The world’s largest oil company says the transition away from fossil fuels is failing.  This is after large cuts to production.

The reality I see is factories cranking out electric cars and solar panels.  Every time an EV or a solar panel rolls off the assembly line, some small but permanent destruction of traditional energy demand occurs.

I have had an EV for about 5 years.  I don’t forsee ever going back to a gasoline powered car.  Both my children have EVs as do many friends.  I suspect they feel the same.  And it isn’t about any political or social agenda.  They are just better cars.  Faster, quieter, more convenient, lower maintenance.

When I look at the technology trends for solar panels and batteries, it seems to be even more of a no-brainer.  Electricity is the future.  Thanks oil, you got us this far.  Time for a new technology to take the baton.  From CNBC.

Saudi Aramco CEO says energy transition is failing, world should abandon ‘fantasy’ of phasing out oil

From the Atlantic.  Many I have read, many I want to read and a few I probably won’t read (looking at you, Faulkner and David Foster Wallace).  Was surprised to see Oscar Zeta Acosta on the list but no Hunter Thompson.

The GREAT American NOVELS

Post-WW II use and testing of nuclear weapons has left everything slightly radioactive.  If you need, say, steel that is not radioactive, you need to get it from something made before WW II.  One source is old shipwrecks.  From Wiki.

Low-background steel

I left Social Media several years back, for a variety of reasons.  One is that social media is used to manipulate public opinion, with no controls.

In traditional broadcast advertising, everyone sees the paid advertisement and if there are facts that are incorrect, they can be flagged and addressed.  No so in social media.  All communication is private and controlled by a single entity.

This has been used to manipulate elections around the globe.  In my opinion, it has led directly to the recent wave of authoritarian leaders worldwide.  A good article from MIT Technology Review about a piece of this puzzle.

She risked everything to expose Facebook. Now she’s telling her story.

Is it just me or is Austin looking a bit run down lately?

This eclipse is going across a wide swath of the populated US.  Are any other places seeing fit to do this? 

Travis County issues disaster declaration ahead of total solar eclipse

Been reading about this EV. Supposed to be a nice car.  Price isn’t much of a surprise since the cost of EVs is overwhelmingly in the batteries, and battery prices are dropping rapidly.  I don’t see the US allowing these to compete with existing US auto manufacturers (including Tesla) but I can see lots of these in the rest of the world, in the very near future.

BYD launches cheaper Seagull electric car with starting price under $10,000 to fuel price war

I have always been fascinated by doomsday cults.  There are so many of them, even in modern America.   They have always been wrong, every single time, yet they persist.  From London Review of Books.

Apocalypse Now and Then

We have seen the low lake levels in the western US.  Seems it is happening in lots of places and causing a drop in hydroelectric power generation.  From MIT Review.

Emissions hit a record high in 2023. Blame hydropower.