The key point that I think a lot of engineers still don't get is that their job is not about making widgets that get plonked on top of the world. This is about changing the shape of things inside a working system (Planet Earth) to shift how it operates. Those widgets become part of that system - it's like operating on a living human. The engineers of the future mustn't see their job as creating things external to the world. #science#engineering#climate#Earth
@davidho Are they going to make them cycle to the races from the other races? Is the logical end point of this just giving a bunch of cyclists a rucksack and a map in Spain in June, and saying good luck - we'll see you in France in August after you've wiggled all over Europe for 10,000 miles? .
It is completely ludicrous that anyone is still talking about hydrogen for home heating - itโs far less efficient, less safe, more expensive and less flexible than heat pumps. This report is the last nail in a coffin that is already more nail than coffin.
@Hypx@neilturner Heat pumps are completely normal in many countries. They think weโre crazy for not having them. Itโs a highly workable solution, and a far more effective use of energy.
Reviewing scientific papers would be much more fun if the actual science wasn't so often obscured by so many basic errors of grammar, communication and logic. It's often like marking 1st year UG projects.
No-one should be talking about scientists learning the skills to communicate with the public, policymakers etc until those scientists can actually communicate to start with.
And sloppy writing betrays sloppy thinking, so it matters.
I keep thinking about Chris vT's suggested approach to ultra-processed food: put yourself on a two week 80% UPF diet BUT read/educate yourself throughout about harm it's does you. It will become revolting, and you'll be weaned off it.
Would this work for climate change? Yes, fly to NZ for just 3 days, binge eat beef, splurge on fast fashion, drive everywhere etc, but HERE is your reading list while you do all that... ? Maybe? Has anyone tried?
@Rjdlandscapes The problem is that we give them leaflets and they just don't (and of course there are often personal financial/circumstance constraints on what people want to do - I'm not talking about the convinced-but-unable - but the very able and unconvinced).
@failedLyndonLaRouchite Apparently this is very effective for smoking too - the critical point is that you have to be reading/learning about it while it's doing harm to you. And then after not too long you connect the two and just stop.
@sellathechemist But the key (Iโm sure youโve read Chris vTโs book too, since youโre in it) is education about the harm itโs doing you at the same time. I think that lot never listen to anyone, so arenโt learning anything. Although Iโm pretty sure Bill Gates still has a private jet, so the success rate clearly isnโt 100%. But I wonder if anyone has studied it in more normal folk.
here at UCL we have just received a "security alert" from a senior (panicky) manager in our Estates Team about possible "disruption" from #JustStopOil . Maybe I should send him this graph (courtesy of @peter_glen). We have to cut our emissions by ยฝ by 2030 and 80% by 2040โฆ This is not a rehearsal. So maybe it's time we focused our concerns about safety and security somewhere more appropriate? A bunch of pensioners with paintpots and glue aren't a risk to our "business model".
@sellathechemist Just out of interest, what do you think the biggest things they're not doing are? I thought they'd divested and all that sort of stuff, but seem to be relying on individual departments to work out what else to do. What do you see as the low-hanging fruit?
Where are people most active these days? Twitter, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky? Do you have a favourite in one but cross post to any others?
Iโve hardly been active since the issues started but I do miss the public social interactions.
(Posting to Mastodon, Threads, X as part of the experiment)
@MichelleMartin I think that we're stuck with everything being really fragmented for years, or at least until someone bullies the tech giants into interoperability. I'm on everything, but focussed here and on BlueSky. I really miss the interactions too... but I don't think we're getting that back for a long time.
It's publication day for The Blue Machine in the US and Canada. Same book, with a different subtitle and miles in some places instead of km (but still mostly SI units, yay!).
If you're an ocean scientist and your family don't understand what you do and why, this might help.
"I love Helen Czerskiโs writing, and this is her richest work yetโas clear as springwater, yet as filled with fascinating things as the ocean itself."- Sarah Bakewell
@JerrDansel Authors donโt really get any say in who reads the audiobook. The publishers just arrange it, and if they ask us, we might say yes. Last time (Storm in a teacup) they never even asked me. There is a trend towards author reading, but not all writers are good readers.
@DoodlePeter US and Canadian versions are identical. The UK version is all SI units, but for the US version the horizontal distances are in miles and the rest is SI. Thatโs a huge step forward, though - last time they made me convert all distances.
This is a horrendous decision: Rosebank, the largest untapped oilfield in UK waters, has been approved by the UK government. This comes via the regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority, which is in severe need of reform.
Over the last few weeks, Iโve been working on a podcast series about the structure and ownership of the UK oil sector, because this is essential understanding for dismantling it. Itโs been eye-opening, but empowering. Itโll be out in 2-3 weeks.