As of March 2023, this EV from the BYD brand that few have heard of, has risen to 3rd bestselling EV globally behind the Tesla Model Y and Model 3, and could this year overtake the Model 3. Despite this level of sales success, as the Atto 3, as it is known outside China, arrives in new markets, reviewers often struggle to communicate the significance. As the international bestselling model of the BYD brand responsible for 6 of the 10 top bestselling EVs globally.

I recently explored how in 2021, the numbers for EVs don’t really add up yet. One of the key discoveries, was that many sensible people are projecting EVs will reach ‘price parity’ by 2024-5. If this happens consider the trend: Looking deeper, there is every reason those predictions look real, and this will completely turn […]

Right now, without subsidies, buying an electric car does not add up. Currently there is a price premium, and as a result the cars only appeal to those happy to pay a premium to indulge a passion. Buyers are prepared to pay a premium for the environment or the acceleration, but right now, buying is […]

I have been asked on a few occasions, why not end population growth now? It is not like we need to get more people before population growth should stop! Japan has stopped population growth, why not the rest of us? What are we waiting for?

In Australia, as in many countries, there appears to be almost universal acceptance of perpetual population growth. Population growth is seen as: Desirable because it is the path to economic prosperity. Inevitable. A requirement for supporting refugees. None reflect reality. So why is it, that so few contemplate a finite population target, given we live on a finite planet?

Augmented reality was seen as potentially the way of the future when introduced in 2013. So far, augmented reality through sight has never delivered and people wearing augmented reality glasses are not a common sight. In contrast, people wearing headphones and earphones are everywhere. Augmented sound reality is here (or hear?) and if anything, is growing in significance. This page looks at the topic overall but also includes some specific reviews.

Right now, could be a bad time to invest in technology and buy a new computer. I suggest that, right now, all Apple laptops are in a state of flux, and no Microsoft Surface tablets or laptops make sense. This is all due to the ‘ARMs race to new computer architecture, as an upheaval in […]

Episode 1 stated now could be a bad time to invest in technology and buy a new computer. Apple has announced they are moving to ARM CPUS, which will mean replacing their products, and this episode explores why it is so critical to Microsoft that they also move to ARM, and what the multiple technology […]

The title 'one finite planet' can be mistaken to be yet another proclamation of how we live on this amazing planet which could even be unique, and we humans are foolishly placing it all at risk. Boring. No. Instead, the perspective is we are living on a planet that is naturally hostile to humans, where nature dictates only a limited total amount of life, can only exist for a limited time, and that time is almost at an end. When seen from this perspective, even the environment mission changes from just not interfering, to the more complex task of tackling the challenge of overcoming nature, while yes, quite importantly, not bringing life to an early end in the process.

The race to stop CO2, has led to many 'scams' projects involving hydrogen, but it is not always clear who is being scammed: the public, or the proponents of hydrogen projects. What is the attraction behind the obsession with hydrogen? This is a look at the motives, the myths and the facts around hydrogen projects. Spoiler: There are some valid roles for hydrogen, but hydrogen has no role as an energy source, and even any potential role as an energy carrier is highly questionable.

There already are some EVs with not just "Schrödinger's parity", but genuine price-parity winning not just awards, but topping sales charts. These are mostly from the Tesla and BYD duopoly, but they are not entirely alone. Beating ICE vehicles in sales chart is the best test for price-parity, and segment by segment, EV contenders are being launched. Yes, there are still many overpriced 'token EVs' that either exist to satisfy green requirements, provide products for brand loyalists demanding EV products, or help convince their makers "there is little demand for EVs". This is an evaluation of price parity, and a list of vehicles with price parity on the market. The previously subsidy free Australian market is the base, but with inclusion of key international. The implications for established brands, and brand loyalty were surprising.

Eventually, EVs will take over, but for most people even price parity EVs are still not 'there yet', and that take over could take 30 years. This webpaper compares vehicle types from "standard" gasoline/petrol and diesel vehicles, with hybrids, plug in hybrids and battery electric vehicles (EVs). There is a separate exploration of hydrogen vs battery electric cars, so this page is pros and cons of hybrids vs "standard" vehicles, or pure battery electric vehicles (EVs).

There are many claims that EVs result in more emissions than fossil fuelled vehicles. The reality is that even when an EV is powered from a 'dirty' grid, it is clear that driving an EV creates less emissions. What is less clear, is whether the emission reduction when driven justifies the emissions that are created when building the EV? Buying an EV is better for the environment in the long term than buying an ICE vehicle but can be worse for the environment than not buying any new vehicle at all. The key finding is that while it is best to stop buying so many new ICE vehicles ASAP, there should be no rush to replace existing ICE vehicles with EVs, and instead allow existing vehicles the around two decades until their normal scrap date.

I recently researched 5G, in order to understand what it was all about, and the reality of any possible new health risks. I came to the conclusions that 1) health risk claims are groundless, and 2) there is no logical reason to upgrade devices at this time to get 5G. But that research led to questions on how all the connectivity standards fit together, and how compelling might it be to upgrade devices to get benefits of new Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or UWB?

Now for something not Covid-19, which is a rarity lately! A different topic for this blog, but 5G came up in a recent conversation, and what I thought I 'knew' about 5G was: significantly higher mobile data rates were possible (true) 5G is based on higher frequency radio than 4G etc (false) 5G works for far more people even in a crowded spaces (true) towers for 5G must always be close in order use 5G (false) 5G data rates could potentially match/replace fibre optic cable (false) As you can see, turns out what I had thought prior to research, was all a collection of misunderstandings, but when I did research, I found more conspiracy theories than facts.

Batteries for EVs have progressed: From: very expensive even while delivering an impractical range.To: Less expensive with an acceptable range. Only now in 2022, are batteries showing signs they can soon enable EVs price competitive and range competitive. With the new world of EVs, comes a whole new world of understanding cars, with batteries at the centre. This page provides background, the rethink batteries bring, the different battery technologies, though to how to car for batteries, and who makes what.

Electric vehicles have become desirable "real" cars much sooner than many brands expected or wanted. We are in a time of disruption by electrification as planes, trains and automobiles, as well as shipping, all move to electric power, but it is the car industry that will be most disrupted. New players such as Tesla, Rivian, Lucid and others, combined with the globalisation of the EV centric Chinese car industry, will take around 50% of the market. So what happens to the existing big brands of the legacy car industry? Either half die out, all halve in size, or some combination of both.

Yes, big oil with value at over US$7 billion per day in revenue at stake clearly has a vested interest in arguing against climate change and downplaying risks, but on the other hand, aren't there also vested interests exaggerating and overstating the risks of climate change? Effectively could 'big renewables', 'big science' or 'big climate', be out lobbying and out promoting 'big fossil'? Is this really a balanced fight, or is it more like the might of 'big tobacco' vs 'whistle blower medical research' all over again? This is a look at the financial might on each side of the argument, and the respective motives for each side to overstate their case.

It is easy to underestimate how long it will take consumers to transition to EVs, and equally easy to underestimate how urgently manufactures need to transition to avoid collapse. Two transition speeds? Yes, brands will switch to EVs in their showroom by 2025 or risk failure, but in what seems like a complete disconnect, there will still be internal combustion vehicles on the road past 2050. Around 10.5 million Electric Vehicles were delivered in 2022, which resulted in less than 0.7% of Internal Combustion Engine vehicles (ICEVs) being replaced by EVs during 2022, even those EVs represented 13% of new vehicles sales. The data shows that new car showrooms transition to EVs 20x faster than the roads, and vehicle manufacture transition 20x faster then the public, and while ICEVs will likely still around beyond 2050, vehicle makers that can't switch fast enough could collapse by 2030, bringing radical economic change.

Once the darling of Hollywood in the wake of "green" image built by the Prius hybrid, Toyota has more recently prompted shareholder complaints, and calls for boycotts by climate groups in response to Toyota anti-climate action and anti-EV lobbying that has seen the company reach the status of no 3 climate enemy company in the world, behind only Exxon-Mobil and Chevron. Either Toyota is ideologically against action on climate change, or senior management see no way for Toyota to survive the EV transition.

I started a page on the Atto 3 back in April 2022, but the launch in Australia has become so complex that it justifies a separate page, so here it is together with NZ information, starting with content moved from the original page, but updated. This is a page with details about the Australian, and New Zealand rollouts of the Atto 3 and the BYD brand, which from these humble beginnings, could become a major part of the automotive scene in both countries. For the general overview of the Atto 3, including information learnt from the experiences of owners, including those in Australia and New Zealand, see the main Atto 3 page. For the strange events around the Australian launch, and the use of the centre rear seat for baby capsules, read on!

I recently read another comment containing the 'I don't want google getting more of my data to sell' and it reminded me of the question, 'why is your data valuable?', and the common myth that Facebook and Google etc want your data so they can sell it. They don't want to sell your data, but the reality, is more sinister: they want the power to change your thinking.

The world of EVs is changing, as is the leadership. Tesla lost 50% of its valuation in 2022. Some are predicting it will lose half of the remaining value in 2023, and although others predict the stock price will rebound, both outcomes are possible, and which becomes reality could depend very much on whether Tesla can remain 'cool', or through Musk and twitter becomes linked to far right. Although entire EV future is not dependant solely on Tesla, a decline could have wide implications, for the market, competitors and the global transition to EVs. Not only are the 'legacy' automotive companies GM, Ford, VW and Toyota competition for the hearts and dollars from consumers, but also BYD, who is already taking the EV lead from Tesla. Keys factor in EV trends during 2023 could turn out to be who is 'cool', shifting perceptions of a climate threat and the need for rapid response, and the impact of conflicts such as Ukraine. Rapid radical change for the industry, but it will take longer to impact consumers.

Why is it so hard to make money from making EVs at a competitive price? This is an exploration of the profitability challenges, and the answers to "Do only Tesla & BYD profit from EVs?" and "Why make vehicles at a loss?". Auto makers must either 1) find a way to make EVs at profit, 2) close down, or 3) hope there will still be a large enough market for ICEVs for them to survive. Highly funded research indicates that in future just 5 brands will dominate 80% of the market, and the reality is only one of the top ten automotive from 2021 is a likely contender.

The Atto 3 (or Yuan Plus) is not only EV giant BYD's, first global car, but the first 3rd wave EV for the west, heralding EVs move from 'rich man's toys' to mainstream, and unless the 3rd wave Tesla arrives soon, could end the dominance of Tesla and even challenge to become the world's top selling vehicle. While BYD has exported cars before, the Atto 3 is based on the "global focused" e-platform 3.0, and with a more significant, launch into larger markets than previous BYD tentative exports, should spearhead the international push of the world's largest new energy vehicle maker: BYD

In theory, and under ideal conditions, an EV road trip with DC rapid charging can be as time efficient as travelling in an ICE vehicle. However, conditions are not always ideal. Some trips take much longer, and others can become problematic. Will EV road-trips ever become as convenient and dependable as traveling by ICE vehicle?

People have for decades owned cars without needing to refuel at home, so it may not seem obvious just how important home charging is for owners of EVs. Various surveys confirm that 80% to 95% of EV charging happens at home and given that less than 80% of people have access to a space to be able to charge at home, those who can't charge at home are less likely to buy an EV. To understand the problem, try living with a mobile phone without charging at home, or at work.

Reports from COP27 seems indicate the key initiative this year to make wealthy nations cover the cost of the damages poor nations will incur as a result of emissions that have main originated from those wealthy nations. The proposal as it stands has a missing an essential piece, and trying to cover for that essential piece, appears most to likely to increase emissions, and move COP away from a focus on solving the climate crisis and instead toward just fighting over the cost. This is a troubled look at the key flaw in what has been put forward and the real solution that should be in place.

Claims that +1.5oC warming would be 'catastrophic', and that climate change represents an 'existential threat' can be quite vague as just what is 'catastrophic' or an 'existential threat'? This webpaper, seeks to translate 'catastrophic' outcomes and 'existential threats' into more concrete outcomes. "We recognise climate change is a serious problem and are committed to net zero by 2050 in order to prevent the disastrous consequences anticipated to occur by around 2026" Typical government position: Is it ok?

There are 3 approaches to residents of apartments being able to charge EVs: They can go elsewhere to charge. A small number of charging spaces will be provided. Provision for individuals to have charging at the designated car space is facilitated. This is a look at why charging and getting it right is a challenge for apartment complexes, those who want the problem to remain unsolved, and the merits of the possible solutions.

Think of the process of writing a book, while sharing all the research and steps of finding, researching and collating material, as the book gradually takes shape online as the work progresses. But does the work ever end, or is there always progress towards the next edition?

Its the economy stupid. Voters want the best economic outcome, but by measuring the economy using 'Economic Activity', governments can effectively cheat the public. In many western societies, instead of maximum prosperity, governments often pursue maximum economic activity, which benefits big business and governments, but can result in an economy which in theory is going well, while at the same time individuals fall behind. This is the kind of economic policy makes frustrated voters turn to Trump and Brexit.

This is the exploration of a chequered history, the battles between EV and oil and auto companies that is still happening today. From companies forcefully taking back EVs from consumers to destroy them, to the battle between pop group A-Ah and authorities in Norway, to the Toyota spending billions to fight EVs and the wheels literally falling off their 2022 electric car, from industrial intrigue involving Interpol red notices, to the rise of Tesla and BYD.

This page covers a lot. Charging equipment and what to install and how to charge at home, and charging on road trips, through to the technical side, and a look at wireless and the future of charging. Plus, how recharging requires a complete rethink from refuelling, and how charging can be more convenient and match the speed of refueling. Public recharging infrastructure for EVs is growing but recharging at home will be most important for most people. Fully benefiting from having an EV, requires understanding, being prepared for recharging.

From "the biggest corruption scandal ever" in Brazil, problems in Venezuela, human rights in Saudi Arabia and Iran, to the problems caused by lobbyists against action on climate change, an abundance of fossil fuels is a source of political power, yet rarely force for good, and Australia, with a wealth of coal and gas, is not spared. The current crisis in Ukraine not only drives up energy prices globally, but it also creates a dilemma for gas producing nations.

For almost 100 years, people have grown up in an age of the internal combustion engine. For many people, this has meant an understanding of engine capacity, cylinders, spark plugs, engine compression, crankshafts, valves, turbochargers, exhausts etc. The bad news is that EVs mean so much that previous literacy is about to be consigned to history and replaced by permanent magnet and induction motors, regen braking, and other new terms. The good news is, it is easy to build and EV literacy on the those ICEV foundations, so there is no need to feel illiterate in this new EV world.

Globally, the when is now. Although locally, experiences differ by location. Data now clearly confirms that globally, the world has returned to 'peak child', a precursor to a likely return to peak population, and the end of three centuries of a population explosion. Return to peak child means we could either return to the gradual growth levels of prior to the industrial revolution, or become a mature species, and exist in balance with nature and other living things. Perhaps even stop displacing other species?

Imagine spaceship of humans visiting our solar system and landing on Earth. Outside small interval highlighted in green window on the timeline, human survival on the surface would require a spacesuit, and outside the yellow highlighted time window, even the oceans would only contain organisms visible by microscope. Visit today, and the visitors have missed peak life which occurred 500 million years in the past, and instead see life in gradual slow decline. Life is fragile in the solar system, and nature alone will not preserve it much longer.

Has BYD overtaken Tesla as the leading EV maker? Yes and Not yet. It depends on how you count EVs, and there are strengths to both positions. So no undisputed world number 1, but by year end it is quite possible BYD will be clear number 1, at least for a while. These two are the current EV market leaders, and as EVs gain market share, these two are on trajectories to become no #1 and no #2 car carmakers world wide when EVs take over, if no legacy brand passes them. But will either of them ever reach true #1 before the chasing pack catches them? This page is to report and track progress.

There is a lot of focus on climate change caused by humans, as there should be! But this focus can miss just how fragile the environment is even without us humans breaking things. This page looks at some of the surprises are in store when we explore natural climate change. This exploration of natural changes, and the history and future of changes even without human interference as background relevant when considering the potential impact of man-made climate change. A big surprise is that life on Earth is already naturally on a downward spiral, and Earths 'carrying capacity' for all life is in natural decline already. The natural decline is far more gradual than possible impact of humans but does illustrate the fragility of nature. Fortunately, we have millions of years to develop solutions to avoid the worst natural climate disasters, provided we first find a way to avoid prematurely destroying the already fragile natural environment ourselves.

This is a charge time calculator, which can be set to the charge curve of any car, but defaults to the values for the Atto 3.

In this polarised world, there seem to be two groups: those who all vehicles to be EVs now, and those who feel EVs will never be a good idea. Truth is, it would create a legal minefield and cost consumers and the environment heavily to ban too quickly, but bans will come. This is an exploration of reality of a transition to EVs, which concludes any optimum transition takes around 30 years. This conclusion means anyone wanting to reach EVs by 2050 needs to start very soon, and anyone worried all EVs should never happen, can take comfort that any environmentally sound transition will take a long time, although for economic reasons, does need to at least start soon.

Humanity has just experienced a population explosion. Whether you believe we are overpopulated or not, the facts are that we have just had a population explosion. Over two centuries of population peaking at 50x higher than the long term population growth, and peaking at 100x higher during the baby boom. Yet the explosion occurred with women having less babies than ever before, even during the baby boom, and is ending all by itself. So what caused the boom, why a population explosion when birth rates are falling? Will our population grow until we are living life like battery hens?

EVs can be divided into 3 waves: EVs that people can use despite limitations including the Tesla Model S, Nissan Leaf, i-MiEV, and Zoe. Then EVs are truly competitive in premium and enthusiast markets: Tesla Model 3, then Model Y. Mainstream EVs at the Tesla Model A/2 price point, but so far from China, not Tesla. While China has been another world for EVs, with price competitive EVs from US$5,000, only now in 2022 is the rest of the world getting its first 3rd wave EVs, and so far, they all come from China. Teslas were sold globally, but every other EV, was either an EV not sold in China, or a Chinese only EV. Two separate worlds of EVs, that have begun a hurried unification and bring 3rd wave EVs and automotive industry disruption to the entire world.

There are solar boats and even a solar plane already, yet the solar vehicles we hear most about, solar cars, are as of early 2022, not yet on sale. However, that is about to change with at least 3 solar powered cars nearing production. The situation with solar cars is almost identical to the early days of EVs. Plus, the solar does not have to be built into the vehicle to enable solar powered travel. This page will be updated as solar vehicles come to market.

The Myth: Starvation will provide a warning of overpopulation. The Truth: In nature, we define overpopulation as when sustaining the population results in damage to the environment. Plagues are a problem were before the plague population starts to starve. Starvation will be a consequence only when overpopulation has resulted in environmental collapse that will result in a rapid population collapse. Starvation is useless as an indicator, by the time there is starvation all environmental food reserves have been consumed, and catastrophe is then unavoidable.

Democracy collapses when a leader, who is able to bypass the checks and balances, uses their position to retain power. Steps by recent leaders Scott Morrison and Australia and Donald Trump in the USA, raise questions as to whether current reliance on conventions and constitutions reliably protects democracy. China, Russia and even North Korea are all technically democracies, and all proof of how technically being a democracy does not necessarily deliver real democracy.

I am an analyst, not a journalist, which means the focus of this site is analysis. Journalists, with the word 'jour' at the start of their title, present pages which will normally be in their final correct form from day one. Analysis is very different. Many topics analyses continue to evolve, and while a report on what happened at a point in time should remain intact, analysis should continually be updated to reflect current, rather than now outdated conclusions. Updates are essential for information to remain relevant.

Throughout history, although no other species on Earth has experienced such long term overall population growth, even before the recent population explosion, the human population kept slowly growing. Yes, we recently had an unprecedented population explosion, driven by is hidden by by the near elimination of previously tragic infant mortality, but against the background of long term growth, many of us never didn't even realise their was an explosion. But what drove population growth even before the explosion? What will now happen as the explosion ends?

What is the real answer to how the grid will cope? First the answer from an actual power company, a link to one from a popular vlogger, both of which should placate most people, although neither is water tight as both skip over some details critical to the full answer. And then, the deeper questions on what the impact will be on power bills and reliability, and to the transitioning of the grid to renewables.

This page is more under the heading of 'fun facts'. The first 'fun fact' is that while everyone knows how the length of daytime and nigh time vary throughout the year, it may come as a surprise to realise the length of the entire day, also varies. Partly because, second fun fact, the a day is a longer than one rotation of the Earth, which lead to the third fun fact: we just had the shortest total day ever recorded.

After friend told me "I am not interesting in electric cars, because I will wait for hydrogen cars", I did the research, and found that such a future would make no sense, and will never happen. It turns out that hydrogen cars were never "the ultimate", are now worse at times or range problem, and they were only ever expensive to build and operate, higher emissions, limited interim stop gaps, for the time until we solved limitations of battery EVs.

This topic contains subtopics on living with EVs, reference pages, and analysis of the impact of EVs and electrification on the world. As this is not a news site, the focus is on analysing the implications of news for these topics, rather reporting all EV or electrification news, for which I recommend Cleantechnica, InsideEVs and CNEVPOST. The focus of these pages is on how EVs and electrification will change our lives, and change the planet. As a species, we are currently transforming from combustion as our primary energy source, to an electronic age, where electricity is our energy source. Just how much of our lives are changed by this can be easy to overlook from the inside experiencing the steps as the occur.

Human birth rates are falling at a rate that has some fearing population collapse, but could this a natural biological repose to threats of overpopulation, rather than any cause for alarm? This raises the question as to what controls population in other species and, why is overpopulation rare? Would all species not population controlled by predators just multiply like bacteria in petri until dish resources are all consumed, or does nature, and even potentially humans, have other mechanisms to constrain population at a more optimum level? In practice, resource constraint and predation alone as population control would for many species would result in repeated huge population swings, so logically, there must be more. Analysing population mechanisms in other species may provide some interesting insights and possible answers to at least a large part of what is happing with birth-rates that will determine whether our future is population is one of: continued growth, collapse, or stability, on a planet where population of all life is not growing.

There is a dream, often explored in science fiction, where humanity inhabits not just one planet, but many. While the dream is still centuries away, as is 'Earth 2.0', the reality, working towards small outposts on Mars or the Moon or even beyond is overwhelming compelling and can provide many rewards. Humanity may get back up outposts, but for centuries, will have no real second home, and over 99% of us will still need to live on our one finite planet.

Sadly, no, the existence of many "Earth 2.0" planets does not mean there are planets out there we could colonize. From the obvious to the surprising, reasons include: It would take 10,000 years for us to send even 10 people to a planet of another star.It took plants billions of years to build this O2 atmosphere.Even on a planet identical to Earth, odds are we still can't survive there!

The powerful and the wealthy argue that increasing population is good for the economy. But while, the larger the population, the greater the power in being leader of the population, if anything this leads to less individual wealth and happiness. Countries are a finite size with finite resources. More people means, on average, a smaller share each. Of course, everyone's share isn't equal, and those with enough wealth, can still even grow their share, leaving less for everyone else. It is not just politicians who benefit at the expense of the masses, as the larger the population, the greater the wealth of the most wealthy, and the more revenue to monopolies and the largest businesses on the stock indices.

There is a full exploration of recharging electric vehicles on another page, but there is an a "refuelling" alternative to recharging: battery swapping. With electrical appliances in the past, when the batteries went flat, we swapped them. Then rechargeable batteries became popular so we could avoid throwing out the old batteries, but I swap first and then recharge. It turns out, we can also do that with cars, and it is happening already. Battery swapping, take only around 5 minutes, but so does recharging the latest batteries. Battery swapping will likely play a key role in the future, but not necessarily the role many expect.

What if Russia and China both intended that the invasion of Ukraine would trigger global inflation and food shortages, and a potentially new financial crisis? That Putin sees himself in the image of Peter the Great and restoring the Russian empire is no secret, and is generally portrayed as evidence that Putin has completely lost the plot. But what if there is a bigger plan involving both Russia and China that starts with triggering a global financial crisis? A dangerous game by two desperate leaders needing to bring others with them as their own economies collapse.

When it dawned on me that global economy is effectively a Ponzi scheme, it felt was a 'light bulb' moment'.  But has anyone else seen this?  I did an internet search and was not surprised to find that it has, indeed, dawned on many others as well. If you do a search, as I did, you will find many insights into this topic and that there are several different ways the global economy can be seen as a Ponzi scheme. Scary!

Was Feb 24th, the start of WWIII? Is it a world war of sanctions, troops and tanks, or nuclear? NATO, and specifically the US, seem to feel the risk of WWIII is so real, that they refuse Ukraine any assistance that could defeat Putin's forces and anger him further. Their hope seems to be "let him win on the battlefield but lose through sanctions".

“Anyone who believes in indefinite growth in anything physical, on a physically finite planet, is either mad or an economist.”Attributed to Kenneth Boulding in: United States. Congress. House (1973)  This applies to not just to population growth, but just maybe also to the growth in value of housing. This page is a look at 'ghost cities' and 'ghost homes', and the window they provide into how distorted investment can become in the pursuit of growth. The end result of the distortions can be overvalued assets funded by highly leveraged ordinary citizens. If that is the case, not just with ghost cities but beyond, the correction will clearly present a financial crisis.

At least, not alone. Solar and Wind have proven to be successful partial cost effective substitutes for fossil fuels, neither wind nor solar is stored energy. Without strategies and adding stored energy available on demand, it is impossible to reach the goal of removing reliance on fossil fuels. Consider home solar. With solar panels you can reduce your electricity costs, but to go 'off grid', you need a battery or other energy storage for the solar power. Yet, the need energy storage is being installed, but not connected to the grid.

Putin taking on 'the whole salami' in Ukraine, has advanced the world to a crisis with two potential outcomes: The invasion stalls long enough for Putin to lose power in Russia, leading to an end to expansionism not just in Russia, but most likely also improving the worlds relationship with China.The invasion succeeds, showing the response of nations as powerless in response to aggression, greenlighting a path that could lead to an extension of age of tyrants, and potentially WWIII.

Democracy is under threat, and a significant part of the problem stems for the distortion of the current model of 'opposition'. While the politics of division and polarisation of the USA Trump republicans vs Biden democrats attracts most attention on the world stage right now, what happens in Australia following the recent election which saw democracy strike back (page coming soon), has the potential to provide the world with an alternate blueprint for the role of the opposition party, which could reinvigorate democracy and spread to the US and elsewhere. Is there an alternative to the current Republicans vs Democrats style, where 'opposition' is about each party demonising the other?

This is a look at range, covering from how range specs don't mean what you would expect, through why range is so unlike that of fossil fuelled vehicles and optimising range is all about efficiency, through to what range is required around the town or on the highway. Range with EVs is such a different experience that novices can feel anxiety, despite that in practice running out of charge in EVs happens no more than ICE vehicles run out of gas. While EV range is getting closer to ICEV range, most EVs, unlike the Lightyear One pictured here, aren't solar and still don't match the range of internal combustion engine cars, but the convenience of background charging means range with EVs is usually only a limitation on relatively rare road trips.

I recently watched an episode of "Comedians in cars getting coffee",(C6:E4 11:55) where Ricky Gervais has a photo of Hitler as a baby. And relates, "I talk about sci-fi, and I always go back and kill Hitler". And I go, I go, they go "well people tried all the time", and they go "No I'd go back and kill him as a baby". I go, "You'd go back, and kill baby Hitler, who hasn't done anything wrong yet, and just strangle him? Have you seen Hitler as a baby" and I pull out this photo and I go "He was adorable".

The key specification for EVs so far has been 'range'. But how are the numbers measured, will range specific match reality, and can the number even be compared? It turns out there are even 3 different standards for measuring range, and they give very different answers! Further, why have we moved from 'economy' to 'range'? Is there still even economy with EVs?

The main surprise is that life expectancy reveals very little about how long people typically live. From the 1500s till around 1800, life expectancy throughout Europe hovered between 30 and 40 years of age, and it was only as recent as the 20th century, that life expectancy rose from 49.2 to 80.3 years. Yet famous historical figures from 2,000 years ago, typically lived to around 70 or longer.

News and updates for early May 2022. Climate at +1.5 within 5 years confirmed as realistic threat.

I started out wondering how much temperatures have risen so far, what is the best estimate for when will reach +1.5°C , and how bad is +1.5°C anyway. I expected that finding the first two answers would be easy, but it was not. I found the answers, and why they were not easy to find. I found that with warming at +1.0 in Paris in 2015, +1.5 logically seemed 50 years away, but in 2021 just 6 years later, we are halfway there at +1.25°C. Much changed during the Covid-19 distraction, and at this rate +1.5°C is set to be here by 2026, not the 2050 predicted at Paris.

It is now war until the end for Putin. If Putin is to win in Ukraine, he would simply have to start a new war elsewhere, as relations with Russia could never again return to 'normal' without charges of war crimes being held.

The internet was heralded as providing ‘disintermediation’, enabling everyone able to connect with everyone else directly. Yet, somehow, gatekeepers have emerged, controlling the ability to connect, and in many cases the potential to extort revenues for connecting people, with these additional additional fees resulting in increased prices and resultant inflation. Do we risk having legalised […]

This page focuses on a topical question, can the Samsung Z Fold 3 be a viable option for someone who has previously owner Samsung Note phones? Having owned 4 notes dating back to the original, I add my review, and links and selected quotes of other opinions. The page includes my review from the perspective […]

Economic growth. The holy grail of ensuring a prosperous society. Or is it, that, in the 21st century, increasingly economic growth could mean as few as just the wealthiest 1% get richer, while all others get poorer? Economic Growth: Is Economic Growth The Holy Grail, Or Is Its Desirability A Myth? Two sources of myth […]

This is an an examination of the roles of employment in society. This a reference page as background to deeper explorations on the impact or robotics, the arguments for a 'living wage' or basic income, and other topics.

This post examines the idea that achieving herd immunity from an outbreak of Coiv-19 just might be a solid strategy. Not ‘let it rip’ herd immunity, which I will also review, but managed and optimised herd immunity where death and serious illness is kept to the lowest level possible. Two locations with that may have […]

Is it realistic that Earth could reach peak population by 2055, there really the largest number of under 35s on Earth there will ever be? Peak newborns already? What is the reality, and what are the implications?

Job Terminators? There is a virtual barrage of reports warning that robots and automation could displace 40% to  50% of the workforce in the next few decades. During the almost 300 years of the growth age, new jobs have emerged to take the place of those replaced by automation.  Will this continue, or as many […]

From a variety of media reports, I had the impression that Bloomberg first held off entering the nomination race because as long as Joe Biden had it covered. But now, Bloomberg could emerge as assisting Bernie Sanders to defeat Job Biden.

7 trillion looks like a typo, but no, the maths shows that either by continuing the actual global population growth levels typical the 20th century, or achieving 2% per year (or far less than what is currently happening in Nigeria), the maths produce this number in a relatively short time! Alternatively, consider that if we […]

Yes, another post on finances…but the Democrat candidates debate gets one thinking….now to the point. I do not like the idea of wealth tax. There is an enormous wealth inequality problem and while a wealth tax sounds like a direct solution, I feel there are problems with any implementation, such that there just must be […]

Something completely different. A discussion on how this site is hosted: on wordpress.com. Anyone who has started a "blog" or other site on wordpress.com, may get to wonder, what are the options for upgrading the website? What is the value of the free, personal or premium plans and beyond? What real world benefits are there, and, alternatively, what would you lose and/or gain from moving away from wordpress.com. This is a page discussing being in that situation. If you are not considering having a website, it may be of little interest.

Shrek: No. Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers.Shrek Instead of a single immune response, the human immune system can be though of as having several layers of immune response, that all fade at different rates. Immunity is a complex set of different layers all subject to change over time at varying rates, making comparison between immunity following vaccination or infection highly time dependant.

Every niche on Earth where life is possible, is filled by species to maximum capacity. Except for brief periods following Earth changing events, or other change of circumstances, there have been no 'vacant' liveable environments on Earth for over 4 billion years. Any increase in population of one species, requires a reduction in population of other species, in a process Darwin declared "survival of the fittest".

Most of us have heard of confirmation bias. Opportune arguments are like a weaponisation of Chinese whispers, where the message is intentionally changed before being passed on, with the goal of using peoples confirmation bias as a path through their defences. Start with a message accepted through confirmation bias by a person with one set of beliefs, but add a twist designed to cross belief systems. But who is being manipulated, those promoting the new message, or those receiving it?

Move to renewables for energy, and electricity for transport, and we solve the climate problem. But renewables require storage, and uptake of EVs requires home charging, and there is a cost to both. But what if electric vehicles could solve the "green power grid" problem, provide energy security, and avert a threat of increasing inequality, and reduce costs? It turns out this dream scenario is definitely possible but can be fully realised only if the home charging problem is solved.

War relies upon both sides feeling the other side are the "bad guys" The invasion of Ukraine has reached a point where Ukraine has defeated Putin in the global PR war, labelling Putin and the invaders the "bad guys", and requiring Putin to escalate measures to try to ensure the new does not spread to much in Russia, and in the military. Meanwhile, there is still a physical invasion war going on, and as Putin's desperation to hide reality increases, so will the resulting devastation.

(see the mystery below). Way back in 2001, Dean Kamen launched the Segway, heralding a new era in personal mobility. Although the Segway did not deliver that new era, it is possible he was onto something that is gradually becoming a reality. This is a look at how far the Unagi E500 model one electric scooter advances personal mobility, and what broader steps technology has made towards personal mobility.

By the end of 2022, Electric Vehicles (EVs) will be the choice for the majority of all new car buyers worldwide. In practice, while Asia and Europe will see EVs at over 50% market share, delivery in some key markets where EVs currently have around 5% market share to around 20% by year end, but the end of the internal combustion engine will clearly be looming. The motor vehicle industry, sales and servicing, will see upheaval with the majority of current players headed forced close or sell out.

Someone recently suggested to me that vaccines represent an experiment, and people are the guinea pigs. It is a very valid point that vaccinating an entire population is an experiment, and there are risks. The real questions becomes, what are those risks, does the “payback” justify the risks, and are steps to minimise risks adequate. […]

The Web Tools discussed here are those used to create this website: WordPress, Elementor, WordPress.com,. Synfig, Inkscape and Gimp.

There was a news story recently, and I wondered , “if this is reported in other countries, how is it reported?”.  In other words, how would the story look from a different perspective. I tried setting my google search to another country, and searching to see what would result. In fact I tried different search […]

Is there such a thing as freewill? Aren't we just complex chemical reactions where the results of the reaction are entirely determined by the ingredients?

All tools can bestow superpowers and motor vehicles are no exception.Superpowers provided by motor vehicles include the ability to quickly travel and transport goods and people on local trips, and the quite different but key superpower to travel to new and more distant places on road trips. .

COP26. It sounds like a police officer who can't be named. For me it raises questions such as: Why "COP26" and what happened to the first 25 COPs?Are all decisions are made in advance, or is anything really agreed at the conference?Is there more than politicians and fossil fuel companies agreeing spin and token gestures?

There are both vocal supporters and vocal opponents of carbon capture and storage, and there are arguments for both sides. This page goes beyond reporting on how carbon capture and storage fails to make current 'blue hydrogen' projects sustainable, and looks at the underlying principle that dictates why carbon capture and storage, despite having genuine valuable applications, can never enable 'blue hydrogen' to be environmentally sustainable, but is so popular politically.

There is much talk of a 'hydrogen economy', but what is the substance behind it all? There are many myths but hydrogen can be : 'green' hydrogen, not a source of energy, but a less efficient storage stepping stone on the path to battery power.or blue/grey hydrogen, the fossil fuel industries' hope for greenwashing emissions. This exploration provides looks at the reality, and the myths about hydrogen, and provides background for other pages such as: Electric or Hydrogen Cars and Hydrogen Scams.

Obama is currently a ‘lame duck’ president with a hostile senate, and approval rating that suggests a likely hood the next US president may well be a republican. In Australia when the less conservative party took a position to take steps to address climate change, it became a call to arms for conseratives opposed to […]

The labels ‘left’ and ‘right’ date back to French Revolution in 1789, but that history hardly conveys what the terms mean today. This post reviews that original concept and history, and looks further into how the concepts have evolved into todays positions of ‘left’ and ‘right’. This post starts discussion on how the concepts apply […]