Mick Buckley
@mickbuckley.bsky.social
Energy Transition | Climate Change | Software Engineering | New Zealand.
Reposted by Mick Buckley
A year-end post: I mark the final day of the first Emissions Budget period with a list of the New Zealand Government's bottom 10 climate actions of 2025.
Oh, how hard it was to choose.
blog.planetaryecology.org/2025/12/31/a...
Oh, how hard it was to choose.
blog.planetaryecology.org/2025/12/31/a...
A partial reckoning
By Robert McLachlan Climate action continues in Aotearoa New Zealand As 2025 winds to a close, I am writing from the Rodney district north of Auckland – Rodney being famous as the home of the Rodne…
blog.planetaryecology.org
December 31, 2025 at 1:03 AM
A year-end post: I mark the final day of the first Emissions Budget period with a list of the New Zealand Government's bottom 10 climate actions of 2025.
Oh, how hard it was to choose.
blog.planetaryecology.org/2025/12/31/a...
Oh, how hard it was to choose.
blog.planetaryecology.org/2025/12/31/a...
Reposted by Mick Buckley
A study on 1.7 million people in Hong Kong shows superior hybrid immunity to Covid in people who got vaccinated before infection vs. people who got infected first. "Our findings are a direct rebuttal to arguments for natural immunity," the authors write. doi.org/10.1016/j.va...
Redirecting
doi.org
December 6, 2025 at 5:02 PM
A study on 1.7 million people in Hong Kong shows superior hybrid immunity to Covid in people who got vaccinated before infection vs. people who got infected first. "Our findings are a direct rebuttal to arguments for natural immunity," the authors write. doi.org/10.1016/j.va...
Reposted by Mick Buckley
Heard the one about how dozens of researchers assigned $144,000 worth of real world human tasks to the world’s “smartest” AIs to manage and…
They fucked up so monumentally that they were able to generate $1700 between them
arxiv.org/pdf/2510.26787
They fucked up so monumentally that they were able to generate $1700 between them
arxiv.org/pdf/2510.26787
December 2, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Heard the one about how dozens of researchers assigned $144,000 worth of real world human tasks to the world’s “smartest” AIs to manage and…
They fucked up so monumentally that they were able to generate $1700 between them
arxiv.org/pdf/2510.26787
They fucked up so monumentally that they were able to generate $1700 between them
arxiv.org/pdf/2510.26787
Reposted by Mick Buckley
I can't get over this. In response to a kid committing suicide after talking to ChatGPT, OpenAI's response is literally "he prompted it wrong."
There's something profoundly broken in these people's hearts.
There's something profoundly broken in these people's hearts.
Sure sure you might say that my client's knife "caused" the victim to stop being able to pump blood to their brain, but Hume's 𝘌𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘺 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 really makes it clear that we should all have some reasonable doubt about the concept of "causation"
www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...
www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...
November 26, 2025 at 6:16 AM
I can't get over this. In response to a kid committing suicide after talking to ChatGPT, OpenAI's response is literally "he prompted it wrong."
There's something profoundly broken in these people's hearts.
There's something profoundly broken in these people's hearts.
Reposted by Mick Buckley
100,000 home batteries installed in 17 weeks. That’s 2,000 MWh of capacity—15x the original Hornsdale Big Battery. And they’re getting bigger. removing houses from the demand side of the grid, and dumping stored #solar in times of peak demand for profit. energy freedom #auspol
October 27, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Reposted by Mick Buckley
Why would a company that claims to be on the verge of basically unlimited profit mess around with gross-out videos and porn?
Spicy ChatGPT Is One Way to Make More Money
OpenAI’s move resembles an earlier decision by Facebook. Plus: Robinhood bets on Gen Z.
bloom.bg
October 17, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Why would a company that claims to be on the verge of basically unlimited profit mess around with gross-out videos and porn?
Reposted by Mick Buckley
My analysis: The Government’s methane announcement is the policy equivalent of a steaming cowpat on cross-partisan climate consensus and international efforts to tackle the crisis.
The headline effect of a new, weaker climate target is a warmer, more dangerous world.
newsroom.co.nz/2025/10/13/f...
The headline effect of a new, weaker climate target is a warmer, more dangerous world.
newsroom.co.nz/2025/10/13/f...
Farmers off the hook on climate means rest of us pick up the slack
Comment: The Government's methane announcement is the policy equivalent of a steaming cowpat on cross-partisan climate consensus.
newsroom.co.nz
October 12, 2025 at 10:44 PM
My analysis: The Government’s methane announcement is the policy equivalent of a steaming cowpat on cross-partisan climate consensus and international efforts to tackle the crisis.
The headline effect of a new, weaker climate target is a warmer, more dangerous world.
newsroom.co.nz/2025/10/13/f...
The headline effect of a new, weaker climate target is a warmer, more dangerous world.
newsroom.co.nz/2025/10/13/f...
Reposted by Mick Buckley
As Nicky Hager details here, NZ is worryingly far more involved in planning with the US and UK for military attacks against China than previously revealed.
AoNZ should not be part of this!
#nzpol
newsroom.co.nz/2025/10/09/s...
AoNZ should not be part of this!
#nzpol
newsroom.co.nz/2025/10/09/s...
October 8, 2025 at 8:11 PM
As Nicky Hager details here, NZ is worryingly far more involved in planning with the US and UK for military attacks against China than previously revealed.
AoNZ should not be part of this!
#nzpol
newsroom.co.nz/2025/10/09/s...
AoNZ should not be part of this!
#nzpol
newsroom.co.nz/2025/10/09/s...
Reposted by Mick Buckley
“We must stop expecting carbon offsetting to work at scale. […] We have assessed 25 years of evidence and almost everything up until this point has failed.”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Carbon offsets fail to cut global heating due to ‘intractable’ systemic problems, study says
Analysis of 25 years of evidence shows most schemes are poor quality and fail to lower emissions
www.theguardian.com
October 7, 2025 at 5:15 AM
“We must stop expecting carbon offsetting to work at scale. […] We have assessed 25 years of evidence and almost everything up until this point has failed.”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Mick Buckley
Downplaying an act of violence might have been the appropriate response from him, and might not be the appropriate in our current moment - I don't know - but the complete refusal to make political hay out of it is night and day from the current Government.
Then Green Party co-leader James Shaw was attacked while walking to work. He suffered a fractured eye ball and black eye, but said he still felt safe.
That's what de-escalation and kindness looks like #nzpol
That's what de-escalation and kindness looks like #nzpol
Shaw back with black eye
James Shaw walked to work a day after he was assaulted while heading to the office, and plans to keep doing so.
www.stuff.co.nz
October 7, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Downplaying an act of violence might have been the appropriate response from him, and might not be the appropriate in our current moment - I don't know - but the complete refusal to make political hay out of it is night and day from the current Government.
Reposted by Mick Buckley
Van Halen wouldn't have fallen for it!
"I showed GPT-5’s responses to a bunch of people, and more than half didn’t notice the 'Brown M&Ms'. This, I suspect, is what really explains why people perceive the effectiveness of LLMs so differently"
codemanship.wordpress.com/2025/10/03/l...
"I showed GPT-5’s responses to a bunch of people, and more than half didn’t notice the 'Brown M&Ms'. This, I suspect, is what really explains why people perceive the effectiveness of LLMs so differently"
codemanship.wordpress.com/2025/10/03/l...
LLMs, Context Windows & Brown M&Ms
An interesting piece of research was published recently that found that the effective maximum context size of Large Language Models is orders of magnitude smaller than the advertised maximum contex…
codemanship.wordpress.com
October 3, 2025 at 6:40 AM
Van Halen wouldn't have fallen for it!
"I showed GPT-5’s responses to a bunch of people, and more than half didn’t notice the 'Brown M&Ms'. This, I suspect, is what really explains why people perceive the effectiveness of LLMs so differently"
codemanship.wordpress.com/2025/10/03/l...
"I showed GPT-5’s responses to a bunch of people, and more than half didn’t notice the 'Brown M&Ms'. This, I suspect, is what really explains why people perceive the effectiveness of LLMs so differently"
codemanship.wordpress.com/2025/10/03/l...
Reposted by Mick Buckley
Vance's most monumental achievement to date has been being told off by two popes in one year.
Pope Leo, "Someone who says I'm against abortion but I'm in agreement with the inhumane treatment of immigrants, they're not pro life"
October 2, 2025 at 3:59 AM
Vance's most monumental achievement to date has been being told off by two popes in one year.
Reposted by Mick Buckley
On Sunday, #Zürich residents voted 52.8% in favor of increasing parking fees for cars according to weight.
The owner of a BMW X2 (Diesel), which weighs 1,675 kilograms, will now pay equivalent of €717 Euros per year to park on a public street. (Before, about €321.)
Direct democracy!
The owner of a BMW X2 (Diesel), which weighs 1,675 kilograms, will now pay equivalent of €717 Euros per year to park on a public street. (Before, about €321.)
Direct democracy!
September 30, 2025 at 3:40 PM
On Sunday, #Zürich residents voted 52.8% in favor of increasing parking fees for cars according to weight.
The owner of a BMW X2 (Diesel), which weighs 1,675 kilograms, will now pay equivalent of €717 Euros per year to park on a public street. (Before, about €321.)
Direct democracy!
The owner of a BMW X2 (Diesel), which weighs 1,675 kilograms, will now pay equivalent of €717 Euros per year to park on a public street. (Before, about €321.)
Direct democracy!
Reposted by Mick Buckley
Today (30 Sep 2025) an all-time record was set for solar power generation in New Zealand – 1200 MWh from solar farms. (Distributed solar, not shown, likely also a record.) Alas, it earned only 0.08 c/kWh for its owners. Not a great incentive to build more. What will tomorrow's announcement bring?
September 30, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Today (30 Sep 2025) an all-time record was set for solar power generation in New Zealand – 1200 MWh from solar farms. (Distributed solar, not shown, likely also a record.) Alas, it earned only 0.08 c/kWh for its owners. Not a great incentive to build more. What will tomorrow's announcement bring?
Reposted by Mick Buckley
Pam Bondi deleted a government study showing that right-wingers commit more terrorism. The right cannot think coherently so instead of making their own studies, they censor legitimate ones.
But don't worry Pam, I saved it for you web.archive.org/web/20250911...
But don't worry Pam, I saved it for you web.archive.org/web/20250911...
web.archive.org
September 16, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Pam Bondi deleted a government study showing that right-wingers commit more terrorism. The right cannot think coherently so instead of making their own studies, they censor legitimate ones.
But don't worry Pam, I saved it for you web.archive.org/web/20250911...
But don't worry Pam, I saved it for you web.archive.org/web/20250911...
Reposted by Mick Buckley
The #PragmaticClimateReset is a two part-essay calling for a reset in our approach to climate action. Part I shows why narratives trumpeting the failure of efforts to date are wrong. Part II says that, nevertheless, the climate community now needs to change its approach. 1/n
September 14, 2025 at 4:05 PM
The #PragmaticClimateReset is a two part-essay calling for a reset in our approach to climate action. Part I shows why narratives trumpeting the failure of efforts to date are wrong. Part II says that, nevertheless, the climate community now needs to change its approach. 1/n
Reposted by Mick Buckley
Time for the world to install a gigawatt of solar power capacity
2004: A year
2010: ~ a month
2015: ~ a week
Now: A day
ourworldindata.org/data-insight... 🧪
2004: A year
2010: ~ a month
2015: ~ a week
Now: A day
ourworldindata.org/data-insight... 🧪
September 15, 2025 at 5:01 AM
Time for the world to install a gigawatt of solar power capacity
2004: A year
2010: ~ a month
2015: ~ a week
Now: A day
ourworldindata.org/data-insight... 🧪
2004: A year
2010: ~ a month
2015: ~ a week
Now: A day
ourworldindata.org/data-insight... 🧪
Reposted by Mick Buckley
Beautiful weather out there. Children will likely see the collapse of the AMOC (tipping point in next few decades; collapse 50–100 years after).
This is what senior scientists warned must be avoided "at all costs." Now 70% likely with rising emissions, per a study in
@iopp-environment.bsky.social.
This is what senior scientists warned must be avoided "at all costs." Now 70% likely with rising emissions, per a study in
@iopp-environment.bsky.social.
Collapse of critical Atlantic current is no longer low-likelihood, study finds
Scientists say ‘shocking’ discovery shows rapid cuts in carbon emissions are needed to avoid catastrophic fallout
www.theguardian.com
September 14, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Beautiful weather out there. Children will likely see the collapse of the AMOC (tipping point in next few decades; collapse 50–100 years after).
This is what senior scientists warned must be avoided "at all costs." Now 70% likely with rising emissions, per a study in
@iopp-environment.bsky.social.
This is what senior scientists warned must be avoided "at all costs." Now 70% likely with rising emissions, per a study in
@iopp-environment.bsky.social.
Reposted by Mick Buckley
This man will not be fired for calling for the murder of American citizens, yet multiple journalists/reporters/teachers lost their job for accurately reporting things Charlie Kirk actually said and stood for.
But it’s the “violent left” that’s the problem
But it’s the “violent left” that’s the problem
Brian Kilmeade endorses euthanizing homeless people: "Involuntary lethal injection, or something. Just kill them."
September 13, 2025 at 3:25 PM
This man will not be fired for calling for the murder of American citizens, yet multiple journalists/reporters/teachers lost their job for accurately reporting things Charlie Kirk actually said and stood for.
But it’s the “violent left” that’s the problem
But it’s the “violent left” that’s the problem
Reposted by Mick Buckley
Brian Kilmeade endorses euthanizing homeless people: "Involuntary lethal injection, or something. Just kill them."
September 13, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Brian Kilmeade endorses euthanizing homeless people: "Involuntary lethal injection, or something. Just kill them."
Reposted by Mick Buckley
I do bloody love this chart. Who'd have thought, 20 years ago, that solar would be ~10% of world electricity generation by 2024 - and over 20% in some countries, rising rapidly in others?
Definitely not me. When I started this job I hoped to be part of a solution for maybe 1% of global electricity.
Definitely not me. When I started this job I hoped to be part of a solution for maybe 1% of global electricity.
August 6, 2025 at 7:37 AM
I do bloody love this chart. Who'd have thought, 20 years ago, that solar would be ~10% of world electricity generation by 2024 - and over 20% in some countries, rising rapidly in others?
Definitely not me. When I started this job I hoped to be part of a solution for maybe 1% of global electricity.
Definitely not me. When I started this job I hoped to be part of a solution for maybe 1% of global electricity.
Reposted by Mick Buckley
Two decades of tireless work restoring habitat & creating eco-mooring sites (so boats' anchors don't tear seagrass out by the roots) by The Seahorse Trust & @noc.ac.uk, has paid off with a spectacular summer of seahorses off the Dorset coast this year 🌊
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘It’s spectacular’: volunteer Dorset divers see summer of surging seahorses
After efforts to make conditions better for the elusive creatures in Studland Bay, sightings are greatly increasing
www.theguardian.com
July 25, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Two decades of tireless work restoring habitat & creating eco-mooring sites (so boats' anchors don't tear seagrass out by the roots) by The Seahorse Trust & @noc.ac.uk, has paid off with a spectacular summer of seahorses off the Dorset coast this year 🌊
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Mick Buckley
The algorithm served me up this while I was having lunch today, and it's very good www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWpg...
AI Slop: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
YouTube video by LastWeekTonight
www.youtube.com
July 17, 2025 at 5:41 AM
The algorithm served me up this while I was having lunch today, and it's very good www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWpg...
Reposted by Mick Buckley
we are destroying whole ecosystems so Google can tell us to Google it
June 29, 2025 at 1:58 AM
we are destroying whole ecosystems so Google can tell us to Google it