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Olivia Rudgard

@oliviarudgard.bsky.social
10K followers 588 following 254 posts

Bloomberg Green reporter in the UK. How do we live now? Writing about people, money, climate. Mostly reporting, but any stray opinions are my own. Stories: t.co/eIuIZiReQn

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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Jess Shankleman @jessshankleman.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
NEW: The UK is considering cuts to its £15bn Warm Homes Plan, just months after it was launched to upgrade millions of homes. CCS and hydrogen are also under scrutiny. With @oliviarudgard.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
UK Considers Cuts to Home Energy-Efficiency Plan to Fund Defense
The UK is considering cuts to its flagship program to upgrade millions of homes, as it seeks more than £2 billion ($2.6 billion) in energy-department savings to help fund higher defense spending.
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Ben Gartside @bengartside.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
For over a year, I’ve been investigating coroner’s concerns about a piece of NHS software, a controversial owner and a company worth over a billion. Read my investigation below:
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Akshat Rathi @akshatrathi.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Thousands of people are now not just cutting bills with solar and batteries, they are making real money, sometimes $200 while they sleep and AI trades electricity buying low, selling high. Meet the new energy nerds. New feature with @oliviarudgard.bsky.social. 🎁🔗 www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
bloomberg.com
Almost Anyone Can Make Money Selling Electricity With AI and Batteries
More homeowners are taking advantage of volatile prices to buy power when rates are low, store it and sell excess energy back to their utility.
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Olivia Rudgard @oliviarudgard.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Did not expect to be weeping about butterflies on this Bank Holiday Sunday but here we are. Beautiful story in the Atlantic. Treat yourself: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
theatlantic.com
The Return of the Monarch
After years of decline, butterfly populations are rising—for now.
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Zahra Hirji @zhirji.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Rebecca Ochoa had a heat stroke during a high school volleyball tryout. That was 11 years ago. “I am still not the same as before this happened, physically or mentally,” she told @bloomberg.com. New story on the long recovery of heat stroke survivors (gift link): www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
One Hot Day Can Change Your Body for Years
Heat stroke can damage the brain, heart, kidneys and liver. As extreme heat becomes more common, doctors are learning just how difficult recovery can be.
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Emma Court @emmarcourt.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
In overheated British hospitals, patients are too sweaty to receive IV drips, medication is at risk of degrading and staff collapse on the job, reports @oliviarudy.bsky.social. A searing portrait of a health-care system unprepared for how much the climate has already changed:
bloomberg.com
‘Horrific’ Conditions Grip UK Hospitals Unprepared for Heat
“Horrific, horrendous, unbearable, unsafe.”
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Olivia Rudgard @oliviarudgard.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
New from me: Even the richest aristocrat in Britain can't get around planning rules that make it hard to update listed and heritage buildings to make them more heat-resilient. Now Grosvenor is asking the government to make the process easier. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Billionaire Duke’s Firm Sounds Heat Alarm for London Luxury Homes
Grosvenor Group Holdings Ltd. says the combination of rising temperatures and antiquated planning regulations threatens to dent the appeal of its vast portfolio of properties across Mayfair and Belgra...
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Lawrence Culver @lawrencecphd.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Gift link: “Wallonia’s housing was part of the challenge. Many residential buildings are aging and constructed to hold in heat, not keep it out. “It’s a country that is considered cold, culturally. People think more about heating their house than cooling their house.” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/15/w...
nytimes.com
Heat Deaths in a ‘Cold’ Country Are a Warning to the Rest of Europe (Gift Article)
A June heat wave in Belgium and neighboring countries exposed a lethal lack of readiness. That’s a risk as another wave hits Europe.
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
🧵Weather maybe getting cooler, but what has been the impact of recent heatwaves on public attitudes to and salience of climate and net zero? Two thirds of the public say they are worried about hot weather and 86% think climate change at least partially responsible.
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Olivia Rudgard @oliviarudgard.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
New from me: As heat wave after heat wave gripped the UK this summer, medical staff struggled to keep patients safe in overheating hospitals - and to avoid collapsing in the heat and becoming patients themselves. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
‘Horrific’ Conditions Grip UK Hospitals Unprepared for Heat
“Horrific, horrendous, unbearable, unsafe.”
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Ed Hawkins @edhawkins.org · 13/08/2026
A temperature above 37°C has only been recorded on nine days in the UK since records began – three of those occasions have now been in 2026, including today. Reading University has recorded its warmest August day on record (since 1908), and second warmest day overall.
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
This is a lovely site which helps remind us of much of what we take for granted in material progress ordinaryabundance.com (HT @aveek18.bsky.social)
ordinaryabundance.com
Ordinary Abundance
A walk through a modern apartment, through the eyes of the people for whom everything in it was new.
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Marco Petagna @petagna.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Only a few yrs ago temperatures in the high 30sC in any month here in the UK was considered so unusual Highest temperature on record for the UK in August was only set back in 2003 when Faversham Kent reached 38.5C on 10th This Thursday we could see 37/38C for 2nd time this yr
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Emma Court @emmarcourt.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Maybe you've seen the term "regenerative" at your local grocery store and wondered: What does that even mean? Light regulation and fast growth are making that question increasingly pressing, and raising concerns about consumers being misled. My latest for @bloomberg.com:
bloomberg.com
From Milk to Snack Foods, More Products Are Going 'Regenerative'
Unlike organic, regenerative agriculture has limited federal standards on how to use the term.
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Todd Woody @toddwoody.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
New: The US is enduring one of its worst wildfire seasons in years, with blazes scorching millions of acres. It’s part of a global pattern of hot, dry conditions that favor fires becoming more common with climate change. Free link. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Global Wildfire Surge Hits US, Propelled by Rising Temperatures
Blazes in the Western US and Europe point to a global shift: Climate change is making fire weather more extreme and more widespread.
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Nahel Belgherze @wxnb.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Bordeaux, France, has now recorded more days above 40°C in 2026 alone than during the entire 105-year period from 1920 (when observations began) to 2025. This is deeply shocking.
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Olivia Rudgard @oliviarudgard.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
New from me & colleagues in France, Spain and on the data team: Europe is waking up to a new era of unstoppable megafires, amplified by climate change. Gift link:
bloomberg.com
The Age of Unstoppable Wildfires Has Reached Europe
Climate change means giant fires of the kind that ripped across France and Spain are becoming common, with potentially dire consequences for Europe’s economies.
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
YouGov @yougov.co.uk · 27/07/2026
What do people in 7 countries see as the biggest global threats? France: Climate change: 48% UK: Climate change: 35% Canada: Climate change: 31% Poland: Military attack: 43% USA: Political extremism: 39% Germany: Mass migration: 36% Australia: Religious terrorism: 31% yougov.com/en-gb/articl...
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Todd Woody @toddwoody.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
New: The US is suffering multiple climate-driven disasters this week - wildfire smoke, heat waves, flooding. These "compound events" are likely to become increasingly common, stressing emergency response amid Trump budget cuts. With @zhirji.bsky.social Free link. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Overlapping Disasters Challenge US Amid Trump Cuts
Heat, smoke, flooding: Climate change makes compound events more likely, and responding to them is harder than ever, experts said.
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Olivia Rudgard @oliviarudgard.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
New from me: In London, a too-hot office tends to be a cheaper office. No AC + overheating = harder to lease and sell. And owners face some tricky choices about what to do about it. Gift link below 🎁
bloomberg.com
London Offices Without AC Face New Price Risk Due to Heat Waves
London’s office market is weighing the possibility of lower prices for properties that don’t come with cooling options such as air-conditioning, according to real estate brokers and consultants.
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Zahra Hirji @zhirji.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
About 58% of S&P 500 companies that have set goals to reduce their direct, or Scope 1, emissions have reported flat or rising emissions since 2021, according to a new report. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
bloomberg.com
AI Surge Means Companies Are Falling Behind on Climate Targets
Corporate America is struggling to meet green targets.
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Coco Liu @cocojournalist.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Best known for telecoms infrastructure and smartphones, Huawei has, in recent years, quietly become part of the backbone of the global energy transition. The latest for @bloomberg.com Gift link www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Huawei's $11 Billion Clean Energy Empire Is Opening New Markets
Best known for telecoms infrastructure, the Chinese powerhouse has quietly become part of the backbone of the global energy transition.
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Zahra Hirji @zhirji.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
New story (from the weekend): Arizona's Maricopa County has made progress in preventing heat-related deaths in recent years. But another scorching summer and dwindling funding threaten that trend. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Another Brutal Summer Tests Arizona’s Decline in Heat-Linked Deaths
Maricopa County has made progress in preventing heat-related deaths. But another scorching summer and dwindling funding threaten that trend.
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Olivia Rudgard @oliviarudgard.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
New from me: England's hallowed grass-based sports are under threat from climate change - and groundskeepers are struggling to keep up. Gift link:
bloomberg.com
Relentless Heat Waves Hit England’s Fabled Grass Playing Fields
When the England cricket team walks onto the field at Lord’s for a home Test, it’s to the strains of “Jerusalem,” an anthem based on a William Blake poem that extols “England’s green and pleasant land...
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Laura Millan @lauramillan.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
From timing park visits to cold showers, parenting in Madrid offers a preview of how climate change is reshaping family life across Europe Read my latest story on @bloomberg.com for FREE! www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
bloomberg.com
How to Raise Young Children in One of Europe’s Hottest Capitals
From timing park visits to cold showers, parenting in Madrid offers a preview of how climate change is reshaping family life across Europe.
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Eric Roston @eroston.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Climate change: a status report 🧵
An article header image titled "Green: Extreme Heat Isn’t the Only Climate Impact Shocking Scientists." The background shows a hazy, sunlit city square where a man in a white t-shirt and shorts stands bent over, cooling off under a row of water sprinklers spraying from a long yellow hose on the ground.
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Akshat Rathi @akshatrathi.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
When even scientists are shocked by extreme weather, the only conclusion to draw: we're in trouble. Must-read story by @eroston.bsky.social 🎁🔗 www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
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Fiona Harvey @fionaharvey.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Beautiful must-read by @sandralaville.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Listen to Britain’s dawn chorus of 1976: the dramatic loss of birdsong in 50 years
Guardian recreates audio landscape of past filled by loud morning symphony before 73m wild birds were lost
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Olivia Rudgard @oliviarudgard.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
New from me today: if you live in a flat in the UK, heat pumps and solar are hard to get. Balcony solar won't necessarily fix that. 🎁link below.
bloomberg.com
UK Apartment Owners Are Getting Locked Out of Money-Saving Green Tech
Leaseholders have limited control over the place where they live, including how it’s heated and powered.
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Akshat Rathi @akshatrathi.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
There's a peculiarly British problem that stops millions of people from adopting cheaper, greener energy solutions. That problem is leasehold. Excellent story by @oliviarudgard.bsky.social. 🎁🔗 www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
bloomberg.com
UK Apartment Owners Are Getting Locked Out of Money-Saving Green Tech
Leaseholders have limited control over the place where they live, including how it’s heated and powered.
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Olivia Rudgard @oliviarudgard.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
New: The UK’s flood insurer of last resort is unfairly favoring wealthier households, the government says, announcing reforms to redress the balance. Gift link:
bloomberg.com
Flood Re to Cut Insurance Payouts to Richest UK Households
The UK’s flood insurer of last resort is unfairly favoring wealthier households and will be reformed to reduce the burden of multimillion-pound payouts, the government said Wednesday.
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
Megan Clement @meganclement.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
I wrote a diary about being very pregnant and very angry in a catastrophic heatwave that killed thousands. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
How I survived the record Paris heatwave while seven months pregnant
It feels as if we are being abandoned to our fate by those in power, with further extreme heat expected next week
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Globally, 84% of the heatwave days people were exposed to in 2020-24 would not have occurred without climate change. The rate of deaths associated with heat exposure increased by 23% from the 1990s, reaching 546,000 deaths annually. Look where people are dying. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
A figure containing two world maps stacked vertically, labeled "A" (top) and "B" (bottom). The entire image is captioned at the bottom: "Figure 2: Average percentage of total deaths that were heat-related in 1990–99 (A) and 2012–21 (B)".

A single color-coded legend on the left side applies to both maps, showing a gradient of 17 steps. The scale ranges from very pale cream/pink representing the lowest percentage ("0.00 to <0.25") to increasingly darker shades of orange, red, and finally dark maroon/black representing the highest percentage ("3.75 to 4.00"). Antarctica is shaded grey on both maps.

Map A (Top Map - 1990–99): Shows the global distribution of heat-related deaths as a percentage of total deaths during the 1990s. Most of North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia are shaded in light cream or pale orange colors, indicating low percentages (generally below 1.00%). The highest percentages are concentrated in North Africa, parts of the Middle East, and parts of Central/Southern Africa, which are shaded in medium-to-dark red, with a couple of countries showing very dark maroon patches.

Map B (Bottom Map - 2012–21): Shows the same metric for the 2012–21 period. Compared to Map A, there is a visible and significant intensification of color globally, particularly across the African continent and the Middle East. A large, continuous block of countries across North Africa, West Africa, and the Middle East is now shaded in the darkest maroon and black tones, indicating that heat-related deaths make up the highest bracket of total deaths (up to 4.00%). Central and Southern Africa also display much darker shades of red and maroon compared to Map A, while South America (notably Argentina) and parts of South Asia show a slight darkening into deeper orange-red tones.
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Ed Hawkins @edhawkins.org · 29/06/2026
Just one possible outcome... but the GFS weather forecast model is suggesting 40-41°C is possible in the UK around 7th July. This is a long-range forecast with significant uncertainty, but the fact that we are even seeing such values fairly regularly in the forecasts is extraordinary.
GFS for 7th July
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Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 26/06/2026
The fastest-warming continent is facing tough questions about how to adapt.
bloom.bg
Europe’s Record-Breaking Heat Wave Prompts Questions About How to Adapt
The fastest-warming continent is facing tough questions about how to adapt.
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Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 26/06/2026
What will Europe’s heatwave cost? ft.trib.al/aaAgQgS
ft.trib.al
What will Europe’s heatwave cost?
Growing body of research points to economic damage from extreme heat
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Olivia Rudgard @oliviarudgard.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
New from me: Are you struggling to stay cool in a hot London flat today? Here's my story about how we've spent the past two decades building heat traps for people to live in. Gift link 🎁
bloomberg.com
Londoners Complain of ‘Unbearable Heat’ in City’s Modern Housing
In Britain’s capital city, an architectural trend that started about two decades ago is now being linked to unbearable levels of indoor heat.
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Olivia Rudgard @oliviarudgard.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
The UK has delayed rules that will require commercial landlords to meet stricter energy efficiency regulations for some of their buildings, giving building owners five years to meet the new standards while exempting smaller properties. Gift link:
bloomberg.com
UK Government Eases Pressure on Tougher Green Building Upgrades
The UK has delayed rules that will require commercial landlords to meet stricter energy efficiency regulations for some of their buildings, giving building owners five years to meet the new standards ...
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Olivia Rudgard @oliviarudgard.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
New from me: As the UK moves from a record-hot May into an unseasonably wet June, the risk of flooding is being exacerbated by a proliferation of paved gardens, according to the country’s flood insurer of last resort. Gift link:
bloomberg.com
Britain’s Garden Habits Are Making Their Homes Harder to Insure
As the UK moves from a record-hot May into an unseasonably wet June, the risk of flooding is being exacerbated by a proliferation of paved gardens, according to the country’s flood insurer of last res...
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Reposted by Olivia Rudgard
The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 08/06/2026
Heidi Blake investigates Andrew Tate, drawing on thousands of private messages, sealed prosecutorial files, and court records—as well as scores of interviews with the Tates, their associates, and more than a dozen alleged victims. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/bHTyNs
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
Andrew Tate’s Empire of Abuse
How the defining figure of the manosphere built a fortune—and became a political force—by systematically exploiting women.
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Todd Woody @toddwoody.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
New: US public transit ridership is growing as Iran war-fueled gasoline prices near historic highs. But drivers are loath to give up their wheels & now have ways to avoid driving or paying for gas - work from home, delivery services & switching to an EV. Free link. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
US Public Transit Bounces Back as War-Fueled Gas Prices Remain High
From LA to Boston, bus and train ridership is growing. But experts say it’s still difficult to get most drivers out of their cars.
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Press Gazette @pressgazette.co.uk · 05/06/2026
City AM issues broadside against flood of AI slop being submitted by writers for its pages: "if you can’t be bothered to write it, why should anyone be bothered to read it?" www.cityam.com/there-should...
cityam.com
There should have been an op-ed here but you filed AI slop
City AM's inbox is drowning in AI pitches. Anna Moloney, who spends her days copy and pasting them into detection software, has had enough.
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Eric Roston @eroston.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
The Trump administration wants to give political appointees sweeping authority to halt or prevent research on climate and topics at odds with White House priorities. 🎁🔗 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
White House Plan to Vet Grants Puts Climate Science in Jeopardy
The Trump administration’s proposal to tighten political control over federal grants would hinder research, experts say.
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Olivia Rudgard @oliviarudgard.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
This is a great piece of writing www.theatlantic.com/philosophy/2...
theatlantic.com
No, Artificial Intelligence Is Not Conscious
Taken to its logical conclusion, this line of thinking is absurd—and damning.
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Olivia Rudgard @oliviarudgard.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Also forgot to post this one, which pubbed during the heat wave last week. For future stories, I'm looking to showcase more cases where people are struggling with overheating at home. If that describes you and you want to tell me about it, please get in touch. Gift link:
bloomberg.com
Londoners Find Working From Home Is Getting Harder Without ACs
For a lot of Londoners trying to work from home a day or two a week, the latest heat wave is turning into a major headache.
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Olivia Rudgard @oliviarudgard.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
New from me, for Bloomberg's new Money section: For young UK homeowners, rising service fees on apartments and a tight market for houses has made moving up the property ladder unexpectedly difficult. Gift link below.
bloomberg.com
Homeownership Isn’t Working Out for the UK’s Middle-Class Millennials
For would-be homeowners born in the 1980s and early 1990s, moving up the property ladder is proving unexpectedly difficult.
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Zahra Hirji @zhirji.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Trump's EPA says its latest climate rollback — delaying the phasedown of highly polluting greenhouse gases used in refrigeration — will save Americans millions of dollars on groceries. Its own economic analysis for the final rule tells a different story. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
EPA Climate Rollback Counts Savings, Downplays Costs
The agency estimates delaying a super-pollutant phaseout will result in millions of dollars in savings, but its calculation doesn’t take many costs into account.
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Iain Soutar @isoutar.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Missed this first time around from @luke-akehurstmp.bsky.social, but some really interesting analysis here on the gap between public and media sentiment towards net zero. strongmessagehere.substack.com/p/whats-happ...
Negativity towards Net Zero is nearly three times as over-represented in the UK news media as among the public
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