The Environment, The Bad, Is There Any Good Left?

[SouprMatt]

Not long ago, many news outlets carried stories with fears of ubiquitous electric vehicles crashing our supposedly fragile energy grid.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/01/why-the-ev-boom-could-put-a-major-strain-on-our-power-grid.html

https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN2AX18W/

Funny, I haven’t seen too many stories about the mediocrity machines (aka AI) burning out the grid while generating recipes for gasoline-infused spaghetti and fake pictures of people with 7 fingers on each foot.

I did, however, hear Bill Gates interviewed today, talking about how great nuclear power is and how adding more reactors will give AI the power it needs.

If your invention requires multiple nuclear reactors to generate C-level middle school homework assignments… MAYBE it’s just 💩!

 

[lizkat]

Not long ago, many news outlets carried stories with fears of ubiquitous electric vehicles crashing our supposedly fragile energy grid.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/01/why-the-ev-boom-could-put-a-major-strain-on-our-power-grid.html

https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN2AX18W/

Funny, I haven’t seen too many stories about the mediocrity machines (aka AI) burning out the grid while generating recipes for gasoline-infused spaghetti and fake pictures of people with 7 fingers on each foot.

I did, however, hear Bill Gates interviewed today, talking about how great nuclear power is and how adding more reactors will give AI the power it needs.

If your invention requires multiple nuclear reactors to generate C-level middle school homework assignments… MAYBE it’s just 💩!

I swear these nuke-power-happy mofos are just mining crypto....

 

[SouprMatt]

Here’s some good news from a NY Times article about solar energy:

Solar panels on German balconies

The so-called plug-in systems involve routing the direct current generated by the panels to an inverter, which converts it to an alternating current. They can then be plugged into a conventional wall socket to feed power to a home.

Janik Nolden, who together with two friends founded Solago, a German start-up that sells rooftop solar panels and the plug-in versions, said most of his customers were interested in installing the panels on their own.

When Thomas Losch first heard about a neighbor’s solar setup — several plug-in panels connected to smart meters that allowed the neighbor to optimize electricity use — he scoffed at the idea.

But he became overcome with curiosity, and two months ago, he purchased his own set of plug-in panels to place on his garage roof. Now the first thing he does every morning is open his app to check how much electricity is being generated.

“I am now completely hooked on how I can produce energy from the sun,” he said. “It has become like taking a drug.”

 

[Huntn]

Here’s some good news from a NY Times article about solar energy:

Solar panels on German balconies

Very cool! $40k was a bit much for me to bite on traditional panels. 🤔

 

[lizkat]

Another North Carolina beach house has collapsed into the sea... this time from beach erosion attributed to excessive storm surges related to hurricane Ernesto.

North Carolina beach house collapses dramatically into sea

National Park Service says collapse is seventh in Rodanthe in four years and warns of dangerous debris on beach

www.theguardian.com

North Carolina had proposed state legislation in 2012 attempting to prevent scientists from making predictions of sea level rises based on anything but linear historical data and from no later than 1930..

Two weeks after that, the US Geological Survey published data showing that since 1980. the sea level along the Atlantic coast including North Carolina has been rising at two to four times the rate of anywhere else in the world...

North Carolina Sea Level Rises Despite State Senators

Less than two weeks after the state's senate passed a climate science-squelching bill, research shows that sea level along the coast between N.C. and Massachusetts is rising faster than anywhere on Earth

www.scientificamerican.com

Shortly after that and a lot of international attention to the idiocies of the NC legislature, that august body passed a law saying approximately "okay well let's just not allow passage of any 'laws or plans' that rely on exponential extrapolations of sea level rise for three or four more years." while they think more on it.

I'm sure real estate developers have been pleased. Mother Nature, apparently not so much.

 

[SouprMatt]

Another North Carolina beach house has collapsed into the sea... this time from beach erosion attributed to excessive storm surges related to hurricane Ernesto.

North Carolina beach house collapses dramatically into sea

National Park Service says collapse is seventh in Rodanthe in four years and warns of dangerous debris on beach

www.theguardian.com

North Carolina had proposed state legislation in 2012 attempting to prevent scientists from making predictions of sea level rises based on anything but linear historical data and from no later than 1930..

Two weeks after that, the US Geological Survey published data showing that since 1980. the sea level along the Atlantic coast including North Carolina has been rising at two to four times the rate of anywhere else in the world...

North Carolina Sea Level Rises Despite State Senators

Less than two weeks after the state's senate passed a climate science-squelching bill, research shows that sea level along the coast between N.C. and Massachusetts is rising faster than anywhere on Earth

www.scientificamerican.com

Shortly after that and a lot of international attention to the idiocies of the NC legislature, that august body passed a law saying approximately "okay well let's just not allow passage of any 'laws or plans' that rely on exponential extrapolations of sea level rise for three or four more years." while they think more on it.

I'm sure real estate developers have been pleased. Mother Nature, apparently not so much.

These delusional Republicans seem to think they could pass a law requiring the Sun to rise in the west.

 

[lizkat]

These delusional Republicans seem to think they could pass a law requiring the Sun to rise in the west.

You just have to be looking at exactly the right time!

 

[Huntn]

These delusional Republicans seem to think they could pass a law requiring the Sun to rise in the west.

And then you realize these guys are scam artists, working on their next con to fool STUPID or make SELFISH happy at someone else’s expense.😡

 

[SouprMatt]

Solar panels integrated into farms… I think this is a very interesting concept!

LETTER: The future of farming is solar | Fingerlakes1.com

LETTER: The future of farming is solar News

www.fingerlakes1.com

Solar panels don’t just generate energy; they also create a beneficial microclimate for crops. By keeping the crops cooler during the day and warmer at night, the panels reduce heat stress and the risk of frost damage, which is particularly important in a changing climate. This microclimate can even extend the growing season.

On the other hand, livestock actively manage the vegetation beneath solar panels, grazing to keep grass and weeds in check. This practice reduces the maintenance costs of trimming vegetation under the panels and the need for herbicides. The co-location of livestock with solar panels also increases efficient land use. For example, sheep raised for meat are popular as they tend to be more docile, and insurance companies typically insure solar farms that use sheep for grazing. If timed correctly, sheep grazing can increase the number of native plants by reducing weed cover and bringing up latent seeds.

 

[SouprMatt]

I recall some discussions in the past about the electric grid and electric vehicles. The argument was that the grid couldn’t possibly handle all the extra demand from all the new cars. Well…

Under pressure from the SCC, Dominion reveals the true cost of data centers • Virginia Mercury

Dominion's November 15 filing with the SCC shows future data center growth will drive up utility spending by about 20%.

virginiamercury.com

So, electricity use is growing due to data centers, with residential usage actually going DOWN.

Sometimes it’s nice to see a 🐂💩 argument get debunked by reality so quickly… but in this case it’s a bit sad that energy companies want to keep coal burning so that AI can spew garbage onto our phone screens.

 

[SouprMatt]

Wildfires have been tearing through Southern California. Because these areas are populated by some famous people, they are getting more attention than usual.

Each time a high-profile climate disaster strikes, I hope it will be the one that actually sparks some action. I am sadly continually disappointed. Even this disaster is already being blamed on liberals by some conservative movie stars whose homes burned down.



PS - James Woods isn’t the only one with this disease. We’ve got this guy blaming the fires on DEI. 🤦‍♂️

CNN’s Scott Jennings Makes L.A. Fire Hell All About DEI

The CNN pundit and Rep. Jasmine Crockett came to blows over the blaze decimating parts of the state.

www.thedailybeast.com

 

[ronntaylor]

Wildfires have been tearing through Southern California. Because these areas are populated by some famous people, they are getting more attention than usual.

Each time a high-profile climate disaster strikes, I hope it will be the one that actually sparks some action. I am sadly continually disappointed. Even this disaster is already being blamed on liberals by some conservative movie stars whose homes burned down.



PS - James Woods isn’t the only one with this disease. We’ve got this guy blaming the fires on DEI. 🤦‍♂️

CNN’s Scott Jennings Makes L.A. Fire Hell All About DEI

The CNN pundit and Rep. Jasmine Crockett came to blows over the blaze decimating parts of the state.

www.thedailybeast.com

A real 💩 show of blame from the right wingers while people are evacuating and trying to figure out how to cope with devastation. At least three of my friends had to evacuate, one of them probably lost their home and business.

 

[shadow puppet]

God I hate these fires and all they've affected and destroyed. 🥺

 

[SouprMatt]

The following is a sobering and detailed look at many harmful effects of 47's changes to or removal of environmental protections.

Opinion | Trump’s Environmental Agenda Is Actually Toxic

Trump says one thing about toxins — and does another.

www.nytimes.com

It may take time for the results to come in, but the odds are that the second Trump term will bring us more cancer, more asthma and heart disease, more low-birthweight babies, more Parkinson’s disease, more liver and kidney damage, more greenhouse gases, more fetal cardiac defects, along with fewer breakthroughs in cancer research, a smaller generation of new scientists and more children with diminished IQs.

So much for getting the toxins out of our environment.

PS - Thomas Edsall is a treasure; his weekly columns are always a long and worthwhile read.

 

[Huntn]

Going Out With A Bang

Going Out With A Bang

In 1.5C Here We Come I criticized people like Eric Schmidt who said that: the artificial intelligence boom was too powerful, and had too...

blog.dshr.org

This link is difficult to read, not technically but morally, unable to deal with the life threatening reality, how easy to hope it’s someone else who gets roasted, and there’s a lot of confirmation about just how unworthy we are as a species. Glad I’m 72… 🤔

The elephant in the room is climate change. Everyone knows it can't be prevented any more,' she said, adding that the 'super rich' could generally be split into two groups on the topic.

'The one group thinks it only affects the poor, the "not-white race", while the others fear that it could get worse but there's no sense in trying to do anything about it so they just enjoy themselves,' she told MailOnline.

'The one half is in despair and the other, dumber, half is celebrating future mass deaths.

Salome elaborated that some of the uber wealthy people fitting into the first group were saying that those in third world countries 'might all die but us in the North, we're fine'.

She said: 'They say that in a democracy you have to sell it, to lie to people and tell them "we didn't know better and didn't think it would get this bad", not admitting that they know.

'Then there's the other group that thinks it might not be so easy, maybe it will also affect us due to unforeseeable chain reactions.

'But they say they can't do anything against the others so they live following the mantra "after us, the deluge".

'They say they will enjoy a few more nice years on earth and know that there's no future. They are very cynical and somehow deeply sad.'

 

[Huntn]

Climate change and the Human species in a nutshell, slightly more intelligent than bacteria, but questionably not intelligent enough to save ourselves as were tracking like bacteria.

 

[SouprMatt]

If your neighborhood is burning down around you, just close your blinds. You can’t see the fire anymore, so I guess it stopped!

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/01/climate/trump-cuts-mauna-loa-keeling

The Trump administration’s proposed budget seeks to shut down the laboratory atop a peak in Hawaii where scientists have gathered the most conclusive evidence of human-caused climate change since the 1950s.

The Mauna Loa laboratory in Hawaii has measured atmospheric carbon dioxide, which — along with other planet-warming pollution — has led directly to climate change, driving sea level rise, supercharging weather and destroying food systems.

In 1958, when the Keeling Curve began, the concentration of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere was 313 parts per million. In 2024, that had risen to 424.61 ppm, and this year, monthly average CO2 levels at Mauna Loa exceeded 430 ppm for the first time.

The proposal to shut down Mauna Loa had been made public previously but was spelled out in more detail on Monday when NOAA submitted a budget document to Congress. It made more clear that the Trump administration envisions eliminating all climate-related research work at NOAA, as had been proposed in Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for overhauling the government.