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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Joe Biden’s approval rating got a bump recently, and maybe it’s because of the numerous “legislative wins” referred to in the cartoon here.

Anyone would have guessed that victories in gun safety, infrastructure, climate, gas prices/inflation, bringing jobs back from China, lowering drug prices, and making corporations pay higher taxes would have made a difference, and perhaps that’s exactly what has happened.

Also, approval for Democrats tracks inversely to approval for Republicans, and the GOP has fallen on hard times, as criminal indictments loom large in front of the former president.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

FWIW, I don’t believe in the Antichrist.

I do, however, believe in the existence of evil, and in the sociopaths who embody evil, and it’s fairly clear that the former president meets every one of those characteristics.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science
Reader A: Why aren’t we exploring zero-point energy?  Curious.
Reader B: What is zero-point energy? Does it exist or is it a theory?
I suppose you could say that it both exists and it is a theory.
Based on the uncertainty principle in quantum physics, there exists some minute amount of energy everywhere in the universe, even in deep space, which we tend to think of as “empty.” Due to the expanse of the universe, the amount of this energy is limitless.
Unfortunately, there is another principle at work here as well, i.e., the laws of thermodynamics, which make it impossible to harvest this energy.
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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

As shown in the photo here, this is a genuinely good idea. Building PV canopies over the aqueducts stems evaporation and keeps debris out of the water as it makes its way from the rivers in the central-eastern part of the state, down to the great population centers in the southwest.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

As we’re all seeing, Donald Trump is not dealing well with the actions that the Justice Department and Intelligence Community are taking to protect U.S. security interests, now that it’s clear that the former president stole and mishandled classified documents.

He knows only one response in situations like this: regardless of how childishly poor the logic, attack the attacker.

These damn FBI and other DoJ people, not to mention the federal judges who regulate their conduct to ensure that strict legal procedures are followed, are the ones who are ruining the very nation I’m trying to make great again.

Prediction: While I admit that this playbook has worked for Trump his entire life, there is a limit, and he has reached it.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

There are many unsettling aspects to our lives here in the United States, many of which are made worse by our inane sense of priorities.

How hard would it be to instate common sense gun laws and offer LGBTQs full rights?

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

As a grammar snob, I find it impossible to read a headline like the one above and not flinch.  The phrase unique enough qualifies the word unique, which is a big fat no-no, for the obvious reason that something, in this case, a name, is either unique or it’s not. It’s the equivalent of saying, “She’s somewhat pregnant.”

From a business perspective, a) I doubt that trademark protection is going to matter much, b) the MAGA world doesn’t need yet another echo-chamber for its hate speech and disinformation, and a) and b) notwithstanding, c) this whole subculture is going to unravel when Trump is hit with multiple criminal indictments.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

As one might have expected, Trump is having a tough time emotionally dealing with the variety of criminal investigations into his conduct since he became president in 2017.

Fine by me.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

I would submit that it depends what we disagree on.  If you don’t care about the well-being of others–if you don’t believe all people should be treated with fairness, decency, and respect, we’re not going to be buddies.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

From reader Mark White: You have probably seen this. California is set to make history by banning sales of gas-powered cars. Can it deliver?  

Yes, I wrote a piece on this the other day, in my post called California: No New Gas/Diesel-Powered Automobiles After 2035.

I would think that by 2035, when it kicks in, the EV adoption rate will make this an extremely easy transition at that point. Note that many countries in Western Europe have far more aggressive targets in this regard.

Of course, there’s many a slip ‘twixt cup and lip. I.e., 13 years is a long time, and anything can happen in the interim.  In particular, there is no reason to think that Big Oil, after having played such a dirty game over the past 100 years, is going to fold its tent.

That said, I have to think that the “electrification of everything” and the market conditions that arise from this very timely trend will militate hard against Big Oil, and the war against petroleum will finally be over.

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