Fabulous point here. As you’re reading this, there are many millions of people working in more than 200,000 groups whose purpose is environmental and social justice. If you were to read the names of these groups at one per second, you’d be reading for two and one-half days.
That’s a lot of horsepower for the good guys.
Nowadays, more and more people are becoming aware of the importance of creating sustainable systems in our society. In order to combat the threat of dwindling resources, businesses and governments are starting to explore environmentally conscious alternatives on a variety of fronts. Since energy conservation has become a big topic of discussion, engineers have begun to consider how to improve upon existing utility infrastructures. (more…)
On this day in 1974, Richard Nixon officially resigned from the presidency.
This is worth noting because Nixon had significant political support….right up to the time that he didn’t. (more…)
In a world of so much distance and indifference, it’s good to remember the loving humanism of Kurt Vonnegut. Warm brandy on a frosty evening.
This is good, but I look at it a bit differently. I would add “climate change mitigation” to the list of things everyone wants. (I would add “universal healthcare” to the list too.) (more…)
What’s the story with the tariffs on China? The deal with Iran? Regime change in Venezuela? Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula? (more…)
That’s the title of a recent report from French-based global banking group BNP Paribas, predicting the end of the oil industry. It’s discussed here, where the author explains why he believes that solar, wind and EVs will be the death of petroleum . (more…)
An old school chum posted the graphic below, to which I reply:
There’s an important difference, however: the one on the right actually exists, and the one on the left doesn’t. (more…)
From the Writer’s Almanac: Today is the birthday of the Dutch dancer and spy Mata Hari, born in the Netherlands (1876)…..The exact nature of her spy activities is not clear, but she probably didn’t engage in much actual espionage. (more…)
Someone asked me why high voltages are used to transmit power over long distances, so I thought I’d make a post on the explanation.
Power = current time voltage, and voltage = current times resistance. P = IV and V = IR. Substituting IR for V in the first equation we get P = I2R, meaning the power loss is proportional to the square of the current. In fact, these losses are often referred to as “I2R losses.” Thus we need to keep the current to a minimum, which, because P = IV, means high voltages.
