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.
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.
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.
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…)
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.
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?
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.
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…)
There’s a lot of content in this one little photograph. The eye goes initially to the thin women, gazing peacefully forward, holding the “love” sign, but then soon moves to the gloved hand of the thug who’s constricting the neck of her friend behind her.
The mind races. How is the possible anywhere on Earth, and especially in the United States? Why are the police making it so hard for the protests to end? We’re trying to put a halt to brutality and unnecessary force–and by “we” I mean the vast majority of Americans, supported by people all around the globe–and this complete ass**** is using his thumb to compress the windpipe of a 95-pound girl?
Another rhetorical question: Are these cops so stupid that they don’t know there are cameras everywhere? They think they can commit battery and not be noticed?
One of the few good things that’s coming out of the white supremacist movement is our ability to improve our understanding of the laws in various states that address assault and battery. Check this out.
(more…)
