markvdb

50 ms·

1.
by markvdb 5d ago
I observe mostly short term opportunism. Powerful people deliberately injecting chaos for financial profit. Negative externalities: - loss of trust - loss of evidence based policy - loss of long-term planning - loss of talent - financial lo
2.
by markvdb 5d ago
No. A cynic might think a significant part of this half-arsed Iran war was: - make sure fuel prices increase globally - The US economy is relatively well-shielded from the fallout by its own fossil fuel sources, local and in colonies like V
3.
by markvdb 5d ago
Current US leadership has very much failed ordinary people in the US and allied states. Incompetence or malice? Both is also possible...
4.
by markvdb 10d ago
Dr. Michael Greger's "How not to die" is interesting.
5.
by markvdb 10d ago
https://www.v-dem.net/documents/75/V-Dem_Institute_Democracy...
6.
by markvdb 16d ago
The moment you are reading this is not only peak digital trash, but also peak digital treasure!
7.
by markvdb 16d ago
I'm afraid that is too optimistic a take. How many humans are worried about getting food on the table today? How many have the mental space to dedicate to climate change in any way? I'd guesstimate more people are worried about sh
8.
by markvdb 17d ago
Three quarters of the world live in autocracies, and another 19% outside liberal democracies. That will require adapted tactics. I'm not very qualified to speak on how to convince people in leadership positions there. How do you convin
9.
by markvdb 17d ago
I know what definitely won't work: Luigi Mangione style action. That will only set people up against one another. Here's two stories that might inspire: - I've seen a desperate, fragile grandfather seriously contemplate peace
10.
by markvdb 17d ago
AMOC collapse [0] is Europe's potential big climate challenge. Nasty business. I wonder how to help prevent that from happening. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_meridional_overturnin...
11.
by markvdb 19d ago
This looks like not too bad a little budget machine. The hardware is just very recent, with Linux kernel support caught up so recently that it hasn't shown up in distros yet. Not a perfect screen or trackpad is to be expected at this p
12.
by markvdb 28d ago
> Every possible product name is carefully checked to avoid undesirable meanings in other languages, political or religious affiliations and fit into our global profile. I present to you "Svalka" wine glasses. Dump", rubbi
13.
by markvdb 1mo ago
Most of these are illegal to install in Belgium though. Anything connected there needs national grid type approval.
14.
by markvdb 1mo ago
Have a look at ERE. Don't get fooled by the snake oil sounding url. I ignored it for years because of that, but it's a sound framework to help you answer the question you are asking. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki&#
15.
by markvdb 1mo ago
Do watch Romance with a double bass (1975) [0]. Wonderful, not very well-known short film adaptation of a Chekhov story featuring John Cleese. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1U42izMOjs
16.
by markvdb 1mo ago
Elementary respect for the scientific process and community. Respect for the intellectual culture it feeds on. Those would be a good start.
17.
by markvdb 1mo ago
Honest question. How could effective global climate action look?
18.
by markvdb 1mo ago
Similar in neighbouring Latvia. Friends who recovered their grandparents' nationalised farm organised one there. They got to meet neighbours who lived there during the occupation. Pictures surfaced of the transformation into five tiny
19.
by markvdb 1mo ago
Square cube law will optimise heat storage. These Finnish sand based heat batteries are a prime small-scale example.
20.
by markvdb 1mo ago
To state the obvious, it's not about taking away the right to eat red meat, right? It's about trying to convince people to adopt a diet that is: - healthier - tasty - cheaper - a small contribution to keeping the planet livable fo
21.
by markvdb 1mo ago
I once was in a train making an unscheduled stop in the middle of the fields. The driver picked up a colleague who stood waving next to the rails...
22.
by markvdb 2mo ago
A negative tax wants carbon negative processes to exist. That clear direction is more important than whether these processes currently exist. Experimental olivine based carbon capture looks promising to this uneducated bystander, but what d
23.
by markvdb 2mo ago
Price elasticity definitely is a thing, but I'd argue not in the way you see it. Have a somewhat competitive energy market and falling production prices like we have for carbon neutral energy. What do you think will happen? The market
24.
by markvdb 2mo ago
CO2 capture can be carbon negative, even if it consumes energy.
25.
by markvdb 2mo ago
Just replacing expensive fossil energy with cheap renewables and storage doesn't help. The problem is Jevons paradox. Cheaper energy means more consumption. A sensible global policy could be: - Tax carbon positive energy consumption to
26.
by markvdb 2mo ago
By EU standards, that is expensive and low power for balcony power. It this US regulatory capture, China import rates, something else, all of the above?
27.
by markvdb 2mo ago
- There is no "we", but it would take "we" to fix this. - There is a global scale issue, but no consensus on this being a problem. Not at the global, continental, local or individual level. FFS, there are idiots proudly
28.
by markvdb 2mo ago
Not necessarily. At least in Flanders (northern ~half of Belgium), this was shifted onto consumers by making them pay for peak quarter consumption. Using more than 2.5kW for 15 minutes in a row on average means you pay a lot more for your f
29.
by markvdb 2mo ago
The core of the EU system is much more elegant. It sets a day-ahead production price per 15 minutes at auction. In EU countries with reasonable distribution cost, dynamic rates are a quite popular way to shift consumption to when cheap elec
30.
by markvdb 3mo ago
Conserving energy makes sense regardless of nearby data center electricity consumption.

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