Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Why Owning Your Own Power Plant Might Not Be Crazy
It’s been three months since we released The Economics of Grid Defection exploring when off-grid solar-plus-battery systems could reach economic parity with retail electric service. These systems could become competitive with retail electric service within the next decade for many commercial customers and for many residential customers in the decade thereafter. Since the release of our results, the industry has been abuzz with follow-on commentary considering the implications for utilities, consumers, and third-party service providers.
Of course, favorable economics do not equate to adoption. Just because customers could defect doesn’t mean they will. For the individual customers actually considering these investments many other factors come into play, such as performance risk, hassle/convenience factor, and simply the plain, easy inertia of continuing to get their power as they always have.
Even so, it’s not that far-fetched to imagine a day when large segments of customers choose to go mostly or even entirely off-grid with clean, quiet, distributed solar-plus-battery systems. In fact, could owning your own power plant become as convenient and practical—if not quite as ubiquitous—as the consumer appliances and electronics already so commonplace that we take them for granted in our daily lives—a refrigerator, a clothes dryer, or a computer?
more >> Why Owning Your Own Power Plant Might Not Be Crazy | Rocky Mountain Institute
what next: #RE_TOOL NOW
Labels:
electric grid,
energy,
environment,
home appliances,
sustainable
Monday, May 26, 2014
gangster for capitalism
Smedley Darlington Butler (July 30, 1881 – June 21, 1940) was a Major General in the U.S. Marine Corps (the highest rank authorized at that time), an outspoken critic of U.S. military adventurism, and at the time of his death the most decorated Marine in U.S. history. During his 34-year career as a Marine, he participated in military actions in the Philippines, China, in Central America and the Caribbean during the Banana Wars, and France in World War I.
By the end of his career, he had received 16 medals, five for heroism. He is one of 19 men to twice receive the Medal of Honor, one of three to be awarded both the Marine Corps Brevet Medal and the Medal of Honor, and the only marine to be awarded the Brevet Medal and two Medals of Honor, all for separate actions. In his 1935 book War is a Racket, he described the workings of the military-industrial complex and, after retiring from service, became a popular speaker at meetings organized by veterans, pacifists and church groups in the 1930s.
He became widely known for his outspoken lectures against war profiteering, U.S. military adventurism, and what he viewed as nascent fascism in the United States. In December 1933, Butler toured the country with James E. Van Zandt to recruit members for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). He described their effort as "trying to educate the soldiers out of the sucker class." The VFW reprinted one of his speeches with the title "You Got to Get Mad" in its magazine Foreign Service. He said: "I believe in...taking Wall St. by the throat and shaking it up."
In addition to his speeches to pacifist groups, he served from 1935 to 1937 as a spokesman for the American League Against War and Fascism. In 1935 he wrote the exposé War Is a Racket, a trenchant condemnation of the profit motive behind warfare. His views on the subject are summarized in the following passage from a 1935 issue of the socialist magazine Common Sense:
"I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents." (why we fight)
Smedley Darlington Butler
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Friday, May 23, 2014
how to change the world
Labels:
altruism,
earth,
enlightenment,
future,
human condition,
logic,
sustainable,
truth
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Leaked Text: EU pressing Obama to expand U.S. fracking, offshore drilling in secret
Twitter / PCGTW: Leaked Text: #EU pressing #Obama ...
Leaked Text: #EU pressing #Obama to expand U.S. #fracking, offshore drilling in secret #TAFTA: http://huff.to/1jMFklf pic.twitter.com/ciFMQvpAwv
#NoFRACKING #Fracking :: #NoKXL | #RE_TOOL NOW!
Labels:
capitalism,
coal,
energy,
fracking,
global warming,
Obama,
oil
united states of amnesia
Labels:
bullies,
control,
corporations,
corruption,
death,
deviant,
lies,
military,
money,
power,
propaganda,
violence,
war
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Monday, May 19, 2014
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Friday, May 16, 2014
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Monday, May 12, 2014
anonymous message
Labels:
bullies,
control,
corporations,
corruption,
government,
lies,
mafia,
money,
power,
truth
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Friday, May 9, 2014
water is wet
how will i know
the truth from the lies
you ask yourself ?
all i can tell you is that
rocks are hard...water is wet.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Monday, May 5, 2014
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Friday, May 2, 2014
Thursday, May 1, 2014
make trouble
Labels:
altruism,
deception,
earth,
human condition,
rebel,
revolution,
sustainable,
truth
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