There is a moment in most B-grade epic fantasy movies where a wizened character will state, “The end game has begun.”
I feel that way about the forthcoming federal election that is set to culminate on November 4th. We are watching, in real time, the end game. I am just unsure at this moment whether it is an end game for the President and his Republican enablers or for America in general.
My hope is that by the end of election night the results are so overwhelming against the worst president in the history of the United States that no amount of “boogaloo” boys or whatever other halfwit militia shit will just wither in the cold fall air. Maybe Don Jr. can make a career out of speaking at militia gatherings with the other horrible people who have been given agency over the past four years.
Stay safe out there.
On to the links…
The Cheapest Climate Solution? Return Half of the Planet to Nature—It is so simple that it is almost diabolical. Imagine a global campaign of work to give degraded areas a hand up on the path toward being wild again.
How Maverick Rewilders are Trying to Turn Back the Tide of Extinction—Today’s maverick is tomorrow’s genius.
Woodland Trust to Plant 50 Million Trees over 5 Years to Fight Climate Crisis—I applaud these efforts, but the dollar figures are just pathetic. An emergency fun with just one million pounds to help ameliorate the impacts of climate change? Most Premiere League teams will spend more in a few weeks on a transfer for a washed up former star in the hopes of making the top four. Why not 50 billion trees over five years?
A Bold Plan to Protect 30% of Colorado Lands and Waters by 2030—I remember a time when Colorado was a land of gun toting ranchers and reliable Republicans. This is still true on the Western slope and Eastern plains, but the state is all about protecting its outdoors.
Healthy Forests do More than Just Prevent Wildfires—There is so much more to forests than just beautiful vistas and trees.
Sorry, Coal: 66% Conversion Efficiency Eyeballed For Next-Gen “Hot Carrler” Perovskite Solar Cells—These kind of numbers will blow fossil fuels away.
Why Does The Pandemic Not Seem To Be Hurting Renewables?—One word: business. I mean that it just makes business sense to deploy renewables.
What Is Happening With Solar Energy?—Here is the line that should scare anyone who drills, fracks, or mines for energy:
According to the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook 2020, photovoltaic solar energy is already the cheapest source of electricity in history. We are not talking about the future, but about the present, about current installations.
Damn.
More School Districts are Turning to Solar Energy—Solar energy is like running downhill. Everything keeps going faster and faster.
How The Oil Industry Fared Under The Last Nine U.S. Presidents—A little historical perspective and hopefully the last time I link to an article with Trump’s smug grin.
Geothermal Energy is Poised for a Big Breakout—In the bid to add carbon free baseload energy to the grid, geothermal may be the ticket. And it comes without all of the problems associated with current generation nuclear power.
Understanding How ‘Overdispersion’ Works is Key to Controlling Covid—There is just so much that we do not know and trying to figure things out is complicated by stupid people with political agendas that force bad outcomes upon us. Yes, I am looking at anyone who is an anti-vaxxer or Trump supporter. This is your fault.
Friday Linkage 8/9/2019
No links next week since I am going to be on vacation and completely out of touch with the world…at least in terms of electronics. I am going to enjoy a lot of snorkeling, cold beers, and not worrying about the latest tweet storm coming from our dear leader.
See you in a couple of weeks.
On to the links…
Economic and Environmental Cost of Trump’s Auto Rollback Could be Staggering—Who is surprised that a reactionary rollback of well thought out environmental regulations will have drastic economic and environment costs? No one raised their hand. Color me shocked.
Speak Up Now to Save Our National Forests—Another brilliant idea from the people trying to loot our public lands for private gain.
Trump’s Environmental Legacy Will Take Time to Erase—Yes, it will take time. Yes, it will be undone. November 2020 is the most important election since the Great Depression. Look at what four years of Donald Trump has done to America. Do not try and imagine four more years.
How Climate Change Could Trigger the Next Global Financial Crisis—The next financial crisis, which is coming sooner rather than later, may be exacerbated by climate change or even caused by a climate change related disaster. Will it still be a Chinese hoax for our tangerine hued leader?
How American Cities Score on Clean Energy—Until sometime in January 2021 we will have to look to American cities for leadership in the clean energy transition.
Why Is U.S. Demand For Solar Panels Booming?—Taking advantage of a tax credit that is due to begin phasing itself out over the next few years may be artificially driving demand for solar panels into 2019, but maybe there is a solid base of demand for homegrown clean energy.
US Utilities to Boost Capital Spending in Shift Away from Coal—Coal fired power plants are going to be considered “stranded assets” in the very near future. That is to say these power plants will no longer be assets in the traditional sense, with a commensurate value on the open market, but that the intrinsic value will be zero because there is no buyer available on the open market at any price.
1 Stat Shows Coal-Fired Power Plants Have Passed the Point of No Return—The death spiral is real. It is now just a question of how fast we can retire these coal fired power plants and get on with our lives.
How The Clean Energy Transition Could Save More Than It Costs—The discussion has moved from the feasibility of the clean energy transition to a discussion about the potential cost savings of the transition. We’re talking about saving money and making clean energy. The market has spoken.
Using Electricity at Different Times of Day Could Save us Billions of Dollars—Demand or load shifting is one of those holy grails of infrastructure planning. If you can shift peak demand to other times the load on the overall system is decreased and redundant capacity can be reduced.
Sorry, Scooters Aren’t so Climate-Friendly After All—Lifecycle costs are a bitch, man. Just get on a bicycle and be done with it.
What Grocery Stores Won’t Tell You About Plastic—Bring all the reusable bags you want to the grocery store. It’s a start, but until the grocery stores demand changes from their supply chain there will be little real impact in the reduction of single use plastic packaging.
Subway Partners with Beyond Meat as Part of its Comeback Bid—Non-meat meat alternatives are now considered an appealing part of a restaurant’s menu in an effort to combat falling sales and perception issues. Think about that for a moment.
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