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Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that is in food and in many water supplies (naturally occurring). Port Fairy and Portlands water supply have a level of fluoride between 0.7 and 1.0 PPM this is NOT added but is naturally occurring. I have not seen any credible evidence that fluoride is toxic at the levels it appears naturally or the level that is added to water. Four myths about water fluoridation and why they're wrong

Yep, the phone I had before the one I have now had a replaceable battery. Non-replaceable battery phones have made phones lighter and thinner and also help with dust and water protection however I would suggest most customers would prefer to be able to put a new battery in, I know that that is my preference.

Weight has become more of an issue over the years with modern cars of all types getting chubbier. Near us, a new dealership has opened up selling these monstrosities at over 3000kg. I think there should be a financial penalty for excessively heavy vehicles of any sort. I think range anxiety may abate somewhat as infrastructure improves. Most of us most of the time don't travel long distances daily. This of course is not the case in country areas. Aa the Drive article says SUVs are the most popular cars sold and their sales exceed sedans and hatchbacks. I am not saying weight is not an issue but it is often put forward as a reason why EVs are bad but not applied to other heavier vehicles.

Here is another recent video on battery swap. I think battery swap will be a part of the way we operate. A Nio is designing its cars for battery swap but of course, you do not have to do that. It is a little like a 9kg gas cylinder, you can refill it or swap it.

Probably it is a bit late for that. The legislation has been passed and the timetable set. It is not and probably can not be instant. If a particular company drags its feet, it only takes one company to get a phone on the market with a replaceable battery to corner the market. The consumer wants this and will vote with their feet. It is not like it involves massive development costs. It was not that long ago that phone batteries were replaceable. I say, take the win, pessimism doesn't achieve anything. Newly approved EU Battery Regulation explained

It is not correct to say that there is "no current ability" to recycle EV batteries. Whilst the industry is in its infancy there may not be many batteries recycled (partly because of lack of demand). I posted a video earlier in this or another thread showing in detail the process of recycling valuable constituents. often the EV doomsayer folks like to quote from the past. The fact is that the ability to reuse or recycle anything will always lag behind the product in its earlier days. It is a fact that EV and phone batteries "Can and are being recycled" and the industry is growing. One of the biggest battery recycling plants in the US is up and running Eramet and Suez choose Dunkirk for their electric vehicle battery recycling plant Redwood Materials announces $3.5 billion EV battery recycling plant in South Carolina Glencore plans Europe’s biggest electric car battery recycling plant Ford signs deal with Redwood Materials to recycle EV Batteries Redwood Materials Will Recycle VW EV Batteries I could go on posting links. The fire thing is much exaggerated according to the stats. People get all excited when there is a vehicle fire but tend to not be interested if the vehicle is petrol or diesel-powered. Land/Range Rovers Keep Catching Fires But EVs Are The Problem? The recent fire at Luton Airport car park is now believed to have been started by a diesel Range Rover. But many continue to believe it must have been an EV. If I were worried about fire and purchasing an EV I would probably opt for the less flammable battery chemistry such as the litheum ferrophosfate chemistry. I (I am ashamed to admit) have been in this situation. Although I have not had an incident or accident in 44 years of driving I did badly dent my sons (3 month old) Tesla. The repairs were not a nightmare and in fact no different from any other car. It is always possible to search for the few cases where things go badly. My bro in laws Suzuki Swift engine grenaded quite early on in its expected life. The reality is there are genuine questions to be asked about any technology. Certainly, EVs are not yet the best choice for everyone, perhaps we are in the early adopter stage. Countries like Norway are way ahead and it I think is rational to analyse these countries to see what costs and benefits are being derived and what negative consequences there may or may not be.

At last, a move back to replaceable phone batteries. A new EU law will require all mobile devices to have user-replaceable batteries by 2027. In this episode we take a look at the law, it's consequences and right to repair. EU Just Changed Smartphones Forever

I have Woolworths (Telstra) and it works everywhere my Vodaphone used to work but much cheaper.

NSW public housing solar Over 1,500 social housing properties across NSW were retrofitted with rooftop solar panels in 2021, helping social housing tenants in those properties slash their power bills by up to $1,000 per year.

Often positive things are happening and the pessimists are unaware. https://www.dpie.nsw.gov.au/land-and-housing-corporation/news/slashing-social-housing-power-bills-with-rooftop-solar

https://onestepoffthegrid.com.au/new-scheme-uses-rooftop-solar-grid-renewables-to-slash-social-housing-power-bills/

I agree. Public housing tenants are the last group to be considered when it comes to access to solar rebates etc. This is changing though and I suspect in the next few years rooftop solar will be available to public tenants. Victorian public housing advocates push for solar panel pledge before state election

I totally agree. The uptake is probably going as fast as it reasonably can. The uptake figures are impressive aren't they?

There does not seem to be a problem with the uptake of rooftop solar. The figures I linked to previously show record uptakes of rooftop solar. Whilst insisting that every new build must have solar would be good in my opinion it is just not necessary given the already strong growth in rooftop solar. Stunning leap in rooftop solar PV smashes renewable records across the grid

The installation of solar on new builds is already quite high. Australians are choosing new homes and solar PV in record numbers Nearly 1 In 3 Homes In Australia Covered In Solar Panels

I don't really see why we can't pursue more than one thing at once.

I think the thing with plastic shopping bags is the sheer number that we are using In the US 5 trillion a year.. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/sustainability/plastic_bag_facts.html It is difficult to just outright ban every single source of plastic, you have to start somewhere. 10 Facts About Single-Use Plastic Bags Americans use 5 trillion plastic bags a year.3 Americans use an average of 365 plastic bags per person per year. People in Denmark use an average of four plastic bags per year.4 It only takes about 14 plastic bags for the equivalent of the gas required to drive one mile.5 In 2015 about 730,000 tons of plastic bags, sacks and wraps were generated (including PS, PP, HDPE, PVC & LDPE) in the United States, but more than 87% of those items are never recycled, winding up in landfills and the ocean.6 About 34% of dead leatherback sea turtles have ingested plastics.7 The plastic typically used in bottles, bags and food containers contains chemical additives such as endocrine disruptors, which are associated with negative health effects including cancers, birth defects and immune system suppression in humans and wildlife.8 It takes 1,000 years for a plastic bag to degrade in a landfill. Unfortunately, the bags don't break down completely but instead photo-degrade, becoming microplastics that absorb toxins and continue to pollute the environment.9 Chemical leachates from plastic bags impair the growth of the world’s most important microorganisms, Prochlorococcus, a marine bacterium that provides one tenth of the world’s oxygen.10 There were 1.9 million grocery bags and other plastic bags collected in the 2018 International Coastal Cleanup.11 In 2014 California became the first state to ban plastic bags. As of March 2018, 311 local bag ordinances have been adopted in 24 states, including Hawaii.12 As of July 2018, 127 countries have adopted some form of legislation to regulate plastic bags.13

I don't often need bags for my shopping I do I keep a couple of paper shopping bags in the car. and they are fine to reuse several times depending on what you have previously used them for.

And you can use many types of plastic. Here is the actual NSW law. : Everything you need to know about NSW’s single-use plastic bans Speccifcally these items are NOT banned. 3. What is not banned? A number of single-use plastic items are not captured by the NSW plastic bans. 3.1. Information about what is not banned The NSW Government is committed to reviewing the necessity of these items as sustainable alternatives become more available. Under the NSW Plastics Action Plan, the NSW Government has committed to review further items in 2024 to determine whether phasing out is appropriate at that time. We will commence work on this from next year. 3.2. From 1 June 2022 The ban on lightweight plastic bags does not apply to: • barrier bags such as bin liners, human or animal waste bags (such as nappy bags, bags for collecting food waste for FOGO systems, pet waste bags) • produce bags and deli bags • bags used to contain medical items (excluding bags provided by a retailer to a consumer used to transport medical items from the retailer). 3.3. From 1 November 2022 The ban on single-use plastic items does not apply to: • serving utensils such as salad servers or tongs • coffee cups • plastic cups • items that are an integrated part of the packaging used to seal or contain food or beverages, or are included within or attached to that packaging, through an automated process (such as a straw attached to a juice box) • single-use plastic bowls designed or intended to have a spill-proof lid, such as those used for a takeaway soup • expanded polystyrene (EPS) meat or produce trays • expanded polystyrene (EPS) packaging, including consumer and business-to-business packaging and transport containers • expanded polystyrene (EPS) items that are an integrated part of the packaging used to seal or contain food or beverages, or are including within or attached to that packaging, through an automated process (such as an EPS noodle cup)

Space I have not looked up the laws in NSW but here in Victoria what you say is not correct. Printing "reuse this bag" is not a thing. Which bags are banned? The ban applies to all lightweight plastic shopping bags with handles with a thickness of 35 microns or less at any part of the bag, including degradable, biodegradable and compostable bags. Retailers are not allowed to provide banned bags to customers, whether new or reused.

These are the bags I remember from my childhood. Pretty similar to today but a little bigger and with no handles.

My memory from when was growing up in the 70s was that our groceries were always carried in large paper bags. If you are one of those who believes things were better in the past then I would have thought you would have of paper over modern plastic. Plastic has many downsides and it does not seem too onerous to me to at least attempt to reduce the amount of this stuff going into landfill.

It is amazing to think about all the inputs and energy required to produce a litre of fuel at the bowser.

Here is a photo of an interesting object. I took this photo on my usual bike ride which takes me around the waterfront of Geelong and through the port area. There are often interesting vessels to be seen. This vessel caught my interest. It is a Helix7000 which is like an oil drilling platform but it is used for decommissioning oil and gas wells (plugging abandoned wells) and also used in the case of an accident. It is here for a few days before heading into Bass Straight. Unfortunately, this photo doesn't quite capture the enormous size of this thing. https://www.offshore-energy.biz/watch-helix-vessel-comes-to-australian-port-ahead-of-decom-job-with-exxonmobil/