EV Drawbacks?
Here’s an article presenting some of the drawbacks of electric vehicles.
This doesn’t explain too well why Tesla’s market cap is $806 billion.
Seriously, some of these were true 10 years ago.
Grid-Mix in Europe
The set of charts below is really cool, IMO. If nothing else, it shows what a good job the developed world is doing in phasing out coal, and bringing in renewables.
Germany is making this happen even after decommissioning their nuclear plants after Fukushima.
Croatia has hydro coming out its ears.
The UK has completely declared war on coal.
Poland is sitting on enough coal to last until the sun burns out (not really), and their hardly progressive, but even they are making some progress.
Tagged with: Grid-Mix in Europe
Donald Who?
OK, the main prediction I made about the political theater surrounding Donald Trump, i.e., that he would be expelled from office before finishing his term, didn’t come to fruition.
But here’s one that can’t miss: The Republican party will do everything it can to pretend that a) he never happened, and b) they did exactly what he ordered them to do for four full years, disgracing our nation on the world stage and pushing our democracy to the brink of oblivion.
Tagged with: Donald Trump would be expelled from office before finishing his term, Republican party bringing our democracy to the brink of oblivion, Republican party did exactly what he ordered them to do for four full years, Republican party disgracing our nation on the world stage, Republican party will do everything it can to pretend that he never happened
A World Anxious To Forget Steven Miller
Though he has left the White House, Donald Trump will be all over the news for the foreseeable future, probably right up to the point that he either goes to prison or he flees the country to avoid prosecution.
But not the same can be said about many of the monsters who made up his entourage. At noon EST today, Stephen Miller, Trump’s senior advisor, became as irrelevant to the national political scene as I am. Soon it will be forgotten that he architected and put in place the logistics for the president’s cruel and grossly illegal policy on asylum seekers to the U.S. (more…)
Tagged with: Donald Trump flees the country to avoid prosecution, Donald Trump goes to prison, Donald Trump will be all over the news for the foreseeable future, Stephen Miller architected and put in place the logistics for the president's cruel and grossly illegal policy on asylum seekers to the U.S.
The Lighter Side of the Trump Presidency
The Trump presidency has been a farce in dozens of different ways, though I applaud the author here; this may have taken the cake.
Tagged with: Trump presidency has been a farce
Yes, We’re “Dumping Trump,” But the Pain of These Years Will Be With Us For a Very Long Time
We all need to admit that the great rift that has been created in American society–and then wedged wide open–is not going away anytime soon. There was a time when there was, at worst, an uneasy but acceptable level of tension between the people who read the New Yorker (see illustration) and the white working class.
Along comes Trump, who correctly assesses that almost half the country is quietly seething in the anger of stagnant wages and jobs going overseas, the fear of immigrants absorbing resources and committing crimes against U.S. citizens, the frustration of a bloated government bureaucracy enriching itself and its corrupt donors, a resentment of scientists’ telling them how to live their lives, and, for many, a deep but then-covert hatred of people with brown skin. (more…)
Tagged with: a bloating government bureaucracy enriching itself and the its corrupt donors, alternative facts, anger of stagnant wages and jobs going overseas, deep hatred of people with brown skin, Dumping Trump, fear of immigrants absorbing resources and committing crimes against U.S. citizens, resentment of scientists' telling them how to live their lives
Nature’s Manifold Beauty
The photo here depicts an abandoned fishing village near Shanghai.
Its beauty is based partly on the unusual atmospheric conditions, as the sunlight filters through the mist and reflects off the lush green foliage.
But to me, it also serves as a reminder that nature will begin to repair this planet the very moment we stop destroying it.
A Few Words on Breakthrough Energy Ventures
Clean-tech venture capital fund, Bill Gates-backed Breakthrough Energy Ventures, has raised $1 billion for a second round of investments after backing 45 startups with its first billion. This has prompted the discussion below, in Bloomberg Green, which I annotate with a few comments of my own. (more…)
Tagged with: a civilization that isn't slowly choking itself to death, algae "racetracks", Bill Gates-backed Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Bloomberg Green, Clean-tech venture capital fund, geothermal drill bits, grid-ties, inverters, second wave of clean-tech investments, solar panels, water turbines, wind turbine blades and nacelles
More on Remorseless Capitol Stormer
Yesterday I noted that this Capitol stormer’s story has all kinds of interesting legal, philosophical, and political implications. I then suggested readers check out this three-minute video: (more…)
Climate Change Offers Occasional Benefits, E.g., New Places To Fish
Sunny day flooding, aka tidal or nuisance flooding, i.e., floods that occur with no new precipitation, are increasingly frequent in low-lying areas. The phenomenon is caused by sea-level rise (driven by higher ocean temperatures that cause ocean volumes to rise, and by the melting of glaciers in the polar regions), and increasing wind velocities (driven in part by higher atmospheric temperatures), and normally take place during exceptionally high tide events, such as full and new moons.
As shown here, however, climate change sometimes has a lighter side.
