@timrichards Look at these easily offended snowflakes wanting to intervene in the free market when it doesn't support their 'correct' political position.
They hate freedom — in this case, the freedom to buy an energy efficient appliance — and so are using the might of big government to force their ideological agenda on businesses and ordinary freedom-loving Americans.
@timrichards I think the bigger story is the GFC, and the Iraq/Afghan Wars, put an end to Bush/Reagan neoconservatism as a governing ideology.
That mix of Friedman/Hayek neoliberal economics and American interventionism wasn't ever a great governing ideology. But at least it was at least something.
Now, a lot of the American right's ideology is just anti-leftism.
It's advocating for anything American progressives oppose, and opposing anything the left supports — no matter how inane.
Which leads to legislation to mandate less energy efficient home appliances. For freedom.
This is nothing short of a full-stack AI-ification of search. Google is using its Gemini AI to figure out what you’re asking about, whether you’re typing, speaking, taking a picture, or shooting a video.
@denshirenji@asklemmy On photos, does NextCloud Photos or Memories play nice with Digikam or any other desktop photo gallery applications? And what about Immich?
"The head of the IPCC has compared the rollout of carbon capture and storage (#CCS) to "trying to push water uphill," questioning a technology that the oil and gas industry has long touted as integral to net-zero emission plans.
The International Energy Agency has previously called for the oil and gas industry to let go of the "illusion" that carbon capture is a solution to climate change, pushing instead for energy majors to ramp up investments in clean energy."
@CelloMomOnCars "Frankly, society, and the activist—the dominant voice in this [climate change] discussion—has tried to exclude the industry that has the most capacity and the highest potential for helping with some of the technologies."
Disturbing, noticed across theatre and live music too. I wonder if the pandemic shifted many people's entertainment habits to online stuff they can do from home.
Opera Australia posts $4.9m loss, as shift to musicals draws audiences
So despite climate change, Australia's federal government has just committed an extra $3.25 billion into building a toll road and a 20-lane freeway widening.
"Pouring an extra $3.25 billion worth of federal funds into Melbourne’s North East Link is a good use of taxpayer money, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has insisted, despite the project’s cost doubling just a few months ago.
...
"The North East Link – which includes 6½ kilometres of tunnels – will stretch from Bulleen to Greensborough. It will widen the Eastern Freeway by up to 20 lanes.
"Allan revealed in December that the 10-kilometre toll road had more than doubled in cost since it was first announced.
"The toll road was initially budgeted at $10 billion and reassessed in 2019 at $15 billion. But the government revealed last year that the updated cost estimate was $26 billion."
Hornsby is the fifth best place to live in Australia, apparently.
At least, according to a study SGS Economics and Planning:
"Sydney's Northern beaches ranks as the highest in the nation for wellbeing, with only one Queensland city making it to the top 10, the annual index revealed today.
"The Australian Capital Territory came in second due to its low gender wage gaps, climate change risks and the division of wealth."
The study assessed 518 local council areas on seven indicators:
The Westfield has most major chains you'd want, including a David Jones and a cinema.
There are some good local restaurants.
For a satellite city/outer suburb/exburb, the area around the Hornsby CBD is surprisingly dense. Three-storey blocks of flats and apartment buildings, for the most part.
Very multicultural these days.
Walking distance to national parks.
Multiple train lines to most of northern Sydney, as well as the Central Coast, Newcastle, and beyond.
You can comfortably live without a car there.
I've had the misfortune of visiting the local hospital. It's clean and modern.
Good public and private schools.
It's close to the Macquarie Park business precinct, as well as the university.
It's reasonably affordable (at least by Sydney standards).
But.
There's little in the way of live music. Or arts and culture.
It's a long way from many of the places you'd want to visit in Sydney.
No local beaches.
While there are good restaurants there, it doesn't hold a candle to somewhere like Newtown, or Surry Hills, or Church Street in Parramatta.
So it's a good place.
But it's a long, long way off top five place in all of Australia.
@alcoholicorn It is when it has been privatised to a company that pretty much pays no tax (hi Transurban!), for roads that taxpayers helped to pay for, and those toll roads connect car dependent suburbs that have next to no public transport.
@alcoholicorn Yeah, that's not how it tends to work in Australia.
What happens is a state government puts up a good chunk of time construction costs (as much as half in some cases), plus public land.
In some cases, the freeway already exists, but the state government wants one more lane built, because it thinks that will ease congestion (as happened with sections of the Tullamarine and Monash Freeways in Melbourne).
It gets handed off to Transurban, who builds it under a long-term operating agreement (30 years is common).
In some cases, the agreements have clauses saying railways that compete with the toll road can't be built.
As the end of the lease approaches, Transurban offers to build one more lane — in exchange for extending the agreement.