Texas Progressives approach the holidays

Even as news slows with the approach to Christmas, we've got the post-Brexit "walkaway" between the UK and EU about to collapse, actual bits of common sense from Republican politicos in Texas, lies by alleged environmentalists and more.

Let's dig in.

State

Who kidnapped the SBOE and replaced half of its members brains with working models? The State Board of Education is now calling for abstinence-plus rather that abstinence-only sex ed at the middle school level.

Solar energy is growing in the state. So is disinformation about it. The real issue is that, without a state income tax to allow state deductions, and without a clear feed-in tariff to allow surplus solar to be sold back to utilities, there's little incentive for homeowner rooftop solar. That said, it's "interesting" that this bullshit is spread by the likes of alleged environmentalist Michael Shellenberger, per links within the story. (I told the Observer that it was good, but needed to cover things like the feed-in tariff.)

Off the Kuff analyzed the Presidential vote in Congressional and State Rep districts in Harris County.

The 19th interviews Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo about COVID, racial justice, and more.  

Steve Vladeck gave a simple explanation of the Ken Paxton overturn-the-election lawsuit, then explained the SCOTUS order.  

Grits for Breakfast lists the top ten Texas criminal justice stories of the year.  

Christopher Hooks attempts to explain Ken Paxton to a new audience.  

Paradise in Hell sides with HEB against anti-maskers.  

Elise Hu listened to 252 TED talks so you don't have to.

National

I gave a spanking to The Resistance over its knickers-knotting over Joe Epstein's "drop the Dr" column to Jill Biden.

Matt Taibbi almost made it to half right in his most recent Substack. I have receipts. 

Wild Earth Guardians et al are again suing US Fish and Wildlife for failure to do its job on wolverine protection.

World

Is Boris Johnson's Britain doomed to decline? That's assuming the EU continues to call his bluffs, even though some EU negotiators say there's still time for some sort of deal. As for people who said last week, "but Boris didn't walk away," that's small potatoes. He's still trying to bluff his way through because he's known all along that "walk away" isn't a good option. Scotland's devolved government doesn't like the Dec. 31 deadline for a post-Brexit deal falling in the middle of a pandemic, among Dec. 12 updates from the Beeb.

Dr. Hanan Ashrawi has reportedly resigned from the PLO Executive Committee, allegedly because the Palestinian Authority is resuming security patrol cooperation with Bibi's Israel. She also called for reforms within the PLO.

"Wrestling with Zionism," as reviewed at Mondoweiss, might fit on an informed world citizen's holiday reading list. It looks good.

Move over (PLEASE), Elon Musk. A former top assistant of his, after a failed previous try at an electric car, is back, and Henrik Fisker looks poised for success. The fact that Musk (unsuccessfully, natch) sued Fisker for breach of contract would make this success all the more sweet.

China, US, make largely toothless #climatechange agreement

Just how green are these solar panels, and how does that relate to an announced
US-China carbon-dioxide emissions accord? Photo via National Geographic

You can tell it's relatively toothless by the fact that the New York Times devoted less space to it, as part of a combined two-subject article, than to the other issue — free-trade talks.

It's relatively toothless in that China pledges to have its carbon emissions peak in 2030 and be at 20 percent renewables by then.

It's also relatively toothless because, as this story shows, solar panel manufacture itself can have high carbon emissions, as well as otherwise being environmentally dirty. And, there's only one sure-fire way to fix that: a carbon tax domestically and tariff on imports. More here on the relative lack of greenness of solar, as well as of dams and the trendy new one of wood pellets, among other things.

Now, as for why China would publicly agree to an even-toothless carbon accord?

Well, China's coal is not only relatively dirty but running lower. It's potential reserves of shale-based natural gas aren't provable let alone proven yet in any great amount. And, it's roughly the same latitude to more equatorward than the US, and with lots of sunny deserts and higher elevations, so it's situated well for solar. It's a large country with plenty of high-wind areas, so it's situated well for that. And, as the Three Gorges Dam shows, it's got further hydropower in mind.

So, the 20 percent pledge? China, unlike U.S. red state wingnut politicians, knows this makes good economic sense. And, speaking of those wingnuts? How much will they restrict Obama's pledge to accelerate the rate of cuts of U.S. carbon emissions?

As for China having its emissions peak in 2030? Well, beyond the planned increase in renewables, that's also because China's overall population is expected to peak in ...

Wait for it, wait for it ...

2030. Give or take a few years.

We, and much of the rest of the west, have of course exported a lot of our carbon to China. But, China's absorbed that. China will likely never be as car-intense as the U.S., or even as Western Europe. And, starting from scratch, hybrids and full-electric vehicles can be a bigger part of the mix sooner.

And, that population link cautions us to also look this "agreement" more closely in the mouth.

First, the US population will not peak in 2030. And, we will be at 400 million by 2050.

Other 2030 things to note?

Shortly after that, India will pass China in population. And, likely have a "dirtier" economy. Another reason to not put too much stock in yesterday's deal. Also on that link, note the even more rapid growth rate of Pakistan, with further ecological — and international politics — implications. And, the explosive growth of some sub-Saharan countries.

A different website gives slightly different numbers, but the same general idea.

In a related item, feel free to vote on my poll about Obama and Keystone XL, at top right.

Missing: White House solar panels

Barack Obama promised, when running for president, that he would put a more modern version of Jimmy Carter's solar panels atop the White House.

By spring 2011.

I guess he "forgot."

Per 350.org, you can remind him.

Or, per 350.org, we can be reminded that Obama will ask a competitiveness czar what the U.S. Chamber of Commerce thinks about this. And know that he will do nothing.

So much for Obama's green jobs

Half the world's solar panels are already made in China, and Tom Friedman notes that's only going to increase.

Rick Perry’s ‘green’ boasting just more hot air

Gov. Helmethair, aka Lil Ricky Perry, among his many bloviations, is wont to talk about Texas being a leader in renewable energy.

Well, just one little problem.

It ain’t so.

All it takes is a pair of eyes, when driving through West Texas, to note all the missing large-scale solar panels. All it takes is a pair of eyes, when driving through new DFW, Houston, Austin or San Antonio suburban developments, to note the missing rooftop solar panels on new houses. (In fact, two solar initiatives died in this year’s Lege.)

"They need a statewide strategy, not a little piece here, a little piece there kind of thing," said Jeff Morris, chief executive of Dallas refining company Alon USA.

Lil Ricky’s response? President Obama doesn’t care about Texas. More bullshit (that’s spelled R-E-D M-E-A-T) for the sheeple following Perry.

Rather, it’s Lil Ricky and most the Texas GOP don’t care about the environment. As a result, the state is already losing new green jobs.

It’s a great, in-depth story. Read the whole thing.

Solar panels made 40 percent more efficient

A new silicon coating for solar panels boosts their sunlight absorption from 67 to 96 percent. The new, anti-reflective coating also makes it easier to capture sunlight from all angles, which means solar cells can now be placed on sites that don’t generally face south.

Price? Not expected to add more than 2-4 percent to current solar cell costs, according to the scientific developers of the nanotech coating.