Energy

The phrase clean energy is a misnomer since anything manufactured begins with mining. For example the battery in an electric car weighs about 1,000 pounds and requires the digging up of 500,000 pounds of rock. This requires the use of heavy machinery to dig and grind and concentrate the elements needed to produce the battery. All of this means dirty air and water and the American people do not want that so most of the materials needed for batteries is imported from countries which are willing to dirty up their environment. US mining companies recognize that the cost of elements like copper will increase but they are not starting new mines but are instead buying up competitors to increase their supplies. One way to get more energy without increasing mining operations is to use nuclear power.

SMR

The Biden administration is the most active in promoting nuclear power including small light water reactors (Gen III) which is a step toward small liquid salt reactors (Gen IV)some of which use thorium. WASHINGTON, D.C. — As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today opened applications for up to $900 million in funding to support the initial domestic deployment of Generation III+ (Gen III+) small modular reactor (SMR) technologies.

Police

When some communities were going to defund the police many in the news said they were not talking about defunding but rather reorganizing. Here is a quote from May 2020. Every member of the Minneapolis City Council has now expressed the need for dramatic structural change. I am one of many on the Council, including the Council President and the Chair of Public Safety, who are publicly supporting the call to disband our police department and start fresh with a community-oriented, non-violent public safety and outreach capacity. Here is a quote from July 2024 Since the 2020 murder of George Floyd, the Minneapolis Police Department has struggled to retain and recruit staff. Now city leaders are trying to improve other avenues to support the police department. Here is another quote Nine members of the Minneapolis City Council on Sunday announced they intend to defund and dismantle the city’s police department following the police killing of George Floyd. Since there are only 13 members this represents a majority. Here is a quote from June 2020. The Minneapolis City Council unanimously passed a resolution to replace the police department with a community-oriented public safety system. In November of 2021 Minneapolis voters rejected a measure to replace the city's police department. The problem persist to this day. As of July 2024, the MPD has 568 staff officers but is budgeted for 713 staff officers, according to data provided by MPD Spokesperson Garrett Parten.Jul 25, 2024 Since the 2020 murder of George Floyd, the Minneapolis Police Department has struggled to retain and recruit staff.

Nuclear

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm is committed to build 200 nuclear power plants each one producing one gigawatt which is the size of the existing plants. We are determined to build a world-class nuclear industry in the United States, and we're putting our money where our mouth is,” Granholm said. Granholm said the Biden administration wants to build a domestic nuclear energy industry, adding 200 gigawatts to the country’s electric grids to meet both the growing energy demand and climate change goals. While this is exciting news for nuclear advocates the enthusiasm is somewhat dampened when recalling that Granholm is the person who suggested that military tanks could run on batteries. Here is her quote from June of this year "To reach our goal of net-zero by 2050, we have to at least triple our current nuclear capacity in this country. That means we’ve got to add 200 more gigawatts by 2050," she said. "And so it’s time to cash in on our investments by building more these facilities," she added,

Columbus

I subbed on Monday at the local high school and they had an assembly where a Native American spoke. This was to celebrate what used to be called Columbus Day. This is another example of how we use today's standards to judge people in the past. Slavery was considered a common practice at that time and really didn't end in most places until the 1800's. Native American tribes often fought against one another and the winners would kill the men and take women and children as slaves. This followed a pattern that was common around the world. In the process new diseases were introduced into different communities. Throughout history more people have died from typhus than from all the wars in history. History shows that a new nation with a superior weapon would defeat and enemy and take over their territory and in the case of the Europeans coming to America it was the rifle. Throughout the Muslim world from 500 AD to 1000 AD they not only took over the land but required that people to accept their religion. When Christianity expanded during the Middle Ages, forced conversions were the norm.

Climate

The origins of climate change as a public issue date back to Earth Day in 1970. It was followed by moving away from nuclear power, next replacing coal with natural gas and then tightening fuel standards on cars and trucks and increasing efficiency on appliances. Meetings at the UN and throughout the western world have resulted in little change. In the 1970's CO2 emissions were 15 billion tons per year and in 2023 there were 37 billion tons. The news is filled with articles expounding on the advances in wind and solar but the amount of CO2 keeps increasing. It's like living in two different world, the first is the make believe world that wind and solar are the answer and the second is the real world where they are not the answer. This has been going on for 50 plus years with no reason to believe anything will change. The problem is that there are industries and political careers that depend on staying the course. Climate has gotten wrapped up in politics to where it involves things like Climate Justice. Climate justice connects the climate crisis to the social, racial and environmental issues in which it is deeply entangled. It recognizes the disproportionate impacts of climate change on low-income and BIPOC communities around the world, the people and places least responsible for the problem. BIPOC Black, Indigenous, and People of Color

Nuclear

Nuclear is making a come back in the Infrastructure bill. People have come to understand that zero carbon is not possible without nuclear power. Included in the bill is bipartisan legislation known as the ADVANCE Act that will help us build new reactors at a clip that we haven’t seen since the 1970s.  Also in the bill is money for small reactors. Another development in this bill is its focus on small reactor technologies, known as microreactors.   Also in the Inflation Reduction Act there are funds allocated for nuclear. Momentum is building for U.S. nuclear energy and the investments and tax incentives included in IRA guarantee a commitment to nuclear energy that will continue well throughout the nation’s journey to net-zero. In states many new bill are being introduce to promote nuclear power. Five years ago only 10 bills were introduced and last year there were 200. Environmentalist are now including nuclear when they talk about carbon free and venture capitalist are showing interest. China is still leading the way but America is waking up.