Good thing we’re working hard to fix that, right?
Three years left to limit warming to 1.5C, leading scientists warn
Drill, baby, drill. Your kids and grand-kids will thank you.
Category Archives: Environment
How is it the EPA?
If the goal is to protect the environment LESS?
Trump’s EPA announces major rollbacks to power plant pollution limits
Just more Trumpian evil. It should also be mentioned that the Ohio State Legislature has, over the last few years, killed enough solar power projects to have powered Ohio’s three largest cities.
I Used to Really Like SpaceX
What the heck is wrong with this guy?
SpaceX’s Company Town May Force Its Residents to Leave Their Homes
Why does he need to trash the environment of every place he builds? If you have time watch this for more of Elon’s environmental shenanigans. This time in Memphis.
Arnold is the Voice of Common Sense
Will Smith said when he was just starting out he met Arnold and said, “I want to be a movie star like you. How do I do it?” Arnold replied, “If you want to be a movie star you can’t just be popular in the U.S.” Smith said it was common sense, but no one else ever told him that, and it was important. Back before he was governor in California, Arnold had a Humvee converted to electric. He said, “No one will buy electric cars until they’re sexy.” Tesla proved that one right. Watching a video of a Tesla Plaid Edition blow the doors off a Dodge Hellcat in a drag race was pretty cool. Arnold often has the sense to put things into perspective really simply. If you haven’t before, watch his video he released after the January 6th 2020 insurgence. Great stuff. Sadly you have to be native born to be President because he’s one Republican I would vote for.
The Planet is on Fire
Climate change is going to cost A LOT. This year is predicted to have record temperatures. Guess what year is the current record holder? That would be last year. Second place goes to 2023, third to 2022 and so on. The longer we wait to deal with this, the longer we stall, the more it will cost our kids.
Summer 2025 forecast calls for ‘overwhelmingly above normal’ heat starting in June
Consequences
More than 90 wildfires are out of control in Canada
Killing Solar Power in Ohio
From the Plain Dealer…
Ohioans and their elected representatives have killed enough solar development to roughly power the state’s three largest cities in the three years since state lawmakers passed one of the nation’s most stringent restrictions on new solar development.
Those political efforts to block or preempt 2,000 megawatts of new energy coming online are the product of 2021 legislation that gave new power to project neighbors and local elected officials to stop development.
Many of these projects were killed by local Republican officials doing the bidding of the oil and gas industry. Just last week, developers behind a proposed 500-megawatt solar farm in Logan County withdrew their permit application, ending a $500 million development. Regulatory staff recommended the Ohio Power Siting Board reject the application, given opposition from local activists and Republican political power at the state and local level.
Enough power to power all three of Ohio’s biggest cities, with no carbon emissions. The Republican party is not a forward looking party. It is a party that holds Ohio (and the country) back. As they force America off the world stage they leave greater and greater openings for China to be a world leader.
Plain Dealer Stories (behind a paywall)
Solar development plunged in Ohio after new, restrictive state law
How NIMBYism and Republican politics killed a $500M solar farm in Ohio
Clean Drinking Water More Cheaply
More Cheaply? Doesn’t sound right. Anyway, This new technology relies on a 3D printing method to make membranes for reverse osmosis desalinization plants. As long as it doesn’t create another problem with the used membranes (unlikely) any help in lowering desalinization cost would be very helpful.
Experts develop 3D-printed device that could reshape our drinking water: ‘This … is what makes our technology special’
On a Smaller Scale, Saving Water and Helping Preserve Your Water Supply
I love living on the Great Lakes in a nice temperate zone. Plenty of fresh water, we just have to be careful about polluting it. But for folks who live where it is dry, this is genius!
Holding Back the Sahara
Last year, while teaching the “Science and Sustainability” class. I learned about this project, and how effective it is. Heck, if beavers can shape all of North America, humans can do much more.
The Great California Insurance War Has Begun
Like in Florida, many insurance companies would like to end home owner’s coverage for some Californians. California is not Florida, there will be a fight.
Insurance commissioner issues moratorium on home policy cancellations in fire zones
In the end though, is it fair to ask insurance companies to take a perpetual loss? Or to ask the rest of America to subsidize the risk Californians take by living there?
North America’s Ongoing, Ignored Disaster
I’m a big fan of the Youtube channel “Geology Hub“. He reports excellent facts of geologic news and oddities. This is pretty interesting. An aspect of our changing Earth I did not know. No surprise, it’s bad news.
This is Why Fighting Climate Change is Good Fiscal Policy
I am always amazed by the lack of logic from those who deny climate change. I have watched friends change their stance from “I don’t believe climate change is occurring” to, “Well maybe, but we can’t be sure it is caused by humans” to the current, “Well China and India aren’t doing anything about it why should we?” This last comment has become popular as China overtook our country on EV (electric vehicle) and Solar Panel production. We now have a 100% tariff on Chinese EV’s because China can make a pretty good EV for about $12,000 U.S.! Can you imagine what a $12,000 car could do to the U.S. car market? Poor folks could almost afford a new car.
My point is that as we delay, the problem grows worse and we lose any ability to offset the cost of fixing it by providing the technology to do so. Soon we will be forced to buy that technology from China. So before Trump tries to abolish all climate research to avoid those pesky facts, please enjoy this latest report from the good people at USGS (United States Geologic Survey).
14 Million Americans May Sink Within 76 Years
BTW, That estimate is $1 trillion in damages by the end of the century, just for the southeastern coast.
Oh, and for those who wonder why I post so many Yahoo links it is because they have less advertising than the websites the stories come from.
Why Are People Hating on Weather Forecasters?
Gee, I wonder what caused all this?…
Storm forecasts have never been more accurate. Meteorologists have never faced so much pushback.
How Cool
Using Geothermal Energy to store carbon emissions…
Florida is Going to Get Hit Again
The latest…
Hurricane Milton strengthens to Category 5 as it approaches Florida: Live updates
Currently no seems sure whether Milton will make landfall as a Cat 3 or Cat 4. Current tracks as of 11:00 pm Eastern say the eye should hit south of Tampa. This is Florida’s second hurricane in a month. How much longer will America tolerate leaders who doubt Climate Change?
A Green Antarctica
Well this is not good news. Hope you like hurricanes like Helene, and droughts, and floods, and wildfires. Oh, and if you live in Florida, move now.
Probably a good idea to see how political candidates feel about this before you vote.
Why Are Tech Billionaires’ Buying up Rural Land?
And suing the holdouts? Weird.
The Hottest Day Ever Recorded
was yesterday. Beating the previous record holder, the day before yesterday. How long will we keep electing fools who ignore the coming disaster? Hope you like higher food prices for a start.
Monday breaks the record for the hottest day ever on Earth
A movie opened last week called “Fly Me to the Moon”. It is a fictional tale set around the first American moon landing. It portrays a possibility of NASA faking the landing. I sincerely hope everyone associated with this garbage loses their careers. We already have 1 in 8 Americans who think we didn’t land on the moon, one of our country’s proudest achievements. Sadly, America’s once proud association with science and reason seems to have vanished.
Oxygen from the Ocean
Okay, this could be a real game changer. People have been talking about mining manganese nodules (metal nodules made from a number of rare metals) from the bottom of the ocean floor since I was in elementary school. Just as the technology is being developed we discover this…
Oxygen discovery defies knowledge of the deep ocean
If this is true, mining these nodules could be another heavy straw on the camel’s back as far as the ocean is concerned. Our world ocean is already stressed to the breaking point.
So Important
As we think about life, the future, and everything that bothers us, remember this…
In 1990, as Voyager 1 was leaving the solar system. NASA turned it around and took one last photo of the Earth. It was at the limit of Voyager’s camera’s ability. Earth is just one blue dot in a vast sea of darkness.