studies Prof@ Melbourne www.simonbatterbury.net Editor, Journal of Political Ecology since 2003 https://journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/jpe .Political ecology, critical minerals, New Caledonia-Kanaky, community bike workshops
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simonbatterbury.bsky.social
Another problem is that I played my students a 2-minute bbc podcast about dam construction here in Australia, and it was preceded by two minutes of adverts!
simonbatterbury.bsky.social
E-bikes: www.9news.com.au/national/ebi... if half of those fined or stopped had oversized engines, what does this say about the restriction on having a 250w motor and such an incredibly low speed limit of 25 km per hour assisted? Won't work in country with a good road network & big distances.
Hundreds of e-bike riders fined for having overpowered cycles
Hundreds of e-bike owners in Victoria have been fined for having overpowered and illegal cycles.
www.9news.com.au
simonbatterbury.bsky.social
reneweconomy.com.au/woodside-gas... Great article by colleagues, for Australian readers. Government has issued major climate plans today, but at the same time, has approved a massive Woodside gas project expansion in NW Australia. Hypocritical.
reneweconomy.com.au
simonbatterbury.bsky.social
BBC Sounds was closed to non UK based listeners on July 21. Thanks BBC
simonbatterbury.bsky.social
Listening to the BBC World Service from overseas, it does not seem all that bad. Stuff that would be of no interest to most British listeners, for example developments in the smaller African and Asian states, is at least reported. But closing BBC Sounds to non UK listeners in July was a disaster.
simonbatterbury.bsky.social
I'm a bit worried that the locals don't want tourists and visitors, especially at that time of year
simonbatterbury.bsky.social
That is not Tucson, Used to live there.
simonbatterbury.bsky.social
Loads in Europe and especially Netherlands, but with ped/cyclist underpasses. Alternative is interminable waits for lights at X crossings [with stop/start emissions spike] incl for peds/cyclists, as in N America
simonbatterbury.bsky.social
Doesn't make sense to me. as [mainly] a cyclist.
simonbatterbury.bsky.social
Transport VIC and train operators should be encouraging more people to use the public transport network, through safety checks or licensing of Ebikes, or suggesting other ways to weed out the bad ones in cooperation with the state government. Yes, this will cost more, and involved more agencies.
simonbatterbury.bsky.social
A big ban is not a 'sustainable' transport policy, and in fact it is the reverse – just a quick response to a risk that happens very infrequently and could be further regulated.
simonbatterbury.bsky.social
The 'blanket' ban will force many more people off public transport, and onto roads and highways. We should not do this – we should be rewarding people getting out of cars and onto ebikes.
simonbatterbury.bsky.social
- People regularly crossing state lines, if VIC policies are different. We already have a problem with motor size rules between VIC [250w] and NSW [500w].
simonbatterbury.bsky.social
Riders of Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) powered bikes, which cannot explode because of their different chemistry except under very high temps indeed. You would need to distinguish these from Lithium-Ion.
simonbatterbury.bsky.social
- People who may occasionally take a bike on a train due to a puncture, flat battery, picking up children, heavy loads, etc. They would now risk a fine, and they may be transporting a legitimate ebike that is not at risk of a fire.
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simonbatterbury.bsky.social
- People with disabilities, who would presumably now need to seek an exemption. E-wheelchairs and mobility aids also have lithium batteries.
simonbatterbury.bsky.social
Ebikes to get closer to jobs in industrial districts and the airport before cycling part of journey. Evidence is from my work as a board member at a community bike project, WeCycle, that builds conventional bikes for at-need populations. Ebikes to reach jobs and education are often mentioned.
simonbatterbury.bsky.social
People who rely on combining e-bikes w trains for everything from their daily commute to recreational rides in metro/regional Victoria. Ebikes have been fantastic for people with travel distances in the regions, 'last few miles' commuting by Ebike, city commuters, eg outlying suburbs...NW of Melb
simonbatterbury.bsky.social
A ban on ALL e-bikes discriminates the following groups: -Those riding high quality bikes – eg with reliable circuitry/motors (Bosch, Shimano) that have not blown up, and the bikes that house them [eg Giant, Cell] that meet European and Australian standards. No thermal fires have been attributed.