Marjorie Taylor Greene –Divorce?
I’m not sure this is true, but it must suck being married to one of the country’s most revolting people.
Tagged with: Marjorie Taylor Greene --Divorce?
Libraries and Socialism
The author of the meme here nailed it.
American libraries, obviously, are the product of Benjamin Franklin, one of the most broadminded leaders in our nation’s history. Those who stand for critical thinking and human creativity tend to favor the broadest possible distribution of books–even the controversial ones.
Where we are today is shameful. We ban books that call upon us to question authority or examine the true nature of our country. We criticize people of compassion and reason as “woke.”
And let’s not forget that all of this garbage has horrific consequences. Almost half of our voters favor the re-election of a criminal conman as the President of the United States.
Demons on the Inside?
I can’t imagine Freud really said this.
Obviously, I can’t read others’ thoughts, but it strikes me that people who behave with compassion and reason are less likely to have “demons” inside than those who are overtly irrational and mean.
Tagged with: compassion and reason
Rapidly Improving Technology
There is no doubt that humankind is the beneficiary of a great many breakthroughs in technology – that applies to medicine, IT, communications, and yes, environmental sustainability.
In an interview I conducted for my third book “Renewable Energy – Following the Money” the spokesperson for the libertarian CATO Institute told me that this is the principal reason that we needn’t concern ourselves with global warming, in other words that, by the time it’s a real problem, it will be solved by new ways to generate electricity and transport ourselves and our possessions.
I countered that hoping for a miracle doesn’t sound like a viable strategy, especially when the stakes are so high. We didn’t beat Hitler in WWII with hopes and prayers; we did it with rifles and bombs.
Why Don’t We Have Solar-Powered Cars?
Like a lot of things we’d like to have but can’t, it’s because of physics.
When the sun is high in the sky on a sunny day, each square meter of the Earth’s surface below receives about 1000 Watts (1 kiloWatt) of power. Suppose there are three square meters of solar PV on the car shown here, so that’s 3 kWs. If the solar panels are 30% efficient, that’s 900 Watts, a little over 1 horsepower, not even enough to filter a good-sized swimming pool.
Now, obviously, if the car has a big battery pack, you can leave it charging for a long period of time. But even cheap little cars have 100-hp+ motors so they can achieve freeway speeds and get up hills.
Let’s suppose that, because of its sleek design, you can get away with 50 hp. You’ll be charging it (in full sun) 50 times longer than you’ll be driving it.
Is the Value of Education Questionable?
The sentiment expressed at left makes sense to many of us, but, upon reflection, it comes from two completely disparate camps: the opposite ends of the IQ bell curve.
We happily grant that people like Mozart, Einstein, Monet, and Mark Twain himself, didn’t learn anything in school that tapped into their genius, and that they (and we) would have been better off if they had been spared whatever was inflicted upon them in the name of “education.”
We also grant that our working class received very little from their education that advanced their position in modern-day America in any meaningful way.
But what about the rest of us, including the mainstream of 2GreenEnergy readers? Speaking strictly for myself, I spent my early life immersed in a world of critical thinking, and I’ve never stepped out. It seems to me that it’s worked out fairly well. Wouldn’t most of us say the same?
Most of the complaint against education isn’t coming from the Einsteins and Twains of the world. It’s coming from those who believe that our colleges crank out liberals who, for example, have a hard time with the idea that Trump was an honest and effective servant of the American people and the victim of a rigged election.
In any case, it’s a weak claim indeed that young people would be better people if they were prevented from reading the world’s great books.
Tagged with: Value of Education
The Second Coming and Sustainability
A reader notes: Many of the Christians in the USA think Jesus’s return is not far off, thus a huge disincentive for long term sustainability.
I actually ran into a fellow who told me that we was rooting for the apocalypse, but this level of extremism must be somewhat rare.
Having said that, religious people of all stripes tend not to be too into sustainability, for the very reason that their belief system doesn’t rely on things like science and evidence, and that God’s plan, whatever that might be, is infinitely more powerful than anything humankind can do.
Tagged with: sustainability
Notes on the EV Adoption Curve
Here’s what auto enthusiast Jay Leno says about the EV adoption curve, i.e., that they should be used during the week for low-speed commutes, where your “426 Hemi that gets 9 -11 mpg” can be taken out on the weekends.
Well, he’s wrong. Very few American drivers want two cars: two sets of maintenance schedules, two registration fees, two insurance policies, etc.
As costs come down, range anxiety disappears, and consumer options grow, we can expect a steady replacement of gas- and diesel-powered vehicles with EVs.
Tagged with: EV adoption curve
Big Oil Hates Your Kids
Here’s a faux advertisement for Chevron. It’s not unlike “Exxon Hates Your Kids,” but it’s longer and better.
Dealing with the Water Crisis
Here’s a fabulous episode of the widely syndicated radio show Fresh Air, featuring ProPublica investigative reporter Abrahm Lustgarten discussing the crisis of water shortages in the American west.
Climate change has brought about severe and apparently unending droughts here. We all hope for a year of heavy rains that fill up some of our depleted waterways and reservoirs, but after these many years, there have been nothing but disappointments. (more…)
Tagged with: water crisis
