Ben Fulton

Is it the

#USPol

We can make electricity cheaper by developing more solar and wind power

"By far the cheapest component of our energy supply is the electricity produced by renewables, principally wind and solar. It’s the same story worldwide. But the price of electricity does not reflect the mix of sources. It is set at almost all times by its most expensive component. And what might that be? Oh yes, fossil gas."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/13/uk-energy-prices-soaring-war-iran-fossil-fuel-north-sea

#UKPol #CleanEnergy

London councils to share £95m for safer roads and new cycle routes

"The latest funding will support the expansion of London’s Cycleways network, the installation of additional pedestrian crossings, and the introduction of more School Streets schemes to restrict traffic outside schools at key times of day."

The cynic in me wonders how the councils will use this money to make cars go fast; but I have to reminding myself it's not the USA.

https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/london-councils-to-share-95m-for-safer-roads-and-new-cycle-routes-88135/

#London #UrbanPlanning

Clean power offers protection

"Clean electricity, by contrast, cuts gas demand and reduces exposure to volatile markets. The political pressures are jobs, tax revenues and the economies of Scotland and north-east England tied to a declining asset.

Clearly, more drilling will not shield households from price spikes; it will mainly boost oil company profits – which explains why the industry is lobbying to scrap the windfall tax."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/09/the-guardian-view-on-the-iran-crisis-exposing-britains-energy-vulnerability-clean-power-offers-protection

#UKPol #CleanEnergy

Transport for London signs contract for 65GWh of solar per year

"TfL currently uses about 1.6 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity each year, making it the largest single electricity consumer in London. Once operational, the solar installations could supply up to 65,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of renewable electricity each year — equivalent to roughly two-thirds of the Victoria line’s annual power consumption."

https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/tfl-taps-our-largest-nuclear-fusion-reactor-to-power-the-london-underground-87986/

#solar #London #PublicTransit

It's about time for Sir Keir to start releasing from the Strategic Solar Panel Reserve.

#UKPol #Solar #OilPrices

Monika Herzig's new album, TransParent, documents in jazz her journey in raising a transgender child. Dr. Herzig is a professor at Indiana University.

https://www.acmerecords.com/product/transparent-cd/

#jazz #TransGender #IndianaUniversity

Turfgame.com is down today, or being DDOS'd or some such. I had a few hours planned into my Sunday for that 😕 #turfgame #gaming

The Clash of Hypocrisies: As Washington abandons any pretense of a just global order, citizens around the world will continue to demand one. "The mask of international cooperation supported a hypocritical system in which powerful nations routinely broke the rules. Yet these same nations needed to justify their violations through moral acrobatics that, paradoxically, reinforced the system’s values" https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/03/06/trump-orwell-hypocrisy-democracy-fascism-imperialism-multilateralism/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=dHJ1bXAtb3J3ZWxsLWh5cG9jcmlzeS1kZW1vY3JhY3ktZmFzY2lzbS1pbXBlcmlhbGlzbS1tdWx0aWxhdGVyYWxpc20=&pid=PNIHAd0kOt6ug7x #ForeignPolicy #UnitedNations #USPol

Indiana utility regulators call in ‘big five’ energy providers “To ask questions on the rates, on the transparency of billing, and also on reflection, to understand better what we have done right and what we have done wrong, as a commission, to set a tone for what will come next” This reads like an actual, normal, political thing for the Indiana government to do. So it's probably wrong and they're going to make them burn more coal or something. https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/25/indiana-utility-regulators-call-in-big-five-energy-providers-for-affordability-investigation/ #HoosierMast #Energy

Canberra: Police seize art posters depicting Trump, Putin and Netanyahu in Nazi uniforms under hate speech law "The posters, by protest artist group Grow Up Art, depicted various world leaders including the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu; the Russian president, Vladimir Putin; and the US president, Donald Trump, in Nazi uniforms. In a statement, ACT policing confirmed it had declared the cafe a crime scene." https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/19/police-seize-art-posters-depicting-trump-putin-and-netanyahu-in-nazi-uniforms-from-canberra-bar-ntwnfb #Canberra #FreeSpeech

Housebuilding in London has collapsed to record lows "Nobody is against high building standards, safety or support for local infrastructure. But botched implementation and a failure to anticipate how policies would interact have created a perverse situation where it is no longer economical to build homes in one of the world’s most prosperous and desirable cities." - Financial Times, which has weird rules about sharing article links #London #Housing

RE: https://hachyderm.io/@skinnylatte/115985510002978550 I wonder if the museum is thinking that they would be safer in India than they are in the States...

Economist: Our Big Mac index carries an Asian warning "In India, McDonald’s does not serve beef burgers. But its Maharaja Mac, featuring a double chicken patty fortified with jalapeños and habanero sauce, is only $2.51. That suggests the rupee lacks the burger’s sizzle." https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/01/29/our-big-mac-index-carries-an-asian-warning?giftId=MmU3YTcxMTgtZDU2MS00ODdlLWFmY2EtNTNlOGQ5Y2ExMTE2&utm_campaign=gifted_article #USPol #Economics