This is why we need more induction cooktops and electric oves, so the roast turkeys can mop up the curtailed solar...

He's somehow managed to live on this planet for the last 20 years and yet never see a single episode of Grand Designs...

Seeing as I'm in sarcastic shout-out mode, I'll also give a big one to the rat that has died in an obscure part of my ceiling in the middle of a heatwave, leaving me to choose between opening the doors and windows and suffering the heat, or staying cool and suffering the smell.

And some sort of vaccuum cleaner thing, also running off the gen-set and making a VERY LOUD sucking noise.

Big shoutout to my next-door neighbour who is maximising the amount of legacy feed-in tarrif (90c/kWh) he gets from his 10kW rooftop solar system by cleaning it with two leaf blowers and a pressure washer running off a gen-set.

Cannot hear myself think RN.

Wombat
Echidna
Kiwi
Pretty-face wallaby
Long-nosed fur seal

U.S. seizes ‘very large’ oil tanker off Venezuelan coast, Trump says The seizure was a significant escalation in the U.S. pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his country’s oil-dependent economy.

Just noting that no one is ever going to seize a tanker full of solar energy
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

There's a level of wealth above which you don't get happier, and there's a level of wealth above which you think physics no longer applies to you.

Just a thought… but maybe let’s not have massive data centres sucking up water, gutsing on electricity and destroying the social fabric. Could be an option?

I'm going to call on my friend @dylanjmcconnell.bsky.social for a definitive answer, but my first reaction is no.
As far as I know, price spikes happen because of large (coal) generation dropping out, and gas having to step in. But there could be more to it than that.

🤓 GRATTAN’S 2025 WONKS’ LIST 🤓

In addition to our Prime Minister’s Summer Reading List, our Wonks’ List highlights some of the year’s best technical policy reads.

Here are our picks for 2025. buff.ly/YcFqGwm #auspol #ausecon

And shevelled

Spicy take from a professor of economics, suggesting that the way to get power prices down is to build more of the most expensive form of electricity

The Stone Roses - She Bangs the Drums (Official Video) YouTube video by StoneRosesVEVO

And how can this not give you joy?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD6P...

The Stone Roses - Fools Gold (Official Video) YouTube video by StoneRosesVEVO

One of the best bass lines ever, no contest
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSD1...

Mani’s writhing, relentless bass was the Stone Roses’ secret sauce – it taught indie kids how to dance | Alexis Petridis His love of ‘good northern soul and funk’ was always in evidence and had a lasting impact on alternative music

Mani. 😢
www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...

The Net Zero scenario is where we want to go. That's what we should plan for. The WEO tells us how big the gap is, it's up to us to act to fill it.

The thing that is unsaid in the WEO is that no-one wants to live on a planet where the Current Policies scenario plays out. Stated Policies wouldn't be that nice either. In both these scenarios, we fail to limit global temperature rise, and we suffer more climate change as a result.

The NET ZERO scenario does NOT project forward - instead it sets the goal of getting global energy-related to net zero by 2050, and solves backwards to work out what the path might look like. The purpose of this scenario is to contrast with the other two scenarios and highlight the gap.

This scenario also projects forwards. If you think that governments won't make commitments beyond what they've already made, this is your scenario. Wouldn't be using it to guide investment either

The STATED POLICIES scenario includes everything in Current Policies, plus takes a stab at the effect of things that have been announced but not implemented yet, and other policy documents that indicate the direction of travel. For example, 2035 climate targets.

(Current Policies is commonly interpreted as "look, fossil fuels are going to grow!". If you buy gas or coal shares on the back of this scenario, or decide to base your resources policy on it, you are a fool)

If you think that governments are world wide will not introduce one new energy or climate policy between now and 2050, nor make any changes to the ones they already have, this is the scenario for you. This policy is a forward projection - start with where we are, run the model, see where we end up.

The CURRENT POLICIES scenario includes all policies that are in place already, and assumes there are NO NEW POLICIES.

Happy World Energy Outlook day to all those who celebrate. Here's your annual reminder about what the different scenarios mean (journalists and sub-editors: looking at you in particular).

A portrait to put in my attic, except instead of aging on my behalf it has severe grass pollen allergies

you can find our calculation in the appendix of our latest report
grattan.edu.au/wp-content/u...
I can't speak to your personal circumstances.

Renewables overtake coal as world's biggest source of electricity Developing countries lead the historic clean energy charge but the US and EU rely more on fossil fuels than before, a think tank study shows.

Electricity demand is growing around the world but the growth in solar and wind was so strong it met 100% of the extra electricity demand, even helping drive a slight decline in coal and gas use. www.bbc.com/news/article...

China Is Beating the US in the Battle for Energy Export Dominance China’s exports of clean energy technology hit a record in August, with $20 billion shipped globally.

Oh:
- The US sold $80 billion in oil and gas abroad through July.
- China exported $120 billion in green technology over the same period.
By @akshatrathi.bsky.social
🎁🔗 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

An image of Jane Goodall and a chimpanzee, from 1965. Photo courtesy CBS Photo Archive / Getty.

The naturalist Jane Goodall died today at 91. Hope, she argued, is not merely “passive wishful thinking” but a “crucial survival trait.” Revisit a conversation with Goodall, from 2021: nyer.cm/F55JtsS