Renewables Without Subsidies
Here’s an article in a newsletter for angel investors that describes how the plummeting cost of solar and wind is signalling the end of government subsidies. (more…)
Nuclear Weapons
It’s the birthday of Italian-born physicist Enrico Fermi, instrumental in creating the atomic bomb in the mid-20th Century. When WWII was over and he had a chance to reflect on all this, he wrote: (more…)
Take a Cool Guess—The Fun Quiz on Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability. Today’s Topic: Climate Heroes
Question: Sweden has taken more action than any other country to mitigate climate change. What country ranks #2?
The Reasoning of Sherlock Holmes and David Hume
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, through the voice of Sherlock Holmes: “We balance probabilities and choose the most likely.” David Hume, British empiricist philosopher: “We always disbelieve the greater miracle,” (which means essentially the same thing, i.e., we live surrounded not by certainties, but by probabilities, and we are obliged to choose to believe that which seems most likely. (more…)
Tagged with: impeachment
The Nation: GOP Going Down with Trump. Oh Sure.
It may be common wisdom that congressional Republicans are loyal to the president, but we’re about to see that this is totally untrue. These spineless cowards are loyal to themselves, and when self-preservation conflicts with Trump’s downfall, they won’t be able to run away fast enough. (more…)
Ultra-Libertarianism
A reader offers this piece on an advanced form of libertarianism called “anarcho-capitalism” which views government as parasitic.
We don’t really need infrastructure, police, fire fighting, criminal justice, national defense, public education, labor laws, auto and food safety standards, emergency medical care or environmental regulation? OMG. Not sure this is the type of rigorous thinking required for today’s world.
Celebrating Diversity
Reading this statement from the former Prime Minister of Canada is a shocking experience. “A society which emphasizes uniformity is one that creates intolerance and hate.” Wow.
There are people who are saying that in the United States, but they’re viewed as radicals. Here, we are more comfortable regarding people of other races and religions with contempt, as if they are vermin–and especially if they’re poor. (more…)
Coal: Supplies Are High, Not So Demand
Below is a chart that shows the fall-off of coal consumption in Europe, which I swiped from this article on the over-supply of this dirtiest-of-all fuels. (more…)
Trump Attacks San Francisco: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
KCBX, the local NPR affiliate here in Santa Barbara and the rest of California’s Central Coast, reports as follows:
The Trump administration is following up on President Trump’s threat to go after California for pollution that he blames on the state’s large homeless population. (more…)
Tagged with: Trump Attacks San Francisco
Relatively Speaking
As noted in the Writer’s Almanac, today is the 114th birthday of the most famous equation known to humankind, E = MC2.
We tend to think that the implications of the equivalence of mass and energy are confined to nuclear reactions. (more…)
