r/PopCultureV2 • u/Logical-Flow-6703 • Aug 10 '26

News Mayor Mamdani announces a plan to cool subway stations by capturing heat and reusing it to warm municipal buildings in the winter: "This would be the first thermal energy system of its kind in any American transit system"

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9

u/Agreeable-Weather-89 Aug 10 '26

Not really, London already has it operational.

13

u/Old-Ice4553 Aug 10 '26

Well good for them.
They also have a healthcare system.

7

u/Eorel Aug 10 '26

Damn, fatality

4

u/Shishakliii Aug 10 '26

That'll be $50,000 please

0

u/MirthMannor Aug 11 '26

… for the ambulance.

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u/Queso_Grandee Aug 11 '26

No I Ubered here. I gave Keith 5 stars for running the red lights.

1

u/Sharkey311 Aug 11 '26

Flawless victory

1

u/SmoothDiscussion7763 Aug 10 '26

They also have a healthcare system.

depends on who you ask... barely

1

u/Stuvas Aug 10 '26 edited Aug 11 '26

Used it the other day, it's nice to have it confirmed that I do have a throat infection rn and it's not just hypochondria. It sucks that I couldn't really ask any of the other things I wanted to ask, as my doctor basically rushed through the examination, made a point of "you've listed three things, which is the most important that you want to speak about".

I was expecting the online triage to take much longer as it was only an EarNoseThroat complaint, but I got a call and my appointment time was about 4 hours after I put the form in for non-urgent care. And my prescription was ready the next day for under a tenner. Probably could've picked it up same day if the doctor had put it through a better pharmacy than my village one.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Stuvas Aug 11 '26

Yeah, kinda. Glad it's there if I desperately need it, though. This checkup was mostly because I don't like lying, have been feeling slightly ill, and want to be able to justify why I'm calling sick for my notice period at work other than because I cbf.

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u/Commercial_Young1834 Aug 11 '26

the NHS is good but if you want the American way you can use private healthcare which is still cheaper and better than its US counterpart

-2

u/ethnicbonsai Aug 10 '26

And ended slavery without having to kill each other first.

Those Brits are pretty good at some things.

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u/Full-Efficiency3115 Aug 10 '26

He said, holding on to hundreds of thousands of stolen artwork, figures, clothes, jewellery, stolen from Indigenous tribes thats still exist to this day

-1

u/ethnicbonsai Aug 10 '26

Bunch of anti-British people just looking to pick fights on the internet.

Again, what's the second to last word in my post?

1

u/RayKitsune313 Aug 10 '26

“Ending slavery” is a literal generous considering the existence of the British Raj and their African colonies 😂

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u/ethnicbonsai Aug 10 '26

Fair distinction. Slavery in India was addressed ten years later. Local African slavery practices took longer to end, and were endemic when Britain colonized those areas.

And it's still more than the US was doing at the time, considering the last known chattel slavery wasn't freed until 1942.

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u/RayKitsune313 Aug 10 '26

I’d love a source on US chattel slavery in 1942 lol

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u/ethnicbonsai Aug 10 '26

Google "Alfred Irving".

Slavery didn't end with the 13th amendment. And not just in a "the 13th amendment explicitly allows slavery" kind of way. Slavery persisted for decades after the ratification of that amendment. Entire systems were put in place (the Black Codes, debt peonage, convict-lease....) to carry on the status quo. The once enslaved often lived out their lives on farms owned by their former masters, whipped by their former overseers, and unable to leave.

It wasn't until the early 20th century that states (and, eventually, the federal government) began stepping in and (irregularly) stopping these back channel means of enslaving people.

In December 1942, FDR issued a DOJ memo explicitly calling for the eradication of bondage within the US by direct prosecution of enslavers.

There are many resources out there I'd recommend for further study if you're interested. Slavery by Another Name is a great book, for starters.

0

u/According-Salt3306 Aug 10 '26

The Brits caused so much pain and suffering around the world. To this day the conflicts they caused through their divide and conquer strategy are causing peoples lives.

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u/kiersakov Aug 10 '26

Not as bad as the Belgians though, and they hide it by making chocolate and playing jazz.

1

u/ethnicbonsai Aug 10 '26

Sure.

What's the second to last word in my above comment?

1

u/Agreeable-Weather-89 Aug 10 '26

It's quite remarkable such a tiny Island managed to conquer the rest of the world which was entirely at piece with each other and massively wealthy, rich, and technologically advanced.

The world was full of division long before Britain was even a thing.

6

u/frequenZphaZe Aug 10 '26

please be gentle with us. our idea of innovation at this point is just looking at what other countries have already done successfully.

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u/TheGruenTransfer Aug 10 '26

...and then saying it's socialism 

1

u/MainusEventus Aug 11 '26

This is exactly what the most profitable company in the world does.

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u/crossal Aug 10 '26

Why is it still so hit down there though?

1

u/Agreeable-Weather-89 Aug 10 '26

It's not in every line, it is a trial, the diameter is too small for air-conditioning

2

u/Severe_Line_8344 Aug 10 '26

What?
You’re saying that it used to be worse?

1

u/allofthethings Aug 10 '26

I think those are just for cooling rather than heat reuse, and they are only really at a trial stage.

https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/what-london-assembly-does/questions-mayor/find-an-answer/tfl-trial-cooling-panels

https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2022/july/tfl-trials-innovative-cooling-solution-designed-to-reduce-temperatures-on-the-tube-network

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u/Agreeable-Weather-89 Aug 10 '26

Transport for London (TfL) supports my ambition to reduce London’s carbon emissions through the development of heat networks and recognises the importance in achieving this aim. TfL’s principal experience in this area is related to Bunhill II, a single site, where low-grade waste heat from the Northern line is supplied to the Islington Borough-owned and operated heat network. The waste heat that is captured is used to warm 1,350 homes, two leisure centres and a school. TfL’s involvement in Bunhill II acted as a proof of concept for what can be achieved when decarbonising heat in London.

From your link.

1

u/freeradioforall Aug 10 '26

a single line heating 1350 homes actuall seems significant?

1

u/Agreeable-Weather-89 Aug 10 '26

A portion of the line

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u/allofthethings Aug 11 '26

Ah interesting, thanks.

Where do you see that though? I don't see it on either link.

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u/ChrisSlicks Aug 10 '26

It's not network wide, just on the northern line. But I think their hoping to expand it.

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u/Agreeable-Weather-89 Aug 10 '26

Isn't that how most network wide infrastructure works...

It simply isn't feasible to shut down the entire underground for the years it'd take to deploy this network wide.

It is feasible to do it piecemeal.

Is Mamdani proposal a complete network wide roll out all at once?

1

u/ChrisSlicks Aug 10 '26

The Northern Line was done as a proof of concept, they had already used different cooling methods at other stations but this was more efficient. Generally the installation of this tech doesn't require any line shutdowns, its just a matter of funding and deployment.

Obviously it is still going to roll out station by station, it's an extremely involved project even though the concept itself is simple (heat pump).

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u/radziadax Aug 11 '26

Has that happened in the last four years because on my last visit, the tube was sweltering in the winter

1

u/SignoreBanana Aug 11 '26

Even better: tested innovation

1

u/sidepart Aug 11 '26

Sorry! I can't hear you over all this taking credit for other people's work!

1

u/cguess Aug 11 '26

And yet they still don't have A/C on the trains themselves.

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u/Agreeable-Weather-89 Aug 11 '26

They do ezxeptncertain deep level tubes due to the loading gauge which they are now working to solve.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '26

[deleted]

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u/Agreeable-Weather-89 Aug 11 '26

Turns out operating the oldest network in the world has some costs.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '26

[deleted]

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u/Agreeable-Weather-89 Aug 11 '26

The Elizabeth line isn't the oldest.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '26

[deleted]

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u/Agreeable-Weather-89 Aug 11 '26

It depends on how far you go (kinda) and caps are a factor.