The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has voted against a plan by Energy Secretary Rick Perry that would use Nuclear and coal power plants as resilience plants in case of power shortages. However, the FERC says there is plenty of excess power in the U.S. grid and no need for his plan.

Trump-appointed regulators reject plan to rescue coal and nuclear plants

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday unanimously rejected a proposal by Energy Secretary Rick Perry that would have propped up nuclear and coal power struggling in competitive electricity markets. The independent five-member commission includes four people appointed by President Trump, three of them Republicans.

From article, (The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday unanimously rejected a proposal by Energy Secretary Rick Perry that would have propped up nuclear and coal power plants struggling in competitive electricity markets.

The independent five-member commission includes four people appointed by President Trump, three of them Republicans. Its decision is binding.

 The FERC said that while it had not used the term “resilience,”  it had pursued policies that would “ensure the uninterrupted supply of electricity in the face of fuel disruptions or extreme weather threats.”

Perry issued a statement saying that “as intended, my proposal initiated a national debate on the resiliency of our electric system.”

But most analysts saw the decision as a setback for the administration.

“This outright rejection of subsidies for coal and nuclear shows that Commissioners of both parties have little interest in manipulating electricity markets in favor of any fuel source,” said Paul Bledsoe, a former consultant at the Obama-era Energy Department, now a lecturer at American University’s Center for Environmental Policy.

“The law and common sense prevailed over special interests today,” John Moore, director of the Sustainable FERC Project Coalition, said in a statement. “The FERC correctly found that the Department of Energy’s proposal violated the basic requirements of the Federal Power Act. Secretary Perry’s plan would have subsidized coal and nuclear plants with a 90-day fuel supply yet Perry never explained why those plants were inherently more reliable or resilient.”

Although the FERC could issue a new order after submissions by regional grid operators, the language in the current order suggested it would stand by the trend toward free competitive electricity markets.

“This is really FERC saying that any change we make to the grid is going to be grounded in fact,” Greg Wetstone, president of the American Council on Renewable Energy, said in an interview. “This is shifting to a real-world process based on what’s actually happening to the nation’s grid, and that’s great news for renewable energy.”

Perry had argued that coal and nuclear power plants would fare better in extreme weather conditions such as the polar vortex that gripped large parts of the nation just four years ago. Yet opponents of Perry’s plan said that the current bout of extreme cold undercut Perry’s argument as regional grids had excess power on hand and many power plants switched from natural gas to oil largely because of cheaper prices. One of the few major outages was the result of a failed transmission line that took a New England nuclear plant offline.)

Is this the future effect of Global Warming?

200 flying foxes die in heatwave

MORE than 200 flying foxes from a Campbelltown colony were found dead on the ground or still hanging in trees during the extreme heat which hit the region on Sunday.

 From article, (MORE than 200 flying foxes from a Campbelltown colony were found dead on the ground or still hanging in trees during the extreme heat which hit the region on Sunday.

St Helens Park WIRES volunteer Cate Ryan was the first person on the scene at 1pm and she raised the alarm by contacting her fellow WIRES volunteers from across south western Sydney and Wollondilly to help bring water to save as many bats as possible.

“It was unbelievable. I saw a lot of dead bats on the ground and others were close to the ground and dying,’’ she said.

“I have never seen anything like it before.’’

The flying fox colony, which is located near Farrow Rd, was hit hard by Sunday’s extreme heat with the temperature hitting 45.1C in Campbelltown.

Dramatic photos of the bats have been posted on the Help Save the Wildlife and Bushlands in Campbelltown and the WIRES Facebook pages and the situation has been published and shared around the world.

“90 per cent of the flying foxes (which died) were babies or juveniles,’’ Ms Ryan said.

“We hydrated about 80 flying foxes.’’

Ms Ryan said flying fox colonies in Parramatta and Penrith were also affected by Sunday’s heat stress situation.

She is currently caring for 10 flying foxes before they are returned to the colony when their health improves.)

Electric, Autonomous, cars are the solution. Problem is, can we get there fast enough?

Will Self-Driving Cars Usher in a Transportation Utopia or Dystopia?

Innovation visionaries say electric, self-driving, shared cars will soon revolutionize the way humans move about. But experts caution that unless this paradigm shift is guided by sound public policies, the future of transportation could lead to more pollution, more emissions, and more gridlock.

From article, ("How the U.S. Transportation System Can Save $1 Trillion, 2 Billion Barrels of Oil, and 1 Gigaton of Carbon Emissions Annually,” proclaimed the headline of an article published by the Rocky Mountain Institute, an environmentally minded, innovation-focused Boulder, Colorado think tank. The institute’s prescription is a technological trifecta: electric, autonomous, shared cars.

Propelled by the ongoing digitization of just about everything, notably including cars, the thinking trumpeted in that 2015 article has been percolating in the transportation sector for the last several years⁠. All three components of this vision are already expanding. Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) are slowly growing and should increase greatly as EVs become cheaper to own than combustion-engine cars — something that Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts believe will happen by 2024⁠.

Automated cars, often referred to as “autonomous vehicles” (AVs) — whose passengers determine their routes without having to drive them — are being widely developed and tested, and probably will be used commercially in controlled settings within a few years. Lyft, Uber, and others have introduced ride-sharing, in which customers agree to travel with strangers in return for reduced fares. Put all three concepts together in one vehicle, posit that within a few decades this shared EV-AV technology will take over the nation’s automobile fleet, and the outcome seems environmentally irresistible, verging on fantastical.

But it’s equally plausible that the vision may turn out to be a mirage. Automated vehicles may eventually be widely adopted, but if the fleet is not electrified using renewable energy, or car sharing fails to take off, greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution could actually increase. A study last year by University of California, Davis researchers projected that if vehicles are automated but not electrified or shared, greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector would go up 50 percent by 2050 compared to business as usual. But if shared, electrified, automated vehicles flourish, greenhouse gas emissions could plunge by 80 percent, the study concluded⁠.)

We not only need to reduce CO2 emissions, (Already an expensive problem) but somehow, (added to that) we have to get rid of a large amount already in the atmosphere.

Opinion | Saving the world with carbon dioxide removal

Peter Wadhams is professor of ocean physics in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge, U.K. CAMBRIDGE - Limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, as the countries of the world committed themselves to do under the Paris climate accord, is impossible without removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

From article, (If we want to survive climate change, we must double down in research manpower and dollars to find and improve technology to remove carbon dioxide — or at least reduce its effects on the climate. We now emit 41 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year. The current level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is already high enough to bring about a warming of more than 2 degrees after it has worked its way through the climate system, so if we want to save the Paris accord, we must either reduce our emissions to zero, which is not yet possible, or combine a significant emissions reduction with the physical removal of about 20 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere per year indefinitely.

Effective and impactful carbon dioxide removal operations will need to be in place by around 2020. To keep global temperature rise within acceptable limits, we’ll need to remove half the current human emissions, which means extracting about 20 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year, indefinitely. If we can manage this, we can save our society and our children’s futures. After all, if carbon dioxide is the chief cause of climate change, its removal would be our salvation.

Currently, the best way to save our future is to remove carbon dioxide through direct air capture, a process that involves pumping air through a system that removes carbon dioxide and either liquefies it and stores it or chemically turns it into a substance either inert or useful. Enterprising researchers have already developed systems that work by passing air through anion-exchange resins that contain hydroxide or carbonate groups that when dry, absorb carbon dioxide and release it when moist. The extracted carbon dioxide can then be compressed, stored in liquid form and deposited underground using carbon capture and storage technologies.

The challenge here is to bring the cost of this process to below $40 per ton of carbon removed, since this is the estimated cost to the planet of our emissions. At the moment, most methods cost more than $100 per ton, but there are dramatic developments which promise great improvement. Three companies have opened pilot plants — Global Thermostat (United States), Carbon Engineering (Canada) and Climeworks (Switzerland).)

The Future of Missouri and other States Transportation funding? A new registration schedule, increased registration fees, increased driver's license fees, and fees on charging stations, are among some of the things considered. All to deal with the rise of electric cars and falling gas tax income.

Tolls and Fees Suggested as Future Missouri Highway Funding

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Springfield News-Leader) - After traversing the state in 2017, a task force assigned to look at the way Missouri funds highways and transportation has this to say: It's past time to pay more.

 From article, (After traversing the state in 2017, a task force assigned to look at the way Missouri funds highways and transportation has this to say: It's past time to pay more.

When the 21st Century Missouri Transportation System Task Force released its recommendations last week, the focus was on a recommended 10-cent increase to the state motor fuel tax rate, matching the inflation experienced since 1996, when the tax was last raised.

Asking commuters in Springfield and across the state to pay more at the pump, coupled with a 12-cent increase to the diesel tax, could make up more than half of the $825 million funding gap the Missouri Department of Transportation says it faces annually, according to the report.

The consensus of the task force, which visited Springfield in August, is that the best short-term funding solution is raising the gas tax by a dime per gallon and indexing the fuel tax to rise with inflation.

But the report also says a wider variety of solutions are needed to fund transportation long-term. Missouri's gas tax revenue "will be challenged" in the long run "due to the move towards high-efficiency vehicles, changing travel patterns, and electric alternative fuels."

"We put a lot of time and effort into looking at more sustainable, diversified revenue that will help us eventually in the future replace the fuel tax, because it will become less viable 15 to 20 years down the road," said Rep. Kevin Corlew, who chaired the transportation task force.

Among the task force's suggestions to the state legislature: increasing fees paid to the Department of Motor Vehicles on driver's licenses and vehicle registrations.

Increasing fees for electric vehicles and charging stations also should be considered by lawmakers, the task force says, as well as tying the fuel tax and user fees to inflation and basing registration charges on fuel efficiency instead of horsepower.

Missouri is the only state that assesses vehicle registration fees based on the "taxable horsepower," which is based on a ratio derived from the size and number of cylinders in an automobile's engine, Corlew said.

In short, current vehicle-registration-fee revenues will decrease over time, unless the calculation used to determine the registration fee is changed," the task force wrote. 

The new model would be more focused on being revenue-neutral than rewarding people who drive cleaner cars.

A new registration-fee schedule would mean higher costs for vehicles with higher fuel efficiency, Corlew said, because those drivers would pay less in fuel tax

Messenger found that people replying to his survey were likely to support tying fees like driver's license charges to the Consumer Price Index to match inflation.

"If we index those, we're always going forward and never going backward," he said, noting that people buy gas every week but pay for licenses and register vehicles less frequently.)

For you Ez-pass users, who are going to the tip of Southern NJ? Ez-pass is going to make your trip a lot easier.

Jersey Shore motorists can use E-ZPass at five seaside bridges this spring

It's hard to imagine chilling on the beach anytime soon, but once temps rise and thousands flock to the shore this summer, getting there could be a whole lot easier. The Cape May County Bridge Commission are implementing new E-ZPass locations at five seaside bridges, meaning the days of handing over coins and paper bills to the booth operator are ever dwindling.

From article, (The Cape May County Bridge Commission are implementing new E-ZPass locations at five seaside bridges, meaning the days of handing over coins and paper bills to the booth operator are ever dwindling. Instead, drivers with an E-ZPass can float on through with automatic toll payments.

 The commission is using this frigid, quiet month to test out E-ZPass, starting with the Ocean City-Longport Bridge. After a three-week test period, it will go live in February, OCNJ Daily reported.

Other bridges slated to get E-ZPass access are the Grassy Sound Bridge, the Corsons Inlet Bridge, the Townsends Inlet Bridge, and the Middle Thorofare Bridge. Though the implementation of E-ZPass at the bridges will be staggered, full implementation is estimated to be complete by March.

For the time being, toll prices are remaining at $1.50, though there have been some attempts to increase on- and off-season fares.

The commission has proposed to raise peak-season toll fares to $2.50 and off-season fares to $2 to help pay for the E-ZPass installations, but that plan has not been finalized as some officials, including Sea Isle City Mayor Leonard Desiderio, have spoken out against the fare hikes.)

Ozone hole: Going, going, gone?

NASA satellite shows direct evidence of ozone hole recovery

It's long been known that the hole in the ozone layer is shrinking, but a new study has provided greater insight into the improving health of the ozone layer by analyzing the chemicals around the hole over the last decade or so.

From article, (To check that the CFC ban is contributing to the recovery of the ozone layer hole, a team of researchers studied data gathered by a satellite-mounted instrument called the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), which measures trace gases in the atmosphere. Using MLS data gathered every winter between 2005 and 2016, the team was able to determine the daily changes in ozone levels during the entire winter season of each year – from early July to mid-September.

Sure enough, the researchers found that the rate of ozone loss decreased by 20 percent over that time period.

As encouraging as the result is, we're not out of the woods yet. New CFCs aren't being pumped into the atmosphere, but the existing ones will still be around for a long time.

"CFCs have lifetimes from 50 to 100 years, so they linger in the atmosphere for a very long time," says Anne Douglass, co-author of the study. "As far as the ozone hole being gone, we're looking at 2060 or 2080. And even then there might still be a small hole.")

And so it starts, or has started. Employees from Tesla being hired away to other electric vehicle programs and sharing their skills. Next, will it be SpaceX?

Uber hires Tesla's lead battery expert to help power its 'flying car' service

Celina Mikolajczak, a senior manager for battery pack development at Tesla, has been hired by Uber to help the ride-hail company's "flying car" project get off the ground. It's an important hire because it signals that Uber plans to get more involved in the engineering aspects of this outlandish-sounding project.

From article, (For six years, Mikolajczak served as senior manager and technical lead for battery technology, cell quality, and materials analysis. She worked with Tesla’s suppliers, tested the car company’s lithium-ion batteries for long-term use, oversaw quality assurance, and conducted “failure analysis” to drive battery cell production and design improvements. In other words, Mikolajczak was in charge of making sure the most crucial component in Tesla’s entire assembly line was top of the line.

Now she works for Uber — and not just for Uber, but for Uber Elevate, the absurdly ambitious air taxi service that hinges on the successful development of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles. There are practically zero aircraft that run on purely battery-electric power in service today, and definitely none being used in a commercial ride-hail service. The hurdles to getting this type of service off the ground are enormous.

 Uber says the aircraft it plans to use (but, importantly, do not exist yet) will run on pure battery-electric power, and not any hybrid of gasoline and electricity. Most of the companies exploring eVTOL admit that battery’s today aren’t light enough or powerful enough to sustain flights longer than just a few minutes, but many believe that battery technology will eventually catch up.

Uber believes that in order to sustain a massive-scale new form of transportation, it will need to commit to an all-electric, zero-operational emissions approach from the start. And since the technology isn’t where it needs to be yet, the ride-hail company is taking a more prominent role in the development of the battery pack for its air taxi vehicles. Mikolajczak certainly has her work cut out for her.)

CNN is Fake News. Why? If you ask questions in an interview, and the interviewee dodges the question. They are answering your question. You may not like the dodge but that is no reason to end an interview. Jake Tapper knew what he was getting into and acts like a temperamental child when he does not get his way. This interview was a blatant set up for rating. It had nothing to do with news.

Stephen Miller blasts Bannon, touts Trump as 'political genius'

White House senior adviser Stephen Miller bashed former mentor Steve Bannon on Sunday while maintaining President Trump as a "political genius" in a heated interview on CNN. The policy aide's remarks come amid backlash from author Michael Wolff's book, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," in which Bannon trashed fellow members of the President's inner circle.

From article, (White House senior adviser Stephen Miller was booted from the set of CNN’s “State of the Union” when he refused to leave after his fiery interview with Jake Tapper ended.

Miller spent the tense Sunday morning segment bashing former mentor Steve Bannon while defending President Trump as a “political genius” in the heated interview.

Tapper brought the interview to an abrupt stop after the pair got into a heated argument with both cutting each other off and launching personal attacks.

The confrontation continued after the segment when Miller refused to leave the set, despite repeated requests to leave, a CNN source said.

“The segment was over and Mr. Miller was politely asked to leave the set multiple times — after refusing to leave, he was escorted out by security,” the source said in an email.  

The policy aide’s remarks during the show come amid backlash from author Michael Wolff’s book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” in which Bannon trashed fellow members of the President’s inner circle.

During the interview, Miller took several shots at CNN’s credibility when asked policy questions, while Tapper implied Miller wasn’t trying to speak to the American people — only to Trump.)