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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

From the article linked below:

Environmentalists found a glaring omission when they reviewed the latest plan from House Democrats for raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations to fund the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package: There’s no repeal of domestic tax breaks and other subsidies for the fossil fuel industry. Climate activists say such a repeal is crucial for keeping coal, oil and gas in the ground.

Does the failure to repeal subsidies for Big Oil really come as a shock to anyone?

There is a good reason for this.  There is a name for U.S. representatives who vote against the interests of the fossil fuel industry.  They are called “ex-representatives.”

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

With all the injustice in the world today, one might think that fairness no longer exists.  Fortunately, that’s not the case.

There have been no fewer than five ultra-right wing radio hosts, formerly spewing QAnon-style nonsense about COVID-19, who are now six feet underground, killed by the very disease they were claiming to be a hoax, or government control tactic, or whatever.

Good people don’t wish for anyone to suffer a slow and painful death.  But if anyone has to go like that, these people are a great choice.

In addition to the justice element, we have a side benefit: that much malicious ignorance removed from the airwaves.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

In the main, this is true.  Fortunately, the disinformation campaigns are no longer effective on anyone except the “ignorant yokels.”  This, I believe happened not because everyone trusts science, or that we all have seen evidence of malfeasance on the part of Big Oil, but rather that everyone has his own lived experience of droughts, wildfires, and super-storms.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

We’ve all seen dozens of memes featuring analogies about the pandemic, especially, the limit of our personal rights.  Some are stronger than others. I suppose that once your mind is made up, you can invent any story you like to support your position.

For example, being a person of science, I appreciate the piece in blue here, while I reject the others below, taken from the Facebook page of an anti-vaxxer.

(more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

police push back supporters of President Trump

Ex-president Trump announced yesterday, “Our hearts and minds are with the people being persecuted so unfairly” in connection with the attack, which he called a “protest concerning the Rigged Presidential Election.”

In addition to the five deaths there were 140 injuries.  A lost finger tip.  Heads smashed with baseball bats, flag poles and pipes. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

The bankruptcy judge in the case of Purdue Pharma is Robert Drain, who signed off on the settlement plan, which includes the bonuses shown at left.  Why he’s allowing anything remotely resembling this is a complete mystery.

Even worse, the Sackler family of criminals gets off scot- free.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Additional discussion with my friend based on my post yesterday:

Friend: Your fixation on Trump is unfortunate as I have said before.   As I  recall, you were just as certain that Trump was a pawn of Russia four years ago as you are now that he is insane. With just as much proof.

Me: Believe it or not, I’m still fairly sure I’ll be vindicated on his ties to Russia, if only via his indebtedness to the oligarchs. You may recall that all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies averred that Russia played an important role in getting Trump elected in 2016.  We’ll see.

Re: his mental health, there are 61.4 million web pages that are referred by Googling “Trump insane.”  Of course, that, in and of itself, is meaningless.  But there are plenty of eminent psychologists who write about this in detail.  More to the point is his behavior in the days following the election loss, as documented in the books I mentioned.

I’m even more confident that he’ll be indicted on one or more charges.  The real issue is that the U.S. can’t let this go without creating a precedent that a sitting president can do anything he wants with complete impunity.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

From CNBC:

Chevron Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth told CNBC on Wednesday the oil company’s lower-carbon investments focus on areas such as renewable natural gas and hydrogen because it sees significant potential to create shareholder value.

“One of the things we’ve chosen not to go into is wind and solar,” Wirth said in a “Mad Money” interview. “These are technologies that are relatively mature. There is plenty of capital that’s available. The returns in wind and solar are actually being bid down, and we’ve concluded that management in our company can’t create value for shareholders by going into wind and solar.”

Instead of committing capital in those areas, Wirth told host Jim Cramer Chevron would rather the money “go back to our shareholders and let them plant trees, go invest in a wind and solar developer and have the right to do that with a growing dividend that comes out of our company.”
All this makes perfect sense, especially when you consider that Chevron, as well as everybody else, knows that renewable natural gas and hydrogen have no chance for success, and thus their investment in the arena will be very close to zero.  Their business model is to suck the last molecule of crude out of the ground, and sell it to someone who will burn it.
Wirth said, “I am a believer that green hydrogen is going to have a big role to play” in the energy transition.
No you don’t, you are a liar.
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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

We’ve commented a few times on concepts that involve putting solar PV on the surfaces of EVs, like this one, Pi Energy.  They’re calling for investors to pony up $500.

Here’s an idea that may appeal to people who know exactly zero about solar energy.

In full sun, this will generate about 600 watts, less than 1 horsepower. The average hp of today’s cars is 180 – 200.

A scam for the truly ignorant.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

From the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services:In 1954, polio was a terrifying reality. The vaccine began as a large clinical trial of 1.3 million kids around the country. They called themselves Polio Pioneers, the first to try a new vaccine in the hopes of ending a grave threat.
Nine months after the trial ended, the vaccine was declared safe and effective. In 1955, mass inoculation against polio began. 25 years later, domestic polio transmission had all but vanished.
Polio is now a mandated vaccination in all 50 states. The kids you see pictured made this a reality for us all.
Yes, all this is true.  But it happened in 1954.  That was when high school graduates could still read and write, and no one believed that the government was conspiring with the medical people to enslave the population.
A great deal has changed, some for the better, a lot for the worse.
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