Wealthy To Pay More

California will soon become the first state to determine residents’ electricity fees based on their income as part of a new effort to spur households toward full electrification and bring down the state’s soaring electricity costs for low-income Californians.

Electricity bills are made up of fixed costs as well as fees that vary based on the amount of electricity residents use. Last year, the state passed a law giving the California public utilities commission a 1 July 2024 deadline to determine a fixed charge for household electric bills based on people’s income.

The new income-based electricity bills could hit residents’ mailboxes as soon as 2025. Based on proposals currently under consideration, residents who make more than $180,000 a year could pay about $500 more annually on their electricity bills, while Californians who make less than $28,000 annually could save up to $300 a year. The law is part of the state’s answer of how to equitably transition away from carbon as an energy source.

But state officials are already facing backlash from higher-income residents who don’t want to see their bills increase. The proposals have so far received more than 250 public with large number opposing the law.  READ MORE...

Electricity From Thin Air

Sure, we all complain about the humidity on a sweltering summer day. But it turns out that same humidity could be a source of clean, pollution-free energy, a new study shows.

"Air humidity is a vast, sustainable reservoir of energy that, unlike solar and wind, is continuously available," said the study, which was published recently in the journal Advanced Materials.

“This is very exciting,” said Xiaomeng Liu, a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and the paper’s lead author. “We are opening up a wide door for harvesting clean electricity from thin air.”

In fact, researchers say, nearly any material can be turned into a device that continuously harvests electricity from humidity in the air.


Air 'contains an enormous amount of electricity'

“The air contains an enormous amount of electricity,” said Jun Yao, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the paper’s senior author.  READ MORE...

Switch Off Streetlights to Save Energy

A draft budget in the U.K. city of Newport is proposing to switch off streetlights to cut back on costs, but officials are concerned that the move would put residents at risk.

The city, located in South Wales, included the measure in its 2023/2024 draft budget. If implemented about half of the town’s lights would be off between midnight and 6 a.m., BBC News reported.

Newport’s Green Party councilmember Lauren James said it was imperative that safety considerations be considered.
"I hope that the council is looking into it, and make sure that there are things like high-visibility strips on steps, so it’s safe for those who do have to be out at those times," she said.

Another council member, Andrew Sterry, said his constituents had expressed concerns over a possible increase in crime.

"I am against this proposal as I received many comments from my residents and they’re extremely concerned about crime rates going up," he said. "It wasn’t that long ago that all the street lights were changed to LED to save costs."

A draft budget was made available to the public on Dec. 15, 2022. It is due to close on Feb. 2, 2023.

Among the other plans is a 9.5% council tax hike because of "increasing costs and pressures faced by the council."

Costs of living in the U.K. have soared in recent months. Late last year, inflation in the U.K. hit a 41-year-high of 11.1%, driven by sharply rising energy and food costs.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
By Bradford Betz is a Fox News Digital breaking reporter covering crime, political issues, and much more.

Pakistan Closes Due To Market Crisis

Pakistan’s government has ordered measures to conserve energy, including closing all malls and markets by 8:30pm (15:30 GMT), as the country grapples with a crippling power and economic crisis.

The cabinet-approved measures are expected to save the country about 62 billion Pakistani rupees ($273m), Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told journalists on Tuesday.

Pakistan finds itself strapped for cash as money expected to come in under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme has been delayed. Its foreign exchange reserves now barely cover a month of imports, most of which are for energy purchases.

The defence minister said additional measures that will take immediate effect include shutting restaurants and wedding halls by 10pm (17:00 GMT). He said some market representatives had pushed for longer hours, but the government decided that an earlier closure was needed.

Asif also said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had ordered all government departments to reduce electricity consumption by 30 percent.

The measures are being implemented as Pakistan struggles to quell fears of a default after the $1.1bn in IMF funding was delayed. Islamabad has differences with the IMF over a review the agency is conducting of policy and reforms it is requiring in Pakistan. The review should have been completed in November.  READ MORE...

ALL SOLAR for Five Hours

Greece ran entirely on renewable energy for five hours last Friday for the first time ever - using solar, wind and hydroelectric power.

It reached a record high of 3,106MWh (megawatt hours) of electricity at 9am local time (7am UK time), according to IPTO, the country's independent power transmission operator.

IPTO said: "For the first time in the history of the Greek electricity system, the demand was covered 100% from renewable energy sources."

Greece aims to more than double its green energy capacity as it hopes renewables will account for at least 70% of its energy mix by 2030.  READ MORE...

Molten Salt Reactor

Norwegian maritime solutions company, Ulstein, has unveiled a new vessel concept that holds the potential to deliver zero-emission cruises and other ocean industry applications, the company said in a press release.

For over a century, Ulstein has been involved in designing and building ships and delivering sustainable maritime solutions. The maritime industry is staring at a major overhaul in its bid to electrify transport over the waters, and Ulstein may just have the solution, a molten salt reactor (MSR) that can deliver this vision.

How does a molten salt reactor work?
An MSR uses a naturally occurring metal with low radioactivity to produce electricity. Usually, thorium is dissolved in molten salt, and the chain reaction that ensues heats up the salt to produce steam, which is then used to drive turbines and produce electricity without any emissions.

"MSRs have enormous potential for enabling clean shipping. There is so much uncertainty over future fuels, but here we have an abundant energy source that, with the right approach, can be safe, much more efficient, cheaper, with a smaller environmental footprint than any existing alternative," noted Jan Emblemsvåg, an expert in the field of thorium and nuclear power generation and a professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology said in the press release.

While MSRs have been used to produce power on land, they haven't been used at sea before, and Ulstein has designed a concept vessel, Thor, to serve as a blueprint for making future electric vessels self-sufficient.  READ MORE...

Wind and Solar

Wind and solar generated 10% of global electricity for the first time in 2021, a new analysis shows.


Fifty countries get more than a tenth of their power from wind and solar sources, according to research from Ember, a climate and energy think tank.


As the world's economies rebounded from the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, demand for energy soared.


Demand for electricity grew at a record pace. This saw a surge in coal power, rising at the fastest rate since 1985.


The research shows the growth in the need for electricity last year was the equivalent of adding a new India to the world's grid.

GETTY IMAGES - Wind turbine blades being made ready for export from China

Solar and wind and other clean sources generated 38% of the world's electricity in 2021. For the first time wind turbines and solar panels generated 10% of the total.



The share coming from wind and sun has doubled since 2015, when the Paris climate agreement was signed.


The fastest switching to wind and solar took place in the Netherlands, Australia, and Vietnam. All three have moved a tenth of their electricity demand from fossil fuels to green sources in the last two years.  READ MORE...

Power Grid Fails

12 Things You Need to Prepare for if the Grid is Down

#1 Lighting

Make sure you can see when the power grid fails! Could you find your way out in pitch black with elevators not working at home or work or when traveling? The power will probably fail when you don’t expect it.

Even a small flashlight can make a huge difference. Consider a flashlight for each bedroom, each bathroom and in your kitchen, garage, in each vehicle and one near your electrical panel.

Stocking spare flashlights is a great plan, especially if you have kids who lose them. Consider a flashlight for your key ring, your pocket and/or purse and one at work. Also, consider rechargeable batteries for those flashlights.

Candles or oil hurricane lamps are other possible lighting source, but keep in mind they create a fire risk and fresh air may be a problem if you are in a tightly sealed building. One advantage of candles and lamps is that they do provide heat, which is useful for cold climates.

A crank powered flashlight is great for kids and serve a double function as a flashlight and backup charger for emergencies. Plus you can get them relatively inexpensively.
Best inexpensive flashlight – We recommend a 5 pack of AA Kootek XPE-Q5 LED flashlight with adjustable focus zoom for more info on this flashlight see the “Best Cheap Flashlight” post.
Best mid-priced 1000+ lumen flashlight – 18650 LED Flashlight Thrunite TN12
Multi-function crank flashlight/radio/USB phone charger
Kaito Voyager Flashlight with AM/FM NOAA /2 band shortwave Radio, Cell Phone Solar / Crank USB Charger
iRonsnow Dynamo Emergency Solar or Hand Crank FM Radio with LED Flashlight with USB charger
Good small work flood light (has a magnet so it can stick to car while changing a tire) the NEBO COB flashlight is a great option, it uses 3x AAA batteries.
Solar Camp Light – Camping Lantern (with USB charger)
Crank Camp Light – Camping Lantern (with USB charger)


#2 Batteries

Flashlights are great, but when is the last time you checked them? Get batteries – a lot of rechargeable batteries.

Do you have long life batteries? You can get low self discharge rechargeable AA batteries. Also there are batteries with a long storage life. The Duracell pack has a 10 year shelf life and a new Energizer pack has a 20 year shelf life.

If possible, standardize your flashlights and other battery gear on AA, AAA and/or 18650. Even though there are long shelf life batteries, we recommend rechargeable batteries and a good charger.

Rechargeable batteries cost a bit more up front but can save you a lot of money over the years. They batteries protect you in an extended power outage because you can recharge them. You would eventually run out of single use batteries.

There are crank and solar battery chargers, also your car can charge batteries while you travel using a 12 volt adapter.
Our favorite Panasonic AA and AAA Eneloop Pro
Tenergy AA and AAA batteries are good and less expensive than the Panasonic
Nekteck 21watt Solar Panel charger for USB devices
XTAR VC4L USB battery charger

#3 Water

Keep a couple cases of water bottles around for emergency power outages. Rotate your water storage. Even water will go stale after extended storage. We have a 55 gal drinking potable water drum with a pump and consider a roller base for emergencies, especially if you do not have an alternate water source.  READ MORE...

Electric Propulsion System

The IX-6315 "Dawn" Electric Propulsion System is a tiny-sized engine which runs on electricity and xenon gas propellant. It's modeled after the real-world Hall effect thruster.

This engine has a phenomenal fuel efficiency (4200 s Isp), but very low thrust and requires a substantial amount of electricity to operate. Xenon gas is provided by xenon containers like the PB-X50R Xenon Container, PB-X150 Xenon Container or PB-X750 Xenon Container. Electricity can be obtained using solar panels, radioisotope batteries (RTGs), and fuel cells. 

Solar panels are recommended in this case, however RTGs are very efficient when traveling to far distances such as Jool and Eeloo. The amount of electricity needed to keep one ion engine running at full thrust is roughly equivalent to half the output of one Gigantor XL Solar Array (however one array will power two engines only near peak sun exposure around Kerbin), 6 Fuel Cells, 12 PB-NUK Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators, or 25 OX-STAT Photovoltaic Panels at peak outcdput. 

When pairing with solar panels, it is highly recommended to bring more than it needs (slightly less than 9 Ec/s). Not all panels are at peak output during operations, and maximum available power falls of with the square of the distance from the star.

Batteries can be used to store the electricity since there may be times the solar panels will be blocked from the Sun by objects or the dark side of celestial bodies. For extended burns in the darkness the fuel cells happen to be a good choice. When the power is provided by the fuel cells the majority of the mass flow (about 69.2%) is liquid fuel and oxidizer used by the fuel cell. 

Thus the ion engine powered by the fuel cell may be seen as having much more modest but still impressive effective Isp of 1293 sec. However if the burn doesn't take more than a couple of hours the stack of RTGs providing the same amount of power (and thus thrust) tend to be heavier than the fuel cell array and its fuel tank. The RTGs should be reserved for very long low-thrust burns in the deep space.  READ MORE...

Wake Up America

 A few days ago, we experienced the result of a Russian Hacking on our Colonial Pipeline, and many Southern States were without gasoline for their vehicles for about 7-10 days in some cases.

Where we live in East TN, we experienced some gas stations closed while others remained open and the lines to wait for gas were minimal.  The main gas station at which we get all of our gas because it is about 7 cents less now has gasoline in plenty of supply.

It reminded me of the gas lines of the 1970's only it was not as severe.

If we had electric vehicle, we would not have been impacted by the Colonial Pipeline shutdown...  but, what the mainstream media idiots do not realized that if the Russian Hackers could shut down the electronics of the Oil People, they will be able to shut down our FRIGGiNG ENERGY GRID which would at that time control our electric vehicles.

Are they stupid or what?

Our future is totally contingent upon stopping the CYBER HACKERS and the current administration seems not to have THE BALLS to do anything about it because they are more concerned with defunding the police for blacks or teaching critical race theory for blacks.

Now, I am not opposed to blacks or their pursuit for happiness but I am against teaching stuff that has little bearing on our society outside of the small white circle of billionaires who regulate the direction of our society.

The ordinary white man does not GIVE A SHIT who is black or white or brown or red or a sliding scale of color variations.

Cops don't hate blacks, but a few cops do hate blacks and that does not justify changing the system because we are experiencing special cause variation instead of common cause variation.

I really do feel sorry for those who are intellectually ignorant and have retained minimal knowledge from their education...  it is really sad...  but our government cannot force idiots to learn.