Riddle me this, protestors in Aurora, Colorado were met with riot police when demanding justice for the death of Elijah McClain. Their offense? Playing the violin. That’s it. No violence, no looting, nothing.
In St. Louis it is apparently all right to be a cranky white couple brandishing firearms outside your home while protestors walk past. How were the dealt with by the police? Crickets.
Does anyone need a more clear example that the police in the United States are out of control?
Stay safe out there.
On to the links…
House Democrats Laying Out New Roadmap for Cutting U.S. Greenhouse Gases—The Green New Deal is a dead letter, but its ideas can spur action along a number of different fronts. We have the technology and the understanding to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions within our lifetimes. Failure to do so is a dereliction of our duty to future generations.
Congressional Climate Crisis Action Plan Would Decarbonize U.S., Add $8 Trillion In Benefits By 2050—Another take on the potential plan coming from House Democrats. Now you know and knowing is half the battle. Thanks G.I. Joe.
Colorado Springs will Shut Down its Two Coal-Fired Plants by 2030. Now it’s Time for Xcel to Do the Same, Environmentalists Say.—2030 seems like a long way away, but it is less than a decade off. My guess is that this closure can happen sooner if we really push for it to happen. Plus, the Martin Drake power plant in Colorado Springs is an absolute eyesore.
Why the World’s Most Advanced Solar Plants Are Failing—The twenty four solar panels on top of my garage seem to be doing just fine day in and day out with no intervention from anyone. The best answer is sometimes the simpler answer.
Inertia and the Unintended Consequences of More Renewable Power Deployment—Some interesting concepts here that might be an issue as we deploy every increasing amounts of renewable energy.
Chesapeake Energy, Fracking Pioneer, Files for Bankruptcy Owing $9bn—Chesapeake Energy may be the worst “bad actor” in the fracking industry, but it is hardly alone in its loose treatment of contracts and the fundamentals of business. The idea is to make a profit. These companies seem allergic to actually making money rather than just blowing through capital like Uber.
Chesapeake Energy Goes Bankrupt, Will It Spur The Industry To Police Its Own?—The short answer is no. The long answer is that these companies have very little incentive to do anything of the sort because the government at all levels—local, state, and federal—backs them up.
$40 Oil Is The New Normal—If this is the new normal price then a lot of oil companies are going to have a hard time staying afloat.
Fuel Efficiency Rules Lead to Deadlier Car Accidents—This is the kind of hack statistical analysis that gets us into trouble. Heavier cars are not necessarily safer. Just take a look at what happens when a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu is slammed into a 1959 Chevrolet Bel-Air.
Impossible Foods Begins Selling its Meatless Sausage to Restaurants Nationwide—People are already concerned about the treatment of animals in industrial operations, the conditions for workers in meat processing facilities, and the general environmental harm that the entire supply chain for animal based protein is causing. Now you can eliminate all of that with one change. The future is a crazy place.
New Study Finds Microplastics in Fruits and Vegetables—Future generations will probably call us the “plastic people” for our infatuation with a material that does not degrade and infests every aspect of our lives. Or we will just be known as the most ignorant epoch of humans.
CSAs for the 1 Percent—Now for something that no one asked for.
On Behalf Of Environmentalists, I Apologize For The Climate Scare—This opinion piece has been getting a lot of play on the Internet over the past few days and I think it is something that we all should read. I do not necessarily agree with all or even most of the points, but there is something salient about the issue with alarmism. I just do not know if we are concerned enough, in general, as opposed to small sub-sections of the population being over concerned.
More Companies Want to be “Carbon Neutral.” What Does That Mean?—Once Starbucks has co-opted something you know it is just a branding play.