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<p><font size="+2"><font face="Calibri"><i><b>September </b></i></font></font><font
size="+2" face="Calibri"><i><b>29, 2023</b></i></font></p>
<i><font face="Calibri">[ Like driving fast on a racetrack ]<br>
</font></i><font face="Calibri"><b>The US power grid quietly
survived its most brutal summer yet</b><br>
Despite record power demand, the grid largely avoided blackouts.
Don’t take this for granted. <br>
By Umair Irfan Sep 28, 2023,<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">With little acknowledgment and no applause, the
power grid across the continental United States this summer
quietly pulled off what may have been its most impressive feat
ever.<br>
<br>
On July 27, the US grid served nearly 15 million megawatt-hours of
electricity across the lower 48 states, about 1.6 times the
electricity produced by every nuclear power plant in the world on
a given day. It kept lights, fans, and air conditioners running in
every home, office, factory, school, hospital, and store on one of
the hottest days ever. For comparison, the average daily
electricity use in 2022 across the whole country was roughly 11
million MWh. At 6 pm ET, US energy demand reached an all-time high
hourly peak of 741,815 MWh...</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">- -<br>
</font><font face="Calibri">It’s even more remarkable when you
consider the context: July 27 was just the Mount Everest in a
month of Himalayan demand peaks. July 2023 was the hottest month
on the planet since at least 1880, possibly the hottest in 100,000
years. The US, being a country on Earth, burst through numerous
temperature records. In Death Valley, California, temperatures
reached 127.7 degrees Fahrenheit.</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">Weeks of relentless heat all day and even
through the night sent millions of Americans indoors where they
devoured electrons as they desperately tried to cool off...</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">- -</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">The extreme heat this year also exposed flaws
in the conventional wisdom around grid reliability, namely that
coal, oil, and gas are dependable stalwarts and that wind and
solar are too mercurial to be useful. Fossil fuel infrastructure
experienced equipment failures amid the high temperatures and
extreme heat impaired both conventional and renewable generators.<br>
<br>
“The idea that we need more coal and gas to supplement renewables
I think is being shown to be a myth that is being propagated by
certain fossil fuel interests and their political allies,” said
Joshua Basseches, an assistant professor of public policy and
environmental studies at Tulane University. “I think it’s starting
to change, but it has a long way to go.”...<br>
</font><font face="Calibri">- -</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">2023’s super-hot summer also raised the
salience of scrutinizing decisions about the future of the power
grid and the people who make them. “Transmission organizations and
independent system operators have an accountability problem,”
Basseches said. The people who decide where to build power lines,
what sources should provide electricity, what energy storage
mechanisms are necessary, and how to distribute the costs are
overseen by the federal government, but they aren’t elected by the
people most directly affected by their choices.<br>
<br>
“That’s why you hear people calling for ‘energy democracy,’ this
idea that there should be more voices at the table,” Basseches
said.<br>
<br>
It’s critical to plan now for the next time temperatures reach the
far ends of the thermometer. The decisions made now will shape
whether we can stay comfortable in the next chill or scorcher, or
whether we’ll be left in the dark.<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.vox.com/climate/23893057/power-electricity-grid-heat-wave-record-blackout-outage-climate">https://www.vox.com/climate/23893057/power-electricity-grid-heat-wave-record-blackout-outage-climate</a><br>
</font>
<p><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font></p>
<font face="Calibri"><i>[ not following the trend ]</i></font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>Britain to Allow Big North Sea Oil Field,
Despite Climate Concerns</b><br>
A go-ahead for a long-delayed $9.4 billion drilling project is
expected to support the oil industry and provide energy security,
but environmental advocates were outraged...</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">- -</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">The location is in deep water — 3,600 feet
below the surface — and has difficult geology. There are also
frequent spells of storms and other bad weather in the area.
Chevron spent years and substantial sums trying to work out how to
bring the oil to market before shelving the plan in 2013 and
selling its 40 percent stake to Equinor in 2018.<br>
<br>
Equinor will produce the oil using a floating storage vessel that
was used on a field in Norway and is now being modified in Dubai,
cutting costs. Reusing the vessel, which is smaller than
originally conceived, is “a much cheaper option,” said Mr. Myerson
of Ithaca Energy.<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/27/business/britain-north-sea-oil-drilling.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/27/business/britain-north-sea-oil-drilling.html</a></font><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<i>[ Fracking is rude verb ]</i><br>
<b>‘Monster Fracks’ Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier.</b><br>
Giant new oil and gas wells that require astonishing volumes of
water to fracture bedrock are threatening America’s fragile
aquifers.<br>
Increasingly complex oil wells are sweeping across Texas, birthplace
of the fracking revolution, and the nation...<br>
Nationwide, fracking has used up nearly 1.5 trillion gallons of
water since 2011. That’s how much tap water the entire state of
Texas uses in a year...<br>
“As the easier-to-extract areas are tapped to their full potential,
you need to use more and more desperate measures,” said A.J.
Kondash, an environmental scientist at RTI International, a
nonprofit research organization, who has studied fracking’s water
use...<br>
<br>
The problem is actually two-fold. Fracking companies are pulling
more water out of the ground, and then, after the fracking process,
they must treat or dispose of millions of gallons of contaminated
water, removing it from the natural water cycle...<br>
<br>
Some companies are making strides in reusing that fracking
wastewater to drill for more oil and gas, but it’s a small
percentage. In the sprawling Permian Basin in Texas, the largest oil
field in the country, just 15 percent of water used for fracking is
recycled water, according to state estimates.<br>
<br>
The Times based its water-use analysis on data from FracFocus, a
registry of chemicals used in fracking that is operated by two
national associations of state agencies, the Groundwater Protection
Council and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission. In 27
states, companies report the data to FracFocus.<br>
<br>
That data revealed surging water use even though the numbers, which
are self-reported by industry, are sometimes incomplete...<br>
<br>
Compounding the problem, about a quarter of Texas operates under
rules that let landowners pump as much water on their property as
they like, regardless of consequences to neighbors.<br>
<br>
“In Texas, if you own the surface, you own everything to the center
of the earth,” said Mr. Martin of the Wintergarden water district.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/09/25/climate/fracking-oil-gas-wells-water.html">https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/09/25/climate/fracking-oil-gas-wells-water.html</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/09/25/climate/fracking-oil-gas-wells-water.html?unlocked_article_code=pFjYn9B7zR1kYGXZ65FZF-zgSqaSxRiEjqKOsbSfD4ZL9T8ePjM7VEfZ_itM60rPdRhFQyO5TFYgWZWtQONPYUwzJ1w3t_5rVBMhZxr1mKeXz0SKKnBSJQJO-8fnXX-jjf-SDYE_It8g4RQ38EBOpbuKN9dT23fn2RBzn_cO1xV5pGeWB_SWpYr5HuiVs5cmTrPx5aJyyVHzs96jfJtFb2QM2V_EQnTqLbFoRdIVLGkN0PoYhpz1Ohm3CNbVh7yky5pxkuJ5L10KDsFOJcJaB2K3yNyrMSmJNM7p4QPZcLDgBz5Ia6OVOo9DRqWAPzmJU-c8d-w_JnErx5Z0suOLOzpGD5rRd5njNPDWVCQiSTMJEWyYWhQ&smid=url-share">https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/09/25/climate/fracking-oil-gas-wells-water.html?unlocked_article_code=pFjYn9B7zR1kYGXZ65FZF-zgSqaSxRiEjqKOsbSfD4ZL9T8ePjM7VEfZ_itM60rPdRhFQyO5TFYgWZWtQONPYUwzJ1w3t_5rVBMhZxr1mKeXz0SKKnBSJQJO-8fnXX-jjf-SDYE_It8g4RQ38EBOpbuKN9dT23fn2RBzn_cO1xV5pGeWB_SWpYr5HuiVs5cmTrPx5aJyyVHzs96jfJtFb2QM2V_EQnTqLbFoRdIVLGkN0PoYhpz1Ohm3CNbVh7yky5pxkuJ5L10KDsFOJcJaB2K3yNyrMSmJNM7p4QPZcLDgBz5Ia6OVOo9DRqWAPzmJU-c8d-w_JnErx5Z0suOLOzpGD5rRd5njNPDWVCQiSTMJEWyYWhQ&smid=url-share</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<font face="Calibri"> <i>[ Classic Bill Rees lecture explains our
predicament - jump to 50 mins in ]</i><br>
<b>William Rees: Techno-Industrial Society is Inherently
Unsustainable 17 Jun 2021</b><br>
US Association of the Club of Rome<br>
</font>
<p><font face="Calibri">Jun 17, 2021<br>
William Rees: Techno-Industrial Society is Inherently
Unsustainable: Is Collapse Inevitable? <br>
Zoom meeting hosted by the US Association of the Club of Rome on
17 Jun 2021<br>
</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASS-zSUwEkc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASS-zSUwEkc</a></font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font> </p>
<font face="Calibri"> <i>[ What Travel? I prefer armchair travel ]</i></font><br>
<font face="Calibri"> </font> <font face="Calibri"><b>‘Unpredictability
in the System,’ and Other Travel Lessons From the Summer of ’23</b></font><br>
<font face="Calibri">Climate change upheavals brought on a season of
extremes for travelers in the U.S., Europe and beyond. One thing
is clear: Travel is changing.</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">By Paige McClanahan -- who is writing a book
about how tourism is changing the world, for better and for worse.</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">Sept. 28, 2023</font><br>
- -<br>
July turned out to be the planet’s hottest month on record, while
the period from June to August was the Northern Hemisphere’s
hottest-ever summer.<br>
<br>
As temperatures soared, parts of Western Europe slogged through
long-running drought conditions, while places from Vermont to Brazil
to the Himalayas were inundated with floods or landslides. And then
there were the wildfires in Maui, Texas and Canada, as well as in
France, Portugal, the Canary Islands — and Greece.<br>
<br>
It was a summer of extremes, and a summer of lessons for the
travelers and locals who encountered them. Looking ahead, here are
some lessons from the climate change upheavals of the past few
months. One thing is clear: Unpredictability is the new normal...<br>
- -<br>
Miami, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Athens and Freetown, Sierra
Leone, are among the cities that have recently installed “chief heat
officers” to create public warning systems, expand green spaces and
build “cooling centers,” among other measures. Washington, D.C., has
launched Keep Cool DC, which aims to plant trees, invest in parks
and promote heat-sensitive building design. In Spain, Seville may
soon name and categorize heat waves so that people can prepare as
they would for hurricanes...<br>
- -<br>
In the two and a half years since she started Cherish Tours, her
tour company for women, Megan Grant has yet to run a group trip that
departs in the hot, crowded, expensive months of July or August. A
recent tour in September went to the cool Faroe Islands in the North
Atlantic.<br>
<br>
Avoiding summer is a principle she applies to her personal travels
as well. She’s getting married in Italy next year: in April...<br>
- -<br>
<b>5. Expect more visitors to cooler climates</b><br>
Cooler areas, including northern Europe, could see a significant
rise as travelers look to avoid encounters with intense heat.<br>
<br>
Liisa Kokkarinen, the head of sustainable development at Visit
Finland, said the country had seen an uptick in visitors, especially
from Asia and elsewhere in Europe.<br>
<br>
“Something that was in the past considered ‘too cold to visit’ is
maybe no longer too cold to visit,” said Ms. Kokkarinen, who lives
in Lapland, along the Arctic Circle. Typically, the high season
there is the winter, with travelers coming for the snowy landscapes
and Northern Lights. But now more visitors are enjoying the mild
summers — something the government tourism agency is working to
support...<br>
- -<br>
<b>6. Build in flexibility</b><br>
Storms, heat waves and wildfires are anything but predictable, and
travelers are increasingly building in ways to change their plans on
the fly.<br>
<br>
Jared Brenner, an American who recently retired to Lisbon, said he
will often pay more for refundable or flexible flight tickets, or
look for flights with smaller change or cancellation fees...<br>
- -<br>
<b>7. Know that you can run, but you can’t hide</b><br>
On a June trip to the Colorado Rockies, Sasha Lezhnev of Virginia
was driving to meet his wife and son when he encountered what looked
like a mini-tornado.<br>
<br>
“The dust devil was running across the road and there was nothing I
could do. You just hope your car doesn’t spin around,” Mr. Lezhnev
said, adding that they also endured a series of tornado watches
during the trip.<br>
Mr. Lezhnev, the founder of the travel website Off The Beaten
Travel, said that the experience and others like it, including a
close brush with a summer wildfire in Montana, have led him to
consider places like Maine, Scotland, Finland and Norway, which are
known for their relatively cool, calm climates.<br>
<br>
But even northern Europe isn’t immune to upheaval. Finland and
Norway saw heavy rains this summer.<br>
<br>
“We were having to change itineraries in the spur of the moment,”
said Torunn Tronsvang, the founder of the travel operator Up Norway.
“The roads were flooded and we had landslides and the railway was
shut down. One railway bridge collapsed,” she said.<br>
<br>
But the company managed, even as they welcomed a record number of
guests this summer. “We learned so much from the pandemic,” Ms.
Tronsvang said.<br>
<br>
The importance of being prepared is something that travelers are
also taking to heart.<br>
<p>Travelers “are keenly aware that things are different now,” said
Mr. Harteveldt, the travel analyst. “And you cannot just plan a
trip without doing some research and having some level of
awareness about your destination and potential risks.”</p>
<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/28/travel/travel-lessons-climate-change.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/28/travel/travel-lessons-climate-change.html</a></p>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/28/travel/travel-lessons-climate-change.html?unlocked_article_code=GMaa3VX14Fj4VV5AaJOKvIcJwqGqM8DwTqA0e0yW5w7KugcJLkGMenMl4miSNclAmHTR8tcF3svYjkxJNO_PHXDRYxa2yEPK9xtwlsO0Twds1VblDbyQuD9F4AdAoy2Xg_dvJduve4qx9gWFP6triYZgyMoCgwyf1pQmN66dfcrlm6i_wjzOA1AOZfMiaSOJRSe5QPiWsAo165eDy7rlSWjJJ31-HjwDAoJAoDy1s38kMB1DsP_kYOQzDzBmz5KiJpyXnHmZRgsw3zFDBImXkUpg8C_Uh65mAmv3QAsmqlsHVB9hzsGbAc_kZ7bOBdiwz9OF7-XZxYGDx4S6nd8idUuEresdbQ&smid=url-share">https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/28/travel/travel-lessons-climate-change.html?unlocked_article_code=GMaa3VX14Fj4VV5AaJOKvIcJwqGqM8DwTqA0e0yW5w7KugcJLkGMenMl4miSNclAmHTR8tcF3svYjkxJNO_PHXDRYxa2yEPK9xtwlsO0Twds1VblDbyQuD9F4AdAoy2Xg_dvJduve4qx9gWFP6triYZgyMoCgwyf1pQmN66dfcrlm6i_wjzOA1AOZfMiaSOJRSe5QPiWsAo165eDy7rlSWjJJ31-HjwDAoJAoDy1s38kMB1DsP_kYOQzDzBmz5KiJpyXnHmZRgsw3zFDBImXkUpg8C_Uh65mAmv3QAsmqlsHVB9hzsGbAc_kZ7bOBdiwz9OF7-XZxYGDx4S6nd8idUuEresdbQ&smid=url-share</a>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<font face="Calibri"> <i>[ The news archive - looking back at a
"liar, liar, pants on fire" GWBush ]</i><br>
<font size="+2"><i><b>September 29, 2000</b></i></font> <br>
September 29, 2000: In an apparent effort to convince moderate
voters not to support Democratic opponent Al Gore, GOP
presidential candidate George W. Bush delivers an energy speech
implying that he will pursue efforts to reduce carbon pollution as
president. Bush would go on to abandon this implied promise during
his tenure in the White House.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/EnergyIssues3">http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/EnergyIssues3</a><br>
<br>
<br>
</font>
<p><font face="Calibri"> <br>
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