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- ⏳ Everything is changing
⏳ Everything is changing
The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity / Yeats
Max Aitken
October 26, 2025
Climate & energy are changing everything.
A new age of cheap, abundant energy beckons. Yet we’re not cutting emissions fast enough to avoid serious consequences.
A new world - one way or another.
This is the fastest way to keep up.
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What mattered this week
Yes, the world is changing, part 434: Mosquitos have now appeared in Iceland
What happened? These stories will define our lives. Creatures, landscapes, people adapting to a different planet.
Why does it matter? A useful story to tell those ignoring the whole planet-killer thing.
Read more: Iceland Review
Baseload power doesn’t matter anymore - World’s largest isolated grid running 84% wind & solar DAILY
But every fossil & nuke apologist says we need baseload? Turns out, not. Western Australia’s grid doesn’t use it anymore.
Bet you it’s old pumped hydro, not new tech? None. Batteries, demand response and some flexible gas. The future is here - just not evenly distributed.
Read more: RenewEconomy
Second-hand EV values to soar due to ability to recover valuable minerals
What? 99.6% of the minerals in a battery can be recovered. Recycling is to be mandated, so the value of old EVs is set to rise. China starting (obv)
Why does it matter? A nail in the coffin of anti-EV narratives (‘no resale value’ etc)
Read more: EVCentral; The Electric Viking on why wrecked EVs worth $$$
One thing to worry about
How well are we doing?
Not good, says WRI in its fifth “State of Climate Action” report
Of their 45 indicators, none are on track. None.
One thing to be optimistic about
Electric tech is so awesome.
Check this new 12kg 1,000bhp electric motor. You could fit one in each wheel of a car.
And… drum roll please… it’s British 🇬🇧😱 (Clean Technica).
If you’ve got more time, read this…
Climate change accelerating - but politics is decelerating.
How should you think about the future?
A reader sent me Adrian Monck’s “The Ground has Shifted” - a must read for leaders everywhere.
Some extracts:
The world for which today’s sustainability strategies were designed no longer exists
- Europe has led on policy, not on technology
- China has manufactured the transition Europe regulated for
- And the United States has doubled down on extraction whilst eyeing northern territories for the resources climate adaptation will demand
Europe bet on being right. China bet on being necessary. The US bet on being powerful. These are not the same wager.
You’re operating in a fragmenting world where energy security trumps climate goals, industrial policy trumps market mechanisms, supply chain nationalism constrains your leverage, global coordination is failing, and even Europe is wavering under economic pressure
Physics doesn’t care about politics cycles or regulatory complexity or geopolitical tensions. Your company will face costs whether have a sustainability strategy or not.
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