Author Archives: davidsprott

About davidsprott

Artist, writer, veteran IT professional

Cold Weather and the EV – A Trip to Wales in Winter

A trip report describing how EVs are impacted by cold weather. Continue reading

Posted in Electric Vehicles, EV, Renault Zoe, Technology and Society, Travel | Leave a comment

Crisis, What Crisis? We Are At WAR!

All around the western world the word on the street and the media is, “we have a cost of living crisis”. Pressure is being brought to bear on governments to impose windfall taxes on energy companies, bail out citizens, increase … Continue reading

Posted in Russian Aggression, Ukraine, War | Leave a comment

To France in your EV?

My prior reports on long distance trips in the UK [1] have been pretty horrific. In fact I didn’t bother to write up my last UK experience (June 2022). Whilst I found signs of improvement, the overall public charging experience … Continue reading

Posted in Technology and Society | Leave a comment

What Will Putin Do Next?

Is Putin mad or just bad? What are his aims? What will he do next? What can stop him? The answer lies in his history.
Continue reading

Posted in Russian Aggression, Technology and Society, Ukraine, War | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Hurt Russia and Save the Planet? We All Need to Share the Pain!

. . . in the very short term, when we stop using Russian gas and oil, rationing is high probability.
Frankly so what? Compared to what the Ukrainians are living through, fuel rationing would be a small inconvenience. And the abrupt shock of rationing would be a great stimulus to consumers and business to cut dependency on fossil fuels. Continue reading

Posted in Economic Model, EV, Politics, Russian Aggression, Ukraine | Tagged , | Leave a comment

We Need A Peacekeeping Force for Ukraine?

Here in Ireland we are acutely aware that borders can be drawn by powerful people with no thought at all about the consequences for ordinary people. Today we have the technology to mobilise. Much of the time it might be said that it’s mostly used for nefarious purposes. But here’s an opportunity to use the technology for good Continue reading

Posted in Russian Aggression, Travel, Ukraine, War | 3 Comments

Greenwashing, Fossil-fuel Solutionism and Technological Optimism are Replaying the Tobacco Industry Strategy.

We need to hold politicians in all developed countries to account for Greenwashing, Fossil-fuel Solutionism and Technological Optimism and act to regulate lobbying and call it for what it is, fossil fuel industry bribery.   Continue reading

Posted in Biden, Carbon Footprint, Climate Change, Governance, Sustainability, Technology and Society | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Running on Empty? A Report on a Long Distance BEV Trip

A long distance trip report in a Battery Electric Vehicle assessing the maturity of electric cars and the charging infrastructure. Continue reading

Posted in Electric Vehicles, EV, Renault Zoe, Technology and Society, Technology Platforms, Travel | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

COP On The Long and Winding Road

A short review of James Lovelock’s last book and an optimist’s view of how we will survive the climate crisis. Continue reading

Posted in Artificial Intelligence, Climate Change, COP26, Survival of the Human Race, Technology and Society | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Methinks Ms Thunberg Protests Too Much!

There’s nothing wrong with protest. It serves a valuable purpose. But I suspect I’m not alone in thinking that Greta Thunberg leading tens of thousands of mostly young people in singing, “You can shove your climate crisis up your A**e” … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, climate Change Models, COP26, Governance, Survival of the Human Race, Sustainability | Tagged , , | Leave a comment