Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Open Thread August 19, 2023 “Appeals court strikes down Utah oil railroad approval”

“The statement received pushback from environmentalists concerned that constructing new infrastructure to transport more fossil fuels will allow more oil to be extracted and burned, contributing to climate change. “Appeals court strikes down Utah oil railroad approval, siding with environmentalists,” msn.com. Additionally, communities in neighboring Colorado including Eagle County and the city of Glenwood Springs […]

Open Thread August 15, 2023 The Inflation Reduction Act – real climate change policy?

Briefly, Josh Bivens: “Put simply, the IRA puts the U.S. on a path where meeting its global climate change  commitments is within reach. The commitments which would provide a genuine chance at securing a livable planet for future generations if they are kept. At the beginning of August 2022, there was no such path to secure this […]

The world’s infrastructure was built for a climate no longer existing

A portion of an article about climate impacting global civilianization as presented in Foreign Policy. I believe it lays bare how threatened we are everywhere due to a failure to react to even slight variations in global climate. On even a micro-level we see Montana communities pushing back on court rulings on polluting the environment. […]

Judge Decides in Favor of 16 Young Activists

Something positive finally happened and it involves younger people in age from 5 years old to 22 years old as the plaintiffs challenging the state of Montana. Their complaint alleged Montana’s pro-fossil fuel policies contribute to climate change. If you have not rad comments, you will also find commenter ltr discussing this case. Been too […]

The Convenience Industrial Scam called Recycling

I have known of Lloyd for over a decade and have read his commentary a number of times when he was writing at Treehugger. A parting of the ways came about for Lloyd and other Treehugger writers. Lloyd has his own substack and is presenting his views on recycling, conservation of resources, etc. It is […]

Why Go with Solar Panels Now . . .

Commenter SW who has a background in Solar Panels technology talks about them in response to a posted commentary First generation of solar panels is wearing out – A recycling industry is salvaging them. SW gives a good perspective on why we should go with Solar Cell powering our needs now. ~~~~~~~~ I worked as […]

First generation of solar panels is wearing out – A recycling industry is salvaging them.

The unverified price I have heard for purchase and installation of solar cells is in the realm of $30,000. I have heard the electric district we are in which is District #3 drags their feet in approving installations. Why that would be, I am not sure. Our monthly electric bill for a 1500 square foot […]

Tiny Homes Improve the Economy and Are More Than Just Backyard Gimmicks (Edited)

Downsizing was the way to go as we got older and are kid free. Doing so had nothing to do with maintaining our larger house (2600 sq. feet) sitting on over 1/2 acre. I kind of liked maintaining it. It got me outside. In the new community, we are on a city-sized lot and ~1500 […]

Open Thread August 8, 2023-Are Electric Vehicles Green?

I saw this the other day while looking for commentary to bring to AB. You can read the rest at the NYT. An easy read. Starter topic. Maybe EVs are not so environmentally friendly the way we are manufacturing them, the materials and the amounts used, and how we mine them. Raw materials can be […]