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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Those living outside the United States may read the dialogue at the left and say, “Give me a break; it couldn’t possibly be that stupid.”  Well, I’m sorry to have to report that this is precisely the childishly idiotic level of the national conversation.

Onto this, we need to add all the discussions about the environment, e.g.:

D’s:  We need to be good stewards of our environment, phase out fossil fuels, and reinstate clean air and water regulations.

R’s: Dems want to kill jobs. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Yes, the United States is polarized across every conceivable dimension, including its perception of the president himself.  At this point, 40% of America continues to believe that Trump is the best thing that’s every happened to the country, that he’s the only thing standing between where we are today and lawlessness, economic collapse and poverty, racial dilution, and socialism. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Coal-fired plants will soon be a thing of the past in the developed world, as illustrated here.  The United Kingdom has all but eradicated coal from its grid-mix, due to its fierce commitment to low-carbon resources.

Of course, it is up to the wealthy countries to lead the world forward and develop the cost-effective renewable energy technologies that can be deployed in India, China and Indonesia.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

A reader sent me this meme.

I wrote back, “Errr, that means you’re on the left.”

Until very recently, there were no societies on Earth, certainly not in the developed world, that were attempting to eliminate science from policy-making and trying to replace it with religious beliefs and/or political ideologies.

But a government that promotes equality, or even equal opportunity, is something that has defined the political left since the days of the Magna Carta 1000 years ago when serious arguments began to take place about basic human rights, thus placing limits on the rights of the king.

I’m sure someone will comment that this way of thinking about social order goes back to the civilizations of Sumeria, Phoenicia, Babylonia, or wherever, and I’m sure they’ll be correct.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability
Here are seven warning signs of a potentially unsafe group or leader.  I leave it to the reader to determine what, if any, relationship it has with Trump and his supporters.

• Absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability.

• No tolerance for questions or critical inquiry.

• No meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget or expenses, such as an independently audited financial statement.

• Unreasonable fear about the outside world, such as impending catastrophe, evil conspiracies and persecutions.

• There are records, books, news articles, or broadcast reports that document the abuses of the group/leader.

• The group/leader is always right.

• The group/leader is the exclusive means of knowing “truth” or receiving validation, no other process of discovery is really acceptable or credible.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

A reader asks: How many windmills would we need per person to replace fossil fuels? How much room would this take up?

In the United States, we consume 5.4 terawatts (5.4 * 1012 Watts).  The average wind turbine is a couple of megawatts, for convenience, let’s say 2.7 megawatts (2.7 * 106 Watts). (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Over 2,000 people without masks at a huge sand bar bash at Lake Butte des Morts (translates to “Hill of the Dead”) in Oshkosh, Wisconsin yesterday.

Given that we live in a country of selfish morons, getting a handle on this pandemic is going to be extremely difficult.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

There is no reason to doubt that the fossil fuel industry is pouring money into the coffers of President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign; after all, he is an outspoken and dedicated ally, and it’s easy to see how keeping him in the White House would be thought to be a key tactic for near-term success.

But what role does money play, in a world so polarized?  If I were forced to look at 10 ads per day trying to convince me that Biden is a child-molester, that global warming is a hoax, or that a Biden victory means the demise of organized society, do you think I’d vote for Trump?

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Holy cats.  Check out the last three paragraphs of this obituary.

Expect to see more anger as the weeks pass and the death toll rises.

Of course, about one-third of American voters continue to believe Trump is doing an adequate-or-better job in handling the pandemic, but that figure is falling every day.

Let’s make a few projections for the next three months as the election nears.  Trump is on the golf course, people are dying, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that an honest and competent president could have eliminated most of the carnage.

He could more easily be knighted by the Queen than be re-elected president.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

About 2% of all natural gas produced in the U.S. leaks into the atmosphere before reaching the end customer – about 600 billion cubic feet each year, or the annual gas consumption in Virginia.

This, of course, is one of the key arguments that advocates of nuclear energy use against renewables, i.e., because solar and wind are intermittent, they need to be backed up, and that normally means with new gas plants. (more…)

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