Tag: ClimateChange

Cool, Daily Life, Lists

Notions Of Cool V.007

A random list of things and shower thoughts that an old guy (who still thinks he’s 20) finds cool or worth pondering.

  • Continuing… The earth has warmed – this is not debatable. The warming has been roughly eight tenths of a degree Celsius. And shockingly, this is more or less what greenhouse gases demonstrate in laboratory conditions. What has not happened is the model predictions of runaway exponential temperature increase. So, change my mind – where is the crisis?
  • The new skis are the bomb. Very happy with my choice. Volkl M5 Mantras. Of course, calf deep powder didn’t hurt. The ski is a touch beyond my skill level, which is a good thing.
  • To the best that I can tell I have been in ketosis. Yesterday’s test was after two fried eggs with cream cheese and avocado, followed by four hours of hard skiing. Ketones were 1.5 mmol/l. (suggested range is 0.5 to 3)
  • As an RN, time management is everything. I’m not good at it and it drives me nuts. I’m going to make a full press effort to tame this beast. The conventional wisdom says to implement hourly rounding. The theory is that if you’ve addressed pain and toileting, you’re less likely to be interrupted by call lights. Hmmm. We’ll see.
  • I can’t find anything I agree with AOC on, but she gets social media. Politicians on both sides need to figure this shit out or she’s going to clean their clocks.
  • For the tech dorks, a great blog on security. In my mind I’m still a tech guy, but most teenagers have surpassed me at this point.
  • It’s shocking to me how primitive vehicles are in terms of software, connectivity and interacting with mobile devices.
  • Hard not to laugh at this meme of Senator Klobuchar emerging from a team meeting.

Song of the day: Rebelution “Inhale Exhale”

Cool, Daily Life, Lists

Notions Of Cool V.006

A random list of things and shower thoughts that an old guy (who still thinks he’s 20) finds cool or worth pondering.

  • Continuing from yesterday… There has been NO warming of the troposphere since the ’50’s. This is the exact opposite of what the models predicted. Usually in basic science that means go back to the drawing board, ’cause maybe we don’t understand what’s going on. Convince me this is wrong.
  • Shockingly, I haven’t seen any of the Oscar nominated movies. Meh.
  • I made a poor decision and drove to the mountain yesterday so I can ski the next few days. Looks like they’re going to close the road and I’ll be stuck. Work will not be happy with me.
  • I started following Dr Rhonda Patrick. I’ve never taken any supplements, but I’m now doing a daily vitamin B12, D, and Magnesium. I figure it can’t hurt.
  • Stealing from today’s Daily Stoic, I particularly like this line from Marcus Aurelius, who wrote, “You’re afraid of death because you won’t be able to do this anymore?”
  • It’s still hard to believe we’re going to have a Tour this year without Paul Sherwin.
  • Speaking of cycling, I’m more and more convinced this country needs more of Rule 5. Chopper will explain it to you. Oddly, Australia is not a country I would have thought needed this.
  • Day five, no Instagram story. Maybe tomorrow.

Song of the day: Matisyahu “One Day”

Cool, Daily Life, Lists

Notions Of Cool V.005

A random list of things and shower thoughts that an old guy (who still thinks he’s 20) finds cool or worth pondering.

  • Extreme hot weather, and the number and intensity of hurricanes, tornados, and wildfires, has not increased. Please change my mind that this is not true. Because if it isn’t… how is climate becoming more “extreme”?
  • The first bendable phones will be pricy gimmicks. The bendable screen technology however, will fundamentally change how we interact with all devices – not just phones.
  • I have new skis, and it looks like I won’t be able to get to the mountain because there’s too much snow. This is a cruel irony.
  • Delirium Tremens, or the DT’s, are a serious thing. Dealt with two of ’em yesterday. Trust me, you don’t want to go down that road. If you currently have a drink every day… it may be time to take a break.
  • I stumbled on a video showing the trek to the Everest base camp last night. I don’t think I’d ever do it, but it is intriguing.
  • I started using a grocery list app. Why did I not do this before?
  • I’ve never understood why the first planetary outpost should be mars? Trialing technology on the moon seems far more practical than waiting for ~ a year+ travel time to mars. Cool to see a private company getting the ball rolling.
  • Still haven’t done an Instagram story. Can’t get past the awkward, self-consiousness of talking out loud to my phone. Maybe tomorrow.

Song of the day: Portugal. The man. “Woodstock”

Solving the wrong problem

But, It’s Renewable?

There’s nothing I hate more than pointless, feel good statements that are utterly devoid of reality. The latest is the clamor for ending evil fossil fuel and switching to 100% renewable! Yay for me, I love the planet! Let me forward a meme on the Facebook so everyone knows I’m an eco-warrior.

Here’s the percentage of renewable energy use for the major regions in the world:

Country RenewableFossil Fuel
China3%86%
US6%83%
Europe9%75%
CIS0%87%
Middle East0%99%
India 3%92%
Central America8%69%

You can be as optimistic and hopeful as you’d like… but single digit percentages are a not a bridgeable gap right now. Until some fancy new technology is invented, the U.S. is not going to generate the 4,000+ terawatt hours of annual electricity use by recycling used banana peels.

I’m sorry if this crushes your green spirit animal. Renewable energy, as it stands today, is not a viable source of sustainable energy. Period. That doesn’t mean we should abandon all hope and stop trying. Eventually (we hope) someone is going to create a fusion reactor powered by unicorn tears and used tires and we’ll all be saved from the evils of climate change.

Until then, stop with the unrealistic green campaigns and tax schemes. I pay too much in taxes already and current government spending is not sustainable. If you’d like to support green research, be my guest. Don’t just be a keyboard warrior echoing Facebook memes – you can write a check to the company or university of your choice today. You are also welcome to pay more than required this tax season. Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? Anyone? Hello?