4th July 2019 Hybrid's extend reliance on oil into the future.

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Thursday 4th 54F, much cooler and overcast with showers. Some heavy. It was cooler overnight, too. I had to grab more bedclothes in the middle of the night. My morning walk is postponed but only until THG spotted a break in the clouds and shoved me firmly out of the gate.

Fortunately it stayed dry apart from the odd, lorry, tyre spray. I watched a bird of prey through my binoculars as it worked across the fields parallel with my route. It disappeared from sight behind some trees and then suddenly crossed the road in front of me. It seemed to have a white collar or shoulders with overall brown above. Several tractors with big bale trailers went past so they must be busy out of sight somewhere down the road.

I read that Gravely Blighted has suffered a drop in hybrid car sales following the removal of subsidies for this class of vehicle. The UK government wants to concentrate on "cleaner" all electric battery vehicles. Of which there has been a strong rise in sales. Manufacturers must be praying their massive investments result in strong sales.

Norway is very close to 50% sales of electric vehicles following heavy subsidies. It was an expensive exercise and largely thanks to the huge oil sales funds set aside for future generations. Though it does put Norway in an excellent position for early compliance with CO2 targets. No doubt Denmark would celebrate if it enjoyed 0.5% sales of EVs.

As a side note: Norway has just set two LOW temperature records for cold weather in July. With snow blocked roads in the northern uplands and -6° frosts. No doubt the very even torque, from very low speeds, enjoyed by most electric cars, makes driving on snow rather easier than with petrol engines. Which often require a choice of a higher gear to pull away on slippery surfaces.

I must remember not to drive my Lambos or Ferraris if Denmark should ever have snow again. Unfortunately, none of this is likely. There is bound to be one cool winter soon and all talk of global warming will be over. At least until, the next, prolonged heatwave and drought.

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