California
Will the Electricity Stay on in California?
Commentary
Temperatures in Orange County the place I dwell just lately soared near 100 levels, possibly above it. On Twitter, Gov. Gavin Newsom was pleading with Californians:
I ponder what number of of his wealthy donors in Silicon Valley and Hollywood had been following this of their huge mansions?
In the meantime, I talked to a relative of mine who lives in Phoenix, Ariz. Their temperatures had been even greater than ours. The low 100s are literally cool for a September day in Arizona, which normally runs to 115 and even 120.
However he mentioned there was no risk of the ability going out. Gov. Doug Ducey, who like Newsom appears to be like to be operating for president, didn’t ask anyone to show down the air-con. KJZZ reported Sept. 7:
Justin Joiner, vp of useful resource administration for Arizona Public Service, mentioned even with extreme warmth warnings within the Valley, prospects right here received’t expertise what’s occurring in California.
“It is vitally scorching right here in Phoenix however we plan for 116-degree temps and so we principally are ready for this as enterprise as typical right here in Phoenix,” Joiner mentioned.
Joiner additionally mentioned one other distinction is that APS energy era stations are totally operational whereas in California, some are offline proper now.
How embarrassing for California, which touts itself as essentially the most superior financial system on the earth—certainly, we’ve heard it so usually, the world’s “Fifth Largest Financial system.” Nevertheless it won’t have the ability to to maintain the lights on, or the air-con operating so outdated of us don’t die of warmth stroke.
In the meantime, how’s it going with California’s said intention to encourage the whole world to maneuver to renewable power? To eliminate that yucky fossil-fuel-based financial system and substitute it with inexperienced energy? The language of Meeting Invoice 32 of 2006, signed into legislation by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and nonetheless in pressure, really mentioned:
(c) California has lengthy been a nationwide and worldwide chief on power conservation and environmental stewardship efforts, together with the areas of air high quality protections, power effectivity necessities, renewable power requirements, pure useful resource conservation, and greenhouse fuel emission requirements for passenger automobiles. This system established by this division will proceed this custom of environmental management by putting California on the forefront of nationwide and worldwide efforts to cut back emissions of greenhouse gases.
(d) Nationwide and worldwide actions are obligatory to completely tackle the problem of worldwide warming. Nonetheless, motion taken by California to cut back emissions of greenhouse gases can have far-reaching results by encouraging different states, the federal authorities, and different nations to behave.
However that is from the Monetary Instances on Sept. 7: “Europe’s new soiled power: the ‘unavoidable evil’ of wartime fossil fuels.” The story:
In July final yr, EU commissioners set out a spread of inexperienced insurance policies to place the continent on a path to changing into local weather impartial by 2050. “The fossil gasoline financial system has reached its limits,” mentioned Ursula von der Leyen, the fee president.
Little greater than a yr later, these commissioners at the moment are overseeing tens of billions of euros of spending on fossil gasoline infrastructure and provides, amid extreme cuts to fuel provides from Russia and file excessive costs.
Knowledge analyzed by the power think-tank Ember Local weather for the Monetary Instances counsel that European governments will spend at the least €50bn this winter on new and expanded fossil gasoline infrastructure and provides, together with fuel shipped in from abroad and coal to gasoline beforehand mothballed energy crops.
It needs to be remembered von der Leyen shouldn’t be an elected official. She represents nobody however the bureaucrats and technocrats who run and smash our lives.
One factor we learn about wars is: Little concern is given to the atmosphere, as a result of victory is paramount—for either side. With the Ukraine Battle apparently lasting many extra months, and even years, and the shift of Russian power to China probably everlasting, the EU nations are extra involved about retaining folks from freezing to loss of life this winter than being impressed by AB 32.
Then there’s coal-generated power in growing nations. I’ve reported on this a few instances in The Epoch Instances. Right here’s only one replace:
India’s President Modi has been promising a transition to inexperienced power. However the Washington Posted reported in Could, “Up to now month, as India broiled below a historic warmth wave and consumed a file quantity of electrical energy for cooling, the Coal Ministry introduced it will reopen outdated mines and enhance output by 100 million tons. As cities went into rolling blackouts due to electrical energy shortages, the Energy Ministry ordered crops that burn imported coal to run at full capability.”
Again to California, the entire world is laughing at its contradictory insurance policies. The Epoch Instances reported Sept. 8, “California Points Alert for ninth Day in a Row, Once more Requests No Charging of Electrical Autos.”
The story: “The ISO once more issued an alert and known as on residents to not cost their electrical automobiles, use main home equipment, and to show off lights between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. That’s as a result of the state, partially, depends on photo voltaic power. When the solar goes down, solar energy stops working.”
That got here after the California Air Assets Board on Aug. 25 banned gas-powered new automotive gross sales starting in 2035.
“The entire world is watching,” was a slogan shouted by Nineteen Sixties hippy battle protesters.
Now for California it’s, “The entire world is laughing.”
Views expressed on this article are the opinions of the creator and don’t essentially replicate the views of The Epoch Instances.
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John Seiler is a veteran California opinion author. He has written editorials for The Orange County Register for nearly 30 years. He’s a U.S. Military veteran and former press secretary for California state Sen. John Moorlach. He blogs at JohnSeiler.Substack.com