Lazy Spring Day

     A dogs life. Mona loves springtime. She smells the flowers too! She's like a giant pollinator. 

Happy Friday

Cloudy Days

     I took this picture this morning. I love how the clouds looked with the Sun streaming through. The fact I got the solar farm in the shot was just a bonus. I've taken so many of that thing over the past few months. Of course the one driving by at 60 mph from the car is the best one. A nice way to wake up in the morning, yes?

     Believe it or not, the clouds don't stop the solar array from making electricity. This a common misconception that many people have about solar energy. Many detractors of solar power like to wax on about how cloudy days mean no electricity. As usual, they don't know what they are talking about.

     Think about it this way: On a cloudy day, is it dark like it would be at 2am? No, it isn't. Why not? Because the Sun's rays still penetrate the clouds. Even the most menacing storm clouds don't make it so dark that you can't see. So, the fact that there is enough light to allow you to see when it's cloudy means the Sun's rays are still hitting the Earth, and any solar panels positioned to catch them. (Do I sound like a Public Service Announcement?)

     It is even possible, under the right conditions, to produce more electricity on a partly cloudy day than on a hot sunny day. PV panels can get too hot from all that sunshine and sometimes part of the array will shutdown so the panels can cool down. Cloud cover keeps the temperature low, which can keep more panels cooler during the day, thus allowing them to operate longer. All that can mean more energy produced!

    (The heads of anti-solar people everywhere just exploded. Because I'm sure they all read this blog, right?) 

     So, on cloudy days, photovoltaics keep right on converting sunlight into energy. That means when it's cloudy, you can still charge your computer, wash your kids dirty clothes in the washing machine, go for a walk without a flashlight or turn the tv on so you can watch the Stanley Cup Playoffs. You know, all the important things in life.

The more you know...

Happy Earth Day

     "Now I know why I am here. Not for a closer look at the Moon, but to look back at our home, the Earth."        
                                                                                                     - Alfred Worden, Apollo Astronaut

     "Look again at that dot. That's here, that's home, that's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust in a sunbeam."
                                                                                                      - Astronomer Carl Sagan

Sustainability Hub

     Check out these links below from my friends at Sustainability Hub. They are doing some cool things over there, providing a one-stop-shop for all things sustainable. If you ever have questions, want ideas or just want to expand your mind when it comes to being Green, this is the place to go. And they gave videos!! I'll give you a break from reading today. You're welcome. 

The first is a collection of the Ten Best Videos about Sustainability.

http://sustainabilityhub.com/

The second is the Ten Best Videos about Climate Change.

http://sustainabilityhub.com/climate/

...and here's a picture of Spring.

Denial in the Time of Climate Change

     I found this online yesterday: a "Denial Guide". Used by dysfunctional families everywhere, this blue-print is also used by Climate Change Deniers in there campaign to make it appear as if there is a debate about Anthropogenic Climate Change. This is how they create doubt and  confuse people into thinking that Climate Change isn't happening...or that Climate Change IS happening, but is natural and is not caused by humans...or that it is natural but is good for us! What these Deniers say always depends on who they are talking to and in which situation. Their message is always catered to their audience.

     Many of you may be surprised to learn that this script isn't new. The blueprint has worked effectively for the past 160+ years: for opponents (past and present) of Darwin's Theory of Evolution, for Watson and Crick's DNA model, for the Tobacco Companies in the 1960's and 70's who claimed that smoking was not bad for you. That's why the Fossil Fuel industry uses it today...its effective! Imagine if Albert Einstein had let the naysayers affect his theory on General or Special Relativity?

     Geneticist Sean B. Carroll wrote "The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Record of Evolution", in which he identified the "six core features of denialism". The comparisons between what happened with the Tobacco Industry