STUFF

US debt in '80 was $.9T. Makes me very very sad. We could have stopped it. We could have stopped it again in '01. But now we have what we have. And have to live with it and change it.

RMT (Madison, WI) to build 10 windfarms, total ~1.1GW, and 8 solar PV projects for 55MW this year.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed suit against 2 traders in Australia and CA and 3 US and intl comps. In '08 they tried to hoard 2/3 available supply of American crude oil market, and then abruptly dumped and pocketed $50M. See?

Pools that hold spent nuke fuel in US plants typically contain far more radioactive material than found at Fukushima. (TEPCO now says maybe 3 reactors melted down.) Expert says fuel should be moved to dry steel containers.

Brazilian forest advocate and wife slain. Battled illegal loggers.

Switzerland decided on nuclear phase-out.

China's state-owned utilities reducing elgen because of coal price increases and govt-limited prices to customers. 436 coal plants. Also curtailing planned expansion/construction of new plants and scheduling abnormal plant closings for "maintenance" this summer. State Grid, China's main el distributor comp, says blackouts could be worst ever. China passed US last year as world's largest el user.

US imposed sanctions on Venezuela's national oil comp for 2 deliveries of fuel to Iran valued at $50M. Sanctions will prevent competition for US govt contracts, export licenses or Export-Import Bank financing. State Dept also sanctioned 6 oil and shipping comps in UAE, Singapore, Israel (!), Britain and Monaco for dealings with Iran.

In rare speech to both houses of Brit Parliament, Obama said, "...we must dismantle terrorist networks, stop the spread of nuclear weapons, confront climate change and combat famine and disease." Confront climate change. #3. B4 famine and disease. I would put famine before. Disease will always be with us. Famine is right now for our fellow human beings. Let's end famine on Earth for good, A?

DOE loan guarantees being rushed to comps with White House ties. He is a politician who likes to win. Hay, we all would do it.

Ahmadinejad is not going to attend the next OPEC meeting the latest werd.

Google, Citigroup investing in Mojave wind farm. Wind farm in Mojave?! Um. Isn't that solar country? Tho it could be great wind too and have a midwest tornado deflection component. Gotta consider everything.

IRS across the street here flying POW-MIA flag today under the US flag, of course. I guess thru Memorial Day weekend.

Island nations may keep some sovereignty - fishing, mineral rights, etc - if rising seas make them uninhabitable. Obviously, world already planning for global warming effects.

Smart grid deploy could cost $338-476B (figures pulled out of somebody's arse to be sure) next 20 yrs, but would deliver $1.3-2T (ditto) in benefits over the same period. Greater grid reliability, integration of rooftop solar, plug-in vehicles, redux in el demand and stronger cyber security: EPRI.

Developers want US to push E diversity rather than lowest cost power.

Joplin determined an F5. Over 200 mph winds. Man o man. Double vortex. I flew over 200 mph a few times. I was anchored out in a sailboat through 65 mph winds for 3 days. I've seen a tornado start to come out of the clouds while tilling a section in Colorado east of Denver and told it to go back up and it did. But I never felt 200 mph winds upon me. Man. God help those people of Joplin.

W. TX drought continues.

DOI considering ways to make system of oil/NG royalties more efficient. Dealing with regs from the '80's. >$9B collected in FY '10.

US at risk of losing ground in clean E "race" if it can't find ways to produce more rare earth minerals: Congress. USGS: US now 100% dependent on foreign sources. Besides the, um, national defense issue.

GSA launched pilot program to increase EV's in govt fleet. Buying >100 vehicles. Wo! Step back! 100 vehicles for 50k vehicle fleet ... um, that's ... a pilot program. POTUS requesting 1M advanced vehicles on road and govt 100% alternate fuel purchases by '15. 8M gallons gas saved in '10. Something. It takes everything.

GE announced new NG peak power plant tech of 61% efficiency (Siemens, I think I reported recently, has higher efficiency). Efficiency in old plants as low as 28%. Best now online ~46%.

New window labels with more EV/emissions/economy info for new vehicles starting with '12 models.

Warmer ocean feeding tornados. US April new record 875 tornados (tornadoes?). Previous April record 267 ('74 - remember Watergate?). April avg last decade 161. Previous record for any month May '03 with 542. Temp in Laredo reached 111F day prior to peak April outbreak, hottest on record. Rainfall was also extreme while large amount of TX in extreme or exceptional drought. >100 tornados in May so far. May avg 298. Gulf of Mex surface waters ~ 2 degrees C warmer than normal may be factor. And probably why the call on a hard hurricane season. And an uncommonly southward jet stream track.

3rd largest saltwater lake on Earth - Iran's largest - Oroumieh Lake - could disappear within a few yrs. From decade-long drought, misguided irrigation, development and damming rivers that feed the lake. Now only 2 meters deep - a 6-foot man - at its deepest. Storms sometimes carry the salt into nearby ag fields. 35 dams on feed rivers. 10 more planned. Like Aral Sea, Dead Sea, CA's Salton Sea. One idea to pump water from Caspian. Really.

As much as 20% of cost of avg residential solar in CA spent just to find customers.

Suntech Power (STP) reported Q1 well, but forecast down. Chinese solar.

Solar E Industries Assoc: "solar is fastest growing industry in US". Employs 100k, 50k created in last 2 yrs. Could double in 2 yrs. In a few yrs, US will be world's largest solar market. China might have werd on that.

'12 Obama budget extends "1603" Treasury grant program 1 yr. But SEIA wants extension to '16. What the heck, we couldn't end big oil subsidies.

Pawlenty tells Iowa voters ethanol subsidies must go. Yay. Verily.

The end.