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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

If you’re sold on the idea that this start-up that proposes to sell a tiny, low-speed EV represents the future of urban transportation, and you’re certain that it’s wise to make an investment in the company that hopes to offer it on the market someday, that’s your business.

If you want help on thinking this through, however, you might want to ask yourself why literally every near-identical idea launched in the last 10 – 15 years has failed.

Granted, some were undercapitalized.  For example, here’s a concept that I plugged ca., 2011. The entrepreneur failed to raise sufficient investment capital for it and soon gave up.  He lost only a small fortune rather than a large one in the process, which, looking back on it, may have been a blessing in disguise.

Others came from automotive giants like Mitsubishi.  It’s unknown how huge their loss in the i-MiEV (see below) was, not including the massive embarrassment to the brand.  The Japanese are known for their deep repugnance for failure.  In the old days, that meant carving out their intestines with a sword.  Fortunately, today, the price is a bit less dramatic, but it’s still dear.

In any case, if you’re of mind to invest, don’t let minor details like reason and understanding of market conditions hold you back.  After all, these people have raised more than $300K, which is more than enough to cover the cost of the prototype of perhaps the windshield wipers or the hubcaps.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

The problem that we face is some people are selfish by nature; they find hoarding resources to be fun and rewarding.

Yes, the majority of people on this planet care about the well-being of others, but those who call the shots like things just the way they are: competitive and devoid of compassion.

If we think things are bad now, we need to contemplate (and do what we can to prevent) a future in which our affairs are dominated by the impacts of climate change: desertification/heat waves, storms, floods, food and water shortages, eroding land masses, ocean acidification, and so forth.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Responding to this post on COVID-19, in which Peter Spitzer, MD provides an update on the current state of the relevant epidemiology, a reader notes:  I thought that Dr. Spitzer’s essay was interesting, thoughtful, well written, moderate and made a great deal of sense. Thank you for sharing.

My response:  “Moderate” is not a term scientists use, though it is, to be sure, used to describe news sources.  In science, an assertion is either correct or it’s incorrect.  Put another way, if someone has a view that runs counter to what scientists have shown to be true, that view is simply wrong.

I run into this constantly re: anthropogenic climate change.  It’s not a belief system; it’s a scientific finding.  When someone says they don’t “believe” it, what they’re really saying is that they don’t understand it.   And, of course, science couldn’t care less what some random Fax News acolyte or congressional Republican believes.

Now, of course, what’s “correct” today can be, and probably will be, laughable 100 years from now.  But it’s the best we have.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Mike Pence: commitment to pro-life issues.

Apparently, Mike Pence is considering making a run for the White House in 2024, though one has to wonder what constituencies are going to find him appealing.

• Most women will object to his rabid anti-abortion position.

• LGBTQs and supporters of human rights from the straight community?  Forget it.

• Educated people who just watched four years of his kowtowing to Trump and condoning his litany of crimes and 30,000+ lies?  Seriously?

• Those people (especially young folks) concerned that we are in the process of baking the planet aren’t too fond of those who reject science in favor of Bible stories.

• Even the Trump base of hateful morons is going to want more firebrand and less milquetoast.

The GOP needs to find a conservative who isn’t criminally insane. Before Trump, this wasn’t a problem; now it seems impossible.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I’m not sure we need all the detail here.  Every developed country other than the United States has single payer healthcare, simply because it’s the way civilized people get along with one another.

Americans have no problem with its citizens, even its war veterans, dying in the streets, homeless, unable to afford healthcare that could have saved their lives.  No other wealthy country on Earth could ever conceive of cruelty like that.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

When I was studying philosophy in the mid-1970s, my mentor was a considerable “Trekkie.”  This, as us oldsters may remember, was the period in which the first Star Trek conventions began to emerge.

I recall his expressing his commitment to attending one of these seminal events, and a classmate of mine asked, “These tickets are expensive.  On a professor’s meager salary, are you sure you can afford it?”

His response, “I’ll sell my car (a 12-year-old VW Beetle) and hitch-hike to campus if I have to.”

Yes, that’s dedication to a cause.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

When I saw this supposed quote from George Carlin I looked it up immediately.  Was it real?  Does this man of such great insight regard kind and law-abiding people as cowards?

Carlin was an astute social observer, who may have gotten some things wrong, but this wasn’t one of them.  He didn’t say this, any more than Abraham Lincoln warned us about disinformation on the Internet.

Making sacrifices for the overall public good is something that decent people have always done, and will continue to do as long as human civilization continues to survive on this planet.

The motto of the independent school in Philadelphia, Penn Charter, in which I spent my K – 12 days, translates from the Greek as “Love One Another.”  I’m sure the MAGA folks regard this as woke and sissified, but I’d far rather be a person of kindness than one of hate and ignorance, regardless of the consequences.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

The note here from a reader.

I’ve noticed in life that when you do something wrong for the first time, say, tell a certain lie, your conscience kicks in hard to prevent you from doing it.  If, however, you go ahead and do it anyway, the next time you do it, it’s a piece of cake.

The same principle applies to Trump supporters.  If Trump arrived on the political scene today, and it was clear that he was a pathological liar and career criminal, he’d get no more support than Hitler or Stalin would if reincarnated.

The problem is that they embraced him when he showed up in 2015.  They liked the America First / MAGA rhetoric, and they couldn’t admit to themselves that his actions contributed exactly zero to making life better for the common American. They watched the dozens of felonies and listened to more than 30,000 lies in devout silence.

Now, they’re asking: What’s one more crime?  What’s one more lie? No big deal.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I think frequently how happy I am that neither of my kids pursued careers that represent net damage to humankind.

Obviously, being in the hate business, as Rush Limbaugh was, is near the top of the list, just below the tyrants, the hit-men, the sex-traffickers, and the televangelists.  Yet there are other professions that are worthy of our contempt.  Think about the people in cigarettes, land-mines, Big Oil, even soda.

I’m glad I don’t have to tell my friends that my son works for Coca Cola and is therefore in the the business of destroying human health; he’s especially focused on tooth decay, and is also methodically filling up our oceans with plastic waste.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

2GreenEnergy mega-supporter Cameron Atwood sent me this fabulous set of suggestions on how to conduct oneself so as to optimize our chances for a happy and harmonious life.

It’s hard to read this and not examine one’s life with an eye towards an improved demeanor.

Moreover, it’s impossible to read this without thinking of the MAGA crowd and their leader, and consider how miserable their lives must be. (more…)

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