Cities for a sustainable future 🚴♂️🌿
Bristol
Joined May 2023
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James Ecologist retweeted
SOUTH AMERICA HISTORIC HEAT
Brutally warm ocean (anomalies up to +10C!)
OCTOBER HIGHEST MINIMUMS RECORDS
28.7 Boa Vista BRAZIL -All time R
27.0 Guayaquil
ECUADOR HOTTEST OCTOBER NIGHT
GUYANA
27.7 Lethem
FRENCH GUIANA
24.9 Maripasoula
24.8 St Georges
PERU
24.7 Piura
18.9 Tacna
Una Onda Kelvin está ingresando y rompiendo récords de anomalías de la temperatura del mar para primavera, con 2 estaciones con >+10°C!!!!
Y una amplia franja costera con más de 50 centimetros de elevación del nivel medio del mar.
Información de @DHN_peru
James Ecologist retweeted
CHART OF THE DAY: While oil prices have increased over the last few weeks, the opposite is true for US retail gasoline prices (the main focus of the White House). The nationwide average is down >5% over the las month. Of course, all could change if the Iran war re-start.
James Ecologist retweeted
Lake Chad Basin is a lifeline for 50M people across 5 African countries. But floods, droughts & extreme weather threaten their lives & livelihoods.
WMO, @lcbc_cblt & @GWPnews launched a project to strengthen early warnings & help communities prepare. 🔗 bit.ly/3WQtCWy
James Ecologist retweeted
EV tires wear out twice as fast.
At least that’s what social media comments say, from people that have never owned one.
British Gas reported getting 40,000 miles from its electric van tyres, compared with 15,000 from its previous diesel vans.
That doesn’t mean every EV’s tires will last twice as long, but it does prove that not all EV tires wear faster.
Real-world evidence beats myths every time.
James Ecologist retweeted
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India’s energy import dependency remains high
Metallurgical coal imports stay near 90%, while gas imports have climbed to around 45–50%. LNG prices spiked sharply in 2022 and remain well above domestic gas prices.
Sources: @ieefa_institute
James Ecologist retweeted
China is the global leader in electrolysis – home to nearly 70% of manufacturing capacity & the world’s lowest capital costs for electrolysers
Our commentary explores what’s behind this competitive edge, its limits & the implications for global markets: iea.li/3TXbutg
James Ecologist retweeted
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Striking data: Russian oil refining throughput has collapsed in 2026 amid drone attacks.
Production fell from around 5.3 million barrels/day early in the year to under 3.8 million by June, a sharp drop compared to 2024 and 2025 levels.
Source: @federalreserve, Jesse Thompson and Garrett Golding
James Ecologist retweeted
Electricity demand is set to rise strongly in the coming years. But grids aren't keeping pace – and new networks are slow & costly to build.
Our recent report explores how AI & other digital tools can help get more out of existing grids 👉 iea.li/4AsmjUp
James Ecologist retweeted
@RockyMtnInst says these states could bring more heat pumps online in winter without the need for expensive grid upgrades — and that the all-electric appliances could even lower residential power prices.
canarymedia.com/articles/hea…
James Ecologist retweeted
☀️🔋 Want solar panels and a home battery but put off by the upfront cost?
A new UK government-backed scheme launched this week could help homeowners spread the cost of installing solar panels, battery storage and heat pumps.
The Warm Homes Loan Scheme offers lower-interest and, in some cases, interest-free finance.
Maximum supported loan amounts include:
☀️ Solar panels: £15,000
🔋 Battery storage: £15,000
♨️ Air-to-water heat pumps: £20,000
🌍 Ground-source heat pumps: £35,000
Who can apply?
✅ You must own the property, with or without a mortgage.
✅ The property must be in the UK and used as a home, not for commercial purposes.
✅ The money must be used for eligible energy-saving improvements.
✅ You will generally need an MCS-certified installer. Heat network connections are an exception.
You don’t have to be on benefits or meet a specific income threshold under the scheme’s basic eligibility rules, although individual lenders may have additional requirements.
You can apply directly through a participating lender, through an installer or retailer offering the finance, or via your mortgage provider.
⚠️ These are loans, not grants. Credit and affordability checks apply, and you should compare interest rates, fees and the total amount repayable.
👉 Check eligibility and find out how to apply:
gov.uk/warm-homes-loan-schem…
gov.uk/warm-homes-loan-schem…
☀️ 🔋 ⚡
🤖 Made with AI
James Ecologist retweeted
Public control is the capacity of the state to steer economic activity toward strategic objectives through the public-purpose orientation of its policy tools. Ownership is one tool among many.
With @AnnaHopeEmerson in @ProSyn, four things progressive governments need to do differently.
Read more ➡️ project-syndicate.org/commen…
James Ecologist retweeted
Microsoft's exit offer covers about 60,000 eligible employees. Ofc, it is not 60K confirmed layoffs. But look at what happened to the economics of its AI products:
- June quarter: revenue grew 17.7%, cost of revenue 22.9%, operating expenses 9.8%.
- Gross margin fell from 68.6% to 67.2%. These are company-wide figures, not an AI-only breakdown.
- GitHub admitted a quick chat and a multi-hour autonomous coding session could cost the customer the same amount under its premium-request model. It called that model "no longer sustainable".
- On June 1, it replaced premium-request units with token-based credits. Base subscription prices stayed unchanged.
- Amy Hood subsequently said GitHub Copilot margins improved during the quarter after the pricing change.
My reading:
- They charged by requests, but agents increased the work inside each request. The billing unit stopped tracking the cost closely enough.
- A customer could eventually employ fewer developers and buy fewer seats, while its agents consume more computing. Microsoft needs revenue to follow that computing, not just human subscriptions.
- For customers, the wage-saving calculation must include the agents' metered bill. An unchanged subscription price doesn't mean an unchanged cost for the same workload.
That explains a commercial decision that became costly and how Microsoft responded.
Sources: Microsoft FY26 Q4 earnings release and earnings call; GitHub, "GitHub Copilot is moving to usage-based billing", 27 April 2026.
James Ecologist retweeted
Currently, the U.S. relies on imported gallium to make #microchips and LEDs, but a new analysis shows that our demand could be met with gallium recovered from industrial waste. #LBNLCriticalMinerals
@BerkeleyLabETA
bit.ly/4ytNkpe
James Ecologist retweeted
Galana-Kulalu Farm uses irrigation, drones and data to reach 35 bags of maize per acre. Selu Africa plans a Sh13 billion expansion backed by Equity Bank across 20,000 acres.
James Ecologist retweeted
Why peoples are making fool to everyone about the Cyclone Arnab
Hey @grok , Verify that it's not the original footage of #CyclonArnab
James Ecologist retweeted
Pleased to meet EDF CEO Bernard Fontana in Singapore to discuss the growing momentum behind nuclear power. New @IEA analysis shows around 90 GW of nuclear capacity is currently under construction worldwide, the highest level in four decades.
James Ecologist retweeted
And no matter which they choose, they will end up with a subpar product because neither option will be able to be integrated wholly into the architecture of the car.
It'll work technically, sure, but about as well as if you had a Samsung TV, Google phone, Apple iPad, Garmin Watch and a Linux PC.
I prefer going with 1 company. It just works better with one another.
James Ecologist retweeted
🚨🪵 Google Cuts Down 250,000 Trees for Data Centre in Finland
Google has been accused of clearing nearly 250,000 trees in northern Finland without the required environmental assessment. Work at the site has been halted, and Google Finland’s country manager has apologised.
Finland has become a major destination for AI data centres thanks to its cold climate, which helps reduce cooling costs and attracts billions in investment from tech giants and billionaire investors.
James Ecologist retweeted
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BofA analysis: High-Purity Quartz – the hidden starting point for AI chips
The main supplier is the United States!
One of the least talked-about but most critical bottlenecks in the entire semiconductor and AI supply chain is high-purity quartz (HPQ).
According to BofA Global Research
- HPQ is used to produce quartz crucibles that grow single-crystal silicon ingots.
- These ingots become silicon wafers, the foundation of virtually every advanced chip, including AI accelerators.
- 70–80% of the ultra-high-purity natural quartz suitable for semiconductor-grade crucibles comes from a single region: Spruce Pine, North Carolina (US).
- Main operators: Quartz Corp and Sibelco (Belgium).
This creates an extreme single-region geological dependence. In 2024, Hurricane Helene already disrupted mining and logistics in the area, exposing how quickly a localized event can ripple through global wafer production.
Key points from the analysis
- Synthetic and alternative quartz exist, but they remain more expensive and not yet fully scalable replacements.
- Inventory buffers exist but only cover limited periods.
- Diversification is slow due to long qualification timelines.
- New high-purity resources were identified in Tibet (Dinggye) in June 2026, though commercial viability and scale remain uncertain.
Bottom line: High-purity quartz is not a normal commodity. It is a geological bottleneck. Any disruption in Spruce Pine can affect crucible availability, wafer production, and ultimately the supply of advanced chips long before it shows up at the chip fab level.
Source: BofA Global Research
