Win Copies of All Six Philip K. Dick Award Finalists
9 Feb, 2016
I’m up for the Philip K. Dick Award, which pleases me to no end, since Dick wrote some excellent, mind-bending, ground-breaking sci-fi about the nature of memory, identity, and much else. It also pleases me to no end that, on most sci-fi award slates, the authors…
R e a d M o r eHow Far Can Renewables Go? Pretty Darn Far
31 Jan, 2016
This is part 4 of a series looking at the economic trends of new energy technologies. Part 1 looked at how cheap solar can get (very cheap indeed). Part 2 looked at the declining cost and rising reliability of wind power. Part 3 looked at…
R e a d M o r eHow to Think About the Paris Climate Deal
13 Dec, 2015
Over the weekend, the world agreed to a new climate deal. Brad Plumer explains it well. Reactions range from celebration to dismissal of it as a fraud. It’s rare to see James Hansen (a tireless campaigner for addressing climate change) and Bjorn Lomborg (one of the…
R e a d M o r eDid the One Child Policy Matter? Probably Not.
30 Oct, 2015
China’s one-child policy is ending. The policy, started in 1979-80, was aimed at slowing population growth, which was much more of a concern in the late 70s than it is now. China’s one-child policy was also horribly coercive. Men bursting in and forcing miscarriages. Forced abortions…
R e a d M o r eHow Cheap Can Energy Storage Get? Pretty Darn Cheap
14 Oct, 2015
This is part 3 of a series looking at the economic trends of new energy technologies. Part 1 looked at how cheap solar can get (very cheap indeed). Part 2 looked at the declining cost and rising reliability of wind power. Part 3, below, talks…
R e a d M o r eHunger is at an all-time low. We can drive it even lower.
9 Sep, 2015
A few observations on hunger, extracted from the latest FAO report on The State of Food Insecurity, 2015 1. The percent of humanity that’s hungry is at an all-time low. According to FAO, 11.3% of the world is undernourished. Most of that hunger is concentrated in…
R e a d M o r eHow Steady Can Wind Power Blow?
30 Aug, 2015
This is part 2 of a series looking at the economic trends of new energy technologies. Part 1 looked at how cheap solar can get (very cheap indeed). Part 3 looks at how cheap energy storage can get (pretty darn cheap). Part 4 looks at…
R e a d M o r eHow Cheap Can Solar Get? Very Cheap Indeed
10 Aug, 2015
This is part 1 of a series looking at the economic trends of new energy technologies. Part 2 looks at the dropping price and increasing reliability of wind power. Part 3 looks at how cheap energy storage can get (pretty darn cheap). Part 4 looks…
R e a d M o r eNew Solar Capacity Factor in the US is Now ~30%
9 Aug, 2015
The capacity factor of new utility scale solar deployed in the US in 2010 was 24%. By 2012 it had risen to roughly 30%. The rising capacity factor of new solar projects is part of why the cost of electricity from new solar is dropping…
R e a d M o r eCitizens Led on Gay Marriage and Pot. We Can on Climate Change Too.
15 Jul, 2015
A decade ago, it was nearly inconceivable that in 2015, gay marriage would be legal across the US and marijuana fully legal in four states plus the District of Columbia. Yet it happened. It happened because citizens who wanted change led, from the bottom up,…
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