It's Time to Change the Narrative About Clean Energy

I have not tried to fact-check any of this, but it's pretty interesting. It's Time to Change the Narrative About Clean Energy:

Between 2014 and 2015, the solar industry alone created one out of every 78 jobs in the United States. If including wind, LED lighting, and other clean energy categories, that number could be closer to one in 33. For the solar industry, a majority of these new jobs are blue-collar construction and manufacturing jobs that pay an average of $21 per hour – far higher than the $16-per-hour, non-union manufacturing jobs touted by South Carolina later in that episode.

...the solar industry has hired more veterans than anyone else, retrained coal workers, and even found a soft landing for oil and gas workers who had lost their jobs. The vast majority of solar and wind workers are trained in less than six months because their previous work experience and training is completely transferrable.

In 2015, the manufacturing part of the solar and wind industries had over 100,000 people making pieces and parts in the United States. This indicates a 20 percent increase, or over 20,000 more people, since the previous year. In fact, this number is only expected to continue to grow at that rate for the next five years.

Independence is the heart of American identity. Clean energy is independence turned into electrons.

Also see 10 Clean Energy Facts...

I watched a populist leader rise in my country. That's why I'm genuinely worried for America. - The Washington Post

I watched a populist leader rise in my country. That's why I'm genuinely worried for America. - The Washington Post:

"halting elected post-truthers in countries split by partisan fighting is much more difficult than achieving freedom where it is desired by virtually everyone."

Haraszti makes several recommendations to those hoping to limit the damage Trump will do to the Constitution. The entire article is worth reading. Here are a few segments that stood out for me. His first lesson, based on the Hungarian experience and one that he considers vital, is not to expect logic, fiascos, or existing statutes to help keep things under control.

"Populists govern by swapping issues, as opposed to resolving them. Purposeful randomness, constant ambush, relentless slaloming and red herrings dropped all around are the new normal. Their favorite means of communication is provoking conflict. They do not mind being hated. Their two basic postures of “defending” and “triumphing” are impossible to perform without picking enemies."

Labeling

If you want to open eyes to the damage done, Haraszti hints that labeling is important. For example, don't say "conflicts of interest". That's a weak phrase unlikely to trigger an emotional response. "Conflicts of interest" are just a special case of "corruption", and "corruption" is a better, stronger label.

Protect Those Who Oppose Corruption

"It probably helps to be as watchful as possible on corruption, to assist investigative journalism at any price, and to defend the institutions that enforce transparency and justice. And it also helps to have leaders in the opposition who are not only impeccably clean in pecuniary matters, but also impress as such."

There will probably be blood. Look what happens to investigative journalists in Russia. Look at before and after photos of Ukraine's Viktor Yushchenko. "At any price" is not a cliche.

Beliefs Trump Reason, Always

I know from experience that some who recognized Trump as a danger, but who still voted for him, are already rationalizing vigorously. They see his pre-inaugural behavior, and his cabinet picks. And they respond that their other choices would have been just as bad – that, "we would have been screwed either way". They see his conflicts of interest, and they respond by pointing to quotes, taken out of context, from the Benghazi hearings. The belief that we are screwed no matter what will be hard to dislodge. Until it is, these voters will not perceive leaders in the opposition as providing a real alternative to the evil emperor, and they won't be moved to join the popular majority who voted against him in the first place. I don't know how to persuade them. Putting Benghazi quotes in context may help. Admitting the imperfections of the opposition may hinder at first, but it may also tell rationalizers you respect their reasoning and intellect. And that may make them more willing to consider that the opposition leaders are better in significant ways, that perhaps we aren't screwed no matter what. It will take time to understand how to persuade apathetic rationalizers. But I think it is necessary to do so. In any case, thanks to Haraszti for giving us the benefit of relevant experience.

Elija Lovejoy and the Mob

Our fate was sealed long before November 8 (and not because the election's rigged):

"To Lovejoy, the greatest threat was not death, but the abdication of one's principles – the selfishness of self-preservation in an era of mob rule. That is the clarity of conscience that bides your time to the grave."

I think this is the first time I've heard about Elijah Lovejoy. The article uses him to make larger points, among them:

The press has no true power if it is afraid to document attacks on the most vulnerable citizens, and to challenge those who abet such attacks... fear of the mob, a fear openly expressed by writers who are targeted by Trump fans.

Now consider Trump posse browbeats Hill Republicans.

"It’s little wonder that Capitol Hill Republicans have papered over their not-insignificant policy differences with Trump, shying away from any statement about the president-elect that might possibly be construed as critical. They’re terrified of arousing the ire of their tempestuous new leader — or being labeled a turncoat by his army of followers."

"Nobody wants to go first," said Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), who received nasty phone calls, letters and tweets after he penned an August op-ed in The New York Times, calling on Trump to release his tax returns. "People are naturally reticent to be the first out of the block for fear of Sean Hannity, for fear of Breitbart, for fear of local folks."

WTH. He was bullied because he wanted Trump to release his tax returns, a simple request that would help the electorate make an informed decision? Quoting out of sequence:

"In early December, Rep. Bill Flores made what seemed like an obvious observation to a roomful of conservatives at a conference in Washington. Some of Donald Trump’s proposals, the Texas Republican cautioned, “are not going to line up very well with our conservative policies," though he quickly added that there was plenty the incoming president and GOP Congress could accomplish together."

"The TruthFeed post linked to Flores' Twitter handle and Facebook page and listed his office phone number. Soon people were threatening his physical safety and warning that his political career was on the line."

WTH again. He was threatened with violence because he pointed out that conservatives might not agree uncritically with every one of Trump's proposals. Trump is a fascist. He and his followers are using time-tested fascist tactics. What do we do about this?

Gödel's Loophole

Sometime in the late 80s or then-abouts, when I first read the story of Kurt Gödel's citizenship interview, it was amusing. Morgenstern on Gödel Citizenship:

"[Gödel] rather excitedly told me that in looking at the Constitution, to his distress, he had found some inner contradictions and that he could show how in a perfectly legal manner it would be possible for somebody to become a dictator and set up a Fascist regime, never intended by those who drew up the Constitution."

It's less amusing by the day. Gingrich: Congress should change ethics laws for Trump - POLITICO:

"And should someone in the Trump administration cross the line, Gingrich has a potential answer for that too.

"In the case of the president, he has a broad ability to organize the White House the way he wants to. He also has, frankly, the power of the pardon," Gingrich said. "It's a totally open power. He could simply say, 'Look, I want them to be my advisers. I pardon them if anyone finds them to have behaved against the rules. Period.' Technically, under the Constitution, he has that level of authority.'"

Update 2016/12/22: Gingrich is trying hard to set the stage for Nuremburg II:

Dave Winer nails it again

Sometimes Dave Winer says things that make no sense to me. Sometimes he says brilliant things so directly that they seem obvious. Ignore Trump as much as you can:

Trump is the outrageous distraction that draws your attention while the magician is doing his magic.

The Logic of Xenophobia

Censored Photos From Inside U.S. Japanese Concentration Camps - Counter Current News:

"The very fact that no sabotage has taken place to date is a disturbing and confirming indication that such action will be taken." – General John L. DeWitt, head of the U.S. Army's Western Defense Command

A weird new energy market?

CleanTechnica - Community Solar Now Available Nationwide From Arcadia Power:

And it will be people who tend to have lower average electricity bills ... who are actually the ones who will be able to shave the most off their electric bill.

That is because the credit deducted from your normal bill from your utility is a hard dollar amount, based on how many panels you buy, which generate power and get paid a high rate in Massachusetts or Washington. You earn the credits from this solar investment in dollars. Those dollars simply get deducted from your bill.

I don't quite get how this works – what, exactly, is being traded for what; and what is actually being delivered. It has some of the "let's pretend" characteristics of a futures contract.

Shared Solar Is The Next Big Thing In Energy Industry | CleanTechnica

Shared Solar Is The Next Big Thing In Energy Industry | CleanTechnica:

"But the South Australia blackout proved a lie to that. And rather than being the fault of wind energy, as many pretended, the experience has underlined the fragility of Australia's reliance on large centralised generators and huge networks that transport the energy hundred [or] even thousands of kilometres.

Just about everyone agrees that the way to provide a more secure, and low cost grid, is to focus on localised energy, featuring local power and sharing – a concept that Orsini describes as "transactive energy."

The blockchain technology is important because it can offer a "cryptographically secure", distributed ledger that can track where electricity was generated, where it can travel to and who used it."

...

“Any energy system that is running high on renewables, in combination with non renewables and storage, needs to move to market model that recognizes the value of a “negawatt” (the power you don’t use) as well as the value of megawatt. The grid architecture will change very quickly.”

...

“If you are buying your electricity from far away – and if you not paying for that cost, then it is socialised. You never see the real cost. As soon as you start paying for the real cost then the grid re-organises itself.

You will want to pay for stuff that is closer. We used to have no choice but to have a centralised, monopoly grid, but we didn’t need to do that any more.”