John Draper

This is my favorite climate change chart. Japanese monks, aristocrats, and emperors kept meticulous records of cherry blossom festivals for 1,200 years and accidentally built the world's longest climate dataset.

@sophiescott @UCL_ICN They seem to like our alumni. Alex in the first year was on the BSc Psych…

Just discovered that not only is one of the traitors an @UCL_ICN alumnus, but I WAS THEIR PERSONAL TUTOR

A first: Batteries have become so cheap that around-the-clock solar is becoming economically viable. In 2024 alone, average battery prices fell by 40% and signs are a similar fall is occurring in 2025. Pairing solar with enough batteries to keep the electricity flowing though the night is no longer a distant dream – it's an economic reality. At around just $76/MWh all in, dispatchable solar is already competitive with other forms of firm generation in many markets. ember-energy.org/latest-updates…

Universities cutting jobs. Campuses closing. Staff told to expect redundancies. Vice-chancellors still collecting bonuses and pension top-ups. Welcome to higher education. thetimes.com/uk/education/a…

The Adoration of the Maga. A few thoughts. It all felt a step too far by Gianni Infantino. The award of the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize felt more to do with its president’s desire to please powerful politicians as much as Donald Trump’s love of such glitzy, expensive offerings of loyalty last seen in medieval courts. It felt more about politics than sport, a risky game for Fifa to play whenever it wants to bring a national association into line for perceived interference by government in the future. The Trump trophy weakens Fifa statutes. It also distracted from the real trophy, the World Cup, and the group-stage draw, traditionally a celebration about bringing countries together. Infantino took his eye off the balls. A football draw designed to work out who plays who and (eventually) where and when is not the time or place for such politics. Infantino wasn’t speaking for the world in bestowing the Peace Prize, as he claimed. So presumptuous. So out of touch. Many probably agree that Trump has been a force for good in geopolitics, some might disagree. Most would probably feel such decisions should be left to experienced experts like the Nobel Committee and, please, can we get on with a football draw. It’s spectacularly naïve or simply arrogant for Fifa to enter such non-football areas. It feels more and more that this was as much an Infantino initiative as Fifa’s. Infantino was supposed to drain the swamp when he arrived at Fifa in 2016 in the wake of assorted corruption scandals bedevilling the governing body of world football. How fitting that the nadir of Infantino’s propensity for self-aggrandisement as leader of what’s supposed to be a team game came in Washington. It was there that Trump promised to transform politics with his “drain the swamp” rhetoric, also in 2016. The selfie moment was particularly cringe-worthy. Infantino forgets that football is the star of the show, not a 55-year lawyer. A senior football executive, who’s been at the heart of the English and European game for more than 20 years, messaged me during the drawn-out draw with his verdict on Infantino. “I feel revulsion, anger, shame, disgust – how has our sport been taken over by a Swiss ***** and turned into a total travesty???” He also pointed out that ensuring the leaders of USA, Mexico and Canada each somehow pulled out their own country’s name was not a good look for a draw based on chance. Great for the cameras, though. Flash, bang, wallop, what a picture of Infantino's priorities. And who gets the next FIFA Peace Prize? And wouldn't Infantino have gained more respect had he used the money for the Trump trophy to subsidise excessive ticket costs? He's lost sight of what should be the real priorities for the leader of football. The game. It's sad, really. Many sensible people work at Fifa, passionate about the game not their own ego, but it's alarming what happens to the leadership when they take power there. Even the great football manager Arsene Wenger has changed since becoming Chief of Global Football Development at Fifa. He now campaigns for more games, backing the expanded World Cup, which he would have railed against as a widely-admired, free-thinking club manager, fiercely protective of his players' well-being. "I believe that 48 teams is the right number." Arsene, just listen to yourself. Many fans probably won’t lose much sleep that Wenger dances to Fifa's tune or that Infantino cosies up to Trump, Aramco and co. Some probably think Fifa’s a video game. Most just can’t wait for the football. The game’s about Mbappe and Messi, Haaland and Salah, Kane and Dembele, not Infantino and Trump. The game’s about the Tartan Army, the brilliant Mexican following, the ever-hopeful English, the mobile carnival of Brazilians and the millions of other fans flocking to venue cities next summer, only a third with tickets. The USA is prepared for the party. I covered USA 94 and you couldn’t really tell there was a tournament on, certainly where I was in Detroit, Chicago and DC. You will this time, also in Canada. Mexico's total immersion was never in doubt given their passion for the game. Infantino should remember this. He runs a great football organisation, not a political organisation. He needs to re-focus. Fifa is undeniably a force for good in many countries. The Fifa Foundation runs a new community programme that supports 154,924 people in 54 nations. Its new Digital Education Programme works on computer literacy amongst disadvantaged groups, helping them into the workplace. It’s easy to say it’s all about Infantino (Foundation board president), soft power and ensuring he keeps countries onside, voting for him, but the Foundation undeniably changes lives. Infantino needs to look at his Adoration of the Maga and remember what he should be doing for football: serving it, not himself. #FIFAWorldCup.

🔥 The Hidden Threat to Sustainability: Conspiracy Thinking We often see conspiracy theories as fringe — but new research in Nature Human Behaviour shows they quietly undermine the foundations of a sustainable future.

Research behemoth’s plans to better coordinate staff at faculty level met with fierce opposition, amid fears of pay cuts and demotions timeshighereducation.com/news/ucl-staff…

The Two Ronnies (1st November 1980). Mastermind sketch by David Renwick.

Director steps down at venue loved by Alan Carr and Ricky Gervais ift.tt/0pudH4o

With more defibrillators set to be installed, it’s also important that everyone learns how to use these devices. I’m urging Londoners to watch our short training video on how to perform CPR and use a defibrillator to step in and assist in an emergency: youtube.com/watch?v=f5myp1…

Winner.

"In 1957, 92 percent of American children were potty-trained by 18 months of age. Four decades later, that number had dropped to just 4 percent." Why are we potty-training our children so much later than our grandparents did? The answer is the plastic industry. Fascinating editorial in the @nytimes by @SaabiraC nytimes.com/2025/09/06/opi…

Good climate news this week 1 China: Coal and gas consumption lower this year despite a sweltering July, emissions continue to decline 2 UK: Green power surges in Q2, up 195% rise on the same quarter last year 3 Turkey: EVs up a fantastic 128% in 2025 to reach 18% share 4 China: Battery capacity now above 100 GW, up 110% vs. last year 5 US: Solar, wind, and storage to account for 92.8% of new electricity generating capacity, says Trump’s EIA 6 UK: British solar power generation already surpassed 2024 total 7 Australia: Clean energy helping to ease blackout concerns says energy market operator 8 Brazil: 65% drop in the area of Amazon burned by fire during July vs. a year earlier 9 South Africa: Eskom seeks solar buyers in shift to wind down dependence on coal 10 US: Average lease rate, including downpayment, now cheaper for an EV than for a petrol car 11 Norway: Greta Thunberg and 200 activists block country’s largest oil refinery 12 Mexico: National banking and securities commission will order non-financial companies to submit their sustainability reports as of 2026 13 Canada: Energy giants Cenovus Energy and Enbridge accused of systematic greenwashing, misleading disclosures over emissions targets in complaint to Alberta Securities Commission 14 US: Environmental groups file lawsuit alleging DOE broke federal law by secretly recruiting 5 handpicked sceptics to author climate change report

'How I got to the top by John Noakes'. Daily Mirror (8th August 1978).

Between 9-18 months after it has been completed a wind turbine has paid for itself. After that it is all free wind energy. Only people selling oil and gas wouldn’t want that.

As fans & players swelter in dangerous heat, FIFA makes itself a billboard promoting the very polluters heating the planet, like oil giant Aramco (& the competition sponsored by car maker/major polluter Honda) as bad if not worse than tobacco sponsorship theguardian.com/football/2025/…

Truth Social has crashed from the traffic surge and in so doing accidentally created a hauntingly poignant image.

Hawk that terrorised village given forever home bbc.in/4koD1vI

Legends 🥰

Winners.