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Miami Beach(s) is(are) on the ocean side of a 20 mile long series of islands, separated from the mainland by Biscayne Bay. A series of causeways provides access, from the city, by car or local bus.

 

We took a local bus, allowing us the opportunity to get a better look around. The way over was interesting. Various cruise ships have a provisioning base here and there are many marinas and private pleasure craft, as well as container handling facilities. There's lot's of money being made.

There's an historic area at South Beach that's been saved from the high-rise development and is preserved as a 'special architectural zone', featuring the art-deco architectural style: 'The Art Deco Historic District'.


According to the website: "The styles of the 1920s and 1930s remain vibrant in the Art Deco Historic District in Miami Beach, home to the nation’s largest concentration of the sleek and bright architectural style. The district, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979, contains some 800 designated historic buildings, though some of them represent other modern architectural styles from different eras of Miami’s history."

At the rather grey beach there was little or no surf and most people sun-baked - deliberately. The air was hot, humid and oppressive. I unbuttoned my shirt - the closest I was prepared to get to joining the prevailing skin-fest. 

We spent another day in Miami, wining and dining and so on, before calling an Uber to drive to Fort Lauderdale.

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Travel

Argentina & Uruguay

 

 

In October 2011 our little group: Sonia, Craig, Wendy and Richard visited Argentina. We spent two periods of time in Buenos Aires; at the start and at the end of our trip; and we two nights at the Iguassu Falls.

Read more: Argentina & Uruguay

Fiction, Recollections & News

The Wedding Party

January 29th 2011

 

See some of it on YouTube (some websites may block this)...

Read more: The Wedding Party

Opinions and Philosophy

Electric Cars revisited (again)

  

Electric vehicles like: trams; trains; and electric: cars; vans; and busses; all assist in achieving better air quality in our cities. Yet, to the extent that the energy they consume is derived from our oldest energy source, fire: the potential toxic emissions and greenhouse gasses simply enter the atmosphere somewhere else.

Back in 2005 I calculated that in Australia, due to our burning coal, oil and sometimes rural waste and garbage, to generate electricity, grid-charged all-electric electric cars had a higher carbon footprint than conventional cars.

In 2019, with a lot of water under the bridge; more renewables in the mix; and much improved batteries; I thought it was worth a revisit. I ran the numbers, using more real-world data, including those published by car companies themselves. Yet I got the same result: In Australia, grid-charged all-electric cars produce more greenhouse gasses than many conventional cars for the same distance travelled.

Now, in the wake of COP26, (November 2021), with even more water under the bridge, the promotion of electric cars is back on the political agenda.  Has anything changed?

 

Read more: Electric Cars revisited (again)

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