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’s portion launches the great story of Abraham, who is told to leave everything of his life behind — except his immediate family — and to leave for “the Land that I shall show you.”
There’s something interesting in the fact that Abraham is told to leave his father’s house, as if breaking away from his father’s life — but his father, in fact, began the journey, moving from Ur to Haran (in last week’s portion). His father set a positive example — why should Abraham leave him?
Some obvious answers suggest themselves — adulthood, needing to make one’s own choices, his father not going far enough, etc.
But I think there is another answer. Abraham (known for the moment as Abram) needs to establish his own household. This is not just about making one’s own choice, but really about choosing one’s own starting point. It’s starting over.
Sometimes we start over in fundamental ways even if much that surrounds us remains the same. Sometimes the journey we have to ...
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
