This is another of those posts inspired by the artwork of Maurizio Rega, who, as if it needs to be said, specializes in trees.
Fun facts: Trump, the only world leader who denies the theory of anthropogenic climate change has rolled back 95 different environmental regulations. But he wants to plant lots of trees, and astonishingly, bills himself as an environmentalist.
Are the following excerpts from an online survey from the NRA (National Rifle Association in the U.S.) a sincere attempt to understand Americans’ sensibilities vis-a-vis gun rights? Here are a few sample questions, along with some things to think about.
Question #1: Do you agree that the Second Amendment guarantees your individual right to own a firearm? (more…)
There are no scenarios in which climate change extinguishes the entirety of human life. The planet may warm by 5 degrees C (9 degrees F), and, though the amount of human suffering will be beyond our capacity to imagine, those families who go into this catastrophe with some level of wealth will be able to deal with the worst conceivable outcomes. (more…)
Back in 2010, I interviewed a gentleman at NREL (the National Renewable Energy Laboratories) as part of my first book, Renewable Energy–Facts and Fantasies. A ran into him a few years later at the Intersolar show in San Francisco and asked him about NREL’s current focus. (more…)
From this article: Singapore aims to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040, making a bigger bet on electric cars as part of its efforts to cut greenhouse gases and fight climate change, the finance minister said on Tuesday. The wealthy city-state of 5.7 million, which is hiking investment in flood defences, joins Norway, Britain and others in setting a target to cut the use of vehicles with combustion engines. (more…)
Here’s a renewable energy concept that I’ve been seeing here and there over the past decade.
It’s a means by which a city can generate clean electricity from the water flowing under streets through pipes. (more…)
A reader asks, “What do you think of this idea?”
Let’s do some math, and call the length of the blades x. the swept area of this device is 4πx2. The radius of one big turbine, assuming the blade tips of the little ones almost touch, is π(4x)2 or 16πx2.
Thus replacing the four turbines with one big one would quadruple the swept area (and thus the output), and greatly reduce the costs, by removing three of the four nacelles and all the other superstructure, and chopping out a lot of maintenance.
The meat industry’s PR team says, “U.S. beef ‘s carbon footprint is 10 to 50 times lower than other regions of the world, making it the leader in sustainable beef production.”
There is nothing sustainable whatsoever about beef production. (more…)
This guy claims, “Hydrogen offers a potential for full energy independence.” No it doesn’t. Hydrogen is a carrier of energy, not a source. Put another way, the energy that hydrogen carries came either from reforming methane or electrolyzing water, and that energy had to have come from somewhere.
It’s true that certain segments of the U.S. economy are flagging, like farming and manufacturing. Job growth seems to fluctuate unexpectedly. But, yo be fair, I need to acknowledge that other aspects are looking great, however.
There is no doubt that there has never been a better time to be a white collar criminal. The more loot you can donate, the more likely you’ll receive a presidential pardon or commutation.
