“No cartel controls the sun. Its energy will not run out. It will not pollute the air; it will not poison our waters.”
There was a brilliant political cartoon from the 70's showing the stereotype "fat cat" executive saying, "You want coal? We own the mines. You want oil & gas? We own the wells. You want nuclear power? We own the uranium. You want solar? We own the ... er ... solar power is not feasible!"
The problem is, the cartoonist's message was prophetic - the fossils have spent decades convincing Americans that solar power is "not feasible." And sadly, they've been doing a damn fine job of it - half the country still thinks climate change is a hoax. The problem is, China didn't get the memo, so they have a two decade head start.
In other news, one thing we can ALL do is work on changing state laws that allow HOAs to prohibit solar panels on rooftops. I live in a community that would greatly benefit from rooftop solar panels - and, I'm on the HOA board, so I'll be working on changing our bylaws to allow the panels.
I disagree that locking up executives would be petty and pointless. I actually think that we need to start putting wealthy powerful people making decisions to cause harm for profit in prison for the rest of their lives or nothing is ever going to change. Companies insulate the people causing harm from consequences. This is the whole problem with corporate capitalism. Nobody that needs to ever learns anything.
The street lights (at the end of your column) sound better and better the more I read. Solar powered, dark night and motion sensing. Dang! I sure would like to see my city darker at night instead of being lit up regardless of anyone using/needing the light!
Ty Bill. I keep repeating, in the midst of our crazy news, to keep our focus on two things 1. Closing the global gender gap 2. Stop burning fossil fuel…..
May I put my oar in by saying when I read the reports of what is happening now, and accelerating, we really ought to be spending our love and energy in getting nuclear reactors decommissioned, so that when civilisation goes down, as it will, like so many others before us, we don’t irradiate the bejesus out of everything. Those rods won’t keep cooling themselves …
Grateful for this, esp your timely tribute to Carter and to Biden’s last-ditch moves to protect IRA and our coastal waters. Only useful comment of my own is a humble copy-edit re paragraph about IRA having so few years “under its blet”
Thank you, Bill. Great news overall. Trump may use his 'slash and burn' policy all he wants. He cannot stop the sun from shining and humans from using its benevolent rays. I put solar voltaic and solar hot water panels on my roof in 2011. Around the Christmas holidays a man who lived about 3 miles from me died when an undetected gas leak caused an explosion that destroyed his home. You know what? My home never exploded or caught fire from those solar panels.
I just did a cruise through Indonesia and was stunned by the lack of solar development. The only solar I really saw was some Olaf street lights. No roof top solar either PV or water heating. I did find that Bali is partially geothermal powered, they could do lots more of that.
I wasn't at that no nukes rally, but I was at the one in Central Park a few years later. As in the video you linked, Jackson Brown was there to, but no Carly Simon. Ironic that in 1976 Brown released an album, The Pretender, which took aim at our generation for abandoning our ideals, saying we "exchanged love's bright and fragile glow for the glitter and the rouge". He was prophetic as the baby boomers dropped ideas such as environmentalism and discovered what capitalism is. Some kept the goal of energy reform in mind, but most bought into the good life, and still do.
“No cartel controls the sun. Its energy will not run out. It will not pollute the air; it will not poison our waters.”
There was a brilliant political cartoon from the 70's showing the stereotype "fat cat" executive saying, "You want coal? We own the mines. You want oil & gas? We own the wells. You want nuclear power? We own the uranium. You want solar? We own the ... er ... solar power is not feasible!"
The problem is, the cartoonist's message was prophetic - the fossils have spent decades convincing Americans that solar power is "not feasible." And sadly, they've been doing a damn fine job of it - half the country still thinks climate change is a hoax. The problem is, China didn't get the memo, so they have a two decade head start.
In other news, one thing we can ALL do is work on changing state laws that allow HOAs to prohibit solar panels on rooftops. I live in a community that would greatly benefit from rooftop solar panels - and, I'm on the HOA board, so I'll be working on changing our bylaws to allow the panels.
"All politics is local."
Well said, President Carter was an underappreciated visionary. We need to build on recent progress.
I disagree that locking up executives would be petty and pointless. I actually think that we need to start putting wealthy powerful people making decisions to cause harm for profit in prison for the rest of their lives or nothing is ever going to change. Companies insulate the people causing harm from consequences. This is the whole problem with corporate capitalism. Nobody that needs to ever learns anything.
The street lights (at the end of your column) sound better and better the more I read. Solar powered, dark night and motion sensing. Dang! I sure would like to see my city darker at night instead of being lit up regardless of anyone using/needing the light!
Amen and onward. So much energy has to be "wasted" on those who do their best to deny reality.
Yes it’s heartbreaking
Seventy-seven -
million putzes voted for -
a convicted schmuck
"If you look really closely, you can’t see me, but I was there" made me laugh, thank you for that amidst some important and thoughtful updates!
Ty Bill. I keep repeating, in the midst of our crazy news, to keep our focus on two things 1. Closing the global gender gap 2. Stop burning fossil fuel…..
No biggie but I’m pretty sure the Carly Simon video is of the No Nukes Rally at Battery Park in NYC.
Thank you for providing a burst of sunlight in such dark times!
May I put my oar in by saying when I read the reports of what is happening now, and accelerating, we really ought to be spending our love and energy in getting nuclear reactors decommissioned, so that when civilisation goes down, as it will, like so many others before us, we don’t irradiate the bejesus out of everything. Those rods won’t keep cooling themselves …
Grateful for this, esp your timely tribute to Carter and to Biden’s last-ditch moves to protect IRA and our coastal waters. Only useful comment of my own is a humble copy-edit re paragraph about IRA having so few years “under its blet”
Thank you, Bill. Great news overall. Trump may use his 'slash and burn' policy all he wants. He cannot stop the sun from shining and humans from using its benevolent rays. I put solar voltaic and solar hot water panels on my roof in 2011. Around the Christmas holidays a man who lived about 3 miles from me died when an undetected gas leak caused an explosion that destroyed his home. You know what? My home never exploded or caught fire from those solar panels.
I just did a cruise through Indonesia and was stunned by the lack of solar development. The only solar I really saw was some Olaf street lights. No roof top solar either PV or water heating. I did find that Bali is partially geothermal powered, they could do lots more of that.
I wasn't at that no nukes rally, but I was at the one in Central Park a few years later. As in the video you linked, Jackson Brown was there to, but no Carly Simon. Ironic that in 1976 Brown released an album, The Pretender, which took aim at our generation for abandoning our ideals, saying we "exchanged love's bright and fragile glow for the glitter and the rouge". He was prophetic as the baby boomers dropped ideas such as environmentalism and discovered what capitalism is. Some kept the goal of energy reform in mind, but most bought into the good life, and still do.
Great videos from the 70s! I remember those years, they were transformative