David Fickling
@davidfickling.bsky.social
Climate columnist at @opinion.bloomberg.com. Migrant from London to Warrane/Sydney. These are my views. If you don't like them, well, I have others.
When the tariff king who’s upending the world economy doesn’t know the difference between merchandise goods and services
September 30, 2025 at 4:53 AM
When the tariff king who’s upending the world economy doesn’t know the difference between merchandise goods and services
I feel an “Indian & Pakistani Restaurant” called “Adaab Hyderabad” is telling a very subtle joke to its customers
September 28, 2025 at 11:49 PM
I feel an “Indian & Pakistani Restaurant” called “Adaab Hyderabad” is telling a very subtle joke to its customers
Education and taxes are both Very Bad 👏 👏 👏
September 5, 2025 at 4:24 AM
Education and taxes are both Very Bad 👏 👏 👏
Hilarious to discover the backstory of that Rockwell Freedom of Speech painting: It was inspired by a farmer who tried to prevent the rebuilding of a burned-down school because the town would have to raise taxes to pay for it.
September 5, 2025 at 4:23 AM
Hilarious to discover the backstory of that Rockwell Freedom of Speech painting: It was inspired by a farmer who tried to prevent the rebuilding of a burned-down school because the town would have to raise taxes to pay for it.
Someone should tell the economic geniuses running our trade policies about the existence of inventories! 🧵
September 4, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Someone should tell the economic geniuses running our trade policies about the existence of inventories! 🧵
The IEA in 2014 saw European coal demand rising 0.1% between 2013 and 2019. In practise, it fell 30%.
September 2, 2025 at 8:19 PM
The IEA in 2014 saw European coal demand rising 0.1% between 2013 and 2019. In practise, it fell 30%.
Is this the bit where I point out that the concept of “curry” as a distinct category of dishes is probably Anglo-Indian, and may derive as much from a Middle English word for “cooking” rather than the traditional Tamil etymology meaning “pepper”?
September 1, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Is this the bit where I point out that the concept of “curry” as a distinct category of dishes is probably Anglo-Indian, and may derive as much from a Middle English word for “cooking” rather than the traditional Tamil etymology meaning “pepper”?
Was trying to catch this guy at the #sydneymarathon but it turns out he was pretty quick
August 31, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Was trying to catch this guy at the #sydneymarathon but it turns out he was pretty quick
August 19, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Coal generation in China is still down this year, thanks to the huge rise in wind and solar. But it would be *cratering* if hydro wasn’t performing so badly:
August 17, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Coal generation in China is still down this year, thanks to the huge rise in wind and solar. But it would be *cratering* if hydro wasn’t performing so badly:
I really hope thus is just a cluster of dry years and turns out to be a non-issue. Because China’s hydro is absolutely central to the world’s attempts to limit fossil fuels. And it has underperformed in four of the past six years.
August 17, 2025 at 8:33 PM
I really hope thus is just a cluster of dry years and turns out to be a non-issue. Because China’s hydro is absolutely central to the world’s attempts to limit fossil fuels. And it has underperformed in four of the past six years.
This is wild: China is likely to produce about twice as many service robots as people this year:
August 15, 2025 at 5:38 AM
This is wild: China is likely to produce about twice as many service robots as people this year:
I wish I could Google my old articles without provoking AI hallucinations
June 4, 2025 at 10:42 PM
I wish I could Google my old articles without provoking AI hallucinations
Degradation of democracy aside, it’s never not going to be funny to me that the FBI is run by a guy so dodgy that even his official portraits look like mugshots
May 20, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Degradation of democracy aside, it’s never not going to be funny to me that the FBI is run by a guy so dodgy that even his official portraits look like mugshots
Note that central banks hold almost half of the world’s “monetary gold” — ie the stuff that is held for investments, rather than as jewellery or fillings or electronics.
April 21, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Note that central banks hold almost half of the world’s “monetary gold” — ie the stuff that is held for investments, rather than as jewellery or fillings or electronics.
That whooshing sound you hear is non-US central banks diversifying their sovereign holdings into a shiny metal reserve asset that isn’t dependent on the reliability of the US government as a counterparty.
April 21, 2025 at 10:10 PM
That whooshing sound you hear is non-US central banks diversifying their sovereign holdings into a shiny metal reserve asset that isn’t dependent on the reliability of the US government as a counterparty.
This chart is now a bit out of date but you can see the point. China completely dominated rare earths production as long as no one cared about it. But once people started to worry about it, the supply chain diversified:
www.bloomberg.com/view/article...
www.bloomberg.com/view/article...
April 14, 2025 at 3:05 AM
This chart is now a bit out of date but you can see the point. China completely dominated rare earths production as long as no one cared about it. But once people started to worry about it, the supply chain diversified:
www.bloomberg.com/view/article...
www.bloomberg.com/view/article...
Well, I finished! Exhausting race in horrible windy conditions, but we raised A$1,620 for WaterAid! Thanks to all who donated so generously!
April 14, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Well, I finished! Exhausting race in horrible windy conditions, but we raised A$1,620 for WaterAid! Thanks to all who donated so generously!
Just run into what looks like a Hundertwasser building in the middle of nowhere in Penghu County, Taiwan.
Does anyone know, is this a genuine Hundertwasser or a pastiche?
Does anyone know, is this a genuine Hundertwasser or a pastiche?
April 12, 2025 at 6:21 AM
Just run into what looks like a Hundertwasser building in the middle of nowhere in Penghu County, Taiwan.
Does anyone know, is this a genuine Hundertwasser or a pastiche?
Does anyone know, is this a genuine Hundertwasser or a pastiche?
One of the most striking things about this story on Wall Street censoring itself for fear of retaliation from Trump is a former president of the ACLU both-sidesing the situation and saying Biden kinda did the same thing over Covid misinformation.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
April 11, 2025 at 5:25 AM
One of the most striking things about this story on Wall Street censoring itself for fear of retaliation from Trump is a former president of the ACLU both-sidesing the situation and saying Biden kinda did the same thing over Covid misinformation.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
I’ve arrived in Taiwan ahead of Sunday’s triathlon, where I’m raising money for WaterAid.
It’s looking like high winds while I struggle through 226kms of swimming, biking and running. 😳
Please visit my fundraising page if you want to donate to a great cause!
www.mycause.com.au/p/366670/hel...
It’s looking like high winds while I struggle through 226kms of swimming, biking and running. 😳
Please visit my fundraising page if you want to donate to a great cause!
www.mycause.com.au/p/366670/hel...
April 10, 2025 at 10:47 PM
I’ve arrived in Taiwan ahead of Sunday’s triathlon, where I’m raising money for WaterAid.
It’s looking like high winds while I struggle through 226kms of swimming, biking and running. 😳
Please visit my fundraising page if you want to donate to a great cause!
www.mycause.com.au/p/366670/hel...
It’s looking like high winds while I struggle through 226kms of swimming, biking and running. 😳
Please visit my fundraising page if you want to donate to a great cause!
www.mycause.com.au/p/366670/hel...