Friday Linkage 1/15/2020

Our long national nightmare is almost over.  By Wednesday afternoon the orange menace will have retired to Florida or wherever there is someone willing to stroke his fragile ego after having ended the worst presidential administration in the history of the United States.  And you thought it could not get much worse than eight years of George W. Bush.

My dearest wish is that the incoming Biden administration reminds the American people what it is like to have competent people in charge of government who are looking out for the welfare of all people.  What a concept!

Stay safe out there.

On to the links…

US Greenhouse Gas Emissions Fell 10% in 2020 as COVID Curbed Travel—If one good thing comes out of 2020 it has to be that we can see a path forward to a lower carbon lifestyle.  Maybe no one needs to fly to Nashville for a three day weekend bachelorette blowout.  Maybe flying cross country for an hour long business meeting is a waste of time, resources, and money.

PlayStation 5 Launch gets More Coverage ‘than 10 Humanitarian Crises Combined’—This is just pathetic.  Our priorities as a civilization are just screwed up.  A Kardashian probably gets more coverage for an off hand tweet about underwear than the entire humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

Sponsors of the Pre-Attack Rally Have Taken Down Their Websites. Don’t Forget Who They Were.—We know who these people are.  We must not forget who these people are.

Trump Officials Removed from White House after Faking Approval for Papers which Downplay Climate Crisis—With just over a week to go until the end it did not seem possible that the Trump administration could pull any more shit.  Yet, they were like, “Hold my beer…”

India Sees $55 Billion Investment in Clean Coal Over Next Decade—Just when you think the world is making some progress India comes along to throw a giant wrench into the works.

New Wind Projects Power Local Budgets in Wyoming—Wyoming is hooked on oil gas, and coal revenue.  The state depends on it to fund a lifestyle that would not be possible otherwise.

NuScale Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Moves Another Step Forward—Does it seem like nuclear power makes the smallest steps forward?  While wind turbines are getting massive and solar is getting super cheap, nuclear power is signing agreements to review and design.

German EV Market Reaches Escape Velocity — Record 27% Share In December—Now that Volkswagen is pushing out lots of ID.3s and soon-to-be ID.4s there are going to be a lot more EVs on German roads.

Citizen Science is Booming During the Pandemic—Amateurs can make a difference.

Electric Fireplaces — Safe, Cozy, Clean Flames—One of the things we are considering doing this year is replacing a natural gas fireplace with an electric model.  The future is electric.

Once You Know what Happens to Food You Leave Outdoors, You’ll Stop Doing It—Keep that banana peel for your compost bin.

Want Advice on How to “Unfuck the Planet”? There’s a New Source for That.—Maybe the new motto should be, “Unfuck the planet.”  Simple and to the point.

Friday Linkage 12/18/2020

It’s all over except for some more shouting on penny ante cable news networks like Newsmax or OAN.  Trump will continue to issue tweet storms in barely legible English while consuming unhealthy amounts of fast food in the residence of the White House.  Pardons may be issued for the dregs that remain loyal to the outgoing president.

However, our long national nightmare has an expiration date of January 20^th.  Even the cowardly Republicans in Congress are beginning to see the reality that Trump is no longer going to be their dear leader.  Oh, he will continue to be a thorn in their rear ends for the foreseeable future but that is something for them to deal with.  If you create the monster, you have to take responsibility for the monster.

I do not know what my publishing schedule will look like for the next few weeks with a break from work and nothing really going on.  I might just take a two week break, wake up in 2021, and hope for better days ahead.

Stay safe out there.

On to the links…

Near-Zero Industrial Emissions By 2050 Would Boost U.S. GDP 3.3%, Create 5 Million Jobs—This is the kind of information we need to be hammering home every day.  The transition to the future is not just good for the planet, it is good for every day Americans.

In Waning Days, DOE Eases Appliance Test Rules—The mantra of the Trump administration is to destroy as much as possible and salt the ground behind them on the way out.

Trump’s Hatred Of Water-Restricting Showerheads Prompts New Ruling—Trump’s visceral hatred of water efficient appliances makes me wonder about the work contractors have done to his properties over the years.  Granted, he probably hires the lowest cost contractor before planning on stiffing them anyway.   You get what you pay for Donnie.

Biden Picks Stale White Bread to Lead the USDA—Biden is better than Trump, but the pick of Vilsack to be the Secretary of Agriculture is just a continuation of a hundred years of commodity focused food production and bowing to big ag.

Colorado Ranchers Adapt for a Changing Climate—The future is here for agriculture and some practitioners are trying to get ready.

Home Solar Power Blew Up In 2020—I will be curious to see if the trends for the totality of 2020 hold up as the whole COVID-19 gripped the country hard in the latter half of the year, but the trend is encouraging.

EV Battery Packs ~50% Cheaper Than In 2016—We are getting to the point where you will be able to buy an EV with 250 miles of range or more, rapid charging, and no compromises in form factor for nearly the same price as an ICE equivalent without government incentives.

Fossil Fuel Fund Set Aside to Help Utahns being Returned to Industry—Fossil fuel tycoons own ranches for tax purposes in Wyoming, so funneling funds for rural communities to their companies is helping rural communities right?  That is the kind of logic you get with late stage capitalism.

Exxon Thinks You’re Stupid—Yes they do.

The End of Coal? Why Investors aren’t Buying the Myth of the Industry’s ‘Renaissance’—Hopefully without Trump around we can finally bury coal once and for all.

OPEC Cuts Forecast for 2021 Growth in Oil Demand—What happened with coal now needs to happen to oil.

These Ladies Love Natural Gas! Too Bad They Aren’t Real.—The fossil fuel industry has turned to faux-influencers to create an image of wholesome natural gas in your home.  Stop the insanity.

United Airlines Turns to CO2 Removal Technology to Offset Emissions—It might work.  It might not.  However, businesses are being forced by regulation and social pressure to address their impact on the climate.

Minnesota Power Reaches 50% Renewable Energy—More and more utilities across the country are getting to this tipping point.

Rivian’s Amazon Delivery Vans Really Exist, And These Photos Show One Testing in Public—I am excited for Rivian.  If the Amazon delivery vehicle program can help get them through the valley of death, all the better for everyone who is interested in American made EVs.  I would love to replace my F150 in a few years with an EV pickup made a few hours from my house.

This Is How Much Plastic From Amazon Deliveries Ends Up In The Ocean—Think about this every time you see those Amazon boxes being dropped off on doorsteps in your neighborhood.

Myth vs. Reality On Texas As Elon Musk & Tesla “Move” There—This is like Boeing “relocating” to Chicago when most of its employees were still based in the Seattle area.  It’s the corporate shell game.

Restore UK Woodland by Letting Trees Plant Themselves—Leave nature alone and let it do its thing.

A Palm Oil Alternative could Help Save Rainforests—Anything that helps orangutans is a good thing because orangutans are just cool.

How the Stunning Scarlet Macaw Came Back From the Brink—It’s not all bad news out there.

Mass Extinctions Happen Every 27 Million Years—This makes me think about the response most scientists have to statements about the world ending.  The reality is that we are talking about the human world ending, not the end of the planet in general.  Remember that.

Friday Linkage 12/11/2020

Almost mid-December and the coronavirus pandemic is still going strong.  Here is eastern Iowa it is always a case of one step forward followed by one step back as our governor toes the Trump approved line of “nothing to see here” except when there is something to see here.  Kind of.

Stay safe out there.

On to the links…

Most of America’s Dirty Power Plants will be Ready to Retire by 2035—2035 seems like a long way away, but I would have said the same thing about 2020 just a few years ago.  The question is how many can we retire before 2035?

Cement Production to Use Old Wind Turbine Blades after GE Inks New Deal—The disposal of old wind turbine blades is the new right wing attack line.  You never hear these same people screaming about fracking water or retired offshore drilling platforms or old pipelines or old storage tanks…you get the idea.  It seems a hell of a lot easier to deal with old fiberglass than with toxic chemicals, but I am no scientist.

Re-powering — It’s The New, New Thing For Existing Wind Farms—This is happening all over Iowa as older wind farms update to newer technology.  What usually happens is that more power is made with fewer turbines.

US Offshore Wind Turbine Switcheroo Outsmarts The Smarty Pants—Repowering a wind farm is not just for those already in operation.  If a project has a long gestation cycle by the time it is ready for construction newer, more powerful turbines are usually also ready.  

Interior Denies all of New Mexico’s Proposed LWCF Projects—Who else is counting down the days until a Biden administration can start cleaning house at agencies like the Department of the Interior?  These people are running the government like cartoon villains.  I am half expecting them to start monologuing on Fox News.

Covid has Spurred a Bike Boom, but Most U.S. Cities Aren’t Ready for It—The funny thing to me is that bicycles, being the ever adaptable creatures that they are, can use a lot of the infrastructure already in place for cars.

Factory-Farmed Salmon: Does it Make Sense to Grow Fish in Indoor Tanks?—This might make sense if we can move beyond carnivorous fish like salmon and farm fish like catfish or barramundi.

New £12m Government Fund for Tree Planting Across England’s Community Forests—The program is good, but just twelve million pounds seems like such a paltry sum.  More is probably spent on Boris Johnson’s media relations budget.

This Company is Using Drones to Replant Forests Devastated by Wildfires—We need every tool to regenerate our forests as climate change has come home to roost.

How to Buy Carbon Offsets that Actually Make a Difference—Buy a carbon offset to plant some trees.

Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Nestlé Named Top Plastic Polluters for Third Year in a Row—Packaged food equals plastic pollution.

How a New Hampshire Libertarian Utopia was Foiled by Bears—If you did not read this article you would not believe the headline.  Bears win.

Friday Linkage 12/4/2020

The world seems like a crazy place right now, but I feel like sanity is just around the corner.

COVID-19 is bad in the United States right now, but if we can just hunker down until after the holidays the vaccines will start to roll out and we can begin to reclaim our society in earnest.

Trump may be making a lot of noise, but come January 20^th the only people who will actually care what he has to say are going to be spending their time on Parler or watching OANN.

Granted, in the U.S. we will still have to see Mitch McConnell’s face but maybe the voters in Georgia can save us from having to say Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Stay safe out there.

On to the links…

Pebble Mine Permit Denied by Trump Administration—The Pebble Mine is a bad idea.  Even the Trump administration thinks the Pebble Mine is a bad idea.  Now if we could only do something about that proposed drilling in ANWR.

EPA Finds Rolling Coal Is Making Pollution Worse in America—These people are the worst.  I have had one of these assholes “roll coal” on my while driving my Nissan Leaf and riding my bicycle.  Whatever they are trying to prove is actually the opposite of what they are showing the world.  Somewhere there is a Venn diagram showing people who roll coal as Trump supporter, Q believer, and general ass hat.

Ford Presses Other Manufacturers To Join CARB Emissions Rules Package—Well, I guess corporations are jumping off the sinking Trump ship.

Deep Frozen Arctic Microbes Are Waking Up—The moral of the story is that we are not ready.  If you think COVID-19 is bad wait until something that has been frozen in time for a few thousand years rears its ugly head.

Copper Prices Send A Bullish Signal About Green Growth—Copper prices and futures are seen as an indicator for the future of renewable energy and electrification in general.  The future looks bright.

The Euro Majors’ Big Bet On New Energy—This is big money.  It is actually hard to fathom the level of investment and political influence that these companies can bring to bear.  It is like actual nation states making policy.

The Race To Crack Battery Recycling—Before It’s Too Late—There is gold in those batteries.  Figuring this out will put a company in the driver’s seat to the future.

Scottish Homes to be First in World to Use 100% Green Hydrogen—Maybe “green hydrogen” is the bridge fuel to a renewable and electrified future.

The Carbon Negative Solutions That Remove CO2 From The Atmosphere—Carbon capture and sequestration from the atmosphere is the new holy grail for the climate “wizards” who believe our salvation is just a technological breakthrough away.

One Year After Navajo Generating Station Stopped Burning Coal: A Progress Report—This is a bad combination of fossil fuel companies breaking promises and a legacy of broken promises to native populations.  As oil, gas, and mining companies face uncertain financial futures get ready for a wave of broken promises and contracts.

The New Wave of Fishless Fish Is Here—Reading Outlaw Ocean will make anyone not want to purchase seafood from foreign sources.  It is that bad. 

Auditors Slam EU for ‘Marine Protected Areas’ that Fail to Protect Ocean—Protected areas that are not actually protected.  It’s Potemkin environmentalism.

Environment to Benefit from ‘Biggest Farming Shake-Up in 50 Years’—The current global system of farm subsidies is broken.  Anything that moves away from simply rewarding people for owning farmland is an improvement.

Forests Emerge as a Major Overlooked Climate Factor—Who exactly has been overlooking forests?  The environmental community has been talking about this exact thing for decades.

A New Policy Platform is Thinking Big on Forests and Climate—I have a platform for forests: stop cutting down the trees that are standing and plant as many trees as soon as you can.  Everything else is just noise.

Cost of Planting, Protecting Trees to Fight Climate Change could Jump—The number they are calling “big” is $393 billion per year to pay landowners to achieve a 10 percent reduction in emissions.  That is a little more than half of the United States spends on defense in a given year.  Heck, the U.S. spends Heck, Americans spend nearly $100 billion per year on their pets.

Photography Campaign Shows the Grim Aftermath of Logging in Canada’s Fragile Forests—Remember, you are probably wiping your ass with toilet paper made from these forests.

4 Cups a Day: 4 Surprising Health Benefits of Drinking That Much Coffee—Considering my days are pretty much centered on trips to the kitchen to make coffee I am feeling pretty good about my health right now.  It’s like I am mainlining a superfood.

A Desert City Tries to Save Itself With Rain—If you can get enough water for your use by harvesting rainfall in Tucson there is no reason that we cannot do the same thing almost anywhere else in the United States.  Are profligate water use is a shame.

This Is How Singapore Keeps Its Cool as the City Heats Up—Solutions for a hotter planet are going to have to come from all over the world.  The answer is not just more air conditioning.

How a Lockdown Saved Hanauma Bay, One of Hawaii’s Natural Treasures—Maybe we should figure out a way to just let nature have a break for a few months every year.

Friday Linkage 11/27/2020

It’s Black Friday and I hope everyone is staying at home as opposed to going shopping.  If there is one thing we could avoid this holiday season it has to be frenzied shopping with lots of other people.

A little light on the links since it is a holiday week.

Stay safe out there.

On to the links…

Climate Crisis: CO2 Hits New Record Despite Covid-19 Lockdowns—It was nice to think that we would see a drop in global CO2.  This reinforces the importance of large scale changes that are structural in nature rather than purely behavioral.

Where the Great American Outdoors Act Stands Now—It was hailed as a major bi-partisan victory before the election, although a lot of observers thought that it was a sop to western senators facing challenges like soon-to-be former senator Cory Gardener.   Now that Trump is on the way out his minions will try and hobble the act just to spite people.

Trump Officials Rush to Mine Desert Haven Native Tribes Consider Holy—These sons-of-bitches are going to try and ruin everything possible before the screen door hits them on the ass January 20^th.  My sincere wish is that a Biden administration can unwind the worst of the prior gang of criminals to occupy the White House.

One Change To The Worst Buildings Would Have Big Climate Benefits & Cut Costs-A big problem is that the people who pay for these upgrades—landlords—often do not realize the benefits of lower monthly costs—renters—so improvements are rarely made.

Three Coal-Burning Power Plants in Colorado Face Orders to Close Early. Their Owners Aren’t Happy About It.—For people who claim to be so tough and smart, industry leaders are surprisingly snowflake-esque when it comes to changes in the regulatory environment.  People do not want coal burnt in their communities.  Deal with it.

1% of Farms Operate 70% of World’s Farmland—This is a major problem.

Agricultural Water Contaminated with “Forever Chemicals” could Taint Produce—We are the plastic people.

Fur Industry Faces Uncertain Future due to Covid—There is still a fur industry to have an uncertain future?

Friday Linkage 11/20/2020

It feels like every week is the repeat of a bad dream.

COVID-19 numbers get worse.

Restrictions are put in place.

Donald Trump tweets something ridiculous, but his sons manage to do him one better.

When does the madness stop?

Stay safe out there.

On to the links…

Climate Scientists Debunk ‘Point of No Return’ Paper Everyone’s Freaking Out About—This is the problem with so-called “pop” science.  It is fairly easy for someone to publish a paper that sounds authoritative that the press will lap up like a thirsty dog and then the Internet does its thing.

1% of People Cause Half of Global Aviation Emissions—This is not surprising.  It is also why taxing flights to pay for mitigation should be popular. 

Renewable Electricity Set To Power Past Coal And Gas By 2025—I guess there is some good news out there after all.

Red State Sees Green Gold In Gulf Of Mexico Offshore Wind—Just like the North Sea towns that supplied the offshore oil and gas industry in the U.K. Louisiana has all of the necessary infrastructure and talent in place to be the hub of U.S. offshore wind development.

Firms Agree Scotland to England Renewable Energy ‘Superhighway’—U.K. offshore wind development should just be the blueprint we need for the United States.

Europe is Planning a 25-fold Increase in Offshore Wind Capacity by 2050—If Europe can do this what could the countries in North America pull off?

Methane Is Low-Hanging Fruit For Biden—The good news is that there are quite a few items on the climate agenda that could be considered low hanging fruit for the incoming Biden administration.

Cleaner Fuel For Aviation And Road Transport Set For Take-Off—Here is a plan: electrify almost everything and use greener fuels for the tasks where electrification does not make sense.  It is not rocket science.

Corn Ethanol Seems to Be a Failure, But We’re Probably Stuck With It— Like ranchers grazing on public land, corn ethanol is welfare for farmers and distillers.  The program makes little sense economically or environmentally, but if you want a chance to win the Iowa caucus in a bid to launch your presidential campaign you must pay fealty to the ethanol industry.

UK To Ban Sales Of Combustion Vehicles By 2030—More please.

Quebec Banning Gasoline Dependent Passenger Vehicles in 2035—Oui.

Increase in Burning of Plastic ‘Driving Up Emissions from Waste Disposal’—The problem is that there is just too much damn plastic.

Will Plant-Based Meat Become the New Fast Food?—If there is any place that meatless burgers could take over from traditional animal protein it has to be fast food.  This is not the pinnacle of ingredients were are talking about.  A fast food patty is a vehicle for cheese and condiments that provides the most basic of calories.

Tiny Atlantic Island Takes Giant Leap Towards Protecting World’s Oceans—Tristan da Cunha is little, but this is big.

The 39th Avenue Greenway is Now Open for Recreation and Excess Rain—Urban infrastructure with respect to stormwater is often an overlooked component of the built landscape.  This project in Denver is a blueprint for a path forward.

Friday Linkage 11/13/2020

How was your week?  I think I have vacillated between utter despair to euphoria depending upon the headlines.

It is my belief that the next two months are going to suck like you cannot imagine.

The Potemkin village that is the Trump presidency will spend every moment right up until the end of his time in office tweeting, skimming donations from suckers, and trying to establish primacy in the Republican party for years to come.

The coronavirus pandemic is going to get worse before it gets better.  Especially now that anyone in the Trump administration has zero personal incentive to actually try to improve the situation.  Elections have consequences and, unfortunately, one of the consequences is that the extreme sloth of the Trump White House is on full display.

It is always darkest before the dawn.

Stay safe out there.

On to the links…

Renewable Energy defies Covid-19 to Hit Record Growth in 2020—So, despite all the challenges brought on by 2020 renewable energy still saw record growth.  This is the inevitable future and anything contrary is just a rear-guard action.

It’s Time to Ban Stock Buybacks—On day two of the Biden administration I would like to see a repeal of the so-called “safe harbor” rule.  This would not require Congressional approval as 10b-18 is an SEC rule.

Alcohol and Carbs got America Through Election Night—Let’s be honest.  Alcohol and carbohydrates are what has gotten us through the last nine months.  Election night was just the denouement. 

Election Day was a Major Rejection of the War on Drugs—The only people who want to continue the “War on Drugs” are the people who have a monetary interest in its continued failure.  Everyone else realizes the folly of the last half-century.

Nevada Voters Seal Renewable Energy Goals in their State Constitution—We are marching slowly into the future.  The results from election night continue to be analyzed, but what I see is an embrace of renewable energy.

Massachusetts Passes Right-To-Repair Protections—If you cannot repair something you do not own that thing.  Being at the mercy of the OEM for repairs is not ownership, it is renting or leasing at the discretion of the OEM regardless of the purchase.

In Groundbreaking Move, Colorado Ends Routine Flaring—Step-by-step we move closer to actually regulating the worst practices of the oil and gas industry.

Factory Farm Emissions and Food Waste Could Be Ruinous to Climate-Saving Efforts—We must address the problems of industrial scale agriculture if we are to have any hope of addressing climate change.

McDonald’s Unveils its Own Meatless Burger McPlant—Imagine being able to walk into any McDonald’s or Burger King location in the United States and order a meatless burger from the standard menu.  It’s not the far off future…it’s just 2021.

The Problem with Honey Bees—It is interesting to think of honey bees as an invasive species brought forth to assist industrial agriculture.

2022 Ford E-Transit Revealed, Delivers on an Electric Promise—This type of vehicle is the backbone of commercial fleets.  These vans are so ubiquitous that most people do not even notice them anymore.  From local contractors to Amazon fleets there are a lot of these on the road today.  Moving these fleets to electric is a big deal.

Which of These 6 Time Traps is Eating Up All Your Time?—We are all guilty of some of these during this time of coronavirus.

People Who Eat Chili Peppers May Live Longer — Here’s Why—Pass the jalapenos.

Friday Linkage 11/6/2020

Anything going on out there in the big, bad world?  Oh right, just the future of America being decided.

I went to bed on Tuesday night…kind of…with a pit in my stomach that we were seeing a redux of 2016.  I woke up Wednesday feeling better, but I still went day drinking.  Yes, I scheduled a day of vacation after election day and spent it reading a book while drinking at the bar.  It’s low rent.  Sue me.

I am hopeful that sometime Friday we can start putting a bow on the Trump era in American politics.  Like Reagan, the specter of Trump will haunt America, generally, and the Republican Party, specifically, for years to come.  The question is which one of Donny Two Scoops’ children will be the first to the post for 2024?  No one seems to be putting any money on Eric.  Poor Eric.

Stay safe out there.

On to the links…

The Secret Political Power of Fossil Fuels—If the current composition of the next Congress and president holds it will be interesting to see how fossil fuel interests fare in D.C.  No one doubts the power, but does it still hold as much sway?

Win Or Lose, The President Has Majorly Damaged ExxonMobil—ExxonMobil is not the canary in the coal mine of fossil fuels’ decline.  ExxonMobil is the coal mine.  It’s fortunes in particular bode poorly for the rest of the industry in general.

Powder River Basin coal facing point of no return—Wyoming is starting to realize what the eastern coal belt states discovered about twenty years ago: coal is an industry in terminal decline.

Covid Cuts 2.5 Years Of Emissions – And Coal Demand Has Peaked—The question for activists is how do we accelerate these trends over the next decade.

An $11 Trillion Global Hydrogen Energy Boom is Coming. Here’s What Could Trigger It—This song and dance has come and gone before.  During the 2000s everyone was talking about the hydrogen economy until everyone realized that producing hydrogen took energy that was going to come from fossil fuels.  Now that renewable energy is so cheap there is talk of using excess capacity to produce hydrogen.  I just do not know if it is closer to reality this time around.

Victoria Plans 300MW Tesla Battery to Help Stabilise Grid as Renewables Increase—This is really a similar story to hydrogen as hydrogen is really just a chemical battery for other energy sources that cannot be stored directly.

Why ‘The World’s Largest Recycling Plant’ Won’t Solve The Plastics Crisis—The problem is that we use and dispose of too much plastic regardless of where it comes from.

France Hits Record 11.8% Plugin Share In October – Up 3.5x Year-On-Year—And when it is over 20% next year someone will crow that it is not possible to be more than 50%.  And when it is over 50%…you get the idea.

Sweden Hits New Record With Massive 36.2% Plugin Market Share In October—Sweden’s auto market may not be large, but over one third plug-in vehicle share is great news.

Can the Bike Boom Keep Going?—I sure hope so.  This riding season I saw so many more people out on the trails than in any year past.  It was like everyone decided that things just seemed better on a bike.

Denver Voters on Track to Approve Measures to Raise Funds to Address Climate Change and Homelessness—Watch what happens in Denver with regard to these types of taxes.  It might be something that will spread nationwide over the next decade.

Friday Linkage 10/30/2020

Just.  Days.  Away.

I am hopeful that on Tuesday night we can go to sleep assured that our long national nightmare will be scheduled to end in January 2020.

Oh, I am very worried about what an unbound Trump will try to do with a few months in power.  However, it is my belief that any bad behavior will further reinforce the fact that Republicans are just enablers of naked power.

If you have not voted, please vote.  If you have voted, please make sure that everyone you know has voted.  Once that is done, sit back, and watch what happens.

Stay safe out there.

On to the links…

Denver’s Unique Sales Tax to Fight Climate Change could be a Blueprint for Future Action Nationwide—Watch what happens in Denver on this ballot measure on Tuesday.

White House Says Trump Has Saved Environment. His Record Says Otherwise.—This is some next level Orwellian shit.  Just keep telling the lies until everyone believes you.  Or you lose the election and have to figure out how to avoid the creditors beating down your tacky gold door.

While We Focus on COVID-19, Trump’s EPA Is Quietly Killing Us—Never let a good crisis go to waste.

Trump’s Pullback of Pollution Controls is Even More Hazardous than You Think—No matter how bad you think things are the reality is probably a little worse.

Republicans Put the Oil Industry Above Economic Growth—These guys have to make sure that the campaign contributions keep coming in so that they can double down on culture war issues while reaping the profits.  Rile everyone up about guns, gays, and God while on the other hand putting in place policies that harm the economic interests of the people who put you in office.  It’s the modern Republican electoral strategy.

As Trump Dismisses Renewables, Energy Sector Doubles Down—Who would you listen to: people with real money on the line or an orange buffoon who’s business experience includes bankrupting multiple casinos?

Report Reveals Auto Giants Knew About Car Emissions and Climate Change — in the 1960s—Color me shocked.  Oh wait, I am not shocked.  In the slightest.

It’s Official: Solar Is the Cheapest Electricity in History—Here is the scary thing.  Solar energy can get cheaper.

Electric Vehicle Market Hits Its Tipping Point—EVs are a better driving experience.  The two things holding back mass adoption have been cost and perceived range.  Cost has been coming down and almost no one needs the max range of even an older Nissan Leaf on a daily basis.  The future is now.

Big Oil’s Hopes are Pinned on Plastics. It Won’t End Well.—Plastics are oil rendered solid.  The derivative products made from refining (e.g. chemical feedstocks or plastic feedstocks) are actually the products that make oil refining so profitable.  Take away that profit center and the house comes tumbling down.

Will the Extraction Industry’s Economic Turmoil Blight Colorado?—This is what oil and gas companies leave behind.  There is no honor with these people.

Wyoming Is Using Dark Money To Help Keep Coal Plants In Other States Open—Remember this the next time you see a campaign to support coal fired power plants in your state.

Beef is bad for the planet. Can we make it better?—Or, can we just eat less beef?

Restoring Seagrasses Can Bring Coastal Bays Back to Life—The next step is restoration.  The opportunities are damn near endless.

The Nightmare Scenario for Florida’s Coastal Homeowners—Maybe we should not have built billions of dollars of real estate in an area we knew was susceptible to any number of climate change related phenomena.

Ted Cruz is Asked Why National Debt is Paramount to Republicans only when a Democrat is in the White House—This question needs to get asked of every “deficit hawk” Republican who will come out of the woodwork in January after spending four years licking Trump’s boots.

‘King of the Coal’ Robert Murray Dies at the Age of 80—Nothing else to say:

Friday Linkage 10/23/2020

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 4^th.  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.