tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63997304064803921832024-03-18T08:30:32.136-03:00Viable OppositionA Political Junkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03342345936277964422noreply@blogger.comBlogger300413tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post-48307533369349989812024-03-18T08:30:00.001-03:002024-03-18T08:30:00.127-03:00Jeff Bezos and Biomanufactured Food - Our Fake Food Future<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"><a href="https://www.bezosearthfund.org/news-and-insights/lauren-sanchez-announces-60-million-establish-bezos-centers-for-sustainable-protein"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">This announcement</span></a> recently appeared on the Bezos Earth Fund website:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpICBUoTMe_Y859MQ7GwpHizpr-FfXDO2OhyztunzVniykUZzZ0xnbKh4zySOHGjsq_wiiHD_yJK5m8adeAi19hAneg0pkAHQN0utA85We68EBlZjv5HKIm9Sr7onnOgF5kl50FOmeFUOPCbK2YGaKscz094anb9on8iO9oyGHATI0kyYdYNfjBR0gnir/s2838/Screenshot%202024-03-15%20at%203.03.31%E2%80%AFPM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2358" data-original-width="2838" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpICBUoTMe_Y859MQ7GwpHizpr-FfXDO2OhyztunzVniykUZzZ0xnbKh4zySOHGjsq_wiiHD_yJK5m8adeAi19hAneg0pkAHQN0utA85We68EBlZjv5HKIm9Sr7onnOgF5kl50FOmeFUOPCbK2YGaKscz094anb9on8iO9oyGHATI0kyYdYNfjBR0gnir/w400-h333/Screenshot%202024-03-15%20at%203.03.31%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">The Bezos Earth Fund was established in 2020 by Amazon's Jeff Bezos in 2020 with a funding commitment of $20 billion to be disbursed by 2030 as grants to address climate and nature. Here's a quote from their "<a href="https://www.bezosearthfund.org/who-we-are"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Who We Are</span></a>" and "<a href="https://www.bezosearthfund.org/our-journey"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Our Journey</span></a>" webpages:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">"<i>The problems we face require all hands on-deck. Philanthropy has a crucial role to play in providing effective flexible funds and risk-taking capacity, and in bringing independent expertise to the design of solutions. The Bezos Earth Fund team is a new philanthropy, and as such we are still learning from others. We are building an inspiring team of thought leaders, problem solvers, and doers from scientific, government, private, and nonprofit backgrounds, all working to deliver transformational change in these critical times.</i>"<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">"<i>The Bezos Earth Fund was established with the largest philanthropic commitment ever to fight climate change and protect nature. We aim to harness the best of human ingenuity, adaptability, and collective action to create a future in which everyone can thrive</i>."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">Yes indeed, everyone can thrive...but by everyone, they mean the global aristocracy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">So far, $1.63 billion in funding has been disbursed by the </span><span style="font-size: 14.666667px;">Bezos</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> Earth Fund since the first grants were made in November 2020.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">As an aside, the choice of 2030 as a timeframe is not random, it just happens to be the date by which the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals must be achieved.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">On March 12, 2024, the Bezos Earth Fund Vice Chair, Lauren Sanchez (who just happens to be Jeff Bezos fiancee) announced an initial $60 million commitment to establish Bezos Centers for Sustainable Protein as part of the Bezos Earth Fund's commitment to "food transformation". Here is a quote from the press release:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">"<i>The Centers will target major technological barriers to reducing cost, increasing quality, and boosting nutritional benefit of alternative proteins by advancing science and technology. To date, challenges in biomanufacturing – the production, at scale, of sustainable protein products, whether plant based, fermented, or cultivated – are resulting in high costs and limited quality. There are also enormous opportunities to enhance the texture and boost flavor through innovation in cell biology and engineering.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"><i> </i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"><i>We need to feed 10 billion people with healthy, sustainable food throughout this century while protecting our planet. We can do it, and it will require a ton of innovation,” said Sánchez. “Our world is poised for transformation, for a future not constrained by compromise. Solutions to our greatest challenges often come from the quiet persistence of those willing to question, reimagine, and innovate.</i>”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">The press release goes on to note the following:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">"<i>Food is the second largest cause of climate change, and agriculture is the primary driver of deforestation and biodiversity loss. Making the food system more sustainable requires changing the way we produce and consume food. Given population and income growth, by 2050 food consumption is expected to rise by 50%, while emissions from food will need to fall by 60% and pressure on vital forest systems will need to be reduced. New ideas, technologies, and behaviors can make this possible.</i>"<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">So, a fake food future it is.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">If you had to make a choice between fake, biomanufactured food or <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/07/why-we-need-to-give-insects-the-role-they-deserve-in-our-food-systems/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">this from our overlords at the World Economic Forum</span></a>: <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqDQmCwiE5kl-OgT5H6NlUVkbpzvoTBxxYyRHWUFVrKTluc1EYLHHvU8GLyDPqUnNhyphenhyphen_Q08JBmztFQV6ulp3WsOLDfUY5vOU5N1XBlNuj4utcR-ePmWvCbz3LcLyEsevfFl9_jxQFt1SfHvIdIRrLpac2oZXWvgSTs3yy4aKBeTvPO5HWi73OHaujflGk/s2148/Screenshot%202024-03-15%20at%203.16.42%E2%80%AFPM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1980" data-original-width="2148" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqDQmCwiE5kl-OgT5H6NlUVkbpzvoTBxxYyRHWUFVrKTluc1EYLHHvU8GLyDPqUnNhyphenhyphen_Q08JBmztFQV6ulp3WsOLDfUY5vOU5N1XBlNuj4utcR-ePmWvCbz3LcLyEsevfFl9_jxQFt1SfHvIdIRrLpac2oZXWvgSTs3yy4aKBeTvPO5HWi73OHaujflGk/w400-h369/Screenshot%202024-03-15%20at%203.16.42%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">...which would you choose?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">In closing, when you consider your food choice, remember <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNSG2LHrSr0"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">this significant single-point source</span></a> of climate-changing emissions which is allowed because it is sourced from the ruling class:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LNSG2LHrSr0" width="320" youtube-src-id="LNSG2LHrSr0"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p>A Political Junkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03342345936277964422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post-89593478780843302882024-03-13T08:30:00.001-03:002024-03-13T08:30:00.242-03:00Electrifying the United States Fleet - The Fallacy of Full Transportation Electrification<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The idiocracy that we have elected to represent our best interests in governments around the world have taken upon themselves the responsibility of forcing society into the complete electrification of transportation and the complete elimination of internal combustion engines. Without understanding the implications of their proclamations, this new normal is now moving into the trucking sector which is the lifeline of our society today given the reliance on trucks for the delivery of most of the goods that we consume. Research by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) will help us understand the infrastructure needs for electrification of America's passenger and freight vehicle fleet and whether the complete elimination of gasoline and diesel fuelled vehicles is even possible. <b>Throughout this posting, it is important to keep in mind that this analysis by ATRI includes only electrification of the American fleet; for a more thorough understanding of the issue, it is important to include the transportation electrification programs being adopted by nations around the world.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The authors of the report open with the following statistics current to the end of 2021:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">1.) there were 1.5 million electric passenger cars in the United States or less than one percent of the 276 million registered cars and light trucks.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">2.) at the beginning of 2022, there were less than 1500 electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in the United States with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">3.) there were more than 12 million freight trucks operating in the United States of which 2.925 million are heavy-duty Class 7/8 trucks used in long-haul operations. These 12 million freight trucks are almost exclusively fuelled with gasoline or diesel.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The authors state that there are three challenges to complete electrification of a national battery electric vehicle (BEV) charging infrastructure:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><b>1.) U.S. electricity supply and demand:</b> Currently, annual residential consumption of electricity is 1477 billion kWh, commercial consumption is 1325 billion kWh, industrial consumption is 987 billion kWh and transportation consumption is only 6 billion kWh. If the entire light vehicle fleet were electrified, it would require 1040 billion kWh annually and the medium- and heavy-duty truck fleet would require 554 billion kWh for a total of 1594 billion kWh which is more than America's residential consumption today. <b>The complete electrification of light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles would result in an increase in annual U.S. electricity consumption of 40.3 percent to power all vehicles.</b> Given the aging state of America's electricity infrastructure (both generation and transmission), a massive investment would be required to power electrified transportation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Here is a map which shows full fleet electric vehicle electricity consumption as a percentage of current generation for each state:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFZ-3MZbum-ZopdVFtGOIJlb05nDQRYIRi0U6ORFrM8HMmnVmwMjkC4oAxZNKetnJk1nrBjYAZomSgUYufr5hjT3bHVq7eQF24qfWhTGva18AmJttKE46MR8ihe1wSOcRFVoJ3rj5FgAmjQROQjJAdJI0k-jGsGRPKsakfXgW5VDxMldUJpfPJjfMbHon/s1584/Screenshot%202024-03-12%20at%203.54.27%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1274" data-original-width="1584" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFZ-3MZbum-ZopdVFtGOIJlb05nDQRYIRi0U6ORFrM8HMmnVmwMjkC4oAxZNKetnJk1nrBjYAZomSgUYufr5hjT3bHVq7eQF24qfWhTGva18AmJttKE46MR8ihe1wSOcRFVoJ3rj5FgAmjQROQjJAdJI0k-jGsGRPKsakfXgW5VDxMldUJpfPJjfMbHon/w400-h321/Screenshot%202024-03-12%20at%203.54.27%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><b>2.) Electric vehicle production including the mining of raw materials needed for batteries, the country of origin of these batteries and raw materials and the environmental and social issue associated with BEV production: </b> Four of the key materials used in EV batteries include cobalt, graphite, lithium and nickel. Significant increases in production of the raw materials used in EV battery manufacturing will, no doubt, result in significant negative impacts on the environment, both in emissions and in destruction of land surfaces as well as negative geopolitical and social issues. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">As an example, an average long-haul truck will require the following weights of raw material for their batteries; 456 pounds of cobalt, 2501 pounds of graphite, 324 pounds of lithium and 1590 pounds of nickel. To replace the batteries for the 2.925 million truck tractors in the United States, 667,403 tons of cobalt, 3,658,929 tons of graphite, 475,162 tons of lithium and 2,325,936 tons of nickel will be required. As you can see in this table which shows the raw weight material requirements for all U.S. vehicles:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3q0Z3XkmRR946c_Jm3Y0qcd2N3uD3dtmCLSfgnZ4FVFuyxI5lKzVrmB-h293hJJ1gS7XxZVQc1R915SFSSDsaZkbP_2cfFTkv2srTa8xLYDm6g9jYFnFwUwQUSs3w3lYAQbt7F8qGVRSF2hPYcEYl7DlUtL_zbqeJDJOOyG7Ui4ygAqtYxeTVqOs1-6B/s1440/Screenshot%202024-03-12%20at%204.03.04%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="1440" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3q0Z3XkmRR946c_Jm3Y0qcd2N3uD3dtmCLSfgnZ4FVFuyxI5lKzVrmB-h293hJJ1gS7XxZVQc1R915SFSSDsaZkbP_2cfFTkv2srTa8xLYDm6g9jYFnFwUwQUSs3w3lYAQbt7F8qGVRSF2hPYcEYl7DlUtL_zbqeJDJOOyG7Ui4ygAqtYxeTVqOs1-6B/w400-h223/Screenshot%202024-03-12%20at%204.03.04%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">...long-haul trucks require a small fraction of the necessary key raw materials used in batteries.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><b>To replace all U.S. internal combustion vehicles with batteries will require 29.8 years of global cobalt production, 26.8 years of global graphite production, 34.9 years of global lithium production and 6.3 years of global nickel production.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><b>3.) Charging requirements for trucks including parking, charging and costs of charging infrastructure:</b> Currently, there are 313,000 truck parking spaces in the United States at both public rest areas and private truck stops. Studies show that drivers spent significant non-revenue time (i.e. they aren't earning anything) looking for parking spaces, averaging 56 minutes of drive time per day from their driving limit of 11 hours per day and 14 hours of available on-duty time. It takes 5 to 12 minutes for a driver to refuel a diesel truck which will provide a driving range of 1860 miles. A truck with a 1500 kWh battery would have to spend four to five consecutive hours of recharging time per day given ideal weather (ambient temperature), maximum charging rate, battery state-of charge and battery temperature. The authors of the report calculated the following for the entire 2.925 million vehicle long-haul trucking fleet:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">1.) 417.4 million kWh needed annually - 142,688 kWh per truck<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">2.) 585 million annual charging events averaging 3.4 hours with an average of 1.6 million charging events per day.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">3.) 1,602,855 chargers will be needed if drivers use one 3.4 hour charging event per day.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><b>Keep in mind that there are currently only 313,000 total truck parking spaces in the United States meaning that each charger would have to support at least five charging events per day</b> which is impossible given that truck drivers would not be able to conduct their normal business operations at the same time as they precisely co-ordinate charger use with other drivers. Laws also state that truck drivers cannot move their vehicles during their mandatory 10 hour rest period meaning that a fully charged truck may have to sit at a charger until the driver goes back on duty.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">I believe that is enough information to digest. As you can readily see, the complete electrification of the American fleet is a complete fallacy being promoted by idiots in government who have a limited understanding of the real world and the science and geology involved in the manufacturing of the batteries for BEVs. In particular, electrification of the freight trucking industry is a gong show that will lead to much higher prices for consumer goods and much lower profits for the trucking sector. But, then again, when did governments ever make decisions that benefitted their citizens without significant negative repercussions?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p>A Political Junkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03342345936277964422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post-13402110485992843502024-03-11T08:30:00.001-03:002024-03-11T15:32:49.285-03:00The High Cost of Climate Change Mitigation for Developing Economies<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">What our politicians rarely mention is that there will be a very high cost to their drive to bring the net zero narrative to fruition. A <a href="https://unctad.org/sdg-costing/climate-change"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">study by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development</span></a> (UNCTAD) outlines the high cost of the fight against climate change for developing economies, numbers which should cause concern for those often impoverished citizens living in these nations.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Let's start with some background first. As noted above, the analysis looks at two main global economies, developed and developing economies which are shown on this map:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKPyYox26_o5Dn5yGMnR8Lwa-cbtrdHKJY9KPfNa_jxwFHa7bUZv6Mk1xmS_5x72xH669FjWIl3ZelLY1PHF3m9PTLzsQR98n_PQ_1Zw4NwwLrsjskudf3FjIb5yddHiOUgKpo6GwMXhC5AoGiEDvV4uebtaHWWvX4tD1LMG9AFeECJfHQmD-UZUyo2_x/s2094/Screenshot%202024-02-21%20at%202.44.48%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="2094" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKPyYox26_o5Dn5yGMnR8Lwa-cbtrdHKJY9KPfNa_jxwFHa7bUZv6Mk1xmS_5x72xH669FjWIl3ZelLY1PHF3m9PTLzsQR98n_PQ_1Zw4NwwLrsjskudf3FjIb5yddHiOUgKpo6GwMXhC5AoGiEDvV4uebtaHWWvX4tD1LMG9AFeECJfHQmD-UZUyo2_x/w400-h205/Screenshot%202024-02-21%20at%202.44.48%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="400" /></a></div> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The estimates of this study calculated climate change mitigation costs for over 90 economies which represent 72 percent of the global population. This includes 48 developing economies with 19 of these being classified as low- and lower-middle income and 29 being classified as upper-middle and high-income which, in total, covers 68 percent of people living in developing economies worldwide. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">UNCTAD looks at six "transition pathways" to achieve it 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as shown here:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbAYeIDlVAeTxG0f9YW9CS0egramrN1XzCAfjwgTWygwMw976uKNlGBn3W0EjK8KBuyJg7dzcuR-oBbn0y9Btw1zKzrk7mO-u6dOeg8frIRD2u9k4REGW-QjODLcwfiCwIG-o1o954yGa0-Zkbf8PMJILAhMeqaxDNzn73LP_bhML8nYyhePevFvEJBg8x/s1560/Screenshot%202024-02-21%20at%202.42.49%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="808" data-original-width="1560" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbAYeIDlVAeTxG0f9YW9CS0egramrN1XzCAfjwgTWygwMw976uKNlGBn3W0EjK8KBuyJg7dzcuR-oBbn0y9Btw1zKzrk7mO-u6dOeg8frIRD2u9k4REGW-QjODLcwfiCwIG-o1o954yGa0-Zkbf8PMJILAhMeqaxDNzn73LP_bhML8nYyhePevFvEJBg8x/w400-h208/Screenshot%202024-02-21%20at%202.42.49%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="400" /></a></div> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">For the purposes of this posting, we'll focus on the "Climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution" pathway which "<i>includes strengthening commitments under the Paris Agreement, improving ecosystem management, reducing the effects of disasters and integrating climate and biodiversity actions</i>."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The study covers several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs related to climate change including the following indicators:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpbBNH3fdS6GW4_6Q4-MWyXCLni-NKggRNhwISCqLCLVtpfQ1wy2RByCiAKjrDzZD6J3R9ZPYO3VyQalKMsmb16-ndNlvUAohlJ2YCZkEqSFZiCQptQb9PkvcqnU2ycZ5qwORTm7VPsWJCmREADfLzOkCBTR6IqMdcwh5Gl2l7MQujcxxTw5hCn42aaMTE/s1636/Screenshot%202024-02-21%20at%202.38.36%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1636" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpbBNH3fdS6GW4_6Q4-MWyXCLni-NKggRNhwISCqLCLVtpfQ1wy2RByCiAKjrDzZD6J3R9ZPYO3VyQalKMsmb16-ndNlvUAohlJ2YCZkEqSFZiCQptQb9PkvcqnU2ycZ5qwORTm7VPsWJCmREADfLzOkCBTR6IqMdcwh5Gl2l7MQujcxxTw5hCn42aaMTE/w400-h223/Screenshot%202024-02-21%20at%202.38.36%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="400" /></a></div> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.666667px;">The United Nations measures progress on this SDG in several areas; safeguarding marine, freshwater and land biodiversity; bolstering the sustainability of fisheries; increasing forest coverage; preventing land degradation; and halting the extinction of threatened species.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Now, let's look at the numbers. <b>The total annual cost of accelerating climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution goals between 2023 and 2030 for developing economies is $5.536 trillion or 18 percent of their GDP. The per capita cost ranges from $397 annually for low and lower-middle income developing nations and $2026 annually for upper-middle and high-income developing nations with an average of $1213 per person annually for all developing nations.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Here is a table summarizing the findings of the study:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiKY8K9y1-FD03RiiK-97ufS2OBLUy1wkHFbUNlSs4uf9tSTdn4SW2l8jsoNNm9MpnfFHQ_dCmQw4gBNutg-EvnymWPinGR4cw1fRT2ItNZSuJX4Je3OkJZ9hYaFqNPhvREOuqU2vEyP-Dp03sqLDJS434Ft2H5Xr7cJdBJxpF4Dy6ZMWHOkMS5p8IjC9S/s1636/Screenshot%202024-02-21%20at%202.56.51%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1190" data-original-width="1636" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiKY8K9y1-FD03RiiK-97ufS2OBLUy1wkHFbUNlSs4uf9tSTdn4SW2l8jsoNNm9MpnfFHQ_dCmQw4gBNutg-EvnymWPinGR4cw1fRT2ItNZSuJX4Je3OkJZ9hYaFqNPhvREOuqU2vEyP-Dp03sqLDJS434Ft2H5Xr7cJdBJxpF4Dy6ZMWHOkMS5p8IjC9S/w400-h291/Screenshot%202024-02-21%20at%202.56.51%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="400" /></a></div> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">What concerns UNCTAD is the spending gap on the climate change sustainable development goal by these nations; the authors of the study note that there is a $337 billion annual funding gap which would require a 6.5 percent increase in annual spending. What's even more concerning to the United Nations is, that if all developing economies are included, the total annual spending on the climate change SDG would reach up to $7 trillion meaning that the annual gap would be $410 billion.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Fortunately for all of us, the United Nations has provided recommendations as quoted here:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">"<i>Government spending can be tailored to specific national circumstances. These might include enhancing environmental planning and regulation, building climate-resilient infrastructure, promoting clean technologies like carbon capture, developing early warning systems, or restoring and conserving forests and marine life.</i>"<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Keeping in mind that the developing economies included in these calculations have some of the poorest people on earth, it boggles the mind that the United Nations would think that the indebted governments in these nations would have the funding to actually meet the United Nations' climate change sustainable development goals when they struggle to feed their own citizens.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p>A Political Junkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03342345936277964422noreply@blogger.com0