Hey Larry – this is pretty easy – the CDC. They are now a complete joke. Masks, social distancing, vaccines, all wrong on all accounts. We have been lied to and misled for 2 years now. We all must question what happened and never allow it again. The cure will turn out to be much worse than the disease and the people in charge know it. The reckoning is coming….and to stay relevant to your topic, good luck finding an opposite opinion on YouTube or other social media. They are also squelching the debate because they know the truth. That is the truly scary part. The assault on the 1st amendment. Thanks for all you do Larry.

I too am grateful for independent thinkers. When I was n college I learned not just how to use equations, it to derive them. That allowed me to understand the fundamental issues of problem and then how to approach solutions. I learned to challenge and validate the assumptions they others were using. That can be applied to solar energy, electric cars and other narratives and used by those with their own intentions to try and sway public opinion. Often the lies and false narratives are based on lies of omission. The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth is my motto.

The question of how humans will derive their usable energy I believe is the biggest issue of the next 30 years. And it’s exciting to see all these new innovations happening in this field. I study this a lot. Using “solar” is not a good or bad thing. It must be done intelligently. Taking up playground space at schools in Connecticut to put solar panels is probably dumb. However solar makes a great deal of sense in other ways. By the way, this claim that there is not enough land area to use solar to power the world is simply incorrect. If we powered the world on nothing but solar PV panels it would take up an area roughly the size of Arizona, which is less than 0.1% of the surface area of Earth. That’s not the issue. And solar panels don’t have to take up any extra space at all. Think rooftop solar. Innovations like agrivoltaics use solar panels to produce partial shade that makes some crops grow better, in addition to generating power. Solar panels deployed intelligently can be a great thing. All that said, nuclear is a great option for electricity production too. Perhaps different nuclear than we use now – fusion of deuterium and tritium or fission of Thorium are promising ideas in the works. Regarding electric vehicles, it’s easy for the uneducated on the subject to claim that they are “bad for the environment” and they are “powered by coal”. These claims are not true. It’s just as irrational to say that a given watt-hour of electricity used by an EV comes from “100% renewable clean sources” as it is to say “it comes from coa”l. That’s not thinking about the problem correctly. Without getting into the details, EVs are a big net positive for the environment – and getting better. And the key point is that without EVs, it’s impossible to stop burning fossil fuels for transportation. I drive an EV, and I can say from experience that it uses only 20% of the energy of an equivalent gasoline car per mile. It’s important to stay open (I say optimistically skeptical) about ideas in energy transformation. Just because a certain technology hasn’t worked out in the past or in a particular application doesn’t negate its usefulness in the future or in other applications. We shouldn’t say solar doesn’t work because the ROI isn’t good enough in Winnipeg or the system’s inverter isn’t wired correctly. Imagine if Edison listened when people said “you should just stop trying to invent an electric lightbulb because our kerosene lanterns are just fine, and besides, the electricity will just come from burning coal anyway.” Electric cars were invented in 1890, but it took over 100 years for an engineer/entrepreneur from South Africa to make them mainstream.

Larry, I think it is a mistake to make it an either/or argument. I think we need an “all of the above” approach. Yes electric cars produce carbon elsewhere but it is, theoretically, easier to control and capture. Check out Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain institute his is a strictly “do it because it makes money” approach to energy conservation. Rocky Mountain institute worked with Walmart on their trucking fleet efficiency, if they increase fuel economy from 6 to 7 miles per gallon on their tractor trailer fleet it would add 60 million dollars to the bottom line.

https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/sustainability/20151216/these-two-drivers-helped-jumpstart-walmarts-fleet-efficiency

It’s always difficult for one man/woman to stand out from the cloud of DUST and say “let’s go this way instead” (reference to the best movie on YouTube). But we need those brave souls to show us that the stampede of people causing that dust might not be the best way. Thank you Larry, keep our landscape beautiful and panel free!

The road to hell is paved with good intentions
We aren’t solving the problem, we are just moving it.
Think about HOW they are getting the material.
Think about HOW MUCH (if there is enough) material is available to make the required batteries.
Whatever they come up with there will be foes. How loud those foes are and if there is anyone willing to listen

This is such an interesting, complicated, and scary topic; but also hugely important given the world we all live in. Yes, think for yourself (Are we teaching kids to think for themselves in school?). Yes, do your own research. But who do you trust and why? What is their motivation/agenda? Are those in power (and most able to initiate large scale change) only interested in making money or getting reelected or driving the stock price up? ? It is all so complicated I’m not certain that the everyday person has the skills, connections, or the time to devote to sorting fact from fiction. So what should we do?
I circle back to the question almost daily. And I keep thinking that we need to simplify the problem(s). I think they might be just too large with too many “moving parts”. How do we simplify?
At the risk of making things overly simplistic, maybe everyone needs to start by asking themselves “What do I really need and how do I get it?”. I really believe that over consumption through aggressive marketing is part of the root problem.
I think because large scale change is very hard to make quickly, perhaps individual small scale change should be considered. If we can all agree that our capitalistic society here in the US is driven by profits which can only be made by making sales, then we as induvial purchasers hold the power. With that said, what if deciding to make a purchase (or not) and then deciding what to purchase (and from where) becomes an individual responsibly taken seriously by enough people to steer the planet into healthy change. Have we already done this with cigarette smoking, drunk driving, organic food production, and now perhaps EVs? Perhaps this a way too naïve thought; it probably is. I fear that the planet will force us to change sooner rather than later though.
I agree with Tanner; figuring out how to provide sustainable energy to meet our ever increasing needs is the big problem. A solution here may lead to easier solutions to other problems like transportation, food, housing, education, and manufacturing.
Part of answer I think, to our energy needs is reduce consumption wherever possible. The other part is produce the energy we really need in a planet healthy way. Since a large scale solution seems to be bogged down by over complication (while trying to come up with a “one size fits all” solution), perhaps it is smarter/more effective to simply go house by house, building by building. (Is anyone building using passive solar energy? Am I wrong to think passive solar is planet healthy?)
I think we can all agree that we are all in pretty deep with these problems. Solutions will not be found quickly and getting people/business/government to change is slow at best (like making a course correction for a huge ship). But individuals can change quickly …..if they want to. All they need to do is decide. And maybe that points to another big problem; what if they don’t want to decide to change.

We are currently living this scenario with Covid, masks and mandates.

Welcome to the new age of post truth! as an independent thinker I realize that both of these experts do not really give all the truth either. I have an electric car. The electricity comes from Nuclear, hydro,LNG and from one of the largest solar plants in the world. There are almost no coal plants left in Arizona. additionally electric motors are many times more efficient than internal combustion as most of the energy of internal combustion is lost through heat. electric has hundreds of less moving parts, so the carbon footprint of production and replacements are many times lower. it is a common misguided disingenuous effort motivated in large part by the status quo of the current energy producers to make these kinds of claims. its also common to talk about the carbon footprint of solar, when the carbon footprint of fossil fuel mining is conveniently ignored. lets all be independent critical thinkers!

Fair inequality.

Dave, I am also a Rotarian!
I also used to be a special educator. One of the ways we used to describe our student’s accomodations as to being ‘fair’ was that if we give one person in the room CPR, do we need to give it to others, to be fair? No, because only one person in the room actually needs CPR and the others don’t.

Very well said. Equally important for myself, when things seem, feel tough, you don’t have to look far to see people literally starving to death, with absolutely nothing but pain & poverty.

When I truly think about the millions of people who TRULY do have it bad & hard…….. I thank God for the things I consider “problems”.

Very often, we see rich & famous people commit suicide……. Financially rich, but mentally / spiritually poor & literally BROKE & BROKEN!!!

There’s NO happiness in riches. The happiness MUST come from inside ourselves first to enjoy any riches or “things” outside of ourselves.

That movie was Awesome!

You would also like 14 Peaks

I desire to be healthy, to beat Parkinson’s. I won’t give in and I will continue to push as my true desire is to be normal., No pain, no anxiety, no fatigue, no depression! I’m pushing to run I know I can do it I just need a little help

Long live Bill Purcell!

Thanks, this message speaks to me! I’m also facing a lot of changes and challenges right now. My husband passed away last month. I’m trying to move forward one step at a time and not get overwhelmed with all the tasks.

Needed to read this today, thank you.

“We become what we think about most of the time, and that’s the strangest secret.” —Earl Nightingale

Occasionally I will share snippets of the Think Daily with my teenaged daughters at home during life lessons or discussions. As well if they really strike me, I like to discuss them with whoever is around the office and ask them to share their perspective on what it means to them or how it might apply to something work related we are currently dealing with(Good or Bad).

I save the best Think Daily’s and I forward ones that I think will be useful to others. I most often share them with my two oldest sons who are 16 and 18 years old. I’m grooming them to run our business and your Think Daily’s are very helpful towards that end!

I have the ThinkDaily, ‘What is the most important thing today?’ pinned up on the wall above my laptop. A reminder that the most powerful tool is my ability to prioritize and focus on what I need to do right now. What can I be doing right now, that would create the greatest result for me and my team? Am I doing the right work? Amazing how when I look back, I’ve sometimes avoided that question. Not anymore! Have a great weekend, Larry!

Being Happy and exhibiting happiness. Choosing to be happy or find ways to be happy no matter the circumstances. Finding the silver lining or things that be learned or gained from unfavorable scenarios.
This also comes from another focus I have to learn from others by reading inspirational books, listening to productive podcasts, and trying the advise of those who have gone or done before me.

Yes!
I’m with you!

Hey Larry,
This is excellent advice and I wish a lot more people realized it and followed it. I like to think that I relentlessly pursue the truth, because it’s important for me to “get it (or do it) right”.

I like this 🙂

Good morning Larry, and thank you for always reminding us of the important things. Challenge accepted!