Environment and climate change

Political discussion here. Any reasonable opinion is welcome, but due to the sensitive nature of the topic area, please be nice and respectful to others. No flaming or trolling, please. And please keep political commentary out of the other board areas and confine it to this area. Thanks!
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Flagrant Fowl
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Re: Environment

Post by Flagrant Fowl »

American conservatives have a lot more in common with middle eastern Muslims than they'd care to admit.
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Nodack
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Re: Environment

Post by Nodack »

The Texas power outage was horrible. It happens every ten years or so when it gets below freezing. This time it was by far the worst ever. Do you think they learned any lessons? Are they immediately planning on winterizing their power so this never happens again? Are they planning on taking care of this so in the future Texans aren’t screwed and Texas has to ask the Federal Government for help again? Nope. They have already blown this event off and are going to do nothing.

Texas

https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-is-a ... 1614184163
Jim Wright, a member of the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the state’s oil-and-gas industry, said the agency isn’t planning to require oil-and-gas companies to winterize their equipment.
Last edited by Nodack on Fri Feb 26, 2021 3:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Indy
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Re: Environment

Post by Indy »

If it ONLY hurts their citizens/constituents, and doesn't inconvenience companies, Texas doesn't care. For that matter, 75% of the GOP run states would do the exact same thing.

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Mori Chu
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Re: Environment

Post by Mori Chu »

Laughable that they continue to try to blame Dems and the "Green New Deal" for their outage when, you know, there is no Green New Deal in current law, especially not in Texas.

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Nodack
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Re: Environment

Post by Nodack »

It’s much easier to sell that load of crap to their constituents than the truth.

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Nodack
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Re: Environment

Post by Nodack »

Biden Taps A Former Top Scientist At NOAA To Lead The Weather And Climate Agency
https://www.npr.org/2021/04/25/99063681 ... ate-agency
The nomination comes at a difficult moment in NOAA's history. The agency has been without an official, Senate-confirmed leader since former President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, after his two nominees to lead the agency failed to garner enough support to win a full vote before the Senate.

In September 2019, then-President Trump wrongly said Alabama was in the projected path of Hurricane Dorian. He continued to reassert the claim for several days, including during an Oval Office briefing on the storm — in which he displayed what appeared to be an official National Weather Service map in which the storm's projected path was extended to Alabama by someone using a black marker.

After a National Weather Service office in Birmingham put out a tweet correctly stating that Alabama would not feel the effects of the storm, NOAA published an unsigned defense of the president's claims and rebuking its professional staff who posted the message.

Dan Sobien, then-president of the National Weather Service Employees Organization, said at the time that "the hard working employees of the NWS had nothing to do with the utterly disgusting and disingenuous tweet sent out by NOAA management."

In a statement, the Environmental Defense Fund's Eric Schwaab applauded Spinrad's nomination, saying that NOAA's workers "couldn't ask for a better leader to restore scientific integrity and honor the agency's mission."


Just another US institution that had it’s reputation destroyed by Trump. Now we have a real President picking a real expert to run things instead of some donor who has zero qualifications that even a Republican Senate wouldn’t confirm. Trump didn’t mind that no one was in charge for four years because he didn’t give a rats ass about the agency anyway.

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Mori Chu
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Re: Environment

Post by Mori Chu »

Image

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Nodack
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Re: Environment

Post by Nodack »

‘Woke up sweating’: Texas power companies remotely raise temperatures on people using their smart thermostats
https://www.dailydot.com/debug/texas-re ... ermostats/
Power companies in Texas are remotely raising temperatures inside of some customers’ homes amid the state’s ongoing energy shortage.

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Superbone
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Re: Environment

Post by Superbone »

That's some Big Brother stuff.
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Nodack
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Re: Environment

Post by Nodack »

And in Texas of all states.

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Indy
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Re: Environment

Post by Indy »

Nodack wrote:
Fri Jun 18, 2021 9:30 pm
‘Woke up sweating’: Texas power companies remotely raise temperatures on people using their smart thermostats
https://www.dailydot.com/debug/texas-re ... ermostats/
Power companies in Texas are remotely raising temperatures inside of some customers’ homes amid the state’s ongoing energy shortage.
If you have a Nest you probably already know that this happens. You can OPT IN to a program for power companies (even here with SRP or APS) to raise the thermostat remotely during high demand days. You can override it by simply turning it back down, or opting out. And at least with SRP and APS, you are notified hours in advance so you can plan for it (or reject it).

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Nodack
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Re: Environment

Post by Nodack »

I keep my thermostat high anyway in the summer. I set it at 82 and use a fan in the areas I am at. My relatives came over and asked if I could turn it down. Those people set theirs at 70? That’s cold to me. If I’m paying for real expensive AC and I’m cold, I’m being stupid.

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Mori Chu
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Re: Environment

Post by Mori Chu »

This article really got to me. I share many of the author's concerns.

https://warzel.substack.com/p/we-are-not-ready

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3rdside
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Re: Environment

Post by 3rdside »

It got me to sign up to the NYT for $0.50 a week .. heavy anyway, let's go Joe ..

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AmareIsGod
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Re: Environment

Post by AmareIsGod »

Nodack wrote:
Fri Jun 18, 2021 10:56 pm
I keep my thermostat high anyway in the summer. I set it at 82 and use a fan in the areas I am at. My relatives came over and asked if I could turn it down. Those people set theirs at 70? That’s cold to me. If I’m paying for real expensive AC and I’m cold, I’m being stupid.
I usually run ours at 76 from when we wake up until we go to bed. Then it's 75. We don't have vaulted ceilings and live in a 1,900 sqft single story, 3 bedroom, 2 bath home from 1979 that is slump block.

Just added solar this week. Waiting for APS to put in their meter reading device for solar so we can turn it on. Going to be very interesting to monitor my production vs. use over time to see if my system is sufficient in size.
What is smallball? I play basketball. I'm not a regular big man. I can switch from the center to the guards. The game is evolving. I'd be dominAyton if the WNBA would let me in. - Ayton

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Nodack
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Re: Environment

Post by Nodack »

Yes, keep us posted. I keep thinking about Solar but, haven't been convinced it will save me anything and keep thinking the technology keeps evolving so fast that I fear getting locked into something that's only half as efficient as something five years from now.

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AmareIsGod
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Re: Environment

Post by AmareIsGod »

Nodack wrote:
Fri Jul 09, 2021 12:51 pm
Yes, keep us posted. I keep thinking about Solar but, haven't been convinced it will save me anything and keep thinking the technology keeps evolving so fast that I fear getting locked into something that's only half as efficient as something five years from now.
Agreed. Our 10.36kw system cost us $22,000 before federal and state tax rebates that I'll get back beginning of next year. Put $5,000 down and will be applying those credits next year towards the loan as part of the loan agreement. Got a good interest rate and plan on paying off the system within 5 years so I can start capitalizing on a "zero" bill after that point. We plan on staying here for quite awhile or turning it into an investment one day if we purchase something out of town or out of state, preferably much cooler and quieter than here in Phoenix. Most claims are that you get a return on investment after 9 years with a properly sized solar setup.

We had quotes in the 40k range for a similar sized system from some of the larger companies out here. Tesla was the cheapest with questionable turn around times, lacking communication and general poor support. Ultimately opted for a family owned long standing and very reputable (great reviews) local company, https://blackplatinumsolar.com/.

The owner will talk with you about all things solar with complete transparency as much or as little as you'd like. We've had many conversations from when I was just thinking of doing all of this through after being installed. His name is John. He and his son run the company and I think John Sr. is going to be retiring in the near future.
What is smallball? I play basketball. I'm not a regular big man. I can switch from the center to the guards. The game is evolving. I'd be dominAyton if the WNBA would let me in. - Ayton

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Nodack
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Re: Environment

Post by Nodack »

Thanks!

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Nodack
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Re: Environment

Post by Nodack »

Remember it getting cold in Texas last winter and their power grid shut down? It has happened in the past and Texas never does anything thing about it. They blamed windmills at first. The problem is there is no regulations on making their power grid cold proof. Texans don’t like regulations. Nobody ever does anything about it…

Tighter Rules for Texas Power Grid Are a Shift for Gov. Greg Abbott, GOP
https://www.chronline.com/stories/tight ... gop,269649
When Gov. Greg Abbott issued a directive to the regulators of Texas' power grid earlier this month, he did something that could be considered unthinkable for a state chief executive who might have his eyes on a higher office in Washington.

Abbott called for more — not less — government regulation of the state's electricity market. His orders to the Public Utility Commission signaled a move away from the state's Wild West approach and indicated that he wants Texas' energy market to have more government-controlled levers.

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3rdside
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Re: Environment

Post by 3rdside »

That’s the climate problem solved, next ..

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-enviro ... -UXu7xXhlQ

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