In the lead up to my sister's death in 2018, we had a number of traumatic conversations about hope and lies. "Why do doctors have to tell the truth, when their patients would be better served by hope?" she asked. Climate change tosses the question into the ring yet again. What do we want? Truth, lies or hope? I'd opt for the first and the last. Towards the end, my sister embraced all manner of alternative quackery with enthusiasm and gusto, desperate for hope in the face of a debilitating degenerative brain disease. She didn't want doctors telling her the truth. Every second of her daily struggle to do the most mundane of tasks already told her that truth; she was dying. So she invoked th
Search
Public transport and rooftop solar panels. Is there a connection? Everybody loves public transport ... as an idea. Everybody understands that it is sensible to invest in high quality mass transit that makes efficient use of space and energy rather than having individuals encased in a couple of tonnes of private motor vehicle? The graphic below is one of a series which makes the resource waste associated with private cars more obvious. The toll in death and injuries adds another facet to the problem. But despite the attractiveness of public transport as a safe and efficient mode of moving people, the public isn't always keen to use it. Particularly if they have a car, and if there is parking
I'm not at all sure about writing anything about those afraid of 5G. Will anybody worried about 5G actually read or care about what I or anybody else says? Some people are desperate to believe in a monster created in backrooms by some kind of Dr Strangelove villians. Others are equally desperate to believe in the assurances of people with suits and scientific titles. Both sides prefer to avoid actually thinking ... which is understandable because it's really hard work! ABC's "4 Corners" recently tackled the 5G worriers, but reporter Sean Nicholls' mode of attack relied rather too much in authority in my view and too little on looking at the claims and why they are false. Consider the follo