Friday Linkage 4/20/2017

4/20…heh, heh,heh…

Sorry, I had to because every year around this time the Denver Post turns into a newsprint edition of High Times.  It blows my mind that we now live in a time and place where people openly purchase, possess, and consume marijuana in multiple states.  Sure, reefer madness will never truly leave us until the generation that elected Donald Trump makes their last trip to the Cracker Barrel but the time is coming.

On to the links…

White Castle Goes Highbrow? Now Famous Slider can come with Fake Beef—We also live in a time where there is a vegetable based burger patty being served at White Castle.  Oh yeah, your favorite stoner dream food is now plant based.  And how does it taste?  Apparently, it works.

Trump may Greenlight an $8 Billion Attack on Competitive Energy Markets—Trump, his Trumpkins, and the rest of the right wing love free markets right up until free markets ding the pocket books of the barons—that feels so Into the Badlands to say—who pay to keep them in office.  This is an idea supported by Rick Perry.  Yes, the same Rick Perry who could not remember the name of the three government agencies he was committed to eliminating.  One of which he currently serves at the helm.  Irony.

Trump’s EPA Embraces an Odd Argument against Fuel Economy: It will Kill People—No, this is not your Grandpa Earl telling you how much safer cars were in the 1950s because his Bel Air was made with thousands of pounds of good ol’ American steel:

Grandpa Earl is wrong.  Trump is wrong.

Former Administrators say Pruitt’s Impact on EPA can be Reversed—The end of the Trump administration, whether it comes in January 2021 or sooner, will feel like waking up from the flu after a week of shuffling around the house.  Everyone will feel better, but it will take time and some effort to feel right again.

UK Emissions are Falling Fast. Now the Country might try for Zero.—By 2017 the U.K.’s CO2 emissions are 42 percent below 1990 levels:

Imagine if the U.S. had pulled this off?

173 Countries Agree to Slash Shipping Industry Emissions in Historic Deal—If you do not think that your buying stuff is driving a lot of emissions just think about what it costs in terms of energy to move goods from China to the United States.

Renewable Energy Meets 100% Of Portugal’s March Electricity Needs—This is damn impressive.  Even more impressive to me is that the low for a percentage of production was 86%.

China made Solar Panels Cheap. Now it’s Doing the Same for Electric Buses.—I know that we all love rail mass transit, but the humble electric bus may be the way to slash transportation emissions for hundreds of millions if not billions of people.  China spent a lot of money to make solar panels cheap and now they are on the same path for busses.

These Huge New Wind Turbines are a Marvel. They’re also the Future.—Bigger wind turbines make more power and are more efficient.  Plus, we can begin replacing existing turbines—which already have the infrastructure in place for power transmission—with bigger turbines to produce more power.  And there is that whole offshore wind thing as well.

New 3 in 1 Roof Solar Tiles Power your House for Half the Price of a Tesla Roof—These may be a little clunkier than the Tesal roof tiles but if they can actually deliver them for half the cost and similar performance it will be a winner.  I would like to add some more solar photovoltaic capacity to my roof—it’s never enough once you get some solar PV—but I really like the idea of covering my roof in solar roof tiles.

Sydney’s First Battery Powered Apartment Block Halves Residents’ Power Bills—Australia feels like the future of solar.  It’s like they are living in tomorrow and we are all waiting to get there soon.

6 Solar Roads Shaking up Infrastructure around the World—With so many roofs and parking lots that could be covered in solar panels are solar roads even something we should care about?

Scientists Accidentally Produce an Enzyme that Devours Plastic—This feels like the plot to a bad science fiction movie from the mid-1990s.  You know, attractive female scientist and roguish male outsider team up to figure out why the world’s plastic is disappearing.

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The Last (Hopefully) Scott Pruitt Linkage 4/12/2018

Now that Trump is on to firing missiles at Syria after he fired his mouth off on Twitter—because nothing says surprise like broadcasting military action on a social media platform—we are probably stuck with Scott Pruitt as head of the EPA through the weekend.

On the other hand, the great cheese puff may decide to alleviate some of the pressure in Washington D.C. by jettisoning Pruitt.  When everything is a dumpster fire I am not sure that firing the most corrupt official in your administration qualifies as progress, but I digress.

On to the Scott Pruitt themed links…

Why Trump Has Scott Pruitt’s Back—Trump likes Pruitt because he is like mini-me at the EPA.  Once Pruitt begins to take any spotlight from the head cantaloupe than heads will roll.

Scott Pruitt is the Face of America’s Big Problem—The uber rich have corrupted our government by buying and paying for soulless toadies like Scott Pruitt to plunder America for the gain of a few.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt Has Met With Dozens Of Campaign Donors—Do you need proof about who “owns” Scott Pruitt?  Just peruse the list of campaign donors he has met with and tie that to specific actions taken by the prince of payola.

Did Scott Pruitt’s EPA Lie About Death Threats Against Him?—The justification for the first class travel, bulletproof desks, and around the clock security detail was that Scott Pruitt received death threats.  Was that a lie all along?  Sure looks like it.

Scott Pruitt’s Lie about Pay Raises Unravels, Emails Reveal he was Behind Scheme All Along—Is anyone really surprised that Scott Pruitt lied about the pay raises for his cronies?

EPA Chief Of Staff Takes Fall For Raises, Claims Pruitt Unaware Despite Emails—There is always a fall guy or gal if you are powerful enough to have top cover.  Too bad the scandals are deeper than just pay raises.

Even the EPA Can’t Defend Scott Pruitt’s Expensive Travel and Security—You know it’s bad when staffers just sort of shrug their shoulders and say, “I don’t know, reasons?”

EPA Chief Scott Pruitt’s Sleaze is Pitiful and Disgusting, but his Lies on Climate Change are Lethal—There are real consequences of just the past year or so of Scott Pruitt’s reign as America’s fossil fuel toady in chief.  Pruitt lied and people will die.

Administrator Pruitt Opened the Door to Making Houston’s Air Toxics Problem Worse—If you pollute the air and water you have no better friend in the world right now than Scott Pruitt.  He does not even care about making it appear like he is trying to protect anything other than his paymasters’ pocketbooks.

Scott Pruitt’s Guiding Philosophy is ‘Cooperative Corporatism,’ Per Senator—The idea here is simple.  Push enforcement down to the state level because states like Oklahoma and Louisiana will do little to actually police industry.  Unless, of course, the state might have an adversarial relationship with industry, like say California—which in that case calls for federal primacy of enforcement.

If Scott Pruitt Gets Fired From the EPA, This Coal Lobbyist Will Take His Place—Could Andrew Wheeler be worse than Scott Pruitt?  Sure, but he probably does not have the lifelong boner to gut the EPA quite like the corrupt Pruitt does.  On the other hand, what are the odds that he is more incompetent and/or corrupt than Pruitt?  This is the Trump administration after all.

Right back at ya’ buddy!

A Very Special Scott Pruitt Edition Linkage 4/9/2018

I am surprised, not shocked as some are, that Scott Pruitt still has a job.  I thought the axe might come over the weekend with him announcing that he was resigning to make more time for his family or some such bullshit.  Instead, we get the vote of confidence from the head cheese puff. 

What is going on over the past few days in Scott Pruitt’s land of never ending corruption…

Under Pruitt, EPA’s Sloppy Effort to Gut Eco-Rules gets Headlines, but is Faring Poorly in Court—Basically, the upside of the Trump presidency has been that the relative incompetence and lack of understanding about how government works means that a lot of the actions taken will not stand up to any kind of formal legal challenge.  Big daddy Donny likes headlines, but he is light on actual results.

Scott Pruitt’s Level of Corruption is so High, it Even Shocks the Lobbyists Paying Him Off—Even the lobbyists who are paying him off are shocked by the level of greed and flat out corruption this man is capable of.

Tribalism put Scott Pruitt in Power. It May not be Enough to Save Him.—Pruitt is a creature of the swamp, but even his antics may make it expedient for Trump to dump him thus claiming some measure of ethical responsibility.

5 Lies Scott Pruitt Told this Week about his Mounting Scandals—It is obvious that no one in the Trump administration understands the microscope of the office.  These people cannot shut up to save themselves.

Scott Pruitt, Fan of Taxpayer-Funded First Class Travel, Flies Coach When he has to Pay for It—He is in such mortal danger that on the few times that he has to actually pay for his own travel he flies coach.  Wait a second…

Pruitt Faces Renewed Questions Over Cost of Security Detail—Let this sink in for a bit—19 agents on a 24 hour security detail and a fleet of 19 vehicles.  This is for the head of the EPA.

Pruitt’s Revealing View on Lights and Sirens—Big boy Pruitt likes to think he is so important and in danger that he needs to run around Washington D.C. with the lights and sirens blazing even if he is just late to dinner.  This is what passes for leadership in Trump’s America.

Scott Pruitt Hasn’t Saved Taxpayers Anything—The logic of Pruitt’s defenders here is amazing.  They are trying to justify his corruption by claiming that he has saved money through his deregulation.  WTF?

And, just so you remember that Scott Pruitt is not the only horrible person in Washington D.C. remember this guy:

Rep. Blake Farenthold is the one in the ducky pajamas.

Rep. Blake Farenthold Resigns from Congress. He Still Owes Us $84K. 

A Very Special Scott Pruitt Linkage 4/7/2018

I wanted to take a moment a post a special Scott Pruitt themed linkage because I doubt that the single most corrupt person in the Trump administration is going to last much longer.

On to the links…

Scott Pruitt’s Week in Numbers: Cheap Rooms, Expensive Flights and a Bulletproof Desk—A bulletproof desk?  Really?  Oh wait, it was two bulletproof desks to protect the appointee who also feels the need to have an around the clock security staff because of secret threats.  This guy is a hog gorging at the buffet of our money.

Lobbyist’s Name Scratched Out On Pruitt’s Condo Lease, Replaced With Wife’s Name—Why not just sign it David Dennison?

Automakers Went to Incredible Lengths to Convince the EPA to Roll Back Fuel Standards—These are the same automakers who have fought every safety regulation possible and who took government money to bail them out of bad business practices.  Of course Scott Pruitt is going to find that well thought out regulations using data provided by the automakers themselves was government overreach because…reasons?

The New York Times Just Reported That 5 EPA Employees Were Sidelined After Questioning Scott Pruitt—Why wouldn’t they challenge this no talent a$$ clown?  Everything he is doing is based on corruption and the principle of “I’m gonna’ get me some.”

Scott Pruitt Reportedly Lied About Knowledge Of Staff Raises—Remember Trump’s claim about draining the swamp?  Perhaps he was actually talking about draining states’ swamps by bringing their most corrupt officials into the White House.  See, he was looking out for the United States.

Fox News (Yes, Fox News) Just Exposed Scott Pruitt as the Ultimate Swamp Creature—You know it is bad when the propaganda organ of the right wing is piling on poor Scott Pruitt.

Friday Linkage 3/30/2017

Spring is here in Iowa and that means…well, it initially meant six inches of snow followed by a lot of rain.  It also means that one day is sunny and 50 degree while the next day starts out with fog and mid-teens temperatures.

If you do not like the weather, just wait fifteen minutes is what every farmer in the state will tell you over a cup of coffee.  I always want to ask, “Who actually likes any of this weather?”

On to the links…

Public Lands are being Sold in Secret on the Internet—This is what you get when a corrupt businessman becomes president and appoints corrupt politicians to run agencies like the Department of the Interior.  Scream about Hillary’s emails all day long, but the real scandals that have occurred and will occur under the current administration will take a generation to unpack.

Zinke Creates New Outdoor Recreation Panel Made up of Industry Advisers—This is the best government that money can buy.  Trump did not drain the swamp, he appointed every Swamp Thing that he could find to help him loot our country.

The EPA ousted Science Advisers. Now it’s Going after the Science Itself.—You would not want actual science to get in the way of good talking points delivered to your desk by the filthy hand of the oil and gas lobby.

Scott Pruitt’s “Dirty Dealings” Stir a Campaign to Oust Him From the EPA—Is anyone surprised by this?  Trump appointed a guy to lead the Department of Energy who wanted to get rid of the department even though he had little idea of what the department actually did.  Scott Pruitt is a corrupt stooge.

Trump Wanted to Slash Funding for Clean Energy. Congress Ignored Him.—It turns out that a lot of people and, thus, a lot of members of Congress like clean energy.  Despite what the head cheese puff in charge says America is trying to move forward.

Study Predicts Major Expansion of Offshore Wind Along Atlantic Coast—The lead of the story is everything you need to know: “Almost every state along the Atlantic coast — 12 out of 14 — has offshore wind potential that exceeds its current electricity needs, according to a new study.”  Well, why don’t we get a move on?

Unprofitable Coal Plants now Play ‘Game of Chicken’ to Survive—Think about the statement “half of U.S. coal capacity ran at a loss last year.”  That is to say that half of the U.S. coal plants, measured by capacity not installations, did not make money last year.

California said to be Preparing to Retaliate if Trump Cuts Emissions Rules—Trump and his cronies may think that they have the upper hand here, but it has been fought in court that California has the legal right to set its own stricter emissions standards as their efforts predate federal efforts.  Trump will insist that he has the best people and that they will win in court.

Global Carbon Emissions could be Cut 3 percent by Following the UK’s Example—3% may not sound like a lot, but it is a start.

SoftBank and Saudi Arabia to Build World’s Biggest Solar Farm—The numbers on this project are stunning.  200 GW of solar.  That is almost three times what the entire country of Saudi Arabia generates in electricity today regardless of source.

Landfills: A Future Source of Raw Materials—Can you imagine a future where autonomous robots “mine” landfills for the raw materials that generations before us threw away as garbage?

Rep. Jeff Backer Tries to Blame Minnesota’s Ag Pollution on… Goose Shit—This is what you get when you elect politicians who proclaim, “I am not a scientist.”  This is usually said right before talking about something which a scientist would have a more valuable opinion than an elected hack.

Brewers Association Reports 5% Volume Growth for U.S. Craft Brewers in 2017—At least this is some good news:

Friday Linkage 2/23/2017

If you ever needed any more evidence that the “blue collar billionaire” Donald Trump does not have the capacity for empathy bare witness:

This is also the same country where the state legislature in a state where a mass shooting had just taken place declared pornography to be a greater threat to public health than guns.  Do not tell me that it is because guns are protected under the 2^nd Amendment because pornography is protected under the 1^st Amendment.

On to the links…

Trump’s Cabinet has been Rocked by a Number of Ethics Scandals — here’s a complete guide—When the accounting is done in a little less than three years—my god, is it really that far away—the administration of Donald J. Trump will be regarded as an epic orgy of corruption and debasing of American values the likes of which has not been seen since Warren G. Harding.

At the Department of the Interior, Industry Lobbyists and Revolving-Door Operatives Shape Sage Grouse Policy—Ryan Zinke literally believes that by selling out America’s public lands to oil and gas interests that he can ride that corruption into the White House.  Don’t believe me?  Check it out.

Dirtier than VW Dieselgate: EPA Expands Loophole for Rebuilt—If there is a loophole these people are going to crack it wide open and let the soot fly.  Dirty Donnie and his merry band of oil soaked cronies are the absolute worst.

It’s Been One Year of Amazing Scott Pruitt Accomplishments, All of Them Horrible—Scott Pruitt is your environmental nightmare.  It is like central casting sent out a request for the worst person to be the head of an environmental agency and got Scott Pruitt in return.

Trump Can’t Kill Renewable Energy—Trump and his corrupt band of miscreants will try, but they will fail because their beloved market will speak.

100% Renewable Electricity Worldwide Is A New Cost-Effective Reality—As more countries get an increasingly larger share of electricity from renewable sources we are forced to reevaluate what is possible in terms of both technical feasibility and cost effectiveness when it comes to renewable energy penetration.  That is a good thing because the figures get better all the time.

World’s First Floating Wind Farm Performing Better than Anticipated—Large scale floating wind farms are fairly new technology, so a lot of the predictions about actual performance are based on modeling and assumptions without good real world data.  Now that facilities are coming on line there is a growing data stream that shows good performance, ahead of some estimates, that will give us a better idea about the potential of this renewable energy source.

CSU gets ‘Overwhelming’ Response to Request for Renewable Energy Projects—Every time someone puts forth a call for proposals for renewable energy the response is huge.  Or is it yuge?  Either way, industry is really coming up to bat to deploy a lot of renewables.

Reedy Creek Improvement District Signs New Easement Deal for 50MW Solar Farm—We can all make fun of Walt Disney World for being the apogee of so many things wrong with America—excess in all its forms, artifice to the extreme—but at least the people behind the parks have not totally lost their sense of whimsy even when it comes to solar power.  I just love this existing solar farm:

This Company may have Solved one of the Hardest Problems in Clean Energy—The hydrogen economy has always been the future that the fossil fuel interests tout as the bridge to the future.  Why?  Because it is not likely to happen, so they can look like they are making progress without actually doing anything substantive.  However, someone may have figured out how to do things economically.

Vast Bioenergy Plantations Could Stave Off Climate Change—and Radically Reshape the Planet—I fear that this is the future.  I can see a future where genetic engineering and bioenergy demand combine to radically alter what we consider the natural world.  Imagine gene edited poplar trees that grow at exceedingly rapid rates and seas of switchgrass replacing corn or soybeans.

Plastic Bans Worldwide will Dent Oil Demand Growth—It is not a lot of demand, but every little bit counts on the path to a fossil fuel free future.  Remember, oil refiners actually make a lot of their profits from the sale of non-transportation fuel by-products during the refining process.  Plastic feedstocks are a big part of this equation.

2022 Winter Olympics To Be Held On Mountains Where It Doesn’t Snow—Maybe it is time to be done with the Olympics?  The parent organization is only saved from being the most corrupt on the planet because FIFA exists, the most recent bidding has been marred by a lot of countries simply dropping out, and now we are going to hold a Winter Olympics on mountains where it does not snow because Beijing was the last city standing.

Friday Linkage 2/9/2017

So Herr Trump wants a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue now.  Why?  Probably because he got to go to a parade in France and he cannot be upstaged by the French.

Can we just allow this doofus to get a few parades, drive a few tanks, make a few speeches, and let him believe he is the President of the United States while some adults actually do the governing?  I do not think that I can take three more years of this clown.

On to the links…

The Dark Reason so Many Millennials are Miserable and Broke—This is a lot more important than I think even the authors believe.  People are literally living in a way that is trying to compete with complete strangers on social media platforms and it’s killing them.  Not literally, which has to be the millennials favorite word, but spiritually.  Just stop.

Why Trump Wants to Repeal an Obama-Era Clean Water Rule—The reason why he wants to repeal this rule has to do with him hating anything to do with Obama and Scott Pruitt being a toady for industry.  The real question will be what these stooges come up with to replace the current rules.

Every Climate Denier in Trump’s Cabinet—It is always good to see what kind of no talent ass clowns Trumps has surrounded himself with these days.  Now, it is likely that by the end of the month several of these people will have angered the head cheese puff so take it with a grain of salt.

A Beginner’s Guide to the Debate over 100% Renewable Energy—No one knows what is possible or probable because the assumptions we make today will not be in valid in three to five years anyway.  The one thing I think we all can agree on is that clean energy is better than fossil fuel energy.  Anything after that is just a discussion about degrees of development.

Regulatory Relief Didn’t Help Coal Industry in 2017 and Can’t Save it in 2018—Trump can hold a hundred rallies and talk about “beautiful clean coal” all he wants because the market does not want it anymore.  It’s called a death spiral for a reason.

Coal’s Foes and Friends get Fired up in Hearing Over Future of Xcel Plants in Colorado—This is like trench warfare.  Each coal plant that gets retired is not going to be replaced with other coal fired power, so it is gone forever.  However, you have to fight every battle anew and each fight is entered with renewed vigor by all sides.

5 Graphs Explain Coal in Trump’s First Year—It’s not a pretty picture if you like “beautiful clean coal.”

Squaw Valley to Be First Ski Resort in U.S. to Run Just on Renewables—If you ski then you understand how at risk our pastime is to the impacts of climate change.  The powers that be running these ski resorts are woke to the reality.

Australian Solar Installs Are Going Through The Roof—Australia can feel like the future and a vision of the past all at the same time.

Tesla To Construct Virtual Solar Power Plant Using 50,000 Homes In South Australia—Let’s consider Australia to be the laboratory for what large scale solar power integrating into a larger grid looks like for the future of every sunny place in the world.  If they get it figured out we just scale it worldwide.

Nebraska Republican Seeks to Hobble Wind Power by Redefining it as Not ‘Renewable’—This is why Nebraska should not be allowed to have nice things.

What Bison in South Dakota can Teach us About Fighting Climate Change—Land use and agriculture are two areas where we can make dramatic gains in the fight against catastrophic climate change without having to confront the same demons of the fossil fuel industrial complex.

Being A Homebody Has A Surprising Environmental Upside—Anyone who spends a bunch of time at home—like me—understands this almost implicitly.  Once you get away from the temptation of online shopping—buying stuff is not good no matter how green the product—it becomes almost like a passion project.

Climate Strange—Maybe we should all just embrace a little bit of our weird side.  I got looked at a little bit strange when I put solar panels on my roof, but now at least a half dozen homes have panels on the roof in my neighborhood.  Who’s strange now?  Hopefully my bike commuting catches on in a similar way.

H&M is Closing Stores as Sales Shrink—Could we finally be reaching a point when we are past peak fast fashion crap?