Favorites December 6th 2022

December 2022

David Wessel @davidmwessel

Yesterday, oil prices rose above $88 (Brent benchmark) as new sanctions on Russian oil kicked in. Today, they fell below $82. wsj.com/articles/sanct…

Crude is set to close at its lowest level in 2022, time to refill the strategic reserve! Further, it's now clear that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has significantly sped up Europe’s clean energy transition. While we're at it, the price of lumber is way down too, 78% off it's peak.

Sandy McLachlan @mclachlan_sandy

Densification at its best. Single-family lot replaced with 15 all electric, light-filled units #YIMBY

la.urbanize.cityNew cross-laminated timber apartments planned at 823 Hyperion in Silver LakeA busy stretch of Hyperion Avenue in the Silver Lake neighborhood is about to add even more housing.

These new cross-laminated timber buildings are absolutely gorgeous.

Alec Stapp @AlecStapp

Good news of the day: New antibody drug is 88% effective at preventing malaria. Huge public health win as >500,000 people still die from malaria every year.

There's also a vaccine on the way, 75% effective.

Noah Smith 🐇🇺🇦 @Noahpinion

American teenagers were happiest in the mid-to-late 2000s.

He follows up this graph with: "Delete social media, throw your smartphone in the ocean"

Ramez Naam @ramez

Commercial vehicles are starting their electrification later than personal vehicles. But they'll switch faster. 1. The cost savings are greater (more miles per day = bigger savings). 2. Their owners are bottom line driven. 3. Each destroys more oil demand than a personal car.

JesseJenkins @JesseJenkins

.@Ford's E-Transit electric delivery van is getting some good competition, with the 2024 @Mercedes e-Sprinter coming soon w/ ~300 mile range in realistic conditions. Starting production in Charleston SC in H2 2023. Qualifies for 30% IRA business tax credit https://t.co/9j8KQHmUff

I was wondering how far a delivery truck drives in a day, this quora answer says 50 to 200 miles, so I guess 300 is good enough even without recharging during a lunch break.

Jacob Rubashkin @JacobRubashkin

With Warnock's victory tonight, this election cycle is the first time in history that every incumbent senator seeking re-election has won re-election.

Jacob Rubashkin @JacobRubashkin

Here's an interesting tidbit: If CCM, Kelly, and Warnock all hold on, it will be the first time in history that every single incumbent senator running for another term won their primary and their general election. In 1914, none lost a general, but two lost renomination.

Great to see, although still a bit silly for this election to even be close...

Jordan Grimes 🚰 @cafedujord

San Jose, the third largest city in California and the tenth largest in the US, voted *unanimously* tonight to eliminate parking minimums citywide! This is a huge win for the city's climate + affordability goals, and an incredible Overton Window shift. Couldn't be more proud!

This is great news! Parking minimums are bad!

Threads

• Longish thread explaining in detail why the Kids Online Safety Act is not a good law. Some in congress are trying to pass during the lame duck session,. TL;DR: among many other problems, it would require Wikipedia to find some way to enforce an age gate on all content.

• Thread covering major findings of a study of Homelessness by California YIMBY. TL;DR: by comparing with Houston, which has similar policies but has reduced their homelessness population by much more, they found that the major difference is that Houston builds more homes.

• Thread summarizing an essay from the Niskanen Center on the Great Crime Decline of the last 20 years. TL;DR: Yes crime is down, but it's still way higher in the US than in peer countries, we need to do better on this.

• Short thread on a Biden admin plan to provide a subsidy for community college by using loan forgiveness.