Sun Spots Reappear

After an unusual hiatus sun spots are back.

There are some posts on Dredd Blog that explain why sun spot activity is a national security issue.

Also discussed is why it is an issue in the greening of the power grid which will be done by upgrading it to accept wind and solar generated electricity.

During the upgrade the power grid needs to be made more safe from other events associated with Sun Spots, or catastrophic results may develop.

The good news is that the Sun has not gone strange on us into some mode we do not understand with our current scientific model of the Sun.

New Judas Rising North of America

It hurts when those one expects to behave badly do so, but it really, really hurts when those who have always been friends turn to become bad actors.

According to Monbiot, this is exactly what the government of Canada has done to the people of Canada and to the world:

When you think of Canada, which qualities come to mind? The world’s peace-keeper, the friendly nation, a liberal counterweight to the harsher pieties of its southern neighbour, decent, civilised, fair, well-governed? Think again. This country’s government is now behaving with all the sophistication of a chimpanzee’s tea party. So amazingly destructive has Canada become, and so insistent have my Canadian friends been that I weigh into this fight, that I’ve broken my self-imposed ban on flying and come to Toronto.

So here I am, watching the astonishing spectacle of a beautiful, cultured nation turning itself into a corrupt petrostate. Canada is slipping down the development ladder, retreating from a complex, diverse economy towards dependence on a single primary resource, which happens to be the dirtiest commodity known to man. The price of this transition is the brutalisation of the country, and a government campaign against multilateralism as savage as any waged by George Bush.

...

In Copenhagen next week, this country will do everything in its power to wreck the talks.

...

It feels odd to be writing this. The immediate threat to the global effort to sustain a peaceful and stable world comes not from Saudi Arabia or Iran or China. It comes from Canada. How could that be true?

(Monbiot, see also Guardian UK). The people around the world who have considered Canada to be one of the beacons, one of the sources of environmental sanity, one of the places to always be a solid hope for the future of humanity, now fear that Canada has fallen into the abyss of human error.

Some Way Out of Here

It isn't often that I can see a path that fits what the Joker said to the Thief: "There must be some way outta here said the Joker to the Thief ..."(All Along The Watchtower, by Bob Dylan).

I mean some way out of the energy crisis.

A device has been built by University of Michigan scientists and students.

It takes water current (e.g. wave motion) and converts it into electricity:

A revolutionary device that can harness energy from slow-moving rivers and ocean currents could provide enough power for the entire world, scientists claim.

(Ocean Wave Electric Generator). A technical discussion of the physics and mechanics of it are discussed here.

The electricity produced by the generator can then be used to convert earth atmosphere into methanol.

This process actually takes the "green house gas" carbon dioxide (CO²) out of the atmosphere during the process. Yes, green house gas is converted into clean energy in the form of methanol during the process.

Another positive in this approach is that methanol works in current internal combustion engines, including gas and diesel versions. Methanol is not ethanol.

See, there is a way "outta here". Several ways.

The next post in this series is here.