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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science
Reader A asks: How did we discover that the Earth is round?
Reader B: Probably fishermen who saw the top of masts coming first when approaching other nearby ships.
Me: An ancient Greek mathematician (Pythagoras? Euclid?) asked a friend who lived a few hundred miles south of him, a known distance, to drive a stake in the ground on a certain day and measure the angle the sun’s shadow made when the sun was at its zenith. He used the difference between that angle and the one he measured at home (Athens) to compute the Earth’s circumference to within a few percent of what we now know it to be.
Impressive, IMO.
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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Speaking strictly for myself, I find this extremely difficult to swallow.

In the United States, the president is elected by the electoral college, which itself is informed by the popular vote in each of the 50 states.  From where I sit, it doesn’t seem that God has too much to do with any of this.

I know there are people (called “lunatics”) who think that Trump was sent to us by God, but do they think that Obama and Biden came to us the same way?

I’m normally pretty deferential to religions and their followers. but sorry, I can’t get on board here.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Dr. Tom Konrad, whom I interviewed for my book “Is Renewable Really Doable?” writes: “New Yorkers for Clean Power‘s energy coaching program (for which I coach) got a mention on Canary Media today.”

Here’s the article to which he’s referring, providing readers with five broad-stroke suggestions for lowering the carbon footprint of their homes.

Tom: Great going.  I’ve learned a great deal from you, and I remain inspired by the way you apply your intelligence to prevent a catastrophic breakdown of our environment.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

In my recent post Trump’s at the End of His Rope, I made the point that the evidence of Trump’s guilt in the 91 felony counts he faces, especially the testimony of dozens, maybe hundreds of eyewitnesses, is about to crush his political viability like a grape.

In response, a reader notes:  Maybe, but that doesn’t take care of the (low-life) that follow him.

Good point. I have a feeling, however, that cutting off the head of the snake, as it were, will take a great deal of life out of the MAGA movement, and especially in congress.

Image that you’re a lawmaker from a red state and you know that, without Trump’s support, you’re toast in your election. Once Trump’s gone, you have far more freedom to act according to whatever minor level of decency and integrity you may possess.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

An important factor in the upcoming U.S. presidential election is the vote of traditional Republicans who have enough intelligence and integrity not to re-elect Trump.

As suggested in the meme here, Liz Cheney is the unofficial spokesperson for this group; one has to respect her courage in standing up to what is essentially the entire GOP and categorically rejecting Trump, his crimes, and his lies.

The question, of course, is what actually happens at the polling places.  There are plenty of Republicans who understand the national and international catastrophe that Trump represents if he gets back in the White House, but who would rather vote for a baboon than a Democrat.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Lawn mower cutting green grass

The Los Angeles Times reports:

Gas-powered yard tools may be harder to come by starting this year. Assembly Bill 1346 requires phasing out fossil fuel-fueled leaf blowers, lawnmowers, weed trimmers, chain saws and other tools. The tools were targeted for their contributions to the state’s notoriously emissions-filled air.

Phasing out such equipment — by requiring that those of model years 2024 and later be powered with electricity or another clean energy — is part of the state’s plan to transition to a carbon-free economy …. People are still allowed to use the gas-powered tools they already have and buy them used.

While electricity isn’t necessarily clean, the electrification of everything is a valid strategy to decarbonizing our energy and transportation sectors.

Leave it to California to pave the way to a viable future.  I don’t think you’ll find this, or any other progressive measure being taken in Texas.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Everyone knows that burning jet fuel releases CO2 into the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect and further warming the Earth.  But did you know that contrails act to make the situation even worse?  And that some of our top scientific organizations are hard at work trying to remove this threat?

Check out this piece from the Rocky Mountain Institute.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

The comment at left is from former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich, and it’s hard to dispute.

Allowing Trump to use some technicality to avoid prosecution for the 91 felonies of which he’s accused says one thing:  all American citizens are held accountable for their actions–except the president, the one with the most power in all the country.

It’s an absurdity.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

This from physicist Brian Greene.

Sadly, very few young people can name (let alone look up to) a single living scientist.

Ultimately, this is due to our society’s fixation on money. Rock stars and football quarterbacks enjoy vast media exposure and draw the attention of hundreds of millions of adoring fans.

Our scientists may be developing the next pandemic vaccine or technology that will mitigate the climate change that threatens to bake our planet, but they do so in near total obscurity.  Their work may save millions of lives and change the world for the better over a long period of time, but there is nothing sexy about it whatsoever.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Re: Trump’s post at left, economic analyst Robert Rapier writes:

He already predicted in 2020: “If Biden is elected, the stock market will crash and your 401k will be zero.”
Now that the stock market is at a record high, he says it’s because people expect him to win. That’s not how the stock market works. It’s at a record high because economic indicators are strongly improving. He either doesn’t understand how the market works, or he does and doesn’t think you will know he’s lying.
What we’ve learned about Trump throughout his tenure in politics and the 30K+ lies he told in office is that he has no shame. He’s willing to swear to something that an 8-year-old kid would reject as BS.
That said, he’s at the end of his rope; the evidence of his guilt in the 91 felony counts he faces, especially the testimony of dozens, maybe hundreds of eyewitnesses, is about to crush his political viability like a grape.
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