Tag Archives: single use plastic

Friday Linkage 11/15/2019

I know that I have said this before, but I feel like we are living in a “bizarro” world where we all should have goatees and act in ways contrary to our nature.

How have we gotten to a point in America where the defense of a sitting president using his office’s power for personal gain is defended as “not as bad as it could be?”  That was almost the literal defense that was provided by the Republicans chosen lawyer in the House’s impeachment proceedings.

If that is the bar for criminality than the U.S. prison system is about to get a whole lot less crowded.

On to the links…

Little Ice Age Lessons–Take a moment and read through the article while reserving judgement until you finish.  I might quibble with the details, but the idea that we have the ability to adapt to dramatically different climate conditions is a little ray of hope in a generally cloudy forecast.

Mike Pence’s Office Pushed to Reroute Foreign Aid to Favored Christian Groups–Just a friendly reminder that Mike Pence is a horrible human being.

If the US Military is Facing up to the Climate Crisis, shouldn’t We All?–Yes.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions To Rise Through 2040–Well, that is just kind of depressing.  It also underscores the need to cut emissions today.

US Energy Dept. Has A Solar Power Message For Coal: Get Lost!–Even the U.S. government understands that the economic case for coal is a lost cause.  This is a U.S. government agency under the thumb of the corrupt Donald Trump administration where coal companies are welcome.  What happens under a president that does not kowtow to coal robber barons?

Bob Murray: The Last Coal Baron?–We can hope.

Colorado’s Cleanest Energy Options are Also Its Cheapest–Renewable energy is cheap.  As states build out plans to decarbonize the economic benefits will become clear.  Add in the environmental benefits and you have a recipe for an economic and environmental transformation on par with the Industrial Revolution.

Berkeley scientists develop better batteries for storing renewable energy–Battery technology is not all about improving EVs.  The ability to store energy as a way to moderate the delta between renewable energy production and electricity demand is probably just as important for our decarbonized future.

Electric Cars are Changing the Cost of Driving–No oil changes.  Check. No fuel system.  Check. No complicated cooling system, transmission, exhaust, etc.  Check. As people drive EVs they come to realize that it is just a better way to motor.  Now if I could just get a BEV pickup truck.

Should You Even Bother Recycling Your Plastics?–This is why it is so important to reduce before reusing or recycling.  Plastics that are never introduced to the waste stream are the best kinds of plastic.

In Honolulu, An Ambitious Plastics Reduction Bill Is Moving Through City Council–Cities, especially cities on islands, are the climate laboratories of the 21st century.  Policies that would not be adopted in places like Omaha, Nebraska can be passed in island cities and proven to work.

Air Bubble Barrier Traps Plastic Waste in Amsterdam’s Canals–Some ideas are so simple that it boggles the mind that no one thought of this before.  How can we get a group like 4ocean to pilot these bubble barriers in several rivers, canals, whatever waterways across the globe?

Silvopasture: The Benefits of Integrating Livestock and Trees–There are more ways to skin the agriculture cat than we usually consider.  Livestock can be part of a system that helps to regenerate the landscape or produce renewable energy.  It is not always a zero sum game.

11 Unbelievably Easy Swaps To Be More Eco-Friendly–Imagine a world where we all woke up and did these eleven things?  Ok, for the dudes out there the whole diva cup thing is not applicable so pick an extra thing to do.

Friday Linkage 9/20/2019

The hardest lesson to impart to children is the idea that they are the ones responsible for their actions.  Heck, it is hard for adults to learn this lesson.

The current occupant of the White House places blame for everything that swirls around him on someone else.  He even blames his orange skin on something other than himself. If you are the color of a cheese puff in natural sunlight, it’s on you.  If you are the color of an oompa loompa under the lights of an arena during one of your fascist-esque rallies, it’s on you.  Blame LED light bulbs all you want, but your desire to mask your pallid skin with spray tan is all Donald, all the time.

On to the links…

The New Face of Climate Activism is Young, Angry — and Effective—We can hope.  We can hope that this generation will do better than previous generations.  We can hope.

Five CEOs Tell Us Why They’re Joining the Climate Strike—These CEOs understand that the climate strike represents the future.

Unfriendly Climate—We live in a society where elected officials without any scientific training or respect for science are allowed to make speeches and policy regarding science.  Why is it acceptable for someone to say, “I am not a scientist…” and then follow it with pseudo-scientific thought passed off as rigorous truth?

American Migration Patterns Should Terrify the GOP—Demographics may be destiny, but will that destiny get here before the radical GOP wrecks the country.

Renewable Energy to Overtake Natural Gas in the U.S. by 2035—2019 is the tipping point?  How do we accelerate the transition?  What is holding it back?

First National Platform for Renewable Energy Helps Consumers Slash Electric Bills up to 20%–Step by step renewable energy is becoming the default.  Energy exchange platforms allow for producers and consumers who are not linked physically to transact for available renewable energy.

It’s That Light Bulb Moment: Time For A Radical Rethink Of Power Generation Based On Renewables—It’s not radical, it’s rational.

Air Pollution Particles Found on Fetal Side of Placentas—We are now exposing our children to pollution before they ever draw a breath of air. We are doomed.

Monsanto’s Spies—This is the world we live in now.  Monsanto, a giant agri-chemical company, employs “spies” to discredit its critics.  These are the same critics who have had the temerity to question the safety of its products and the ethics of its business practices.

More Residents Turn to Solar Power as North Coast Faces Growing Threat of Wildfires, Blackouts—This is the future.  As centralized power generation becomes more expensive, less reliable, and non-existent in some cases individuals and communities will turn to locally produced energy.

Climate Change: Electrical Industry’s ‘Dirty Secret’ Boosts Warming—I have never heard of sulphur hexafluoride until this article.  How many “dirty secrets” of our modern world like this exist?

$1M a Minute: The Farming Subsidies Destroying the World—We, as a society, subsidize the very practices which are causing climate change.  Imagine, for a moment, if we deployed that level of subsidy toward practices that regenerate the environment and promote a better world.

Hormel, Kellogg’s Getting Into the Plant-Based Meat Business—Have we reached the tipping point for plant based meat alternatives?

Ireland Plans to Ban Single-Use Plastics—Here is why nothing short of bans work to eliminate things like single use plastics…people are really freaking lazy.

Colorado Plans to Abandon its Battle Against the Emerald Ash Borer—We have lost the war against this pest wherever it has been found.  The goal now must be to rebuild the forest, urban or otherwise, with a wide variety of tree species so that we never have a problem like this again.

The Air Force Spent More at Trump’s Scottish Resort than Originally Thought—It is just run of the mill government corruption.  I cannot wait for this to be over in January 2021.  Is it really more than a year away?

Why Don’t Americans Wear Helmets in the Shower?—It’s a silly question meant to spark a debate about helmet shaming.  Listen, I wear a helmet whenever I ride a bicycle because in America cars are out to kill you.  I live in an area with a lot of cyclists and the cars are still out to kill us.  I cannot imagine living somewhere with less of a cycling subculture.

Friday Linkage 8/9/2019


See you in a couple of weeks.

On to the links…














Friday Linkage 6/21/2019

No linkage next week.  I am on vacation.  Hopefully the Colorado River levels cooperate to let the family go rafting.  Otherwise, it is going to be a really laid back week in Summit County.  I guess we will have to go looking for that wooden troll.

On to the links…

Climate Change Deniers Aren’t Getting Very Far With America’s Judges—It is one thing to spout crap opinions on Fox News where Sean Hannity will lick your MAGA boots, but standing in front of a judge is another matter.  Just like Alex Jones wilting under the glare of a trial, climate change deniers will wilt in the face of courtroom battles that put actual evidence of manmade climate change against…that’s right, there is no other evidence.

Trump’s EPA just Replaced Obama’s Signature Climate Policy with a Much Weaker Rule—The Clean Power Plan may be dead in the executive branch of government, but remember that 2020 is coming.  Sweeping Trump out of office undoes all of his machinations because he lacks the political will, clout, and understanding to make lasting change in Washington D.C.

Renewable Industry Employed 11 Million People in 2018—Eleven million people.  This is not a few hippies in a rundown storefront.  These are big numbers.  In the U.S. almost as many people are employed in renewable energy fields as are employed in fossil fuel fields.

Renewables are Winning the Economics Battle Against New Coal and Gas, Stunning Study Shows—The worm has turned and economics no longer favor fossil fuels.

There is No One Energy Solution—There never was a single silver bullet because that introduces a single point of failure for the future.  The future of energy is in a diversified portfolio of energy sources.  Portfolio theory, look it up.

United States Spend Ten Times More On Fossil Fuel Subsidies Than Education—Here is an idea for the current crop of contenders to be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States: eliminate all fossil fuel subsidies.  These are some of the most profitable companies in the history of the world.  These subsidies are just transferring wealth from Americans into the pockets of company shareholders.

Bitcoins Now Suck Up as Much Energy as Las Vegas—Can I ask the question?  Why Bitcoin?

Outdoor Brands Are Uniting Against Single-Use Plastic—Leadership has to come from somewhere.  The outdoor industry flexed its muscle recently when it made the move from Salt Lake City to Denver for its annual tradeshow.  Now it is looking at single use plastic.

How to End the Cycle of Throwaway Plastic Toys—Ugh, spider rings.  I think that I might be finding these things in random places in my house for the next decade even though I cannot remember the last time that one of my children brought one home.

New California Bill Could Revolutionize How the U.S. Tackles Plastic Pollution—Why does California have to be the leader on all of these environmental issues?  Why can’t Minnesota or Massachusetts be the leader?

Beijing Opens New Bicycle Expressway—I want one.

This Man Ate ‘Expired’ Food for a Year. Here’s Why Expiration Dates can be Meaningless.—I have always thought that the dates on a lot of food products might as well be considered the same as model years on cars.  What?  You bought a 2018 instead of the newer 2019?

White Castle and Red Robin Reportedly Running Low on Impossible Burgers—This is called the free market.  Impossible Foods brought a product to market and the market responded with demand.

Beer Boom Creating Thousands of Jobs—Craft beer might not be able to save the world, but the model is a hell of a lot better than anything else.

Friday Linkage 6/14/2019


On to the links…














