America established most of its infrastructure and set most of its lifestyle (not necessarily equal to quality of life) expectations in an era of limitless energy. Now that we realize not only will our current forms of energy be exhausted in most of our's lifetimes, but that even consuming a portion of it will irrevocably change our planet, it no longer seems as exciting, safe, or cool to do what we once did.
Have the suburbs hit a dead end?
"The suburbs were a great idea that worked really well for a long time, but they overshot their mandate. We supersized everything in a way that led many people to live far away from where they needed to be and far away from their neighbors, and that has far-reaching implications, no pun intended. People have turned away from that kind of living. Add in the demographic forces that are reshaping our whole population, and the result is a significant shift. Census data shows that outward growth is slowing and inward growth is speeding up."
For something to have "scientific proof", we must first identify correlation, establish the science of causation, then repeatedly replicate the causation under the assumed scenario. Using this as a guide, we are well along the path to proving that processed foods - as currently engineered - do more harm than good.
Scientists officially link processed foods to autoimmune disease
"The team from Yale University studied the role of T helper cells in the body. These activate and ‘help’ other cells to fight dangerous pathogens such as bacteria or viruses and battle infections.
Previous research suggests that a subset of these cells – known as Th17 cells – also play an important role in the development of autoimmune diseases.
In the latest study, scientists discovered that exposing these cells in a lab to a table salt solution made them act more ‘aggressively.’
They found that mice fed a diet high in refined salts saw a dramatic increase in the number of Th17 cells in their nervous systems that promoted inflammation.
They were also more likely to develop a severe form of a disease associated with multiple sclerosis in humans."
Although we do not yet know that the levels of radiation released into the ocean will cause issues - for we should remember that we have some level of radiation naturally occurring all the time - the larger concern comes from the continued inability to contain. The safety of nuclear-fuel generated energy comes from the assumption of perfection in operations. Without perfection, the risks escalate to an unacceptable point. Especially when we know now that other forms of energy generation that cause less harm also cost less.
New leaks into Pacific at Japan nuclear plant
"The water contains strontium and cesium, as well as tritium, which is considered less dangerous when released into the ocean. Despite increasing alarm among regulators in recent weeks, the plant’s operator says it does not yet pose a health threat because levels of the contaminants are still very low in the open ocean, beyond the plant’s man-made harbor — a contention even critics support."
I will continue to point stories like this out until the point comes across: our economy is man-made, and whatever we deem important will be cost effective. Incumbents in the marketplace can always rig the system in their own favor, unless we step in and stop it. It has nothing to do with theoretical economics or "free markets", its just greed and self-preservation and our system encourages it. It also has no connection to natural law, which should frighten all of us.
FirstEnergy paid $100 million too much for renewable power
"The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has ruled FirstEnergy overcharged its Ohio customers by $43.3 million for electricity generated by wind and solar. A consultant to the commission found overcharges of more than $100 million. "
For those in the Midwest who see this as just another story of how "the coasts" are doing, the Great Lakes present a huge opportunity for offshore wind. If these developments move forward, we could see offshore wind on the great lakes by 2020 to 2025. If done right, that would mean greater opportunity to rid our local grid of harmful forms of electricity generation.
Deepwater wins first auction for US offshore wind lease
"The project may cost as much as $5 billion, including about $1 billion for transmission systems to deliver power to shore, Deepwater Chief Executive Officer Jeff Grybowski said yesterday by phone. He plans to market the project’s electricity to potential buyers in Long Island, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
'We’re hoping that this year and next year we can start putting the power purchase agreements together,' Grybowski said. The project will likely be built in phases with 200 megawatts to 400 megawatts of generating capacity, he said. 'It’s unlikely we would try to sell the power all at once.'"
Happy Friday!
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