Erik De Leye

What happens when housing supply is driven by markets not Main Street Home prices in America won’t come down without systemic reform

Home prices in the U.S. won't come down without systemic reform, and this applies to many countries:
Policymakers also need a more systemic understanding of the housing market. (...) Housing should be about shelter first and foremost - not investor's profit.
on.ft.com/43ANqOq

Amazon climate scientist Carlos Nobre: ‘This is an enormous risk for the entire world’ The Brazilian academic believes that the tipping point he has warned of for decades is ‘much closer’ — but he retains his optimism about the next generation

What to add to this sobering warning? Some flashing red lights, maybe? on.ft.com/4a0AGV4

and inadequate clothing ... a good raincoat and helmet is already a good start. And if you drive longer distances, wear rain trousers. Rain is nothing but water, isn't it?

Your flight emissions are way higher than carbon calculators suggest Existing tools that work out the carbon footprint of flights greatly underestimate their warming impact, say the makers of a new calculator

It’s almost three times worse … do you really, really have to take that flight?

www.newscientist.com/article/2502...

Green activists need to think beyond carbon emissions The economic imperative of climate resilience means adaptation must be considered as well as mitigation

Biodiversity and global warming problems are tightly entwined; so much so that it is odd the UN holds two separate summits each year to discuss them.
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Hoe meer groei, hoe meer klimaatproblemen: we zijn onze eigen lintworm aan het vetmesten Weigeren de samenhang van maatregelen en hun effecten onder ogen te zien, is niet alleen de snelste, maar ook de kortste weg naar verbittering, schrijft Kris Peeters.

Zeer lezenswaardige opinie: “De kans is dus groot dat onze economische groei voortaan systematisch zal worden opgesoupeerd door de negatieve klimaateffecten.”
www.standaard.be/opinies/hoe-...

www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/...

Over 7 out of 10 businesses in the real economy of the euro area are CRITICALLY dependent on ecosystem services, while 6 of the 9 planetary boundaries have already been breached. That means your business is highly likely far more vulnerable than you think. see: EEA's Europe's environment 2025 report

About 15 km of the Autobahn Aachen - Köln was rebuilt some kilometres to the south to allow an extension of this mine. Obviously funded by the tax payers.

How Russian-funded fake news network aims to disrupt European election - BBC investigation An undercover reporter discovers a network is offering to pay for social media posts undermining Moldova’s ruling party.

How surprising … www.bbc.com/news/article...

Our answers to climate change are damaging nature As the extinction of plants and animals accelerates, our dependence on the natural world is deepening

As the extinction of plants and animals accelerates, our dependence on nature is deepening. A PwC analysis found that over half of global GDP — an estimated $58tn — is moderately or highly reliant on nature, up more than 30 per cent since the World Economic Forum’s 2020 estimate. on.ft.com/4nskkYZ

Waarschijnlijk neemt de auto een gelijkaardige oppervlakte in in België, waar autobezit ook niet algemeen is. Een niet verwaarloosbaar deel van de bevolking heeft evenmin een auto.

10 miljoen auto's in Nederland!

⚠️ Dat is 1,25 × oppervlakte @degemeenteutrecht.bsky.social(alleen parkeerruimte)

⚠️ Dat is 8 x de gemeente Utrecht (ook weginfrastrucuur)

⚠️ 50% van de publieke ruimte in een stad gaat nu naar de auto

⚠️ 25% Nederlandse huishoudens heeft geen auto

Plastics a ‘grave’ danger to health, scientists warn before UN talks Experts say materials are harmful ‘at every stage’ of human life, as diplomats hold talks on global treaty

Plastics a ‘grave’ danger to health, scientists warn before UN talks
on.ft.com/4fmgJJ1

Earth is more sensitive to greenhouse gases than we thought Our climate seems to be more sensitive to greenhouse gas emissions than some researchers had hoped, meaning the world will have to up its decarbonisation efforts

Definitely bad news for all creatures great and small on this planet: www.newscientist.com/article/2485...

At crossroads, increased length and width reduce the available space for turning and passing with a lower frequency as result, adding again to increased congestion. So it's either increasing the road dimensions in our cities, or going back to smaller cars. The latter is highly likely more affordable

In the same situation with 4 Mk8s there is only 0.76 meter of empty space between the four cars left. Suppose there is one cyclist (and we do love them) driving on the road, then at least one of the moving cars will have to slow down for safety reasons. So more congestion ... (3)

Cars becoming wider is the second factor of increased obstruction. Again with the VW Golf as example: a street 9.5 meters wide in the seventies would have allowed 2 parked Mk1s + 2 Mk1s passing in each direction, with 1 meter of empty space between the four cars. (2)

The first VW Golf (Mk1) had a length of 3.705 meters, the current VW Golf (Mk8) 4.284 meters. Assuming you had 1 meter space between a long row of Mk1 Golfs in a queu, you had about 212 Mk1s per kilometer. The same number of contemporary Golfs with 1 meter in between will take 1.123 km (+12.3%). (1)

I once read that even one English person will make a queue ...

België is jammer genoeg minder goed georganiseerd op dit vlak. Dat geeft ons dan weer veel meer open ruimte voor verbetering.

Ik wou duidelijk maken dat het rapport geschreven is door een onafhankelijk adviesorgaan van de overheid en niet door een ngo met een agenda. Het PBL zegt op zijn website: Het PBL is een organisatorisch onderdeel van de Rijksoverheid, namelijk het ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat.

Dankjewel voor de extra toelichting. Ik had begrepen dat hoewel onafhankelijk, het PBL een organisatorisch onderdeel is van Rijkswaterstaat. Dus geen NGO?

Voor de Belgen op Bluesky: Het Planbureau voor het Leefmilieu is een onderdeel van het ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat. Hoe groot zou de milieuschade in België met zijn pfas-hotspot rond Antwerpen zijn? De TIJD schat dat België elk jaar 13,5 miljard rente betaalt op zijn overheidsschuld.

🚲 Top 3 for Thu 19-06-2025 at 22h 🚲

🥇 Rue de la Loi 130 + 145 - 9763 bikes passed today
🥈 Avenue des Arts 26 - 7625 bikes passed today
🥉 Quai des Charbonnages 8 - 6877 bikes passed today

Total: 59275 🚲

Staying the course on climate action essential to EU security and competitiveness

The latest advice from the independent @esabcc.bsky.social is clear: a competitive, resilient, secure and sustainable Europe depends on ambitious climate policies.

That means both cutting emissions and adapting to our already changing climate.

👇
climate-advisory-board.europa.eu/news/staying...

Global temperature rise to reach near 2C in next five years, WMO says Warming of more than 1.5C from pre-industrial levels is expected to become more ‘commonplace’

If this is not an overwhelming wake-up call, I guess we'll continue to sleep forever.
Scientists expect a range of knock-on effects (...) including a fall in crop yields and more than a third of the world’s population being exposed to extreme heat. That's over 2 billion people!
on.ft.com/3STKczF

US beef prices extend surge as ranchers face thinnest herds in 70 years A years-long drought in the American west has dried up grazing lands and created a shortage of calves

Doesn't look like the UK will import large quantities of US beef, as agreed upon in the recently announced US-UK trade agreement ... on.ft.com/4kd6AQ6

Spring reminder, as people start to think about gardening: NEVER buy compost with peat it in (inexplicably still on sale). If it does not say "peat free" in big letters, do not buy it. Peat is incredibly valuable in peat bogs, for rare biodiversity and as a carbon store. Don't put it on your garden!