"On immigration, you better get your act together or you’re not going to have Europe anymore. You got to get your act together."

"You know, last month, we had nobody entering our country. Nobody. Shut it down.... We took out a lot of bad people that got there with Biden. Biden was a total stiff. And what he allowed to happen, but you’re allowing it to happen to your countries. And you got to stop this horrible invasion that’s happening to Europe. Many countries in Europe. Some people, some leaders have not let it happen. And they’re not getting the proper credit they should. I could name them to you right now, but I’m not going to embarrass the other ones. But stop. This immigration is killing Europe." And also: "Stop the windmills. You’re ruining your countries. I really mean it. It’s so sad. You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds. And if they’re stuck in the ocean, ruining your oceans. Stop the windmills."

Said Trump, quoted in "Trump arrives in Scotland to claim immigration is ‘killing Europe’/The US president said there had been ‘a horrible invasion’ of migrants after he landed in Scotland for a four-day visit on Friday evening" (London Times).

"Researchers argue that home solar panels are raising the price of electricity and reducing the need for cheaper large solar farms — making the entire transition to clean energy more expensive...."

"Researchers say that... many states and utilities provide very lucrative deals for users of rooftop solar — often compensating owners of home panels more than the value of their solar to the grid. In states like California and Arizona... in the middle of the day homeowners might get 20 cents back for each kilowatt-hour they send to the grid. But for a grid already flooded with solar, the value of that extra energy is close to zero. The result is that richer homeowners who can afford solar get cheap electricity bills — while poorer residents see higher bills to compensate. In California alone, researchers at UC Berkeley and the California Public Advocates Office estimated that rooftop solar will add between $4 billion and $6.5 billion to customers’ bills in 2024...."

From "Everyone loves rooftop solar panels. But there’s a problem. One of the most popular methods to cut your household’s carbon footprint may be a mixed bag" (WaPo).

"I want to flag one case that’s really funny to me, Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas. It’s sort of like the chickens coming home to roost..."

"... for the Supreme Court. A few years ago, the court made up the 'major questions doctrine,' the principle that when an agency makes a decision that involves a 'major question,' courts have a free-floating veto to block it. Well, the 5th Circuit used this doctrine to blow up the entire system of nuclear waste storage in this country, possibly forever.... The 5th Circuit sided with Texas in this case, declaring that the commission is actually powerless to grant licenses for the temporary storage of nuclear waste offsite from the plant... not because federal law says the commission can’t do that... [but because] temporary storage is a 'major question' because it involves nuclear material. And... Congress has to come in and authorize it even more clearly....Because the question 'has been hotly politically contested for over a half century.'"

Says Mark Joseph Stern, in "The Supreme Court Takes a Nuclear Waste Case Almost Too Wild to Believe" (Slate).

Watch Senator Fetterman deal with the question of fracking by repeatedly invoking the old eating-the-dogs-eating-the-cats foofaraw.

You may question your brain function:

Fetterman on Meet the Press in response to Welker's question about fracking: "Now in 2024, we're still trying to talk about fracking & the other side is talking about eating cat and geese and dogs... having a serious policy conversation when the other side is absolutely on fire." pic.twitter.com/5A4ZuBfAS4

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 22, 2024

"This is the first time Microsoft has secured a dedicated, 100% nuclear facility for its use."

 I'm reading "Microsoft AI Needs So Much Power It's Tapping Site of US Nuclear Meltdown/Constellation to invest $1.6 billion to restart dormant reactor as data-center power demand surges" (Bloomberg).

The decision is the latest sign of surging interest in the nuclear industry as power demand for AI soars. More than a dozen reactors went dark over roughly the past decade in the face of increasing competition from cheaper natural gas and renewable energy. But growing demand for electricity — from factories, cars and especially from data centers — has spurred interest in nuclear plants that can provide carbon-free power around the clock.

“Policymakers and the market have received a huge wake-up call,” Constellation Chief Executive Officer Joe Dominguez said in an interview. “There’s no version of the future of this country that doesn’t rely on these nuclear assets.”

"Even though electricity demand from A.I. is expected to at least double in the coming years, the efficiency of the technology could increase at an even higher rate...."

"After the mania has calmed down, other incentives kick in,' said Jonathan Koomey, a former scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who is now an independent researcher. 'here is a huge incentive for the industry to become more efficient.' The big tech companies are working on ways to streamline their software, hardware and cooling systems to reduce electricity consumption in their data centers. They are locating computing facilities in northern countries, pulling in cold outdoor air as a coolant to reduce electricity and water use. And they are investing in alternative energy sources. If those efforts are successful, and if we’re smart about how we use A.I., it might eventually offer a lot of environmental bang for the buck."

From "Will A.I. Ruin the Planet or Save the Planet? It’s a notorious energy hog. But artificial intelligence can also foster innovation and discovery, and it could speed the global transition to cleaner power" (NYT).

There's so little attention to this issue. If there were more, though, it would fuel suspicions about the seriousness of the climate change emergency. I see an occasional article like this, which really only says, don't worry, technology will find solutions... which is what is said by people who oppose taking strong action on climate change. 

"[Elon] Musk is so wedded to the idea of creating a civilization on Mars — he once said he plans to die there — that it has propelled nearly every business endeavor..."

"... he has undertaken on Earth. His vision for Mars underlies most of the six companies that he leads or owns.... The Boring Company, a private tunneling venture founded by Mr. Musk, was started in part to ready equipment to burrow under Mars’s surface, two of the people said. Mr. Musk has told people that he bought X, the social media platform, partly to help test how a citizen-led government that rules by consensus might work on Mars. He has also said that he envisions residents on the planet will drive a version of the steel-paneled Cybertrucks made by Tesla, his electric vehicle company...."

From "Thermonuclear Blasts and New Species: Inside Elon Musk’s Plan to Colonize Mars/SpaceX employees are working on plans for a Martian city, including dome habitats, spacesuits and researching whether humans can procreate off Earth. Mr. Musk has volunteered his sperm" (NYT)(free-access link).

"China is the prime AI threat... and... what they need more than anything else is electricity."

"They have to have electricity, massive amounts of electricity.... [T]he electricity needs are greater than anything we've ever needed before to do AI at the highest level, and China will produce it because they'll do whatever you have to do, whereas we have environmental impact people.... We have a lot of people trying to hold us back, but massive amounts of electricity are needed in order to do AI, and we're going to have to generate a whole different level of energy. And we can do it, and I think we should do it, but we have to be very careful with it right we have to watch it.... A lot of smart people... say it takes over it takes over the human race. It's really powerful stuff, AI, so let's see how it all works out...."

"Is Gavin Newsom trying to help Donald Trump?..."

"California’s [gas] prices are the highest in the country—$5.21 a gallon on average vs. $3.59 nationwide—owing to hefty taxes and burdensome regulations, such as its cap-and-trade program and low-carbon fuel standard. The difficulty of operating refineries in the Golden State has caused many to shut down. More than 60% of the refineries that opened in California during the past 100 years are reportedly no longer operating. Econ 101 teaches that reduced supply increases prices.... California refineries supply nearly 90% of Nevada’s gasoline and half of Arizona’s. Gasoline prices in Nevada ($4.38 a gallon) and Arizona ($3.90) tend to rise in tandem with those in California....."

Writes Allysia Finley, in "Gavin Newsom’s Battleground Gift to Donald Trump/The governor’s war on gasoline will hike prices in California, but also Arizona and Nevada" (Wall Street Journal).

"Across the country, power companies are increasingly using giant batteries the size of shipping containers to address renewable energy’s biggest weakness..."

"... the fact that the wind and sun aren’t always available.... When power companies first began connecting batteries to the grid in the 2010s, they mainly used them to smooth out small disruptions in the flow of electricity.... But power companies also use batteries to engage in a type of trading: charging up when electricity is plentiful and cheap and then selling power to the grid when electricity supplies are tighter and more expensive. In California power prices often crash around midday, when the state produces more solar power than it needs.... Prices then soar in the evening when solar disappears...."

From "Giant Batteries Are Transforming the Way the U.S. Uses Electricity/They’re delivering solar power after dark in California and helping to stabilize grids in other states. And the technology is expanding rapidly" (NYT).

"You won’t hear President Biden talking about it much, but a key record has been broken during his watch."

"The United States is producing more oil than any country ever has. The flow of huge amounts of crude from American producers is playing a big role in keeping prices down at the pump, diminishing the geopolitical power of OPEC, and taming inflation.... The politics of oil are particularly tricky for Democrats, whose chances for victory in the 2024 elections could hinge on whether young, climate-conscious voters come out in big numbers. Many of those voters want to hear that Biden is doing everything in his power to keep oil in the ground.... Trump recently told Fox News’s Sean Hannity that he would act as a dictator only on the first day of his presidency in 2025, in part because he wanted to 'drill, drill, drill' for more oil. The former president has constantly attacked Biden’s clean energy agenda and accused him of squandering America’s prior 'energy independence' because of allegiance to 'environmental lunatics.'"

WaPo reports.

"Offshore wind is not dead, but the industry and its backers are certainly learning some harsh lessons."

"The ambitions of the Biden administration and states along the East Coast like New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts to install large amounts of clean electric power generation through offshore wind in the coming decades are likely to be set back. The industry is dealing with equipment shortages as result of pandemic-era supply chain issues, and trying manage a growing number of orders for wind turbines as governments seek to meet green energy goals. And escalating interest rates, as central banks around the world try to curb inflation, have caused financing costs to soar...."

From "Offshore Wind Firm Cancels N.J. Projects, as Industry’s Prospects Dim/Denmark’s Orsted said it would be forced to write off as much as $5.6 billion as wind developers in the U.S. faced wrenching financing costs" (NYT).

"Mr. Biden and Democrats in Congress last year authorized hundreds of billions of dollars in federal incentives for manufacturing solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, electric cars and semiconductors...."

"As a result, many companies, including First Solar, have announced the construction of dozens of factories, in total, around the country. But nobody is entirely sure whether these investments will be durable, especially in businesses, like battery or solar panel manufacturing, where China’s domination is deep and strong."

From "Can the U.S. Make Solar Panels? This Company Thinks So. First Solar kept producing them in Ohio after most of the industry moved to China. President Biden wants many more domestic manufacturers" (NYT).

Meanwhile, "Ford Halts Work on E.V. Battery Plant in Michigan/The company cited concerns about operating the factory competitively. It’s not clear if the pause is linked to its dispute with the United Auto Workers" (NYT):

"The first thing to understand about Trump is that he’s not a normal politician. He doesn’t give a rip about policy."

"What he cares about is saying and doing whatever it takes to fulfill his desires and thirst for power, including destroying democracy if necessary. Treating him as anything other than a depraved authoritarian is not only wrongheaded, but helps his cause by legitimizing him as a reasonable choice for voters. And that’s exactly what Welker did."

I'm reading "How not to interview Trump/Kristen Welker's tenure as 'Meet the Press' moderator got off to an inauspicious start," by Aaron Rupar.

We're supposed to believe that other politicians don't say "whatever it takes to fulfill [their] desires and thirst for power."

I don't like the way the abnormalization of Trump has come at the cost of stifling our capacity to critique other politicians. The others may be more "normal" than Trump, but since when is a "normal politician" a genuine policy wonk who's dedicated to telling the truth and serving the people?

"We had a guy pull in the other day towing a big boat. He asked us how to get to the launch ramp to the lake. I don’t think he realised he was looking at a lake of solar panels."

From "How solar farms took over the California desert: 'An oasis has become a dead sea'/ Residents feel trapped and choked by dust, while experts warn environmental damage is 'solving one problem by creating others'" (The Guardian).

What solution is not also a new problem? The question is whether the solution is worse than the problem.

These western deserts are vast and contain few residents. Isn't there plenty of space to go ahead and screw up with seas of solar panels?

" In one of its most consequential climate decisions, the Biden administration is planning to greenlight an enormous $8 billion oil drilling project in the North Slope of Alaska...."

The NYT reports.

Willow would be the largest new oil development in the United States, expected to pump out 600 million barrels of crude over 30 years.... Environmental activists, who have labeled the project a “carbon bomb” have argued that the project would deepen America’s dependence on oil and gas....

Willow was initially approved by the Trump administration and the Biden administration later defended the approval in court. The project was then temporarily blocked by a judge who said that the prior administration’s environmental analysis was not sufficient....

"Mrs. Space, 68… weighs just over 80 pounds, making it difficult for her to get warm."

"She and her husband, Thomas, watched as the thermometer in their home dipped into the low 60s. When Ms. Space started having headaches and shortness of breath, the two decided it was time to leave.... The Spaces tried to call hotels in the area, but many were sold out and available rooms were too expensive. Mr. Space found the American Red Cross shelter in Kalamazoo, so the couple packed what they needed from their home and spent the night there on Friday evening. 'It was almost a blessing, just to be able to walk in here and be given a cot,' she said."

From "'Frustrating and Upsetting': Residents in Michigan Endure Fourth Day Without Power/After an ice storm caused power failures across the state, 400,000 customers were still without electricity on Saturday. For some, it’s the second blackout in months" (NYT).

"I’ll buy from his business opponents. He has in the last year exposed himself as a right wing clown with too much money and certainly too much power. A very dangerous man."

Says the highest-rated comment at "Elon Musk agrees to open parts of Tesla’s charging network to everyone/The best charging network in the country will no longer be totally under lock and key" (WaPo).

"When you ask Americans how they save energy at home, 'turn off the lights' has been at the top of the list since the 1980s."

"But when it comes to actual savings, it doesn’t even crack the top 10. Like most conventional wisdom about how to reduce household energy and emissions, much of what we believe about our homes and appliances is wrong."

Writes WaPo's climate advice columnist Michael J. Coren, in "We still use appliances like it’s 1970. There’s a better way."

I formed the habit, back in the 1970s, of turning off lights as I exited any room and only keeping lights on in rooms that were occupied. I grew up in the 50s and 60s, when it was the norm to have the lights on all over the house in the evening. We didn't think about the pros and cons of leaving them on, but I imagine that we'd have thought it would deprive us of a feeling of coziness and optimism if the house were not lit up at night. From the outside, our house and our neighbors' houses looked warm and happy and alive.

Matt Yglesias is thinking of becoming a Hydrogen Guy.

Want to set some gas on fire without releasing carbon dioxide into the air?

Friends, let me tell you about the H2 molecules.

Don’t know what to do with your surplus production of intermittent solar power?

Try running current through some water and see what happens. pic.twitter.com/6Litj5Xxpu

— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) November 22, 2022

Cute pic will fend off the inevitable naysayers, maybe.