We'll try literally anything except building overhead electric lines.
Weight based road user charging, weight based annual licensing, and special training/license for anything bigger than 3 tons. EV or diesel, shouldn't matter. The motivation should be to make them smaller, safer and more efficient.
I guess that's not a bad way to turn stored heat into electricity. But vacuum insulation at scale is not cheap, and I really wish it were. I'm constantly blown away by how the numbers for batteries keep getting better - even cheaper (and more useful) than hot water!
A lot of the anti-wind power movement in Australia appears to be a pro-nuclear movement. Understandable if you're opposed to renewables, AND you're opposed to fossil fuels, you don't have many options left. Considering the build times and gas burnt in the meantime, it's just more bad-faith delay.
These are the same people who are opposing a destructive suburban development in a forested area for very good reasons but refer to 2.5 homes per hectare as "High density". We can easily accommodate 1000 homes in our existing townsites with 3-5 story units. But the character!!
It must be extra tough for Brad, because he is a bright, thoughtful and well-informed MLC. So these sorts of members must take some special management.
On the NIMBYs, we have an acute housing shortage in WA, but we're also concerned for our forested suburban backdrop. I argued that we need high density, mixed use development in our urban villages - 5 stories would be ideal. The over 60s were aghast. "It would ruin the character of the Hills!"
(I'm thinking he's not familiar with the coal, oil and gas we burn in comparison)... But he quickly added "I'm just asking questions." Ignorance of the issue has never been justification for holding contrary views, seemingly just for the hell of it. But man, I it makes our job so much harder.
One of them challenged me on EVs- "You know the debate has been raging..." What debate I ask. "I don't need to tell you, surely?" Where's the controversy? "Where's the energy come from?!" Well, we can clean up our grid with solar and wind... He interjects "And what are those turbines made of?!"