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.