Texas is running out of power. With wind energy at less than 10% of normal on Monday, consumers are being told to conserve electricity in the afternoon.
At the same time, South African electricity consumers are suffering through load-shedding, thanks to a variety of factors. As they consider alternatives, the one they can't use is abundant coal: they signed the Paris climate accord, and rely on Europe for the money to build new power plants, which means no coal.
Meanwhile, Europe itself is being forced to conserve energy, thanks to over-reliance on Russian gas and reluctance (in many places) to use nuclear power. Their "green" agenda means they had, until now, ditched coal and other fossil fuel sources, leaving them with few alternatives in a time of global conflict.
What happens when people can't turn on the lights? They use diesel generators, or burn wood, or -- as many European countries are doing -- return to coal.
The right way to do green energy is to add it to an existing mix of fossil fuel, nuclear, hydroelectric etc. sources, then innovate to make renewable sources cheaper and more competitive. If government intervenes at all, it should be with R&D money and/or a carbon tax to encourage efficiency across the board.
That's the key word: efficiency. Efficiency means getting more energy for less. It's inherently good for the environment. And it beats regulations every time.
Forcing people to adopt green energy is inefficient; therefore it causes more resources to be used. In that sense, green energy is bad for the planet.
This week'd portion begins the book of Numbers. Interestingly, the Hebrew name for the book is "In the Desert," not "Numbers." The portion, which happens to be my bar mitzvah portion, focuses almost as much on the names of the princes of each tribe as the number of soldiers it fielded. It also focuses on the configuration of the tribal camps around the central Tabernacle and the Levites.
So why "Numbers" instead of "Names" or "Places"? The numbers are, to be sure, a unique feature of the opening of this Biblical book -- but they are not the focus of the rest of the narrative. The Hebrew focuses on the place where the events in the book take place, because essentially this is the narrative of the Israelites' wanderings from Egypt to Israel, across 40 years. We move from the giving of the Torah and the construction of the Tabernacle in Exodus and Leviticus, to the final valediction of Moses in Deuteronomy -- Bamidbar is the story of wandering that happened in between.
The question of ...
This week's portion begins with the laws of the Sabbath and the Sabbatical year, and the Jubilee year that restores all land to its original (tribal) owners. It also explores laws of property and labor that will apply in the Land of Israel, and the laws of vows and inheritance.
The Israelites are presented -- not for the last time -- with the essential moral choice that they must face, and the rewards for choosing well, along with the consequences for choosing poorly.
We learn that doing good things will earn God's protection from enemies. That does not mean that victims of terror, God forbid, were sinful. But it does mean that we can respond to evil by committing ourselves to a higher path.
This week's portion describes the major sacrifices that are to be offered by the Jewish people, including those that are offered only by the priestly Kohen class, and physical requirements of the people (men) who serve in that role.
Inter alia, there are interesting commandments -- such as an injection to treat animals with respect and care, first, by letting a mother animal nurse her offspring for a week before being offered in any sacrifice; and second, by refraining from slaughtering an animal and its offspring on the same day.
The commandments regarding animals remind us of the purpose of those regarding human beings: to uphold a divine connection, through ritual.
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/111878/jewish/Rabbi-Isaac-Luria-The-Ari-Hakodosh.htm
