#bangasoline

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_by_country#/media/File:World_wind_generation_2021.png

A fair point. I think I largely agree. But in the US there are a lot of grants for electric vehicles. Most public agencies are totally paralyzed and can’t do anything new without federal funding. My suspicion is it’s easier to get money for shiny new buses than for a new line. Especially because capital upgrades are mostly a one time cost while a new line requires ongoing funding. Funding they largely don’t have.

When I talk to my transit agency about new lines they look at me like I’m crazy and explain that they’re fighting as hard as they can just to maintain existing service. But it’s totally possible or maybe even likely there is mismanagement at play there.

Most of the passenger vehicles. A good chunk of heavy trucking could be replaced with rail too.

I didn’t mean any category would be totally eliminated, just the numbers reduced substantially for some.

Ah, I see. From a 10,000’ view this makes sense, but at least in my local political context, local government is relatively powerless to do much to reduce personal vehicle usage. But they do have total control over what buses are used. So I don’t see those changes as direct alternatives.

Changing from the personal car as the default means of travel is going to require a large, powerful political movement. It’s not something government leaders can do unilaterally. The backlash will be very intense. So I think it’s up to concerned and motivated members of the community to create a positive force for change that overwhelms that opposition.

Not sure I agree with this. Many of those vehicles don’t even need to exist, so effort is better spent on eliminating them. Buses are among the few vehicles that actually provide public benefits greater than their costs, so it makes sense to invest in new technology to improve them.

And as you alluded to, the air pollution benefits can be substantial.

I’ve been wondering if the sharp rightward turn of the government in recent years will threaten their past success. Has there been any sign of this?

Cool project. Impressive it succeeded in such a harsh environment when so many afforestation projects have failed.

I love hearing about these old struggles. Our history presents it as if everyone just accepted the tyranny of that time but the reality is people have always been fighting the same fight.

It’s also nice to know that some of my ancestors were trying to help people instead of all of the awful things the aristocracy were doing.

Great quote. Who said this?

100%. Also humans seem to have a natural tendency to ideate about the apocalypse that goes beyond the rational. All kinds of people have been predicting the end of the world for millenia at minimum, and so far they’ve all been wrong. It’s a lot less likely than we think it is, and so predicating our ideas and actions on this fringe situation that is unlikely to happen in our lifetimes renders us less able to act in the conditions that will exist.

Since it’s nearly winter the options are drying up. In my yard there is just citrus. Lemons and mandarins are just ripening. But I’ve also been getting a steady infusion of persimmons as well. They’re fairly easy to grow here but people don’t seem to like them too much.

Kiwis are also in season but I don’t know anyone who grows them so I need to buy them in the market. And the season for feijoa is wrapping up as well. Some varieties of avocado might be harvested now but those are harder to come by around here.

You know they’re going to start making ads out of these now.

Yeah this is a tricky one. Modern gold standards are to use cameras to recognize pedestrians and cyclists to give them intersection priority. This is a big benefit if designed properly but video data this way poses a huge privacy/surveillance risk.

I suppose maybe there would be a way to process the footage locally and delete it as soon as it’s no longer needed but that’s going to require a lot of oversight from the community to confirm.

The bot was correct for once. Japanese aucuba. The spots are variegation which is typical for the variety and nothing to worry about.

Yeah maybe I’ll cover it. What material do people use for that?

I can’t remember which form I got. But yes I’ve heard of people growing them successfully here, that’s probably where my cutting came from. The only issue is it’s still very small going into winter so I’m worried that might affect its ability to last and bounce back.

But on the other hand it’s planted in my back garden which is surrounded by heated buildings on all sides, so I’ve never actually seen frost back there. For all of the disadvantages of urban gardening, there are some advantages.

I agree, looks like an avocado pit where the skin has come off.

A general location would help, although I guess an avocado pit could be found anywhere due to global trade.

Video never loads for me.

But I just planted a passion fruit (P. edulis) that someone gifted me this last summer. I’m unsure if it will survive winter here.

My community garden also has many P. caerulea which are typically grown for the flowers and not the fruit but I enjoy them. Much sweeter than other passion fruits.

Definitely Eucalyptus. Species ID won’t be easy on a young plant. There are hundreds of species, and many look quite similar.