Alex Pollitt

[Alex Pollitt @lxpollitt]

@ahrkrak Yes

[Alex Pollitt @lxpollitt]

@anne_e_currie @philpearl I still wonder what else is going on brings these numbers. I find it hard to believe that the switch to condensing gas boilers has been linear over this entire period, and if it were a dominant factor I would expect to see a less linear line for gas. That’s just my gut though!

[Alex Pollitt @lxpollitt]

@anne_e_currie @philpearl The thing I didn’t spot at first is that the scales for gas and electricity in the chart seem to have been chosen in a way that lakes the chart interpretation a bit unintuitive. The electricity axis covers a 2x range, whereas the gas axis covers a 3x range.

[Alex Pollitt @lxpollitt]

@anne_e_currie “Banning non-condensing boilers was a big part of this story.”

muses: why do the electricity and gas lines
correlate so closely if condensing gas boilers was a big part of the story? what was the electrical equivalent?

muses: what does this chart really show us?

[Sabine Hossenfelder @skdh]

I've been working on a video about net zero -- what is it, how will we get there, how far are we along the way, etc. Just finished recording. Research has been extremely depressing.

In an nutshell, every serious source (incl the IPCC) agrees that there's no way we'll reach net zero without substantial and fast investment into extensive carbon removal. We're talking about an increase by at least a factor 100 (!) by 2050. Yet this carbon removal doesn't even exist in plans. That's right, even if you add up all the plans that have been put forward -- which I'd say are a pie in the sky already -- it wouldn't work.

The cherry on the rotten tart of net zero are environmental groups (infamously, Greenpeace) who are opposed to carbon capture and storage (CCS) at fossil fuel plants, and since most people can't tell the difference between CCS and carbon removal, it's getting in the way of net zero. Like with nuclear power, it's increasingly the so-called "environmentalists" who are in the way of protecting the environment.

I'm not a fan of offshore drilling either, but complaining about CCS is broken logic.

I'll have more details about this in the upcoming video (will be out in in a few weeks) but the more I think about it, the more I feel like the origin of this problem is presumably well-meaning activists (let's not name names) whose we-can-do-it attitude has made people think reaching net zero is much easier than it really is.

These are all difficult topics with many nuances, but if I was in charge of running the world I'd quit. Sorry, I meant to say if I was in charge of running the world, my course of action would be:

(a) Nuclear power everywhere it's geographically safe enough. I know that no one really likes nuclear power, but it's the least bad option to decarbonize energy intensive industry quickly.
(b) Bio energy with carbon capture and storage everywhere there's large amounts of quickly re-growing biomass available, it would make sense for rich countries to finance such facilities elsewhere
(c) Expand and modernize the electric grid asap because without that nothing else will work -- according to a recent IEA report there's 3000 GW (!) of renewable energy power plants waiting to be hooked up onto electric grids that can't cope
(d) electric vehicles (the world is actually doing quite well with that one, if it wasn't for point (c))
(e) synthetic fuels produced with renewable energy -- it's energetically hugely inefficient but realistically the only way to decarbonize aviation quickly, you may want to do this in regions with reliable sunshine (Australia, Africa)

The reason I didn't say anything about wind and solar is not that those are unimportant but that those are faict going fine.

My twitter feed has been greatly enriched by @EliotJacobson who is as doom as doom gets which I think is the appropriate reaction in the current situation.

[Alex Pollitt @lxpollitt]

@kelseyhightower I would put that in the “good friends” bucket 🤣

[Alex Pollitt @lxpollitt]

It's been raining here...

[Alex Pollitt @lxpollitt]

@philpearl Quit your job and sit around at home all day worrying about whether you’ll run out of money before the world ends? ;-)

[Alex Pollitt @lxpollitt]

@thebsdbox Do you cycle from your house? Or drive up then cycle?

[Alex Pollitt @lxpollitt]

@jbeda I’m struggling to find words in response to this sad news. Her words, not so long ago, seem poignant and perhaps could not be more apt “i would love to see you again - and im certainly glad i was able to give you a hug when i could”💔

[Alex Pollitt @lxpollitt]

@jbeda I’m struggling to find words in response to this sad news. Her words, not so long ago, seem poignant and perhaps could not be more apt “i would love to see you again - and im certainly glad i was able to give you a hug when i could”💔

[Alex Pollitt @lxpollitt]

@JohanSalomon @lukaseder @GeorgeMallory19 They didn’t realize there was a camera!

[Alex Pollitt @lxpollitt]

Why is it that so many banks still think it is ok to phone you up and start by asking you all your security questions as part of their standard operating practices? The exact information we aren’t supposed to give to scammers when they phone claiming to be a bank? @thenutmegteam

[Alex Pollitt @lxpollitt]

Not hard to spot when the waiting list for the private beta is a fake data. You too can get this exact same screen with fake waiting list numbers in it encouraging you to share with friends. Doesn’t bode well for the ethical credentials of this AI company: @Revocalize

[Dr Dan Goyal @danielgoyal]

A thread for the ultra-wealthy.

If you are wealthy, you may think that if the U.K. switches from an NHS-model to a private model of healthcare it will either a) be better for you, or b) will not affect you.

Here is why you are wrong…
🧵

[George Mack @george__mack]

What is ignored or neglected by the media -- but will be studied by historians?

Here's the full list of 25 examples:

[Alex Pollitt @lxpollitt]

@anne_e_currie @jonberger0 @liljenstolpe I wonder what the green impact of personal VPN services is, which seem to be growing more popular? Is there as smarter way of solving this problem? Haven’t thought about that much but I’m curious. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Alex Pollitt @lxpollitt]

@anne_e_currie @jonberger0 @liljenstolpe AI compression algorithms have the potential for 10x reduction in this kind of traffic, but I anticipate challenges with video codec standardisation processes being misaligned with rate of AI innovation. And help us if the trend towards lossless audio ever jumps over to video!