Some might call this "my birthday edition" as I turn 43 this Sunday, so I thought I would try to personalize things a bit by looking at this week's news with a very personal take.
We here in Chicago are enjoying a slightly milder summer than last year, but the east coast has been especially hard hit by heat this month. In addition to the toll heat takes on the population, the extreme heat affects water temperatures and flows, which has a huge impact on the energy and building industries. We do not hear often about the "intermittency of nuclear", preferring to speak more about the variability of renewable energy. News this week about the temperature of cooling water at nuclear facilities highlights the water dependency of conventional forms of electricity generation. Although many lump nuclear with renewables because of the low-carbon nature of the fuel source, it still has major issues with pollutants, risk, and especially water availability.
Warming bay water threatens to shut down Plymouth nuclear reactor
"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires that the water drawn from Cape Cod Bay to cool the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station be below 75 degrees. On Tuesday afternoon, the water exceeded that mark for about 90 minutes, forcing the plant to reduce power output temporarily."
The economic case for renewables has grown stronger every year of the last decade, and this week at least one energy provider saw long-term strength in wind energy over natural gas on economic considerations alone. This represents a huge milestone as natural-gas-based electricity sits at all-time lows, the costs will do nothing but increase, while wind-based electricity will continue to decrease for some time.
Xcel to buy 700 megawatts of NextEra, Infinity wind power
"The deal will save customers $590 million in fuel expenses over 20 years and the wind farms will generate power at costs lower than most of Xcel’s natural gas plants, according to Riley Hill, president and chief executive officer of Southwestern Public Service.
'We are making these acquisitions purely on economics and the savings we can deliver to our customers,' Hill said in the statement."
Solar-energy-generated electricity continues to show economic value in the southern half of the United States, even with resistance from utilities. It will take another five-to-seven years to make inroads up here in the northern half of the country (quicker if utilities are forced to treat individual generators as others in the marketplace), but the momentum favors the solar industry. Of even greater import, the conversation about renewable energy no longer appears to be simply a "liberal vs. conservative" fight, but one of industrial economic interest. Conservatives see renewable energy for what it is, a great economic opportunity for the country that gives people greater freedom and personal responsibility. It appeals to people from all political ideologies.
Tea Partiers fight over solar power in Georgia, and the solar fans win
"In Georgia on Thursday, the Tea Party scored a victory against the Tea Party by helping push through a plan requiring the state’s largest electric utility to increase its capacity for solar power."
California solar installations jump 26% in 2012
"According to a California Solar Initiative progress report by the Public Utilities Commission, those additions represent a 26% growth from 2011. The state is now equipped to produce 1,629 megawatts of solar energy across completed projects at nearly 168,000 sites -- enough to power 150,000 homes."
In my senior year of college, I spent a week in California on a university-sanctioned trip. We stayed with university alumni, and three of us lucked out to stay with a recent alum. We decided to go for pizza and beer one night, and since he lived on the beach, we took bikes down to the joint. Needless to say, it was an interesting ride back to his place. I do remember how popular biking to that place was, and am not surprised to see the value noted in the article. As an added benefit, the cost of driving cars drains money from communities, as few benefit from the money spent on the purchase or fueling of a vehicle. Bicycles have no direct fuel cost, freeing people to spend more on local businesses. Look past the headline to note multiple types of businesses that benefit.
Chicago's bike infrastructure good news for bars
"There are few studies in the US that document mode, expenditures and frequency of trips. A survey conducted in a commercial corridor in San Luis Obispo revealed that consumers that arrive by bike spend similar amounts yet visit more frequently than those who arrive by car. Similar results were found in downtown San Francisco, where people traveling by foot or transit spent less per visit at shops and restaurants than people in automobiles, but visited about twice as often spending more per month."
I have little tolerance for blatant injustice, but on environmental matters I consider myself passionate and determined, but not judgmental. I have worked with and around those who choose to shame others into compliance rather than working with others to find common ground. I have noticed without fail that long-term progress comes from Ghandian patience with the concerns - real or imagined...and of equal validity - that people have with change. These concerns come from a natural instinct to protect ourselves from psychological (the inability to handle the thought that we harm another unintentionally), or from lack of knowledge, or from personal experience. All of these require us to engage in dialogue, confirm or adjust our own views, and find ways to make progress. If I do not behave as I perceive I do, I certainly endeavor to act with such patience.
Quick study: Leave nagging in the bag
"The researchers theorize that somewhere between the produce aisle and the cash register, those shoppers who had confessed their previous plastic transgressions found a way to justify their past behavior, and thus felt no need to change it."
Happy Friday!
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