Inside Switzerland’s giant water battery
From SWISS-INFO, an informative essay on the Nant de Drance hydroelectric power plant.
the Anthropocene
Observer Interview: Peter Kalmus
Interview – Peter Kalmus: ‘As a species, we’re on autopilot, not making the right decisions’ Ian Tucker May 21, 2022 The Nasa data scientist explains why inaction on the climate crisis pushed him to chain himself to an LA bank – and why trusting in the ‘people in charge’ is so dangerous: ==================================== Do you … [Read more…]
Commentary: Utility profits the unspoken factor in California’s rooftop solar fight
Commentary: Utility profits the unspoken factor in California’s rooftop solar fight
In a World on Fire, Stop Burning Things
In the New Yorker, Bill McKibben wrote an essay titled “In a World on Fire, Stop Burning Things” Here, he references many new reports which fortify the case for moving to renewable energy now and reinforcing the need to stop burning. On the last day of February, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued its … [Read more…]
Energy efficiency guru
Interview – Energy efficiency guru Amory Lovins: ‘It’s the largest, cheapest, safest, cleanest way to address the crisis’ by John Vidal “Solar and wind are now the cheapest bulk power sources in 91% of the world, and the UN’s International Energy Agency (IEA) expects renewables to generate 90% of all new power in the coming … [Read more…]
Drought 2022
March 9, 2022, Petaluma CA I just searched this blog for the word DROUGHT and found all the entries dated from 2020. I decided to start this journal due to the household conversations we’ve had on how we are going to ration our irrigation water this year. Water is due to become even more expensive … [Read more…]
Letter to the Editor: ‘Doing our part’
01/16/2022 – Santa Rosa Press-Democrat ‘Doing our part’ EDITOR: Dave Stein reduced home-based solar generation to costs (“Solar power costs,” Letters, Wednesday). He misses one of the basic reasons many of us did invest in solar: to reduce greenhouse emissions. It is the same reason we invested in insulating the attic, installed energy-efficient windows and … [Read more…]
The Ethiopian entrepreneur Sara Menker founded Gro Intelligence
In the NYT, an interview with Ms. Menker: The Ethiopian entrepreneur Sara Menker founded Gro Intelligence, which uses artificial intelligence to forecast global agricultural trends and battle food insecurity. When toilet paper shortages happened during Covid and everybody was running to stock up, I was like, “I don’t know why you’re stocking up. I have … [Read more…]
Aviator Opens Fire With Machine Gun, Killing Huge Whale
San Francisco Call, 21 January 1919 SAN DIEGO, Jan. 21.— Lieutenant James McCullough of Ream aviation field is declared to be the gunner who slew the whale that washed ashore at Imperial beach last week. According to reports from Ream field the whale rose two miles off shore and spouted defiance at lieutenant McCullough, who … [Read more…]
America Isn’t Ready for the Electric-Vehicle Revolution
A NYT guest essay with some interesting and sobering facts on the current state of global battery technology. By Steve LeVine – Mr. LeVine is editor of The Electric, a publication focused on batteries and electric vehicles. His most recent book is “The Powerhouse: America, China and the Great Battery War.”