#PrEuXr

If Reform win, the govt will be tempted to revert to pre-Blair balanced migration with a big win for UK climate policy & less damage to ecology & wildlife.

If the Greens win, the reverse could happen with rich property developers trashing more green spaces and GHG emissions increasing.

From the CasualUK community on Reddit: A bloke in each direction and 5p per car. I thought they were joking. They weren’t joking. Explore this post and more from the CasualUK community

Swinford Toll Bridge, Oxfordshire
www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/c...
"...and whilst I am no Greta Thunberg 😁, it's an extremely stupid use of fossil fuels and is a very unnecessary environmental cost."

FAIRNESS & PROGRESS Exploring the relationship between fairness and progress, emphasizing non-zero-sum games as a means to enhance human well-being and collective growth.

New audio for "WHY?—can we have both fairness & progress?". Check it out on the site or on the podcast. open.spotify.com/episode/6nK6...

Better still no one person ruling four countries. Let's have a council of equals, ministers from each region like the Swiss have.
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What kind of prime minister would Wes Streeting be? To some he is a tall poppy in need of cutting down. To others he’s the future. Allies, former staff and friends reveal what he might be like in No 10

"He has repeatedly pressed for closer ties with Brussels, arguing that Labour must make the case for “the closest possible relationship with the EU’s single market and customs union” to protect business and promote growth"
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
Starmer OUT, Streeting IN
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#WoodlandWednesday

Some #woods and #trees for Woodland Wednesday.

Thanks for looking; I appreciate you🫶✨️

A modern UK with the Victorian-era population could potentially exploit resources more efficiently, reduce waste, and be even more “successful” than today, since lower density would make logistics, housing & resource use easier.
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Thought experiment:
Victorian Britain had roughly half the present-day UK population. Suppose both eras had the same technical know-how....
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UK climate campaigners face a dilemma as English Greens are not making reduction to zero of Greenhouse emissions the priority whereas Reform/BREXIT have taken on renewable energy as the new enemy replacing fellow Europeans might inadvertently achieve lower result for UK Greenhouse gas emissions.
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Switzerland to Vote on Capping Population at 10 Million

How will the Swiss vote?
"Switzerland to Vote on Capping Population at 10 Million"
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/w...
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On this growth basis which is more popular?
"Do you think it would be better for the UK population to increase or decrease compared to now, or should it stay at about the same level?"
Increase: a lot 4% Slightly 7%
Stay at about the same level 22%
Decrease: slightly 33% a lot 29%
Yougov 2014
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Voters are faced with an English Green party dedicated to growth of UK human population in a high carbon footprint European region ultimately detrimental to most life on Earth or a Reform party more in line with degrowth.
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At last election a Green prospective MP was door knocking and got a response "I don't know which to choose between Greens or Reform".
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Fossil fuel oil = the old habit.
Cleaner energy = the new one.
We have the tools — now it’s about scaling them with time, investment, coordination, and political will.

Best ways to stabilise human population growth: educate girls, ensure access to voluntary family planning, improve healthcare & child survival, reduce poverty, and support women’s rights. When people feel secure, family sizes naturally fall. 🌍
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WWF report reveals wild vertebrate populations have declined 73% in 50 years The World Wildlife Fund has publishd its latest Living Planet Index, showing a continuing decline in biodiversity, days before the United Nations Biodiversity Conference.

Sadly “human population has doubled since around 1970, while wildlife populations have on average declined by about 73% during roughly the same period”
www.lemonde.fr/en/environme...
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You're right but on a typical UK non-winter day how many animals does one see? Lots and lots of humans unless living off grid, some dogs, a few sparrows, field of cows? Hedgehogs, red squirrel, water vole, common toad, bees, turtle dove, Scottish wildcats?
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Briefly he lived in a caravan, built a windmill generator, turned it into a business now called Ecotricity. With his new wealth tried to influence Labour party by donating money. Wants to heat houses with gas from grass but sadly gives misinformation about alternative very efficient heat pumps.

The world's first sodium-ion EV is here to end winter range anxiety – it retains 90% of its capacity even in Arctic temperatures The world’s first production sodium-ion EV battery emerges unscathed from extreme winter testing, delivering consistent power without the range loss

just finished winter testing in Inner Mongolia
www.techradar.com/vehicle-tech...

Want to understand Russia’s true nature? Look into its forests Sophie Pinkham’s book The Oak and the Larch gives a new perspective on Russia’s history – but she pulls her punches on its imperialism

Russia’s track record of being incapable of living in peace with its neighbours invading them 19 times in the last 100 yrs or its equally aggressive exploitation of its natural resources, including its forests & torching Ukraine’s forests in the country’s east
www.telegraph.co.uk/books/non-fi...

When the brewery requires steam for its production lines, the hot sand is circulated through an external heat exchanger to discharge the heat.

New 'sand-in-motion' battery offers 10x more heat transfer efficiency Finnish startup launches a "sand-in-motion" pilot, delivering fossil-free steam to a brewery and cutting industrial energy costs.

Cool sand moves from a cold silo to an electric heater, reaching temperatures up to 800°C.
The heated sand is then stored in a hot silo.

interestingengineering.com/energy/finla...

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Rebalance levies.
Cap the electricity-to-gas ratio explicitly (e.g. ≤2:1).
Stop penalising electrification.
Get the economics right — or climate promises ring hollow.
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Energy should be charged equitably per kWh at point of use — irrespective of source.
Clean energy shouldn’t be treated as a luxury.
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If government wants mass uptake of heat pumps & EVs, it must fix the ratio.
A heat pump with COP 3–4 should be a no-brainer.
At 4.7× electricity prices, it isn’t.
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Labour has been in power nearly two years.
Electricity prices haven’t been rebalanced.
Consultations don’t cut bills — action does.
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This makes heat pumps and EVs look “expensive” even when they’re efficient.
Tech isn’t the problem.
UK Labour party Policy is the problem.
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Electricity is increasingly clean. Gas is always fossil.
Yet clean electricity is loaded with levies and charges while gas gets a free ride.
The price signal is backwards.
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UK electricity costs ~4.7× more per kWh than gas under the price cap.
This is a policy failure, not a market one — and it’s actively blocking decarbonisation.
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