Very well written opinion piece on the imagined war on meat. There's no such thing (yet). Just some scientists pointing out it has a really high carbon footprint and requires a lot of (fertile) land.
Of course there is also all the myths about meat eating being healthier (although most actual health experts say the opposite).
And what about animal suffering you ask? I predict that in 30 years we'll be just as ashamed about the bio industry as we are now about genocides.
Which brings out the techno-optimist in me. (Apparently that is a bad thing, but I don't think so.)
I think plant-based alternatives will continue to get tastier to the point where you like them more.
Together with cultured meat they will replace traditional meat I think.
I'm wondering what this will mean for the culture wars.
Will we see Tucker Carlson and other nutjobs personally slaughtering animals because real men only like meat that has suffered?
Or will they tow the company line of their cultured meat sponsors?
Exciting times!
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The @Hyundai Ioniq 5: first car to do V2G (vehicle to grid) with the onboard charger!
(No special DC chargepoint needed.)
And it's immediately tested here in the Netherlands by @WeDriveSolar and @hyundainl.
Great step because V2G can add a LOT of value.
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EVs can add a powerful demand to the grid at the moment when the grid is already at peak capacity. (Namely when people come home.)
Shifting charging to a later time on most days (called smart charging) makes that peak go away and electricity cleaner.
But we can go a step further by making the car actually deliver energy BACK to the grid with V2G or vehicle to grid. Now the car can actively LOWER the peak and we can TURN OFF GAS OR COAL while the electric vehicle charges on solar and wind on moments when these are abundant.
The UK is en-route to emit less than at the start of the industrial revolution! It's historic and proves beyond a doubt that emitting less carbon while getting wealthier and more populous is possible. We CAN prosper while dealing effectively with climate change.
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The UK is entering the steep slope of the s-curve of emission reduction. Not because of some hard to understand voodoo but simply because of phasing out coal and phasing in renewables. Now oil in cars and gas in home heating need to follow suit and you get pretty close to zero.
There's lot's of caveats and excellent analysis in the thread by @DrSimEvans where these two pictures also came from. For example: there will be a small bounce-back after COVID and many emissions are imported in the form of goods.
"Let me begin with the obvious: emobilily has won the race"
Herbert Dies CEO @volkswagen
VW just had "Power Day" and it is not just introducing electric vehicles anymore: it's reorienting the entire company from internal combustion to batteries.
For those able to read German (or if you don't mind reading translated webpages) here is a good write-up from @Stefan_Hajek: wiwo.de/technologie/mo…
Here the entire livestream. Diess highlights:
240 GWh/year through 6 gigafactories in Europe
A new battery cell to cover 80% of VW cars in 2030 and reduce prices by up to 50%
Create biggest fast-charging network in the world in Europe and China
In an open letter 60 scientists criticize Angela Merkel's focus on electric vehicles. I'm flabbergasted by their lack of knowledge. Seems the combustion engine bubble is effectively shielding itself from reality. Let me try to burst their bubble (again). br.de/nachrichten/de…
They claim Merkel is 'ignoring physical realities' but the 'gotchas' they come up with have a very long beard by now and have been debunked over and over (e.g. see my pinned thread).
It reminds me of some nuclear bro's and clueless politicians advocating for thorium plants without being able to process the fact that it will take at least untill 2040 for such plants to arrive and without acknowledging they will probably be pretty expensive. But I digress.
German TV (@WDR) and car industry (@AudiOfficial) lying about electric vehicles. Again. See picture.
An official looking TV clip is making its ways to Audi car salesmen with points against electric vehicles that are simply wrong. Let me explain in a short thread.
I studied political science and it seems to me US democracy has become a reality soap with imagined grievances and tribalism more important for most people than democratic norms. And utterly irresponsible politicians will be able to run again with not even a slap on the wrist.
For me the root cause is irresponsible voters who think they can behave like hooligans at a football game. Who think politics is entertainment and they can just vote with their gut. Who are so insecure, coddled and entitled that they think they can choose their own facts.