We were staying at an RV park near Sarasota; that night I painted a tiny 2”x3” study of the sunset we saw there along the key, which I used as reference for this piece. . 8”x8” Oil on cradled wood panel Available on my website.
Auke Hoekstra
@aukehoekstra.bsky.social
Sharing hope and debunking FUD against electric vehicles and renewable energy. Director NEONresearch.nl @TUeindhoven Founder Zenmo.com.
Gotta love the Likud spokesman who said our enemies don't love life like we do after it was put to him that Trump has had enough of Netanyahu blowing up entire apartment blocks in Beirut to kill one Hezbollah operative
this is an absolutely fantastic article... really inspiring stuff!
We are *not* solving extreme poverty. But off-grid solar can be the silver bullet to change that! Because what do 95% of these people in extreme poverty have in common? They live in rural areas without grid access but with year round sunshine. aukehoekstra.substack.com/p/solving-ex...
We are *not* solving extreme poverty. But off-grid solar can be the silver bullet to change that! Because what do 95% of these people in extreme poverty have in common? They live in rural areas without grid access but with year round sunshine. aukehoekstra.substack.com/p/solving-ex...
Solving extreme poverty with solar panels
The new energy system offers an unprecedented chance to lift 660 million people out of energy poverty by giving them cheaper and ubiquitously available energy. Let's make it happen.
aukehoekstra.substack.com
This is yet more insanity from the Trump regime. Commercial fishing is the most destructive thing we do to the ocean.
Trump restores fishing in parts of Pacific Marine Monuments
President Trump restores commercial fishing in Pacific Marine National Monuments, sparking environmental concerns and potential legal action.
khon2.com
McCain’s concession speech on losing to Obama is still one of the most impressive things I’ve heard. Decency and integrity in a tough moment that the current President completely lacks. A class act. Hopefully they’ll put one in the White House again soon.
Trump just disabled the newest AI model of Antropic (Fable) because it's a "security threat to the US". I think it's about loyalty to the fascist capo dei capi Trump. (Sorry for being blunt US friends.) I've had it! I've bought a licence to Vibe from Mistral (French).
I loved Obama because I loved America. Obama, like McCain, seemed to stand for what's good in America. Now half of America loves a man who stands for all that's wrong with America. I hope you find your way back to that "shining city upon a hill" but I'm not holding my breath anymore.
For a while this was the "serious" position in the US. It's why people like @mzjacobson.bsky.social were attacked. Almost as if they were "heretics". Turns out the heretics were right.
The idea that only nuclear or gas can provide "firm power" -- the last line of defense against the relentless advance of clean energy -- is going the way of the dodo. There are no arguments left. The only reason to fight progress now is corruption & raw political power.
I think for most it's a way to make the grid more reliable, not to replace it. Certainly true in the Netherlands (but we have winters where solar panels are close to useless).
Pakistan is now the world's #2 solar panel importer. More than India, more than the entire Gulf. Almost none of it policy-driven. Grid power is costly & unreliable, so households go solar themselves. But does that push grid fees higher for everyone left behind? More soon: janrosenow.substack.com
The latest CFSv2 model results for El Nino (ONI) anomalies later this year are kinda nuts, with a peak at nearly 3.9C in November. NOAA needs to once again raise the y-axis range; here is what it should look like without all the runs above 4C cut off:
JUST DROPPED: For years I thought industrial electrification potential was limited. How wrong I was. Engineering studies point to 90%+. Long term scenarios support this. Technology is much further ahead than we think. Question is whether policy keeps up. janrosenow.substack.com/p/industry-f...
Industry: from hard-to-abate to ready-to-electrify
How far can industry run on electricity?Much ffurther and faster than the 'hard-to-abate' label suggests.
janrosenow.substack.com
Reminds me of this chart: British beef and lamb consumption takes up an enormous area of land overseas – some of which will be felled rainforest. We are, however, self-sufficient in cereals such as wheat
Ppl, esp. in @theguardian.com are prone to Pearl clutching over mines for EV minerals while conveniently forgetting meat. So maybe this picture is a helpful reminder of where our priorities should lie.
Ppl, esp. in @theguardian.com are prone to Pearl clutching over mines for EV minerals while conveniently forgetting meat. So maybe this picture is a helpful reminder of where our priorities should lie.
Rainforests pushed to breaking point by new demands for resources, report says. Need for minerals, biofuels and pulp adding to pressures from ranching, monocrops, oil and logging, analysis finds Story by me. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Fear is the foundation of most governments; but it is so sordid and brutal a passion, and renders men in whose breasts it predominates so stupid and miserable, that Americans will not be likely to approve of any political institution which is founded on it. John Adams, Founding Father US, 1776
A strength of the US from the late 19th to early 21st centuries. “science” also has been a strength of the US in a revolutionary era sense of a collective pursuit of knowledge and improvement not beholden to tradition, kings or favor. An even more essential strength we’ve lost. John Adams April 1776
If Trump wants to determine what science is acceptable, he's following in the footsteps of Hitler and Stalin. Not sure his base cares, but can Americans pls wake up?
Trump appointees having final say on research grants would stop American science dead in its tracks. Take a minute to add your voice to the registrar for this terrible proposal: fight2win.standupforscience.net/campaign/163...
Solar energy is unstoppable! apple.news/AmV47G6-6TWS...
A first among major nations, India is industrializing with solar — Grist
A sea of solar panels is rapidly engulfing one of the world’s largest salt deserts. By 2029, nearly 60 million panels will cover 280 square miles of India’s Rann of Kutch, extending right up to the bo...
apple.news
Lol what, we are really still doing this in 2026?
Scientists have reached a consensus that human behavior is a big driver of climate change—but Americans aren't buying it.
The American government is turning its back on the things that made us a global leader in science, engineering, and technology. Independent science — vetted by rigorous peer review, not political hacks — is crucial. This undermines our future. www.scientificamerican.com/article/whit...
White House proposes new rules giving political appointees final say on research grants
These proposed Office of Management and Budget regulations would render the federal research grant review process opaque
scientificamerican.com
The fact that James Talarico’s girlfriend eats plant-based and that is a major talking point of the Right is so backwards. You mean to say she’s eating foods that minimize her cardiovascular risk and make better use of our country’s precious natural resources? 😱
Glad Dutch media give a lot of attention to the V2G demo of KIA and Hyundai. Using the batteries of cars to SUPPLY energy to the grid during peaks could be a major solution for the "world leading grid congestion" in the Netherlands. nos.nl/artikel/2616...
Elektrische auto kan problemen elektriciteitsnet oplossen
Nieuwe elektrische auto's kunnen behalve laden ook stroom teruggeven. Dat kan in woonwijken problemen op het elektriciteitsnet oplossen.
nos.nl
NDAs should be outlawed. They protect abuse and the powerful from accountability.
Breaking WaPo: The Trump admin is planning to roll out government-wide NDAs that would bar federal workers from sharing a wide array of "confidential government information," according to a draft notice posted to the Federal Register by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
The annual cost of transitioning the world to 100% clean, renewable WindWaterSolar energy for all purposes ($6.8 tril/y) is LESS than worldwide fossil-fuel subsidies alone of $7.4 tril/y (6.4% of world GDP) Subsidy cost www.imf.org/en/topics/cl... Transition cost web.stanford.edu/group/efmh/j...
Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Subsidies are intended to protect consumers by keeping prices low, but they come at a high cost. Subsidies have sizable fiscal costs (leading to higher taxes/borrowing or lower spending), promote inef...
imf.org
A decade ago, analysts were calling Spain a cautionary tale. Too much solar, too fast! Today, Spain is rapidly on its way to having the cheapest power in Europe. Maybe this time, solar naysayers will learn... haha, jk, they'll just move the goalposts.
Spain just became one of Europe's cheapest power markets. Here is how.
How wind and solar quietly pushed gas off the margin, and the wholesale price followed.
janrosenow.substack.com
And we *know* that the drones and missiles are so accurate that they generally hit what they were aimed at. It's just that the Kremlins aim theirs at Ukrainian civilians and culture, whereas Ukrainian ones aim and nearly always hit legitimate military-industrial-economic targets.
Chornobyl museum in Kyiv after the Russian attack yesterday. There are reports that about 40% of the museum's collections have been lost from the attack.
'Eli Groner, a former director-general of Netanyahu’s office, argues that the knowledge that Iran can now close the Strait of Hormuz at any point “is a victory far deeper and more strategic than any point-scoring military achievement”. His one-word summary was “Disaster”' www.ft.com/content/24cd...
Iran is beating Trump at the art of the deal
The war could end with Tehran more confident, more hardline and with new resources to rebuild its nuclear programme
ft.com