I am very interested in new energy solutions as a way to de-carbonize and provide consistent supply of low cost energy.
1. Green hydrogen production and fuel cells. We are just scratching the surface of green hydrogen production. Hydrogen can be the energy carrier we need in the various use cases where batteries are not viable.
2. Nuclear SMRs. Definitely something that is more of a "something to watch".
3. Pumped hydro. The longest lasting, highest capacity, lowest cost, 0 carbon, grid-scale energy storage solution. I have been closely follow a company I found on HN call Terrament. https://www.terramenthq.com
Researching and learning more about fuel cells, hydrogen, and the "hydrogen economy". Planning to start a company in this industry sometime in the next few years. I am trying to gain a better understanding of the market and current technology + limitations so that I can start working on solving the fundamental barriers to bringing my ideas to market.
Coming from a software background it is really fun to learn about something completely different and new!
Bosh grabbed the rebound because of arguably one of the worst coaching decisions in NBA history; that being to sit one of the greatest defenders ever (Duncan) on the bench for the most important defensive possession of the season.
Bosh would not have been able to reach over Duncan to get the rebound and it would have been over. To this day, I still cannot comprehend what Popovich was thinking.
That being said, Bosh definitely deserves a spot in the HoF. He was a MVP candidate his final year before leaving for Miami. A lot of people totally forget this.
My first startup attempt was a indie game right out of university. In hindsight, I was too inexperienced, and as the only programmer on the game; it failed.
I got a job and worked there for ~3 years to gain experience, learn, and make some money. About 2 years into that, I started working on a side project with my lead and we left about a year later to work on it full time.
https://www.stroom.live started out as a live streaming video "social network for local happenings". Shortly before we launched, Facebook Live/Meerkat/Periscope were launched, and we could not gather any traction. We took our base tech and pivoted, turning it into a low cost, high quality (allowing the user to plug their professional camera into a cell phone) professional live streaming platform for video and broadcast professionals. After 2 years, we are finally starting to gain traction and customers.
My founder and I were able to pay for it through savings, me sucking it up and living at home, side contracts, and a Canadian government research program IRAP.
The BC Liquor stores are not well run. In my experience, the service is slow, the people are not knowledgeable, and you will often have a huge lineup of people waiting at the only cashier that is open. The employees have 0 incentive to change this because they are protected by a powerful union.
On top of this, as mentioned in other posts, we have some of the most expensive alcohol in the world. I have travelled to several countries and have yet to find a place that has more expensive alcohol than BC.
I used to work beside a major liquor importer and after speaking with some of their employees, the general consensus in the industry is that the only people that benefit from this are the union employees that work at the government liquor stores and distribution centres. For everyone else: restaurants, consumers, independent store owners, etc. it is a negative.
I think the biggest problem, as stated in the article, which I think is being missed by many commenters, is the cost. According to the article, the batteries alone (not including the chassis) cost almost as much as a current diesel truck.
Another huge issue is weight. Batteries are extremely heavy and a truck loaded with the batteries needed to have this range would seriously cut into the delivery capacity.
A better 0 emission alternative that is already being tested in real world applications [1] is battery power with a fuel cell range extender. Loop Energy has a fuel cell that is cheaper than diesel per mile with comparable range for the drayage, bus, and port/distribution markets.
Despite Musk's disparaging remarks about fuel-cell tech, until a major breakthrough happens in batteries, fuel cells are the best way to make battery powered heavy-duty trucks a reality from both a cost and practicality stand-point.
Great questions. Thanks. Looking at their economy as it is, they are borrowing massively with essentially 0 growth. The government is doing this in an effort to prop up the economy and spur growth.
If they were to stop borrowing money without a substantial leap in technological progress, would the economy go into a deep recession? I do not know enough about economics to say, but I am basing my assumptions around this reasoning. Am I missing something?
I'm then assuming that if the country went into a deep recession, that quality of life for the average person would decrease.
"...are their citizens enjoying a relatively high quality of life?'
I would say yes.
To me, the question is: can their high quality of life be maintained if there is no economic growth? Is it possible to print money/borrow indefinitely to support this quality of life?
Especially with regards to the article, I think these are valid questions.
How do you reconcile this with what is happening in Japan? Do you think huge amounts of automation would fix their problems? Isn't much of their manufacturing already automated?
I have a theory that may not be popular around here. I also probably have not thought this through and researched it enough, but I will throw it out there anyway. I would love to have it torn to shreds by someone who has studied economics or more likely this is something that has already been extensively researched.
It seems to me that real sustained economic growth cannot happen without population growth, at least the way things work right now. Efficiencies gained through technological innovation and financial manipulation cannot sustain growth indefinitely, they just smooth out the bumps and with population growth help increase the rate of economic growth. And without economic growth, we are going to keep running into these issues and others brought up in the article.
Look at Japan, no amount of economic/financial manipulation has really helped them. Their main economic issues stem from the fact that there are not enough young people.
Aside from epidemics/catastrophes, there has almost always been sustained population growth through human history. It is in our nature to multiply and expand. I feel this is why so many people are fascinated with space and space colonization.
The current demographic trends in western society is unprecedented and in my estimation, I do not think it will end well unless someone finds another solution, or these demographic trends are reversed.
Feel free to rip apart my theory. I would love to hear what someone with a better understanding of this area has to say.
Despite what Elon Musk says, fuel cells aren't dead in the slightest. Yes there has been some stagnation in innovation from the major players, buy there has also been some significant and ground breaking improvements in fuel cell efficiency in the past few years.
At least one company that I know of, Loop Energy, has proven (independently verified) fuel cell tech that will soon make cargo trucks 0-emissions. (Note: My brother was the lead engineer and basically developed this)
1. Green hydrogen production and fuel cells. We are just scratching the surface of green hydrogen production. Hydrogen can be the energy carrier we need in the various use cases where batteries are not viable.
2. Nuclear SMRs. Definitely something that is more of a "something to watch".
3. Pumped hydro. The longest lasting, highest capacity, lowest cost, 0 carbon, grid-scale energy storage solution. I have been closely follow a company I found on HN call Terrament. https://www.terramenthq.com