Zero Ambitions

My nine year old daughter Sadie built a passive house on Minecraft. A thread 1)

Low electricity prices are a prerequisite for high levels of electrification.

There are no high electrification regions with high electricity prices.

Great chart from
@rockymtninst.bsky.social

just blurted out in class "yes, you have to cite where you got your info. in a world in which lying loudly is the only thing that seems to get rewarded, citing your sources is an act of resistance" and folks, I really believe that.

Who’s that middle aged woman quietly plotting the overthrow of capitalism. Why that would be me. 😊🤞🦋

it's publication day!

Great thread. Retrofit is complicated.

New greenspace and low-wall seating around it filled with people

This part of the Strand in London used to be a congested road for cars. Now it’s a magnetic place for people.

Good trade.

It can feel hard to muster the vision and leadership needed for smart urban change. But it pays off with a better city. Gorgeous pic by @livinglondonhis.

There is a lot that we could and should do to increase housing affordability, but the basic reality is that a nice suburban 1950s family house would be *tiny* by contemporary American standards which is why they were affordable on lower incomes.

Climate change and insurance: a growing fustercluck Climate change is breaking the insurance market, and state governments can't afford to pick up the pieces

Today on Volts: the insurance industry is the canary in the climate change coal mine. Now prices are rising, insurers are pulling out of whole states, & state budgets are straining to make up the difference. I talk with @kategordon.bsky.social about the whole mess.
www.volts.wtf/p/climate-ch...

Gemeinschaftlicher Gassenhauer - Wohnquartier in Bern von GWJ Architektur nbsp;

everything about this coop in bern is just so damn good

but i want you to focus on just one thing.

the number of young children in these photos. there is no development in the US i can think of that enables living like this.

www.baunetz.de/meldungen/Me...

FIFA assessment of the Saudi World Cup bid: “low risk’ on sustainability commitment & environmental protection”.

Seems legit.

Big news! The 'all scientists who do climate' feed now stands at:

🌏 3500 MEMBERS 🌎

...more than it ever had on Twitter!

Huge welcome to #3949, my fav colleague @brasmus.bsky.social, and #3500, @johndparker.bsky.social, who says he’s “not good at social media.” No longer, John!

Pin it here ⬇️

A screen grab of a sponsored LinkedIn post promoting global consulting firm McKinsey’s sustainability work.

Are McKinsey & Co talking out of both sides of their mouth on sustainability, given their 💰💰💰work on fossil fuel?

I’ve never noticed a sponsored post from McKinsey before today on my LinkedIn feed (click on the image in this post to view it in full). The post is all about sustainability.

Short 🧵

Experiments in low-carbon retrofit for a high-status building (with a basement), with Natalie Black (Enbee Architecture + Design) and Toby McLean (Allt Environmental Structural Engineers) | Zero Ambi...

New episode is up share.transistor.fm/s/0a6086d6

Lessons in low carbon retrofit and ‘can you have a low-carbon basement?’

Imagine a trial of a serial killer where the defendant’s case is based on net zero deaths.

For every person murdered, the defendant conceived at least one baby, backed up with chain of custody verification via DNA tests.

Which court would accept that?

🎶Tum-ti tum-ti tum-ti tum

#Passivhaus has well & truly arrived on the UK's cultural map, with a new #PassiveHouse plotline emerging on the popular Radio 4 rural drama #TheArchers.

Follow Tony's #Passivhaus #ecohouse dream:

www.passivhaustrust....

#TheArchersPassivhaus

We've got a full year of monitoring for heating & hot water in our #Passivhaus EnerPHit retrofit. Our total electricity usage, for heating and hot water, between 14th November 2023 and 14th November 2024 was just £175!

Excellent reporting about the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. ITV News reporter Martin Stew speaks with Sunke Trace-Kleeberg (@sunke-tk.bsky.social) and Ben Moat about the RAPID network of #ocean observations that monitors changes in #AMOC intensity. 🌊🧪

www.itv.com/news/2024-11...

It's not fashionable to talk about consuming less as a climate solution because our economy is based on selling us crap that no one needs. Still, I challenge you not to buy anything even if there's some crazy Black Friday sale.

This is the stuff. Don’t be a shit and try to justify it by paying someone to be nice. Just be nice.

No to carbon accountancy tricks. Yes to meaningful action.

Thanks a million Tom

If you look at this graphic, you're done scrolling for today.

Hi Tom. Any chance you could add us to the climate podcast list?

The miserable blood drenched history of Jaffa Cakes The Blindboy Podcast · Episode

New podcast. Climate collapse paganism, Irish celebrity gossip, and the violent colonial history of Jaffa Cakes. Dog Bless ❤️ open.spotify.com/episode/4zjP...

“I love this building. It's so quiet in here,” said the woman sitting in the window.

Aside from constant comfort, two key benefits of passive house for the Betances residents are air quality and tranquility - in a building close to some of the busiest state and interstate highways in the city. 5)

Protecting the health, comfort and dignity of vulnerable older New Yorkers.

Virtually eliminating the need for heating and cooling by going passive house.

Enhancing urban biodiversity.

And all realised in beautifully detailed, unshowy architecture.

Betances Residence is a quiet marvel. Short 🧵

Thanks a million - that means an awful lot

I've listened to a ton of episodes and often recommend to others.
Basically, thanks for all the work building a great resource..

Hello BlueSky peeps.

Our podcast is about decarbonising buildings.

Conversational. Sometimes a bit rude. But illuminating.

Because worthy doesn’t have to mean dull.

We try not to make it like listening to paint dry, if you’ll allow a mangled metaphor.

Listen in:
zeroambitions.transistor.fm