Last week I wrote about the work of Congresman Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican, chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, and what the Committee under his Chairmanship is attempting to do to scientific research. This past Wednesday he penned this OpEd piece in the Wall Street Journal. I do have concerns with anyone who might try to intimidate…
When the new President (I can’t even mention his name) took office in January, it wasn’t the beginning of the challenge to climate science and action in DC. If it weren’t actually happening, I would not be able to imagine that well educated leaders in a free society would actually not only deny that the climate is changing and humans…
We had dinner with some old friends last night. The conversation inevitably turned to politics (ugh). I brought up my recent blog about CRA and the overturning of the Stream Protection Rule. I tried to explain why anyone (read Republicans and a couple of Democrats) would want to permit (encourage?) blowing the tops off of mountains and then dump the…
If you have no idea what CRA is don’t feel bad. Until very recently I’d never heard of it either. Since the election I’ve been hearing many of my Sierra Club associates talking about how the Republicans are going to use the CRA to reverse much of what the Obama Administration put in place. CRA stands for Congressional Review Act. It is described…
Maybe I should have entitled this piece after the Talking Heads song “Once in a Lifetime” with the famous lyrics of “You may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?” (https://youtu.be/I1wg1DNHbNU) But we’re not going to ruminate on the insanity of what’s already happened but look forward to our mutual future. So instead, click on this url, https://youtu.be/VuAZTWGfQTs and listen…
We discovered on November 8th that history does not progress in a straight line. The arc of progress, the road of history, twists and turns and sometimes bends back on itself…just like in our own lives. I’ve paddled a few wilderness creeks like this. Back and forth never being sure where you’re going and if or when this frustrating endeavor will end.…
As a follow up to yesterday‘s piece, I am copying Automotive News’ editorial from last week. This article points out that 2016 was the year of the EV and asks: “What changed? “It’s a move that is driven primarily by the customer,” Speth told us. “Customers see this type of vehicle as cool and sexy, especially younger customers” As a former…
For many years now I’ve been driving electric probably over 90% of the time. I’ve had my Chevy Volt for over 5 years and in that, I use electric mode for around 80% of my miles. For two and a half years Debbie has been driving a Tesla S which, of course, is 100% electric. Combined we’re probably over 90% electric.…
As I have been predicting, there are going to be developments that we don’t see coming and will turn conventional wisdom on its head. Well, here it comes!!! Buckle up. Change is going to happen faster and faster. Here‘s the key point: ” a then-audacious campaign to make solar power as cheap as electricity from coal. “Frank van Mierlo holds his…
OK. So this article is kind of wonky and I don’t really get all the science in it. But, what it says is that at Stanford they have developed an apparently simple and inexpensive way to make all kinds of plastic biodegradable. This could be an enormous development for the health of the planet. “researchers at Stanford and IBM Research…