Researchers at the University of Tennessee recently carried out a study exploring the vulnerability of renewable energy systems to adverse weather and the extent to which these systems could be responsible for severe blackouts. Their findings, published in Nature Energy, suggest that solar panels and wind turbines are less likely to cause severe blackouts than traditional power systems.
“The high penetration of weather-dependent renewable energy sources (WD-RESs) such as wind and solar has raised concerns about the security of electric power systems during abnormal weather conditions,” Jin Zhao, Fangxing Li and Qiwei Zhang wrote in their paper.
“The role of RESs has been discussed in worldwide blackout events, yet remains controversial. In this study, we find that although WD-RESs are non-dispatchable and weather sensitive, blackout intensities and extreme weather vulnerability are mitigated in high-penetration WD-RES grids.”
It was always about the fossil fuel industry’s need to maintain power. It was always about the fossil fuel industry’s need to maintain power. It was always about the fossil fuel industry’s need to maintain power.
If you still needed a reason to vote for Kamala Harris.
Summer 2024 saw another round of devastating heat waves, droughts, wildfires, storms, and record-setting global temperatures. The window for averting a catastrophic 1.5 degrees Celsius (3 degrees Fahrenheit) warming of the planet is rapidly closing. Can we meet this moment? I suppose it depends on whom you ask. For this is a tale of two worldviews.
In one—based on facts and evidence—environmental policy is motivated by science and reason, with the intent of advancing the common good and the sustainability of our civilization and our planet. The climate crisis is seen as the defining challenge of our time, demanding immediate and urgent action.
In the other—steeped in myth and conspiratorial ideation—environmental threats are an elaborate ruse perpetrated by scientists and politicians on the take, and environmental sustainability is a Trojan horse, a tool used by “globalists” to instill a new socialist world order. Climate change is a hoax perpetrated by environmental extremists.
Nothing better illustrates this yawning chasm in worldview than two deceptively similar-sounding projects known as the fact-based “Agenda 2030” and the conspiracy-rife “Project 2025.”
The first, “Agenda 2030,” is a United Nations program for Sustainable Development unanimously adopted by UN member nations on September 25, 2015. Agenda 2030 supports a set of 17 global Sustainable Development Goals, or “SDGs,” promoting “peace and prosperity for people and the planet” and the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of our civilization. Among its priorities are the health of the planet’s oceans and forests and the overriding threat of human-caused climate change.
Perspective Matters, Dallas based Public Broadcasting station.
Description:
Joining host Jim Falk to talk about European concerns, from France, is Dr. Paul Dorfman, an Associate Fellow, with the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex.
Dr. Dorfman is Chair of the Nuclear Consulting Group, which brings together leading academics and experts in the fields of renewable energy technology, economics, and the environment.
And in our Dallas studio, Mark Nelson, Founder and Managing Director of the Radiant Energy Group, a Chicago-based consulting group advising corporations and organizations on clean energy strategies.
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I’ve followed Dorfman for years, he has a good feed, and is well spoken here. The other guy I’ve seen on a lot of media interviews, seems to be the go-to guy of the moment for nuclear.
UPDATE: Laudably, the station realized that the half hour above barely scratched the surface, and produced a half hour extension to the discussion, below.
Melvin and Carol Christofferson of Mason County, MI, have been fruit farmers on this land for more than 50 years. In his mid 80s, Melvin still gets up at 5 every morning to manage their U-Pick fruit operation near the shore of Lake Michigan. They’ve been living with wind turbines for a dozen years, and several of them spun nearby – silently – as we talked.
BREAKING: Federal agents just took down Skyler Philippi, a Tennessee man caught plotting to dismantle Nashville’s energy infrastructure using a weapon of mass destruction. This isn’t some one-off; Philippi’s motivations are rooted in a white supremacist accelerationist ideology – those hellbent on accelerating societal collapse to build their so-called ethnostate. This guy wasn’t just talking; he reportedly went all out – gathering explosives, scoping out Nashville substations, and even performing a Nordic ritual right before he planned to strike. Philippi laid out his plans to undercover operatives, thinking he was safe, discussing everything from escape tactics to burning his own clothes to avoid leaving a trace. Federal authorities had him clocked the entire time. Now, with the right charges, he’s looking at life behind bars. Let this be a reminder: the FBI is watching, and this kind of hate-fueled terror plot won’t slip by unchecked.
Climate Denier profiteer Tucker Carlson recently announced he had been attacked by a Demon. An actual demon, that scratched him.
He’s been pantomiming for Christian Nationalists for some time, but clearly his media grift by itself hasn’t been lighting the world up, he’s figured out where the real money is..
A disturbance in the Caribbean strengthened into Tropical Storm Rafael on Monday afternoon. The storm is forecast to become a hurricane on Tuesday.
Rafael, previously known as Potential Tropical Cyclone 18, formed on Sunday. As of Monday at 4 p.m. ET, it was about 175 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, and moving north at around 9 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Rafael is the 17th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and will be the 11th hurricane if it strengthens further, as expected. The season lasts until Nov. 30, though peak activity is usually around Sept. 10.
The storm system is expected to approach the United States later in the week, the hurricane center said, and a tropical storm watch was issued Monday afternoon for the lower and middle Florida Keys and for the Dry Tortugas. Parts of Florida and nearby areas of the Southeast could see heavy rainfall by mid to late week, though NHC forecasters said it is still too early to make predictions about impacts for the Gulf Coast.
The potential for increased wildfire activity, especially in WNC, is above normal in November. In the aftermath of #HeleneNC, the amount of fuel on the ground is excessive. Smaller diameter fuels and leaf litter will quickly dry out. Damage to roads, unstable ground and downed trees will continue to challenge response, making it difficult for first responders to access some wildfires which increases the potential for large wildfires in the most heavily impacted areas. With debris burning expected to increase, human-caused ignitions will likely increase.
From the National Interagency Fire Center’s National Outlook: tree destruction behind Hurricane Helene’s 80-100+ mph wind gusts will have long-lasting impacts to the fire environment, extending from its landfall along the Florida Big Bend through southern and eastern Georgia, the western Carolinas and smaller portions of southwest Virginia, southeast Kentucky and northeast Tennessee.
