Green Gray Pink
@greengraypink.bsky.social
At the intersection of popular science and policy polemic
The amount of immigration could go to zero tomorrow and Britain (&US,&Canada,&...) would still have insufficient housing, public health, & schools. The left must place the blame for these failures squarely where it belongs (on AUSTERITY) rather than joining the right in their racist scapegoating.
June 22, 2025 at 7:34 AM
The amount of immigration could go to zero tomorrow and Britain (&US,&Canada,&...) would still have insufficient housing, public health, & schools. The left must place the blame for these failures squarely where it belongs (on AUSTERITY) rather than joining the right in their racist scapegoating.
The second is the practical point that immigrants are a blessing rather than a burden, that they do work that needs to be done, that they do not displace native workers but rather grow the whole economy. Who do you think is going to build the houses, teach in the schools, write the software?
June 22, 2025 at 7:34 AM
The second is the practical point that immigrants are a blessing rather than a burden, that they do work that needs to be done, that they do not displace native workers but rather grow the whole economy. Who do you think is going to build the houses, teach in the schools, write the software?
The first is the ethical (dare I say Christian)? position that every human being has value, that every person deserves dignity and stability. This point is entirely absent from the right-wing rhetoric on immigration, and unfortunately disappearing from the left as well.
June 22, 2025 at 7:34 AM
The first is the ethical (dare I say Christian)? position that every human being has value, that every person deserves dignity and stability. This point is entirely absent from the right-wing rhetoric on immigration, and unfortunately disappearing from the left as well.
Simone de Beauvoir said (more or less) that ‘we can’t imagine what sex would be like outside of patriarchy, but let’s find out, because it’s probably awesome.’ Likewise: What would our cities be like, if we didn’t tailor them for the enjoyment of puerile, toxin-spewing onanists? Let’s find out!
June 15, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Simone de Beauvoir said (more or less) that ‘we can’t imagine what sex would be like outside of patriarchy, but let’s find out, because it’s probably awesome.’ Likewise: What would our cities be like, if we didn’t tailor them for the enjoyment of puerile, toxin-spewing onanists? Let’s find out!
3) Gendered norms about who has the right to what kind of pleasure, at whose expense, are central to how we have chosen to build our social-technical-political order. This is so obvious that we fail to see it. What will happen when we start seeing it?
June 15, 2025 at 8:58 AM
3) Gendered norms about who has the right to what kind of pleasure, at whose expense, are central to how we have chosen to build our social-technical-political order. This is so obvious that we fail to see it. What will happen when we start seeing it?
2) The neoclassical/neoliberal/ordoliberal economic model relies on the market to make stuff. There are upsides to this; I like my iPhone as much as the next person; but profit maximization is not always isomorphic with the public interest. How to make more democratic decisions what stuff to make?
June 15, 2025 at 8:58 AM
2) The neoclassical/neoliberal/ordoliberal economic model relies on the market to make stuff. There are upsides to this; I like my iPhone as much as the next person; but profit maximization is not always isomorphic with the public interest. How to make more democratic decisions what stuff to make?
1) Consumers buy a product as a black box. We have no idea how our stuff works: we are dependent on others to do our technical reasoning for us. What kind of democracy is that? Can citizen science, right-to-repair, or deliberative democracy help us build our world in a more participatory way?
June 15, 2025 at 8:58 AM
1) Consumers buy a product as a black box. We have no idea how our stuff works: we are dependent on others to do our technical reasoning for us. What kind of democracy is that? Can citizen science, right-to-repair, or deliberative democracy help us build our world in a more participatory way?
This discussion ties into some broader themes, of importance for our understanding of science and society more broadly. To get traction with these questions, we can't look at "the environment", or "technology", or "society", as isolated concepts: they are all parts of one another.
June 15, 2025 at 8:58 AM
This discussion ties into some broader themes, of importance for our understanding of science and society more broadly. To get traction with these questions, we can't look at "the environment", or "technology", or "society", as isolated concepts: they are all parts of one another.
Electric cars have no tailpipe emissions, but the minerals that compose their giant batteries, and the electricity that fills them, have major costs. And collisions kill 10's of K per year (in US and Europe alone), and electric cars are no better here than their petroleum-powered counterparts.
June 15, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Electric cars have no tailpipe emissions, but the minerals that compose their giant batteries, and the electricity that fills them, have major costs. And collisions kill 10's of K per year (in US and Europe alone), and electric cars are no better here than their petroleum-powered counterparts.
But we should reflect on the extent to which our built environment still subordinates other considerations to drivers’ pleasure. While emissions regulations have gotten tighter and harder to cheat, cars still poison our air and shorten our lives, to give drivers their entitled pleasure.
June 15, 2025 at 8:58 AM
But we should reflect on the extent to which our built environment still subordinates other considerations to drivers’ pleasure. While emissions regulations have gotten tighter and harder to cheat, cars still poison our air and shorten our lives, to give drivers their entitled pleasure.
In response to the scandal, Euro regulators addressed the problem of “teaching to the test” by introducing real driving emissions (RDE) tests to the regulatory standards. Cars are now tested on the road in addition to the lab, which makes a gambit like VW’s much more difficult, if not impossible.
June 15, 2025 at 8:58 AM
In response to the scandal, Euro regulators addressed the problem of “teaching to the test” by introducing real driving emissions (RDE) tests to the regulatory standards. Cars are now tested on the road in addition to the lab, which makes a gambit like VW’s much more difficult, if not impossible.
To be sure, VW went too far, and were punished. For them, it seemed reasonable to give kids asthma so that they could improve dynamic response by a tenth of a second, to reduce people's lifespans so that drivers could go a little bit faster before braking for the red light.
June 15, 2025 at 8:58 AM
To be sure, VW went too far, and were punished. For them, it seemed reasonable to give kids asthma so that they could improve dynamic response by a tenth of a second, to reduce people's lifespans so that drivers could go a little bit faster before braking for the red light.
We sacrifice a lot to preserve the right of self-centered men to gratify themselves by squeezing the throttle and spurting their hot emissions into everyone’s face.
The driver has their fun, and the rest of us get stuck with the mess. This is how we've chosen to build our technology.
The driver has their fun, and the rest of us get stuck with the mess. This is how we've chosen to build our technology.
June 15, 2025 at 8:58 AM
We sacrifice a lot to preserve the right of self-centered men to gratify themselves by squeezing the throttle and spurting their hot emissions into everyone’s face.
The driver has their fun, and the rest of us get stuck with the mess. This is how we've chosen to build our technology.
The driver has their fun, and the rest of us get stuck with the mess. This is how we've chosen to build our technology.
Does this remind you yet of “stealthing”, the evil practice of removing a condom without telling one’s partner?
Driving pleasure and male sexuality are closely intertwined. Remember in middle school, when the car magazines and porno mags were passed around, and elicited the same types of response?
Driving pleasure and male sexuality are closely intertwined. Remember in middle school, when the car magazines and porno mags were passed around, and elicited the same types of response?
June 15, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Does this remind you yet of “stealthing”, the evil practice of removing a condom without telling one’s partner?
Driving pleasure and male sexuality are closely intertwined. Remember in middle school, when the car magazines and porno mags were passed around, and elicited the same types of response?
Driving pleasure and male sexuality are closely intertwined. Remember in middle school, when the car magazines and porno mags were passed around, and elicited the same types of response?
If you wait for the extra air and EGR before adding the fuel, it's too slow. It's a buzzkill. Instant power means instant fun, but it's messy. For VW, this was worth it, because the immediate gratification feels great for the driver, and they had a clever trick to hide the shameful deed.
June 15, 2025 at 8:58 AM
If you wait for the extra air and EGR before adding the fuel, it's too slow. It's a buzzkill. Instant power means instant fun, but it's messy. For VW, this was worth it, because the immediate gratification feels great for the driver, and they had a clever trick to hide the shameful deed.
Fuel is spritzed directly into the cylinders at tremendous pressure by computer-controlled injectors. Getting an instant spurt of power by blasting in more fuel is easy. What's tough is doing it cleanly: you need extra air and EGR to cleanly burn the extra fuel, and those take longer to arrive.
June 15, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Fuel is spritzed directly into the cylinders at tremendous pressure by computer-controlled injectors. Getting an instant spurt of power by blasting in more fuel is easy. What's tough is doing it cleanly: you need extra air and EGR to cleanly burn the extra fuel, and those take longer to arrive.
Crisp transient response -- getting the power instantly, just as you're applying pressure to the pedal, not in a quarter or a tenth of a second but now -- is massively pleasurable for the driver, but also dirty. It requires major tradeoffs to deliver this visceral, carnal experience.
June 15, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Crisp transient response -- getting the power instantly, just as you're applying pressure to the pedal, not in a quarter or a tenth of a second but now -- is massively pleasurable for the driver, but also dirty. It requires major tradeoffs to deliver this visceral, carnal experience.
A modern car engine produces enough power to light a small city. Having that godlike force connected to your right foot, almost wired to your synapses, an extension of your body, is a drug. Intoxicating. Addictive.
One more technical aside, before I get to the sex.
One more technical aside, before I get to the sex.
June 15, 2025 at 8:33 AM
A modern car engine produces enough power to light a small city. Having that godlike force connected to your right foot, almost wired to your synapses, an extension of your body, is a drug. Intoxicating. Addictive.
One more technical aside, before I get to the sex.
One more technical aside, before I get to the sex.
Drivers love it when they push down the pedal and the car instantly pushes them back in the seat: the fenceposts blur; the plebes on the sidewalk vanish in the rearview. The world is immediately responsive to their whims. It's this selfish, onanistic pleasure that automakers are pushing.
June 15, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Drivers love it when they push down the pedal and the car instantly pushes them back in the seat: the fenceposts blur; the plebes on the sidewalk vanish in the rearview. The world is immediately responsive to their whims. It's this selfish, onanistic pleasure that automakers are pushing.
Back to VW's motives. Why do they care about performance? Because customers do. It makes the car fun to drive. Performance means horsepower, torque, and transient response. Carmakers aren't just selling transportation; they're selling a sexy sensory experience for the driver.
June 15, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Back to VW's motives. Why do they care about performance? Because customers do. It makes the car fun to drive. Performance means horsepower, torque, and transient response. Carmakers aren't just selling transportation; they're selling a sexy sensory experience for the driver.
Specifically, VW just chose not to regenerate the NOx trap often enough, which allowed the trap to fill up and become ineffective. By ignoring the NOx constraint, they were able to sell a car with strong performance, good fuel economy, and no telltale clouds of black smoke.
June 15, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Specifically, VW just chose not to regenerate the NOx trap often enough, which allowed the trap to fill up and become ineffective. By ignoring the NOx constraint, they were able to sell a car with strong performance, good fuel economy, and no telltale clouds of black smoke.
Adjust one thing, and everything else moves around. Rather than muck about with this n-dimensional game of chess, VW cut the Gordian knot: they optimized for just performance and economy, while letting the NOx emissions go through the roof. That way, drivers got a better experience.
June 15, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Adjust one thing, and everything else moves around. Rather than muck about with this n-dimensional game of chess, VW cut the Gordian knot: they optimized for just performance and economy, while letting the NOx emissions go through the roof. That way, drivers got a better experience.
But we're back to tradeoffs. Running rich to regenerate the LNT wastes fuel and plugs the soot filter; regenerating the soot filter by injecting late makes the motor thirsty and sluggish.
To summarize: tuning the engine to run strong, clean, and efficient is like doing a 10-sided Rubix cube.
To summarize: tuning the engine to run strong, clean, and efficient is like doing a 10-sided Rubix cube.
June 15, 2025 at 8:33 AM
But we're back to tradeoffs. Running rich to regenerate the LNT wastes fuel and plugs the soot filter; regenerating the soot filter by injecting late makes the motor thirsty and sluggish.
To summarize: tuning the engine to run strong, clean, and efficient is like doing a 10-sided Rubix cube.
To summarize: tuning the engine to run strong, clean, and efficient is like doing a 10-sided Rubix cube.