Using small pieces of solar PV to run low-power devices is a good idea. Adding what could be called “nano-wind” (i.e., wind turbines even smaller than “micro-wind”) isn’t. All this does is add expense–both capital and operational.
Here’s a video that reveals an interesting fact: that breaking the law and thumbing our noses at the police have now become admirable acts in our nation. Not sure this is a positive development in a civilized society, though it sure does explain how the U.S. has become one of two out of more than 200 sovereign nations that has failed so miserably to contain COVID-19. (more…)
Here it is, in one short video.
It’s creators say, “This is impeachable, and alone should disqualify the president from re-election.” Wrong word; it doesn’t disqualify him; he can still run in 2020. Better choice: preclude.
From the thesaurus: deter, exclude, forestall, hinder, impede, prevent, prohibit, rule out, put a stop to.
Love the illustration here.
I wish I knew what’s motivating the president’s behavior at this point. OK, his core base is largely racist, and yes, they’re energized by hate speech, augmented, as it is, with the lies that comes with it. But you have their vote wrapped up. Aren’t you going to need at least a few votes from other demographics? How about semi-educated conservatives who have taken the bait about socialism and think that Joe Biden and Fidel Castro have the same political philosophies? (more…)
OK, here’s a three-step exercise readers may find enlightening:
First, watch this short video, featuring a lady in Tennessee filling up her gas tank in a rather usual fashion.
Now ask yourself this question: For which presidential candidate would you guess she voted for in 2016, and plans to help re-elect in 2020? (Hint if you need it: Trump beat Clinton by a margin of almost 2 : 1 in Tennessee.)
Last step: Now ask yourself one final question: Is it possible to run a sustainable democracy with people of this level of mental competence? No hint on this one; you’re on your own here. 🙂
The Trump Administration has pulled the student visas from everyone whose classes are entirely taught online. If implemented, this would send thousands of our nation’s brightest young people out of the country.
There are precisely two elements of reason that may lie behind the decision: (more…)
When we think about the wonders of nature, we generally think of dead silence, walking a trail with no living thing within earshot. That may be the case in certain circumstances, but most definitely not in all.
Want to test the health of the rainforests? Interested in advising governments and logging companies as to the absolute best approaches to environmental conservation? Sometimes the best approach to solving a problem like this isn’t watching what happens in a certain region of the biosphere; it’s listening. And it can be noisy beyond belief. Hope you’ll check this out.
So many facets of our culture have changed drastically over the past few years, and at this point, many are the polar opposites of what they once were and ought to be.
It was not too long ago that the National Rifle Association was a small organization whose perfectly laudable mission was gun safety. Now, it’s the recklessly rabid defense of the absolute right of any psychotic to own limitless numbers of weapons of war.
What it means to be a Christian has taken a turn for the worse as well, as illustrated in the meme here, and as suggested by Trump’s now infamous photo op on Lafayette Square.
Here’s a terrifying piece from London-based consultant, author, and economist Umair Haque, who claims that America and Britain are “textbook examples of a new, gruesome phenomenon: rich nations self-destructing into poor failed states.” (more…)
Here’s a solar PV device that’s been around for at least the last 8 – 10 years. It opens in the morning and contracts in the evening, and has double-axis tracking like so much of the world’s PV. Their claim: 40% more efficiency.
Yes, devices that track the apparent motion of the sun across the sky increase the efficiency of solar PV by 40% over its stationary counterparts. But that doesn’t mean that this idea is a good one; in fact, it’s a joke. Users of the “SmartFlower” will pay many hundred times more per kWh for their electricity than those using rooftop solar. It also eats up useful space.
If that’s acceptable, buy one. Buy many, by all means.
