The Death Of Fossil Fuels

[jimbob]

I'll be fascinated to see the polling reaction to this. My guess is: there won't be one. He won't increase his support at all. Not sure if he'll decrease it though. He may, however, solidify floating voters against him.

I think it will combine with the sewerage rule relaxation to to soften his potential support amongst the sort of natural Conservative that probably feels King Charles is on the right track with conservation.

In other words, "Middle England" and the C of E Conservatives

The lib dems might pull a trick like the Teals did in Australia and go for the “fiscally conservative but not an utter c.nt” voter.

Thats along the lines of what I was thinking.

There isn't actually a party for people who are naturally conservative, as opposed to radical right wingers.

And the Lib Dems could occupy a lot of that territory. Especially if the Tories go off on one after the general election.

Remember that the Liberals went from having a PM to third party in a couple of parliaments.

[FlammableFlower]

We need to talk about Rishi.

He's an idiot.

Delays just make the problem more difficult and expensive in the future.

[bjn]

We need to talk about Rishi.

He's an idiot.

Delays just make the problem more difficult and expensive in the future.

Opportunist and coward more like. The first for believing that the Uxbridge squeak of a win can reproduced more widely by being anti green, and a coward for giving in to the crazy wing of his party.

[jimbob]

We need to talk about Rishi.

He's an idiot.

Delays just make the problem more difficult and expensive in the future.

Opportunist and coward more like. The first for believing that the Uxbridge squeak of a win can reproduced more widely by being anti green, and a coward for giving in to the crazy wing of his party.

I said elsewhere about this that his trajectory is such that he's no longer the third-worst PM in the last hundred years, but has overtaken Johnson and is approaching Truss.

As you say he's an idiot whose sole redeeming feature is the damage he's inflicting on his own party. That is a very minor benefit.

[discovolante]

'Dishy Rishi'. Yeah thanks for that guys.

Sorry nothing else to add really. But f.cking hell.

[IvanV]

Opportunist and coward more like. The first for believing that the Uxbridge squeak of a win can reproduced more widely by being anti green, and a coward for giving in to the crazy wing of his party.

Fishy Rishi will not be turning the Conservatives back into a moderate, relatively sensible party, because he isn't any kind of moderate. He is not part of the super-crazy swivel-eyed sub-wing represented by Truss, and rejects disastrous dogmatic policies like Kwart/Truss-onomics. But more generally he is part of the crazy wing. And the swivel-eyed sub-wing is kind of useful to him for making him look reasonable in comparison. And they have very quickly purged most of the moderates from the party, making it difficult for them to have a come-back.

The Economist had a nice article last week comparing Keir Starmer and Rory Stewart. They pointed out that Starmer, being a cynical, ruthless and effective politician, succeeded in transforming the Labour Party back to a moderate party. If only Mr Stewart or Mr Gauke or someone like that, had been more cynical and ruthless, they suggest.

My own addition to that is that there are forces towards polarisation in politics, such as we see have operate with little restraint in Northern Ireland, and a variety of European countries, especially Hungary. Being nice probably isn't an effective opposition to such processes, unfortunately.

[jimbob]

Opportunist and coward more like. The first for believing that the Uxbridge squeak of a win can reproduced more widely by being anti green, and a coward for giving in to the crazy wing of his party.

Fishy Rishi will not be turning the Conservatives back into a moderate, relatively sensible party, because he isn't any kind of moderate. He is not part of the super-crazy swivel-eyed sub-wing represented by Truss, and rejects disastrous dogmatic policies like Kwart/Truss-onomics. But more generally he is part of the crazy wing. And the swivel-eyed sub-wing is kind of useful to him for making him look reasonable in comparison. And they have very quickly purged most of the moderates from the party, making it difficult for them to have a come-back.

The Economist had a nice article last week comparing Keir Starmer and Rory Stewart. They pointed out that Starmer, being a cynical, ruthless and effective politician, succeeded in transforming the Labour Party back to a moderate party. If only Mr Stewart or Mr Gauke or someone like that, had been more cynical and ruthless, they suggest.

My own addition to that is that there are forces towards polarisation in politics, such as we see have operate with little restraint in Northern Ireland, and a variety of European countries, especially Hungary. Being nice probably isn't an effective opposition to such processes, unfortunately.

Nice take on that.

I was talking about this with a friend yesterday and that was what I was trying to convey to him. He was Corbyn fan.

[Grumble]

On the positive side: wind is generating a lot of our electricity right now. Via mygridgb.co.uk I found this lovely website showing the various wind farms around the U.K.: https://renewables-map.robinhawkes.com/ ... 4.68/-1.59

On the negative side, anti-ev stories are reaching saturation point in the media. Here’s a debunking of one of them: https://twitter.com/colinwalker79/statu ... 4970723838

[Woodchopper]

On the negative side, anti-ev stories are reaching saturation point in the media. Here’s a debunking of one of them: https://twitter.com/colinwalker79/statu ... 4970723838

Thanks for that. As if petrol is a totally safe substance that's never involved in fires.

[Grumble]

In other news I think gridwatch is no longer being updated, the wind figures are way out compared to other sources and the copyright dates stop at 2021

[discovolante]

It's quite wet in Angus/Aberdeenshire (not where I am). Flood defences installed relatively recently seem to be helping. Still, I'm in a fairly permanent state of sh.tting myself these days.

[jimbob]

It's quite wet in Angus/Aberdeenshire (not where I am). Flood defences installed relatively recently seem to be helping. Still, I'm in a fairly permanent state of sh.tting myself these days.

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/l ... 843251.amp

Current Environment Agency river level forecasts show the River Derwent through Matlock is due to rise to 4.94 metres (as of 2.36pm Thursday) – nearly double its normal upper range of 2.5 metres – and approaching the highest recorded level of 5.18 metres set in 1965. Matlock has witnessed around half a dozen “one-in-100-year” flood events in the past 20 years, notably in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

[discovolante]

It's quite wet in Angus/Aberdeenshire (not where I am). Flood defences installed relatively recently seem to be helping. Still, I'm in a fairly permanent state of sh.tting myself these days.

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/l ... 843251.amp

Current Environment Agency river level forecasts show the River Derwent through Matlock is due to rise to 4.94 metres (as of 2.36pm Thursday) – nearly double its normal upper range of 2.5 metres – and approaching the highest recorded level of 5.18 metres set in 1965. Matlock has witnessed around half a dozen “one-in-100-year” flood events in the past 20 years, notably in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The town I grew up in. Yikes. Is that where you are?

[jimbob]

It's quite wet in Angus/Aberdeenshire (not where I am). Flood defences installed relatively recently seem to be helping. Still, I'm in a fairly permanent state of sh.tting myself these days.

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/l ... 843251.amp

Current Environment Agency river level forecasts show the River Derwent through Matlock is due to rise to 4.94 metres (as of 2.36pm Thursday) – nearly double its normal upper range of 2.5 metres – and approaching the highest recorded level of 5.18 metres set in 1965. Matlock has witnessed around half a dozen “one-in-100-year” flood events in the past 20 years, notably in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The town I grew up in. Yikes. Is that where you are?

Nah, I'm in Chapel. But do vaguely know some people from Matlock and Matlock Bath.

[discovolante]

Ooft, well I hope they're OK.

[lpm]

They'll be fine, the govt took immediate action and arrested Greta Thunberg.

[Grumble]

I’ll be visiting the Shores of Abraham next year I think

[nekomatic]

I’ll be visiting the Shores of Abraham next year I think

Very good. Meanwhile ‘Matlock Bath’ might be no longer a place name, rather a headline.

[discovolante]

I’ll be visiting the Shores of Abraham next year I think

Very good. Meanwhile ‘Matlock Bath’ might be no longer a place name, rather a headline.

Jesus, I didn't get Grumble's post at all until I saw your reply. How embarrassing.

[dyqik]

They'll be fine, the govt took immediate action and arrested Greta Thunberg.

And ran a bus into some protesters.

[Woodchopper]

Toyota says it is close to being able to manufacture next-generation solid-state batteries at the same rate as existing batteries for electric vehicles, marking a milestone in the global race to commercialise the technology.

Its headway in manufacturing technology follows a “breakthrough” in battery materials recently claimed by the world’s largest carmaker by vehicles sold. It would allow Toyota to mass-produce solid-state batteries by 2027 or 2028.

Solid-state batteries have long been heralded by industry experts as a potential “game-changer” that could address EV battery concerns such as charging time, capacity and the risk of catching fire.

If successful, Toyota expects its electric cars powered by solid-state batteries to have a range of 1,200km — more than twice the range of its current EVs — and a charging time of 10 minutes or less.

[…]

Problems include the extreme sensitivity of the batteries to moisture and oxygen, as well as the mechanical pressure needed to hold them together to prevent the formation of dendrites, the metal filaments that can cause short circuits.

According to Toyota, one of the most critical and difficult technologies for mass production is the assembly process, in which the layers of cathode-anode cells need to be stacked quickly and with high precision, without damaging the materials.

When asked whether Toyota was now able to produce solid-state batteries at the same rate as current lithium-ion batteries, a Toyota engineer said: “In terms of the stacking speed, we are almost there. We are going to roll out bigger volumes and check the quality.”

Toyota in September took journalists, analysts and investors on a tour of its Teiho plant in Aichi prefecture, where the company is preparing to produce solid-state batteries in large quantities.

The plant tour followed a workshop in June, in which the company claimed to have found “a solution for materials” that would make the batteries last longer and deliver a stable performance.

Toyota last week announced a partnership with energy group Idemitsu Kosan to jointly develop and produce a solid-state battery material called sulphide solid electrolyte, which the companies said was most promising in addressing the durability issue.

https://www.ft.com/content/6224f235-568 ... dacf0ef20c

If they can be mass produced then the batteries would support assumptions that the post-fossil would will be more prosperous.

[jimbob]

Toyota says it is close to being able to manufacture next-generation solid-state batteries at the same rate as existing batteries for electric vehicles, marking a milestone in the global race to commercialise the technology.

Its headway in manufacturing technology follows a “breakthrough” in battery materials recently claimed by the world’s largest carmaker by vehicles sold. It would allow Toyota to mass-produce solid-state batteries by 2027 or 2028.

Solid-state batteries have long been heralded by industry experts as a potential “game-changer” that could address EV battery concerns such as charging time, capacity and the risk of catching fire.

If successful, Toyota expects its electric cars powered by solid-state batteries to have a range of 1,200km — more than twice the range of its current EVs — and a charging time of 10 minutes or less.

[…]

Problems include the extreme sensitivity of the batteries to moisture and oxygen, as well as the mechanical pressure needed to hold them together to prevent the formation of dendrites, the metal filaments that can cause short circuits.

According to Toyota, one of the most critical and difficult technologies for mass production is the assembly process, in which the layers of cathode-anode cells need to be stacked quickly and with high precision, without damaging the materials.

When asked whether Toyota was now able to produce solid-state batteries at the same rate as current lithium-ion batteries, a Toyota engineer said: “In terms of the stacking speed, we are almost there. We are going to roll out bigger volumes and check the quality.”

Toyota in September took journalists, analysts and investors on a tour of its Teiho plant in Aichi prefecture, where the company is preparing to produce solid-state batteries in large quantities.

The plant tour followed a workshop in June, in which the company claimed to have found “a solution for materials” that would make the batteries last longer and deliver a stable performance.

Toyota last week announced a partnership with energy group Idemitsu Kosan to jointly develop and produce a solid-state battery material called sulphide solid electrolyte, which the companies said was most promising in addressing the durability issue.

https://www.ft.com/content/6224f235-568 ... dacf0ef20c

If they can be mass produced then the batteries would support assumptions that the post-fossil would will be more prosperous.

Presumably they are talking about twice the capacity of a current battery for the same volume? So the BZX4 has a 64kWh usable capacity, which means that they're talking something like 130kWh in 10 minutes, or 750kW supply per charging point.

[lpm]

It's another Toyota press release.

They issued the first one years ago. They aren't getting anywhere. They are hopelessly behind the competition.

They are lying to prop up their share price and to fool customers into buying their lucrative hybrid brands.

[bjn]

Uk government continues to be stupid and are pushing H2 for home heating despite overwhelming evidence that this is a f.cking moronic idea.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... heating-uk

[Grumble]

It's another Toyota press release.

They issued the first one years ago. They aren't getting anywhere. They are hopelessly behind the competition.

They are lying to prop up their share price and to fool customers into buying their lucrative hybrid brands.

Carefully not defining what they mean by ‘soon’. Toyota spent years under the last chairman talking down BEVs in favour of hydrogen and now they’re out of time