Open thread weekend

Up here above 50 degrees latitude it becomes less practical, since our heaviest usage occurs during the winter.

California’s multi-tier power prices certainly makes residential solar PV more attractive financially.

That’s one of the things I have considered doing for some time too, though here in Omaha I need to take winter snow and hail from thunderstorms into the equation. I would think it should tend to keep the attic space cooler as well since the light would not reach the shingles to bake them in the first place, which in and of itself would lend itself to a cooler house and lower utility bills. I have been considering a solar powered attic fan as well.

Its important when someone lives their convictions.

Brave skeptic, Alexander Cockburn, has died.
==========

One point we want to make, as it seems to be the case, it that those that are pushing the AGW scam today are primarily extreme leftists. Steven Goddard did a post talking about the leftist congressman Ed Markey making a big squawk about climate change. My comment:
The National Journal gave Ed Markey a Composite Liberal score in the mid-nineties, close to the most left wing congressman in the country. Chuck Slowe put it this way:

Markey is a blatantly liberal ideologue. As he rides around in his gas guzzling super-sized SUV, he disdains that the regular, man on the street has the audacity to be driving on the same roadways…
He loves to think of himself as a thoughtfully learned man, in all matters pertaining to the world. Unfortunately, Markey is a typical blowhard of the political left. He is also an alarmist with his sites set on crippling the country’s economy in typical Obama fashion. As long as we continue to send such idiots back to Capitol Hill, we will continue to have the same level of insanity heaped upon us in the form of higher taxes, bigger government and a far less responsive bureaucracy.

It seems that the only ones now that are making a lot of noise about AGW theory are these wacko leftists like Markey. If the warmists want to gain some needed credibility, why not try to get some mainstream types to stand up for their cause? Try to avoid always relying on these extreme leftists to make their case.

Here’s a question for you Anthony: Are you applying for the federal and state tax rebates and subsudies?

Nerd says: July 21, 2012 at 4:29 pm
There’s something I am concerned… what about rolling blackouts? I’m just wondering how both solar panels and blackouts work together
——————————————————————-
They work together perfectly. When the grid goes down, your PV array goes offline too. You get no power from either. Grid tie inverters are required to poll the grid and disconnect. This is for the safety of the lineman who goes to fix the problem. They don’t want to worry about non-utility sources energizing a supposed dead line.
If you want backup power during a blackout, you need battery storage, you need to switch the PV array from grid tie to battery charging, and you need a separate inverter designed to run off grid. I personally have just enough of that to run my refrigerator. Costs more than a gasoline powered generator. Here’s a link to a company that sells the stuff and has good explanations on what to buy.
http://www.windsun.com/

Have you considered lowering the load with LED?

the Carbon Comedy continues:
20 July: Reuters Point Carbon: Kathy Chen and Stian Reklev: China keen to avoid CO2 rollercoaster ride
European permits have lost 80 percent of their value since mid-2008 and 50 percent in the last twelve months, spurring claims that the carbon market is becoming irrelevant in the EU’s efforts to cut emissions.
“China will consider introducing both a price ceiling and a price floor to prevent the dramatic price fluctuation seen in the EU ETS,” said Chen Jianpeng with the State Council’s Development Research Centre, which is involved in studying the impact of a future Chinese ETS.
China, which accounts for almost a third of global CO2 emissions, plans to use the experiences from its pilot schemes to set up a national CO2 market later this decade.
The Beijing municipal government, which will host one of China’s seven pilot schemes from 2013 or 2014, plans to implement a price floor and ceiling in the capital’s CO2 market…
Tax evasion, theft of permits and re-usage of credits have also damaged the reputation of the world’s biggest carbon market.
China, which is generally skeptical about financial markets, is planning to keep its CO2 scheme under tight control.
After state-owned power company China Aviation Oil lost $550 million on speculating in oil futures in 2004, Beijing has ruled out forward markets in all but a handful of commodities.
Emissions trading will take place on government-approved exchanges, and recently announced regulations by the State Council means only spot trading with a five-day delay on delivery will be allowed.
***(LOL) Some observers said it would be beneficial to keep the market simple, at least initially, as Chinese compliance traders lack experience in emissions markets.
“The market is not ready to have carbon derivatives, green bonds and green funds in the pilot phase,” said Shi Minjun, deputy director at the China Academy of Science’s Research Center on Fictitious Economy and Data Science.
But other observers were doubtful whether an emissions market could be effective if it did not provide a forward price, because companies would lack the information they need to make future investment decisions…
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/07/20/us-china-carbon-trade-idINBRE86J0BA20120720
——————————————————————————–

Eric Simpson says:
July 21, 2012 at 4:38 pm
One point we want to make, as it seems to be the case, it that those that are pushing the AGW scam today are primarily extreme leftists.
—————-
You’re in a fish bowl talking to other fish. And the fish often end up talking to their own reflections in the glass. And the refraction distorts their view of the outside world. You need to get out more.