The near failure of the Texas power grid, coming just 4 minutes and 37 seconds from a complete collapse on February 14, 2021, was the first alarm bell that something was dreadfully wrong with US power grids. Meredith Angwin, a physical chemist and power grid specialist, described the February 2021 failure of the Texas power grid failure as a seminal event that was not a surprise:
Those of us who were watching the grid had noticed for years that Texas ran with a very low reserve margin…and there were predictions that Texas was going to be in trouble, [1],”
Since then, more power-grid operators have been speaking out about the increasing instability of their grids due to an over-weighting of non-dispatchable wind and solar power. A report on February 24, 2023, from the largest power grid in the US, PJM, warned of “increasing reliability risks” affecting 13 states and the District of Columbia and 65 million people who get their power from PJM.…
Continue Reading“Electrifying vehicles adds yet more weight. Combustible, energy-dense petroleum is replaced by bulky batteries. And the rest of the vehicle must get heavier to provide the necessary structural support….. Why does this matter? First and foremost is safety.
“Heavier vehicles also generate more particulate pollution from tyre [tire] wear. They require more materials and energy to build and propel them, adding to emissions and energy use.”
An article in Nature from several years ago, underappreciated in today’s climate/energy debate, was recently emphasized in a social media post by Nick Molden, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Emissions Analytics, and Honorary Research Fellow, Imperial College London.
Molden commented:
… Continue ReadingA certain level of CO2 reduction is required just to offset the extra accident death risk from heavier BEV vehicles. Some major countries already reach this level, although the US and Germany do not.
“My strong first impression is that OMB Circular A-4 is particularly useful for more expediently advancing the administrative state’s ‘all of Government’ agenda to combat the ‘existential threat’ of anthropogenic global warming.”
Last Friday April 7th, The Hill reported:
The White House is [re]forming the country’s regulatory system, announcing a new executive order and guidance that experts say could be used to justify both more and stronger regulations. On Thursday, the White House released an executive order reducing the number of regulations that undergo a more rigorous White House review and promoting public participation from previously underrepresented groups at its Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
The Hill’s article, “White House Issues Reforms to the Regulatory Process,” quoted two experts from organizations that generally support the climate alarm/forced energy transformation side of the debate.…
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