The century of the Black Death began with a mini ice age and torrential rain, ruining crops and spreading hunger among tens of millions of feudal age serfs. Then came the Plague, killing at least half the continent. 1/7
Steve LeVine
25.6K posts
Steve LeVine
@stevelevine
I run The Electric; author The Powerhouse. Signal 650.804.5563 subscriptions.theinformation.com/newsletters/th…
- Replying to @stevelevine2/7 But the Plague also utterly changed everything: The wages of ordinary farmers and craftsmen doubled and tripled, and nobles were knocked down a notch in social status. The church’s hold on society was damaged, and Western Europe’s feudal system was on its way out.
- The distress in the White House and on Wall Street is this: On Covid-19's current trajectory, we appear to be looking at a depression, not a recession 1/4
- A US battery developer told me that if $56/kWh LFP ever reaches the US, American stationary battery makers “will be toast—everyone.” We report today that the price in China is now $47/kWh. The Electric.
- GOP Rep. Charlie Dent: Trump "browbeat" Sessions into firing McCabe. Retributive optics on the eve of his 50th birthday, 26 hours before his retirement.
- Bars and restaurants have been devastated by the lockdown of cities. But the longer this goes on, the far greater hit will be to a hidden, trillion-dollar economy linked to a much under-appreciated economic actor—the white-collar office worker. 1/5
- There already are signs of a nationwide "Parkland effect": some 50 new laws including in 14 states with GOP governors, and intense youth voter registration. bit.ly/2MP2Ghd
- Scoop: Elon Musk emailed executives tonight to say two of his most senior executives—Rebecca Tinucci, head of the Supercharger network; and Daniel Ho, head of new vehicles—will be leaving the company, and their teams dissolved. The Electric. 1/2
- Four decades after Reagan and Thatcher crushed miners and air traffic controllers, Covid-19 has brought back the era of raucous labor, along with worker chutzpah and some tragedy. 1/6
- Replying to @stevelevine3/7 Survivors from the countryside moved to the city, attracted by the newly unoccupied houses of the rich, which peasants now moved into. For these peasants, there was a new living standard and social standing that no one could have expected.
- World nickel and lithium production will be enough for 3.8 million EVs this year—fewer than half the 7.7m that automakers say they want to make. By 2030, metals will be enough for 15.6m EVs. But stated EV production is over 40m. 1/2 The Electric. subscriptions.theinformation.com/newsletters/th…
- The last four years have been an unceasing drumbeat of dystopian pessimism about the U.S. and the world. Now, though, in a whiplash-inducing spiritual flip-flop, we are hearing a new zeitgeist: That we are entering a New Roaring Twenties. 1/8
- Between volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and disease, Indonesia has been the world’s vortex of death and destruction. Now it’s the messenger of a massive new disruption—the coming forced move of our coastal cities and up to 1 billion people inland. 1/4
