I agree the cumulative effect of many can make a difference, along with larger structural changes. One thought I have is we really ought to change the basic nomenclature from climate change to the path toward human extinction. That's more accurate. The earth will go on without us, in some form or another.
Addressing climate change is not up to the individual. I KNOW. I GET IT. But individuals are like pollinators. One bee may not seem like much, but lots of bees accomplish near miracles. No individual can do everything, but millions of individuals doing little things can make a surprising difference. Like changing the fucking narrative, recruiting others to get with the program, and radicalizing the FOMO crowd.
There are choices individuals can make to lower their carbon footprint without going into debt. Stop eating meat. Stop eating dairy products. #KillYourLawn. Replace your stupid lawn with native pollinator friendly plants, and trees. Stop raking leaves. Just let them be. Wildlife will thank you - not directly. They are not verbal. But they will show you their appreciation by thriving. Look for ways (there are so many) to stop buying single use plastics which pollute EVERYTHING forever. Inform yourself about the benefits (tax rebates, tax exemptions) YOU qualify for in the Inflation Reduction Act, and take advantage of these gifts. The IRA is a stealth Green New Deal. Get the fuck on board!!! Harass your state and federal elected officials. A simple phone call or email is surprisingly effective, and costs nothing.
If you can, take advantage of tax credits and replace your ICE with an EV. The endless reward of happily driving past gas stations is amazing. Laugh as you watch the price of gas rise for no reason - well the OPEC cartel is sort of a reason. Install rooftop solar (30% tax credit). Get rid of your gas stove, and get a fabulous and far superior induction cooktop. Tell your gas furnace, and your shitty gas water heater to Fuck Off. Relace those dinosaurs with a high efficiency heat pump, and/or heat pump water heater while you enjoy your tax credit or rebate.
Don't forget to credit, and thank, Old Handsome Joe Biden, while you're at it. And vote, goddamnit, vote.
it's still t-shirt weather here with a thin jacket being entirely too much. nights get nippy as usual but that doesn't mean that much at slightly higher elevation.
I've migrated from t-shirt and shorts to t-shirt and long pants for work. I remember when I was a kid here and November was flannel shirt and jacket weather.
few grasshoppers left here but since it rained last night, I suspect that the Ocotillo and the Melaleuca will make a few flowers and get every hummingbird in the vicinity into our yard.
I just bought a used EV. It's charging on my solar panels. I think we might road trip it to see family over Thanksgiving. That ought to be an adventure in its own right. I'm feeling good about being able to reduce my family's own carbon emissions, and am very supportive of the federal funding.
We have done numerous road trips in our EV. The key is planning. Plugshare.com is your friend. Check your intended route and identify DCFC (DC fast chargers) on your route. Check the recent comments, which will help you figure out if that charging site is reliable, or not. The user comments are extremely helpful. You can check in yourself at each stop and give real time feedback to other PlugShare users. Go ahead and download apps for Electrify America, EVGo, ChargePoint, etc. It makes life easier at the various DCFC vendors. We try to book hotels that have Level 2 chargers for guests, but if a DCFC is nearby, it may not be worth the premium charge for the hotel. Until the NEVI (National EV Infrastructure) build out is complete, it takes a bit of extra planning, but not really a huge deal.
That's incredibly helpful advice. I don't have all those apps yet. (Only had the EV for 5 days.) I did just plan the route using Plugshare and found some fast chargers that have positive check-ins from today
That's great. We were really nervous on our first long road trip. Before we set out, we spent time learning how to use all the apps, including the charge location feature in the car navigation app. So far, we have had great trips. Usually we charge about every 200 miles, or so. That way, if the Plan A charger is unavailable, and we need to go to Plan B, we are still ok.
Always charge up, at home, to 100% before you set out. Then plan to charge to around 80% at each DCFC stop. The charging rate throttles back so much after 80%, it usually isn't worth it to just sit there trying to get above 80%. In our experience, Electrify America and EVGo seem to be the most reliable DCFC stations.
I drove to work today (I'm mostly remote) and charged there for the first time. Worked perfectly. I did learn that the car is set to charge to 100% so I'll have to adjust that.
Your advice is very good. I had that same thought about backup chargers, so I mapped the route and set two nearby DC fast chargers as destinations.
This actually does help me think through the planning for this trip. I've talked to Tesla drivers but it's basically a non-issue for them.
The general recommendation for prolonging EV battery performance is, when charging at home using a Level 1 (110 volt) or Level 2 (220 volt) set up, set the max charging target to 80-90%. If you will be traveling a longer distance, set to 100% the day before you plan to leave, just to allow a little buffer.
You mentioned you have roof top solar, which is great. We have 31 panels on our roof, and there are charging stations in the parking garage where my husband works. So, unless we are on a road trip, we mostly use free electrons to drive around.
IIRC Tesla chargers are located about every 150 miles on major travel corridors. But since Musk chose not to use the global standard charging system (CCS), Tesla chargers are not compatible for other EVs. Biden's NEVI plan calls for CCS DCFC stations to be built out every 50 miles along major travel corridors, as well as more Level 2 chargers in urban areas. This site lists all the NEVI plans, with details, maps, timelines, etc. for all 50 states.
Literally the only time I ever understand anything Trump says is when he's complaining about what's being done to him (i.e., suffering the consequences of his actions).
Actually, I guess that means I understand him most of the time.
@Random -- "report very emphatically does not say “it’s too late, we’re doomed, let’s just watch On The Beach on endless loop until the last bird chirps and keels over.'"
On the plus side, our local gardening climate zones in the Willamette Valley just got upgraded from 7-8 to 8-9, and people are joking about this becoming an avocado-growing mecca. Also, maybe the decorative banana plants that people have planted all over the place might start fruiting.
Edit: Halfway through November, and my roses are still blooming.
Peter F. Hamilton, a British SF writer, has a series set in the 2050's featuring a guy who, after mustering out of the army, buys some land near London and starts an orange grove.
Fuck Toyota too but at least they've actually put some REALLY kick ass *new* batteries into production. 2026/2027 -- I'm hoping it's a game changer. There are 3 levels of kickassery & it will be closer to 2030 before all are available but these are new patents and I hope everyone steals their IP and there's a giant war for cheap battery storage.
I worry the most that people think "transitioning" is going to look like now, except "green."
It's not, and it can't. I went to a birthday party this weekend & the hosts travel overseas for a long period twice a year, every year, with the goal of checklisting every country in the world.
I get that people have their luxury dreams but I'm not sorry any more to tell you your luxury dream is selfish stupid bullshit and you should fuck off forever thinking you deserve to use that kind of carbon load.
My grandmother was born in 1903 in Oregon, and her parents homesteaded in Wyoming in 1905 (her dad was born to a '49er and became part of the little known eastward expansion). She was frugal and uncomplaining and her stock phrase was "well, we'll have to make do, like the pioneers." I say that as a joke a lot of times (oh, they only have the blue Birkin? Guess we'll have to make do, like the pioneers) but it actually does make me think hard what I actually need to spend money on. Turns out you can get a lot of pleasure in the world without completing checklists or keeping up with kitchen fashions.
I agree the cumulative effect of many can make a difference, along with larger structural changes. One thought I have is we really ought to change the basic nomenclature from climate change to the path toward human extinction. That's more accurate. The earth will go on without us, in some form or another.
Addressing climate change is not up to the individual. I KNOW. I GET IT. But individuals are like pollinators. One bee may not seem like much, but lots of bees accomplish near miracles. No individual can do everything, but millions of individuals doing little things can make a surprising difference. Like changing the fucking narrative, recruiting others to get with the program, and radicalizing the FOMO crowd.
There are choices individuals can make to lower their carbon footprint without going into debt. Stop eating meat. Stop eating dairy products. #KillYourLawn. Replace your stupid lawn with native pollinator friendly plants, and trees. Stop raking leaves. Just let them be. Wildlife will thank you - not directly. They are not verbal. But they will show you their appreciation by thriving. Look for ways (there are so many) to stop buying single use plastics which pollute EVERYTHING forever. Inform yourself about the benefits (tax rebates, tax exemptions) YOU qualify for in the Inflation Reduction Act, and take advantage of these gifts. The IRA is a stealth Green New Deal. Get the fuck on board!!! Harass your state and federal elected officials. A simple phone call or email is surprisingly effective, and costs nothing.
If you can, take advantage of tax credits and replace your ICE with an EV. The endless reward of happily driving past gas stations is amazing. Laugh as you watch the price of gas rise for no reason - well the OPEC cartel is sort of a reason. Install rooftop solar (30% tax credit). Get rid of your gas stove, and get a fabulous and far superior induction cooktop. Tell your gas furnace, and your shitty gas water heater to Fuck Off. Relace those dinosaurs with a high efficiency heat pump, and/or heat pump water heater while you enjoy your tax credit or rebate.
Don't forget to credit, and thank, Old Handsome Joe Biden, while you're at it. And vote, goddamnit, vote.
Where can I get one of those fish tents in the talented, young artist's award winning painting? That is the coolest thing ever.
it's still t-shirt weather here with a thin jacket being entirely too much. nights get nippy as usual but that doesn't mean that much at slightly higher elevation.
this year has been extremely strange.
I've migrated from t-shirt and shorts to t-shirt and long pants for work. I remember when I was a kid here and November was flannel shirt and jacket weather.
There are bees buzzing around the flowers by my front door.
few grasshoppers left here but since it rained last night, I suspect that the Ocotillo and the Melaleuca will make a few flowers and get every hummingbird in the vicinity into our yard.
"Tryin' to do something about climate change? That's a paddlin'."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKiLfH3DVGc
I just bought a used EV. It's charging on my solar panels. I think we might road trip it to see family over Thanksgiving. That ought to be an adventure in its own right. I'm feeling good about being able to reduce my family's own carbon emissions, and am very supportive of the federal funding.
We have done numerous road trips in our EV. The key is planning. Plugshare.com is your friend. Check your intended route and identify DCFC (DC fast chargers) on your route. Check the recent comments, which will help you figure out if that charging site is reliable, or not. The user comments are extremely helpful. You can check in yourself at each stop and give real time feedback to other PlugShare users. Go ahead and download apps for Electrify America, EVGo, ChargePoint, etc. It makes life easier at the various DCFC vendors. We try to book hotels that have Level 2 chargers for guests, but if a DCFC is nearby, it may not be worth the premium charge for the hotel. Until the NEVI (National EV Infrastructure) build out is complete, it takes a bit of extra planning, but not really a huge deal.
That's incredibly helpful advice. I don't have all those apps yet. (Only had the EV for 5 days.) I did just plan the route using Plugshare and found some fast chargers that have positive check-ins from today
That's great. We were really nervous on our first long road trip. Before we set out, we spent time learning how to use all the apps, including the charge location feature in the car navigation app. So far, we have had great trips. Usually we charge about every 200 miles, or so. That way, if the Plan A charger is unavailable, and we need to go to Plan B, we are still ok.
Always charge up, at home, to 100% before you set out. Then plan to charge to around 80% at each DCFC stop. The charging rate throttles back so much after 80%, it usually isn't worth it to just sit there trying to get above 80%. In our experience, Electrify America and EVGo seem to be the most reliable DCFC stations.
Once again, very helpful.
I drove to work today (I'm mostly remote) and charged there for the first time. Worked perfectly. I did learn that the car is set to charge to 100% so I'll have to adjust that.
Your advice is very good. I had that same thought about backup chargers, so I mapped the route and set two nearby DC fast chargers as destinations.
This actually does help me think through the planning for this trip. I've talked to Tesla drivers but it's basically a non-issue for them.
The general recommendation for prolonging EV battery performance is, when charging at home using a Level 1 (110 volt) or Level 2 (220 volt) set up, set the max charging target to 80-90%. If you will be traveling a longer distance, set to 100% the day before you plan to leave, just to allow a little buffer.
You mentioned you have roof top solar, which is great. We have 31 panels on our roof, and there are charging stations in the parking garage where my husband works. So, unless we are on a road trip, we mostly use free electrons to drive around.
IIRC Tesla chargers are located about every 150 miles on major travel corridors. But since Musk chose not to use the global standard charging system (CCS), Tesla chargers are not compatible for other EVs. Biden's NEVI plan calls for CCS DCFC stations to be built out every 50 miles along major travel corridors, as well as more Level 2 chargers in urban areas. This site lists all the NEVI plans, with details, maps, timelines, etc. for all 50 states.
https://driveelectric.gov/state-plans/
“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢. 𝘐𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤, 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮.”
Literally the only time I ever understand anything Trump says is when he's complaining about what's being done to him (i.e., suffering the consequences of his actions).
Actually, I guess that means I understand him most of the time.
Speaking of the nations electric grid.......fuck Raphael Cruz.
Where's the beautiful chocolate cake? Biden didn't bring it? He had one job.
@Random -- "report very emphatically does not say “it’s too late, we’re doomed, let’s just watch On The Beach on endless loop until the last bird chirps and keels over.'"
I think Dok is talking to you. 😉
That head image is wonderful. Pretty intricate for colored pencil.
“No it’s Muslins!”
I knew it! Cotton's the worst.
On the plus side, our local gardening climate zones in the Willamette Valley just got upgraded from 7-8 to 8-9, and people are joking about this becoming an avocado-growing mecca. Also, maybe the decorative banana plants that people have planted all over the place might start fruiting.
Edit: Halfway through November, and my roses are still blooming.
s, /s
Peter F. Hamilton, a British SF writer, has a series set in the 2050's featuring a guy who, after mustering out of the army, buys some land near London and starts an orange grove.
This entire country needs to be rezoned. We are way past the current assessment.
They just did; today
Thanks, Joe!
https://www.ars.usda.gov/news-events/news/research-news/2023/usda-unveils-updated-plant-hardiness-zone-map/
Thank you!
I saw that Exxon was going to build storage batteries. They might be turning slowly, albeit a lot more slowly than their megatankers.
Fuck Exxon and fuck Tesla.
Fuck Toyota too but at least they've actually put some REALLY kick ass *new* batteries into production. 2026/2027 -- I'm hoping it's a game changer. There are 3 levels of kickassery & it will be closer to 2030 before all are available but these are new patents and I hope everyone steals their IP and there's a giant war for cheap battery storage.
Oh, and fuck Ted Cruz.
And fuck all those people buying huge electric SUV’s. (And huge gas powered suvs also). Tax the rich.
Woah. Wait a minute. My asshole RWNJ sister says that small cars are too dangerous for her large family ( like 8 large trucks/ SUV’s)
Plus
BIL always says
It’s not settled
Thanks Doc
They could make a storage battery out of a supertanker.
Upvote.
I worry the most that people think "transitioning" is going to look like now, except "green."
It's not, and it can't. I went to a birthday party this weekend & the hosts travel overseas for a long period twice a year, every year, with the goal of checklisting every country in the world.
I get that people have their luxury dreams but I'm not sorry any more to tell you your luxury dream is selfish stupid bullshit and you should fuck off forever thinking you deserve to use that kind of carbon load.
My grandmother was born in 1903 in Oregon, and her parents homesteaded in Wyoming in 1905 (her dad was born to a '49er and became part of the little known eastward expansion). She was frugal and uncomplaining and her stock phrase was "well, we'll have to make do, like the pioneers." I say that as a joke a lot of times (oh, they only have the blue Birkin? Guess we'll have to make do, like the pioneers) but it actually does make me think hard what I actually need to spend money on. Turns out you can get a lot of pleasure in the world without completing checklists or keeping up with kitchen fashions.
ANYWAY sorry for the preaching. Here's a baby goat, since I guess that's the price of admission today. https://substack.com/@queenellen/note/c-43761957?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=b2vrq