Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A massive eruption in an undersea volcano, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai, 40 miles north of the South Pacific island of Tongatapu on Saturday caused a low-level tsunami and flooding on the island, the most populous in the Tonga archipelago. The tsunami spread out from there, causing one- to three-foot waves […]
Raven releases the Sun: First Native American Interior Secretary moves to put in 100 GW Solar on Federal Land
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – As part of a Biden Administration push to put in 27 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy on federal land by 2025, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management has just approved the third major solar farm in California, announcing that “the Bureau of Land Management has approved the Oberon Solar […]
All the Ways the Oath Keeper Militiamen, just Jailed, are Like al-Qaeda
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Department of Justice reports that the FBI arrested 11 top members of the fascist militia, the Oath Keepers, on Thursday. They are charged with seditious conspiracy. Among those jailed was Elmer “Stewart” Rhodes, a former paratrooper in the US military and a Yale Law School graduate, who heads the […]
In First, Biden announces Massive 480k Acre Lease for 7 Gigawatts of Offshore Wind Farms serving New York, New Jersey
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Biden-Harris White House announced Wednesday that The Department of the Interior is offering a lease sale for offshore wind in the New York Bight, off the coast of New York and New Jersey. The sale will allow companies to put in enough wind turbines to generate 7 gigawatts (GW) […]
US Maximum Pressure Foiled as Iran’s new Best Friend, China, imports as much as 18 million barrels a month of its Oil
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – China continues to rescue Iran from Washington’s financial and trade blockade on Iran, which by May, 2019, had reportedly reduced its petroleum exports from 2.5 million barrels a day to only about a tenth of that. Petroleum is a major source of income for Iran, and benefits the government and […]
We are so F*cked unless we act Now: The 7 Hottest Years on Record were the last 7 Years
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service reports that the seven hottest years on record “by a clear margin” were the past seven years. This finding underlines the way global heating is speeding up, as we put more and more heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Global temperatures fluctuate with […]
Afghans face Harsh Winter, Hunger, lack of Health Clinics: How much of it is our Fault?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The ancient Greek philosopher Bion of Borysthenes said that boys throw stones at frogs in jest, but the frogs die in earnest. The United States government hasn’t placed sanctions on Afghanistan as a joke, but it certainly has done so in a blunt way, and Afghans are on the verge […]
How New Mexico just became the Saudi Arabia of Wind, with Largest Green Facility in Western Hemisphere
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Pattern Energy Group has announced that its massive 377-turbine Western Spirit Wind facility in New Mexico, with a name plate capacity of over 1 gigawatt, has gone on line. It can provide electricity to 365,000 homes. Pattern also built a 155-mile 345 kV (Extra High Voltage) transmission line, which cost […]
Don’t Look Down: Antarctica’s Doomsday Glacier could Shatter in 10 years, Endangering 1 Bn. in Coastal Cities
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – How fast will the sea level rise and how many people will that affect during the next 30 years? The answer to these questions means a lot to people living in New York, Miami and New Orleans, not to mention Mumbai in India. We don’t have precise answers to these […]