Hey friends,
Not much to report from me this week. I’m heading to Spain in two weeks for my first trip since I finished a six-month road trip around Europe. Back then, I was an EU citizen, now, after Brexit, I’m not.
This will be an interesting trip as I haven’t travelled since the pandemic started. I get to spend some time with friends and I get to see what travelling in Europe is like when you no longer have the freedom of movement you’ve had since you were a child in your own continent.
However long the passport queues may be and the fuss over Covid, I’m looking forward to it.
Here’s what I want to share this week.
Deep Sea Mining
Electric vehicles are mooted as one of the solutions to the climate crisis. By moving away from fossil fuels we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide we pump into the atmosphere. While there’s no doubt this is true, the problem is scale. Where do we get the raw materials to produce the batteries needed for the sheer number of electric cars we need to build?
While we have resources on land, they’re not plentiful. Mining companies think the answer is to mine the deep sea where billions of nodules made up of rare earth materials exist. Sounds good right? Well, there are a few problems as this piece suggests. If this goes ahead, it could lead to the ecological devastation of the seafloor which would defeat the purpose of ‘being clean’ if we go ahead with it.
In Defence of Elon Musk
I shared an article last week about why we shouldn’t deify Elon Musk. A week later, I find an article in my Sunday paper that did just that. Even though I didn’t enjoy the article, and don’t agree with the author’s conclusions, I thought I’d share it anyway.
Musk is a polarising figure who seems to be like the English food marmite; you either love him or you hate him. Consider this the counterpoint to the view I shared last week. Do you agree with this take or the previous one? Leave me a comment and let me know.
Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear fusion is the holy grail of clean energy. By mimicking the chemistry of stars in a giant fusion reactor, we can produce a mass of energy with very little emissions. No carbon dioxide or nuclear waste as we currently have with nuclear reactors.
This article looks at the latest news out of the U.S., where a reactor yielded 1.3 megajoules of energy. Fusion has been touted as a solution to our unending quest for more and more energy almost ever since the first atom bomb was dropped in 1945. The joke being it’s always 30 years away. Could this time be different? This article is cautious but optimistic about what the results represent.
Bitcoin in El Salvador
El Salvador is about to be the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. Using it for the purpose it was designed for back in 2008, rather than the speculation it’s mainly used for today.
Will it be a success? If you believe the Bitcoin evangelists, it’s going to change the face of the world. The economists who wrote this short paper, however, are a lot more bullish and think it could fail.
Only time will tell. But I’m siding with the economists at this point.
Book I’m reading - Rollercoaster Europe 1950-2017
I’m still reading this beast of a book, a fascinating look at modern European history. Anyone with an interest in the continent should read this, it’s a fantastic account of the period.
Quote I’m pondering - “The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies will pass into history.” – George Orwell
That’s all for this week.
Until next time,
Tom
I hope you have a safe trip to Spain. I will miss your articles but it also gives me a chance to catch up on any missed articles you have written ;-) It would be interesting to find out your thoughts on travelling to another country after the lockdown. I hope you have a wonderful time. Stay safe and take care.