Here’s another in a series of articles from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI): 90 Percent of Euro Area Banks Are Out of Step with Paris Goals. How Can They Get on Track? An excerpt:
(An analysis) of 95 Euro area banks found that approximately 90 percent are misaligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Misalignment with climate pledges can expose financial institutions to significant risk as policy and market conditions increasingly reflect climate realities. For example, when carbon-intensive borrowers face carbon pricing, regulatory restrictions, or shifting consumer preferences, they can become less competitive against peers and more prone to default on loans.
We all wish banks would get on board with climate change mitigation and, at a minimum, refuse to lend trillions of dollars for fossil fuel projects around the world. After all, this could have the effect of helping developing countries “leapfrog” over coal and natural gas power generation plants and move directly into nuclear and renewables.
Is this “misalignment” and its accompanying business risk going to be a factor? Perhaps we should hold out hope. It would be far better if taking action were done simply because it’s the right thing to do, but that doesn’t seem to be happening.
My doctor, who knows that I understand physics and renewable energy in particular, asked me today what I thought about wind turbines on boats.
I explained that, since boats need their own ways to generate electricity, what is called “small wind” may make sense. Most ships have diesel-powered generators, and that’s an option for smaller craft as well, and solar is not an attractive option because of the small area.
Doctors generally don’t have time to kill, but he asked me further about small wind, to which I explained:
Because the area of a circle is proportional to the square of the radius, big is better. If you can build a turbine with a radius 100 times larger than a small one, you’re going to generate 10,000 time more power.
Because the power generated by a turbine is proportional to the cube of the wind’s velocity, if you can site a turbine in wind conditions that are 10 times those on your rooftop, with trees and other buildings slowing the wind down, you’re going to generate 1000 times more power.
So, as usual, the answer resides in physics and math. 1000 times 10,000 is 10 million, which is why we see huge turbines on structures that lift huge turbines high above the ground, and it’s why the small wind industry has essentially disappeared.
If you don’t understand elementary school math and high school science, and you have money to burn, the investment offered at left may be right for you.
It’s interesting that there is no Fox News (or equivalent) in Canada.
The Canadians have protections of free speech that are very similar to ours in the States, and, like the U.S., these rights are not absolute. One difference is that Canada prohibits gross misrepresentation, which, in this case means that presenting opinions and calling it “news” is against the law. Lies are fine; calling them “news” is not.
A possible name for a show with the same content might be “Conservative Viewpoints” or “The Way the Right Wing Sees the World.”
Where Canada protects its people from malicious bullshit, in America we say, “Money talks.”
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich makes an excellent point at left.
The constant onslaught of distractions coming out of Trump’s mouth is calculated make us give up striving for truth, honesty, and environmental responsibility.
We mustn’t quit.
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