Neon Leon: “na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye.” ...

Neon Leon: “na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye.”     ...: “na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye.”                                                                                               ...

“na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye.”  

                                                                                                               

After four years, most people at home and abroad know about the President's character flaws. We all have them, of course.  But unlike the blowhard with a six pack in his belly, the dude who primps endlessly in the bathroom mirror, the guy who gropes women on the elevator, the liar who is damn good at it and the CEO knee deep in stolen money, Trump is different. He indeed has similar flaws, but there are two other life long character flaws which are uniquely enhanced by the enormous power of the presidency--an insatiable love of money and power.

How did Donald acquire these flaws?  The answer to that question is revealed in the best selling book  "Too Much and Never Enough--How My Family Created The World's Most Dangerous Man" by Dr. Mary L. Trump's (his niece). Time and again she points to his father Fred's unflinching brutality and how Donald , seeking paternal approval had to be as cruel as his father, who taught him that  emotions and empathy are shameful signs of weakness and that cheating and lying are perfectly acceptable business practices.  

As for his mother, Mary Anne, she is portrayed as largely indifferent towards Donald, noting that the absence of closeness between him and his mother was consistent.  In the past, however, he has given his mother credit for his sense of showmanship which he used so effectively in his TV show, The Apprentice.

The result of his upbringing is a man with zero empathy for people who suffer, a man with few ethical or business scruples, a man who lies effortlessly and continually and a deeply insecure man who simply cannot quit talking about how great he is. Enough. He is who he is and is never going to change. 

Ed. Note:  If readers would like to review the full list of the executive orders and legislation passed by the Trump Administration click here .

In this blog I will attempt to show how Trump has or has not fulfilled his campaign pledges. I will also peer into the the Washington political swamp and see how how successful Mr. Trump has been in draining it. Further, I will shed some light on that ever growing (currently north of 20,000), infamous list of reported lies from numerous fact checkers.  Lastly I will present a chronological breakdown of how Trump responded to the outbreak of Covid 19.

      CAMPAIGN PROMISES

Tax cuts

Trump promised to lower the corporate tax rate  as well as "huge" tax rates for the working class. 

This one is largely a promise kept.  The tax plan passed in December 2017, lowering corporate taxes down from 35% to  21%.  The tax cuts for individuals will expire in December of 2025 and they will see a tax hike.  Corporate taxes have no expiration date.

Paris climate deal

Trump can notch up a win here.  He has dismissed climate change as a hoax for years and repeatedly complained that the Paris  Accord (signed by 200 countries) stifled American growth.  On November 4th, the USA will officially leave the agreement.

Supreme Court nominee

He vowed to appoint a conservative member to the court.  He actually appointed two--Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. And, of course, he is hellbent on replacing the deceased Justice Ginsburg.  Mr Trump has also appointed a record 200 judges to lower federal courts.

Bombing IS

Mr Trump promised that he would "bomb the so-called Islamic State group into obliteration."

Promise kept, but with limited effect. The president dropped the "Mother of All Bombs" on an ISIS cave complex in Afghanistan in April 2017.

Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense said the attack left 36 ISIS fighters dead according to the Associated Press.

Defeating ISIS

Candidate Donald Trump vowed to defeat ISIS, the which seized control of territory in Syria and Iraq starting in 2014.  While America has indeed largely defeated the terrorist group, Trump takes too much credit for the win.  In a March 2018 speech, he said 

"In Iraq and Syria, we’ve taken back almost 100 percent, in a very short period of time, of the land that they took. And it all took place since our election. "  According to numerous military reports, at its peak in January 2015, ISIS in Iraq and Syria covered about 35,000 square miles. When Trump took office in January 2017, the caliphate had shrunk to about 23,300 square miles, courtesy of the Obama administration. 

Moving US Embassy to Jerusalem

Mission accomplished:  In 2017, he said he formally recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and approved moving the US embassy. It opened in May 2018. 

Bringing all the troops home

Trump has failed to bring all the soldiers home, but he has made some strides from time to time.

Recently, Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the head of the Pentagon’s Central Command, said the 5,200 troops in Iraq to help fight remnants of the Islamic State and train Iraqi forces “will be adjusted” after consultations with the government in Baghdad.

Despite President Trump’s demand last fall for a complete withdrawal of all 1,000 American forces from Syria, some 500 troops remain.

In February, US and Nato allies agreed to withdraw all troops from the country within 14 months if Taliban militants uphold a new peace agreement. This reporter doubts whether the militants will play nice in the long run.

Trade deals

Trump called Nafta "a disaster" and warned that the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) "is going to be worse, so we'll stop it". He also pledged to correct the trade deficit with China.

Here again, all of his promises have not been fully achieved.  Consider:  Mr Trump followed through in his first few days on his pledge to withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). He later said he would consider re-joining the TPP if he got a better deal. That better deal was the signing of the USMCA pact last November.  It was designed to replace Nafta. However, the US has reimposed aluminium tariffs on Canada, while Canadians  retaliated with  with numerous tariffs on American goods.

The US and China, meanwhile, fell into an escalating trade battle with both parties slapping tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of goods.

In August the US and China held talks over their so-called "phase-one" trade deal - signed early this year - that is aimed at easing the trade war. But according to Forbes Magazine,  "Phase one is on life support."  Lori Ann LaRocco, author of the book “Trade War: Containers Don’t Lie” and a trade columnist focused on supply chain data at industry publisher FreightWaves, said “China has not met its obligations under the deal as of April 1 data and I think that trend still holds.” 

Ban on Muslims

At first, Mr Trump initially promised to ban all Muslims entering the US, but switched to "extreme vetting" after he became the party's presidential candidate.

The upshot?  Promise kept, but with a few caveats: As president, he introduced two travel bans which were shut down in the courts. A third ban was successful in part as the US Supreme Court ruled President Trump's ban on six mainly Muslim countries can go into full effect, pending legal challenges. And in January, the US announced it was blocking citizens from Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan, Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar  from obtaining certain types of visas. 

Reverse Obama's Cuban policies

Obama had sought to  reopen diplomatic relations and improve trade.

As president, he told an audience in Miami that he promised to "cancel the Obama administration's one-sided deal."

Promise kept:  In 2017, Mr Trump reimposed some trade and travel restrictions lifted by Obama. He kept the embassy open in Havana, but didn't name  an ambassador. 

Last year, the administration announced a ban on travel to Cuba for American group tours as well as cruise ships.  Further restrictions include a suspension of private charter flights between the countries, which will increase economic pressure on Cuba. 

Obamacare

One of Mr Trump's oft repeated pledge was to repeal and replace Obamacare which was designed to extend healthcare to the estimated 15% of the country who are not covered.  

This promise failed.  The Trump administration has managed to strip down elements  of the law (enrolment periods are shorter, some subsidies have been cut).  The fine for people who didn't purchase health insurance had been eliminated by Trump in 2017.  However, a ruling in December 2018 by a federal judge disagreed. The judge said that the penalty fine was an "essential" part of the law and meant "the entirety of Obamacare is therefore not constitutional."  The law, however, remains in place as an appeal heads to the US Supreme Court, with a ruling expected in 2021.  And, of course, there is no real Republican replacement for Obamacare. (On Sept. 24, Trump did unveil his  “America First Health Care Plan” but its not an actual plan. It contains precious little, other than a symbolic gesture to ensure those with pre-existing conditions can get coverage (already in the ACA), a promise of $200 gift certificates for seniors to help with their prescription drug purchases (it’s anyone’s guess where the money will come from ), and a fuzzy statement requiring hospitals and insurance companies to be more transparent in terms of their pricing. The only actual policy measure put forward was a pledge to work with Congress to end hospital surprise billing.

A border wall paid for by Mexico

His vow to build a wall along the US-Mexican border was one of the most controversial of Mr Trump's campaign promises. Mr Trump also insisted that Mexico would pay for it.

This promise has been a loser in many ways.  Consider these points:  (1) Mexico has not paid a dime for the wall. (2) He has redirected defense and some other funds to build or replace sections of the wall, a decision that has faced legal challenges. (3) 

Democrats and some Republicans have publically baulked at a bill that could reach $21.5 billion by numerous estimates. (4) As of Aug. 7, work had been completed on 30 miles of barriers where none had existed prior to Trump’s presidency, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

On another 245 miles of border, better primary and secondary barriers have been built to replace “dilapidated and/or outdated designs,” with more in progress, according to Customs and Border Protection. Trump says such replacements should count as new wall because they involve “complete demolition and rebuilding of old and worthless barriers.” In a campaign speech in New Hampshire on Aug. 28, Trump said his administration has “already built 300 miles of border wall” and is “adding 10 new miles every single week,” and he said the wall “is almost complete.”  Umm, not quite. The administration is on track to just barely meet Mr. Trump’s mandate of constructing 450 miles of border wall by the end of the year. But much of it will not be in the Rio Grande Valley, an area historically prone to illegal crossings where private landowners have fought in court against the construction project. 

China as currency manipulator

 Mr. Trump repeatedly pledged to label Beijing a "currency manipulator" on his first day in office, during an election campaign when he also accused China of "raping" the US. China has been accused of suppressing the yuan to make its exports more competitive with US goods.

Promise kept.  In August 2019, the administration officially named China as a "currency manipulator". (The US Treasury department defines currency manipulation as when countries deliberately influence the exchange rate between their currency and the US dollar to gain "unfair competitive advantage in international trade").

But in January, the US reversed its decision when China had agreed to refrain from devaluing its currency to make its own goods cheaper for foreign buyers.

Deporting all illegal immigrants

Mr Trump repeatedly told his supporters that every single undocumented immigrant - of which there are estimated to be more than 11.3 million - "have to go".

After the election he scaled it back to some two to three million deportations of people who "are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers".

In fiscal year 2019 deportations were at 267,000, a slight rise on the year before, though not as high as the 2012 peak of 410,000 under the Obama administration.

Mr Trump's plans for immigration reform faced defeat this summer when the Supreme Court ruled against his administration's bid to rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca), which protects about 650,000 young people who entered the US without documents as children.  So, in lieu of these facts, I would say that this promise is not kept, but not without trying.

Rebuilding infrastructure

The country's infrastructure "will become, by the way, second to none, and we will put millions of our people back to work as we rebuild it", Trump said in his victory speech in November.

Promise not kept.  He has repeated his vow to spend big on the country's roads, rail and airports, but as yet, there is little sign of action. 

In April 2019, Mr Trump and Democratic leaders agreed to spend $2tn on infrastructure, an agreement that later fell apart. This June there were reports the Trump administration had a $1tn plan in the works, but no announcement has been made.

Ditching Nato

Mr Trump has repeatedly questioned the military alliance's purpose, calling it "obsolete". One issue that irked him was whether members were pulling their weight and "paying their bills". In one New York Times interview in July 2016, he even hinted that the US would not come to the aid of a member invaded by Russia.

This one is a mixed bag.  Consider:  As he hosted Nato's secretary general at the White House in April 2018, the US president said the threat of terrorism had underlined the alliance's importance. "I said it was obsolete," Mr Trump said. "It's no longer obsolete."

In July 2018, Mr Trump reiterated his support at the Nato summit, but suggested the US might still leave if allies did not acquiesce to his budget demands.

Mr Trump has continued to argue that Canada and European members of Nato are not spending enough to support the alliance, and in July said the US will move nearly 12,000 troops out of Germany.

That move was immediately derided by many Democrats and a handful of Republicans, including frequent Trump critic Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) who called the plan “a grave error,” “a gift to Russia,” and “a slap in the face at a friend and ally when we should instead be drawing closer in our mutual commitment to deter Russian and Chinese aggression.”

If  Trump's goal here was to simply increase Nato spending by members, then he has succeeded.  According to Nato chief Stoltenberg, more members of the 29-nation coalition are now meeting the guideline of spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense and nine members will meet the mark this year, up from three just a few years ago while a majority of allies are set to meet that goal by 2024.  

Torture

Not.  Mr Trump said he would approve waterboarding "immediately" and "make it also much worse", adding "torture works".  But after his inauguration, the president said he would defer to the opposite belief that waterboarding is indeed torture which was held by former Defence Secretary James Mattis and then-CIA director Mike Pompeo.

   

       DRAINING THE WASHINGTON SWAMP 

 

The Trump administration has a long list of characters who have imprisoned or charged with criminal counts, to wit:   

• Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon was arrested in August after being charged with fraud in connection to the “We Build the Wall” fundraising campaign close to the Rio Grande.  He, along with three others, was charged with defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors for personal profit.  In addition, The Texas Tribune reported on Sept. 2  click here that "The 3-mile border fence along the shore of the Rio Grande will fail during extreme flooding, according to an engineering report that is set to be filed in federal court. The report is one of two new studies...that found numerous deficiencies in the 3-mile border fence, built this year by North Dakota-based Fisher Sand and Gravel. [Earlier] Reports...from ProPublica and The Texas Tribune...found that segments of the structure were in danger of overturning due to extensive erosion if not fixed and properly maintained."

• Paul Manafort, who was sentenced to more than seven years in prison in 2019 for a spate of charges from Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference, including tax and bank fraud, and conspiracy against the United States. 

• The Mueller probe brought 100 charges against 34 people, six of whom were Trump associates, while the other 25 were Russians accused of interference. 

• Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., was sentenced to two years and two months in federal prison, having pleaded guilty to charges related to securities fraud conspiracy and making false statements.  

• Former Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. stepped down from his seat for conspiring to misuse $250,000 of campaign funds for his personal expenses. The California Republican was sentenced to 11 months in March.

And some of Trump's donors have been entangled in criminal probes.

• Lobbyist Sam Patten pleaded guilty to illegally funneling foreign money into Trump's inaugural committee and was sentenced to three years of probation, a $5,000 fine and 500 hours of community service. 
• New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft, a close personal friend of Trump's who gave $1 million to the inaugural committee, was charged with  solicitation of prostitution.  The 4th District Court of Appeals ruled last month that law enforcement violated Kraft’s rights by taking the video and that it can’t be used in trial. The video was deemed as "pornographic".
•  The Trump campaign's former foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, convicted of lying to investigators, spent two weeks in prison. 
• President Trump's longtime friend and  political adviser Roger Stone had his sentence commuted by Trump just days before having to report to prison in Georgia after he was convicted last year of all seven counts brought by the Justice Dept.--five counts of lying to Congress, one of witness tampering and one of obstructing a congressional committee proceeding. 
• Prosecutors indicted Lev Parnas and Igor Furman  (associates of Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani) for circumventing election laws prohibiting straw donations and foreign contributions to US political campaigns, including a super PAC supporting President Trump's re-election campaign. Both men have pleaded not guilty in the case.  
• According to unnamed sources in the Washington Post, Federal prosecutors are preparing to charge longtime GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy in connection with efforts to influence the U.S. government on behalf of foreign interests. 

For years,  Broidy has been under investigation for his alleged role in a campaign to persuade Trump administration officials to stop an investigation of Malaysian government corruption and also for his efforts to stop the extradition of the outspoken Chinese dissident, Guo Wengui, back to China. 

(Guo is wanted in Beijing for fraud, blackmail and bribery).

Three weeks ago, prosecutors obtained a guilty plea from Nickie Mali Lum Davis, a Broidy business partner, who confessed to taking part in the schemes. 

Of course, any report on the swamp must include the perennial denizens of the Swamp--lobbyists.

Sure enough, according to a July 6 report by the Associated Press, click here forty lobbyists with ties to President Donald Trump helped clients get more than $10 billion in federal coronavirus aid, among them five former administration officials whose work potentially violates Trump’s own ethics policy. The lobbyists identified Monday by the watchdog group Public Citizen either worked in the Trump executive branch, served on his campaign, were part of the committee that raised money for inaugural hoopla (which is also under investigation) or were part of his presidential transition. Many are donors to Trump’s campaigns, and some are prolific fundraisers for his reelection.

Mike Tanglis, one of the authors of Public Citizen's report, said, “The swamp is alive and well in Washington, D.C. These (lobbying) booms that these people are having, you can really attribute them to their connection to Trump.”

Of course, Trump and his extended family couldn't miss out on the action either.  In a complaint filed July 28 with the Federal Elections Commission, the non profit Campaign Legal Center released an 81 page report which charged that the Trump reelection campaign violated the law by masking millions in spending.

The filing said that the president’s reelection campaign hid $170 million in spending to major vendors, family members and associates by diverting the money through firms headed by Brad Parscale, who was replaced as campaign manager early July.

The filing alleged that the campaign laundered money in order to hide payments to contractors and advisors as well as Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, and Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host who is dating the president’s son Donald Trump Jr.  Nothing will happen with the filing because for most of the last year the FEC has only had three members, which is not enough for a quorum. 

HE WHO SPEAKS WITH FORKED TONGUE

"A lie can travel half-way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes."  Mark Twain

One year ago, I addressed the lies of Donald trump in my blog titled "He's Going Down"  At that time fact checkers listed some 5,000 lies.  As I write today, the number is 20,000.  To be fair, these lies are not all unique, some have been repeated 100 times or more.  Forbes magazine  has produced graphs showing where these clusters are.

My favorite one still remains:

“I started out in Brooklyn. My father gave me a very small loan of a million dollars in 1975.  I payed him back with interest." That gem, often repeated in some form by Trump during his presidential run, is not true. The loan was over $60 million, at least, and much of it was never repaid.  The New York Times published a blockbuster investigation click here that showed Trump has received $413 million dollars (in today’s money) from his father, Fred. The investigation also uncovered “instances of outright fraud,” among other “dubious” tax schemes which are currently being investigated by state and federal courts.

His first lie appeared the day after his inauguration:

"The overall audience, was I think, the biggest ever to watch an inauguration address, which was  a great thing."  

Nope.  Forest Service Videos of Obama's and Trump' inaugurals show a great sea of blank space in the Washington Mall for Trump whereas Obama's was wall to wall people as far as the eye could see.  Politifact said this:  "Even including TV watchers, Trump trailed several prior presidents.  He falls into 5th place since 1969, behind Obama in 2009, Nixon in 1973, Carter in 1977 and the high-water mark of Reagan in 1981." 

Other gems include:  "Hillary Clinton won the popular vote because it was fraudulent",

"America pays the most in taxes" and "Flynn Did Nothing Wrong."

Fast forward to the the last few months:  

"After the last administration nearly killed the US auto industry, I saved the U.S. auto industry ... We brought you a lot of car plants… (and Japan) “announced five car companies are coming to Michigan.”  Actually, The Bush and Obama administrations helped save the auto industry.

Fiat Chrysler is building a new plant in Michigan.

Auto industry jobs fell by about 3,000 in 2019.

No Japanese car makers announced plans to expand in Michigan.

Democrats and Joe Biden “want to abolish the suburbs altogether by ending single-family home zoning.”  Not.  Biden has proposed reinstating an Obama administration policy related to addressing housing discrimination.  Experts said Biden’s proposal would not result in a mandate forcing local jurisdictions to build low-income housing or do away with single-family zoning.

“Biden failed to condemn far-left violent groups like Antifa, instead faulting only the brave men and women of law enforcement.”  Not.  Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has on several occasions denounced violence, arson and looting tied to protests against police brutality.  Shortly after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Biden said “needless destruction” and “violence that endangers lives” is not necessary. A week after Kenosha police shot Jacob Blake, Biden said he condemns violence “of every kind by anyone,” a direct conflict with Trump’s claim that he has failed to critique violent groups. 

   COVID 19--208,000 DEAD

What follows is a partial timeline of Trump's actions related to the Coronavirus provided by Congressman Lloyd Doggett (T).  For the full timeline,  click here.  

May 2018--The Administration disbands the White House pandemic response team.

July 2019--The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) epidemiologist embedded in China’s disease control agency left her post, and the Administration decided to eliminate the role.

January 22--“We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China. It’s going to be just fine.”

January 24-- “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!”

January 30--"The lack of immune protection or an existing cure or vaccine would leave Americans defenseless in the case of a full-blown coronavirus outbreak on US soil,...This lack of protection elevates the risk of the coronavirus evolving into a full-blown pandemic, imperiling the lives of millions of Americans.” [Memo from Trump Trade Advisor Peter Navarro]

February 2--“We pretty much shut it down coming in from China.”

February 7--“It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flu... This is deadly stuff” [Trump in a private taped interview with Bob Woodward, made public September 9]

February 10--“Looks like by April, you know in theory when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away.”

February 26--“The 15 (cases in the US) within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.”

February 28--“We're ordering a lot of supplies. We're ordering a lot of, uh, elements that frankly we wouldn't be ordering unless it was something like this. But we're ordering a lot of different elements of medical.”

March 6--“You have to be calm. It’ll go away.”  “I like this stuff. I really get it. People are surprised that I understand it… Every one of these doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for president.”

March 12--Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, tells Congress that the country does not have sufficient testing. “The system is not really geared to what we need right now,” he said. “That is a failing. Let’s admit it.”  "You know, you see what's going on. And so I just wanted that to stop as it pertains to the United States. And that's what we've done. We've stopped it."

March 13--The Atlantic reported that less than 14,000 tests had been done in the ten weeks since the administration had first been notified of the virus, though Mike Pence had promised the week prior that 1.5 million tests would be available by this time.

March 16--“Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment-try getting it yourselves,”

March 19--I intended "to always play it down.”  [Trump in a private taped interview with Bob Woodward, made public September 9]

March 24  --“I'm also hopeful to have Americans working again by that Easter - that beautiful Easter day.”  “They have to treat us well, also. They can’t say, ‘Oh, gee, we should get this, we should get that.’”

March 26--“I don't believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators. You go into major hospitals sometimes, and they’ll have two ventilators. And now all of a sudden they’re saying, ‘Can we order 30,000 ventilators?’”

March 26-- “We’ve had a big problem with the young, a woman governor from — you know who I’m talking about — from Michigan,”

March 27--“Mike, don’t call the governor of Washington. You’re wasting your time with him…”

March 29--“Where are the masks going? Are they going out the back door? How do you go from 10,000 to 300,000?”  “Unfortunately the enemy is death. It's death. A lot of people are dying. So it's very unpleasant.”

March 30--  “I haven’t heard about testing in weeks. We’re testing more than any other nation in the world. We’ve got these great tests...But I haven’t heard about testing being a problem.”

“We inherited a broken test — the whole thing was broken.”

April 2--“...the Federal Government is merely a back-up for state governments.”

April 6--"You are not going to die from this pill...I really think it's a great thing to try."

April 11--U.S. death toll passes 20,000

April 14--“[w]hen somebody’s the president of the United States, the authority is total.”

April 15--U.S. death toll passes 30,000.

April 15--As Trump focuses on reopening, a leaked CDC and FEMA report warns of “significant risk of resurgence of the virus” with phased reopening.

April 22--“If [coronavirus] comes back though, it won’t be coming back in the form that it was, it will be coming back in smaller doses that we can contain….it’s also possible it doesn’t come back at all.”

April 23--"I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning? As you see, it gets in the lungs, it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that."

“So, supposing we hit the body...with a tremendous, whether its ultraviolet or just very powerful light, and I think you said, that hasn't been checked but you're gonna test it. And then I said, supposing it brought the light inside the body, which you can either do either through the skin or some other way…”

April 23--“You see states are starting to open up now, and it’s very exciting to see.”  

April 23--26 million jobless claims

April 24--U.S. death toll passes 50,000

April 27-- "I can't imagine why," [Regarding influx in poison control calls about disinfectant]

May 3-- “Look, we're going to lose anywhere from 75,000, 80,000 to 100,000 people”

May 5--U.S. death toll passes 70,000

May 5-- Consumer debt hits an all-time high

May 5--“Well run States should not be bailing out poorly run States, using CoronaVirus as the excuse!”

May 5--“There’ll be more death, that the virus will pass, with or without a vaccine." 

 May 6--Brookings reports that  “40.9 percent of mothers with children ages 12 and under reported household food insecurity since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.”  Republicans block proposals to expand food stamps.

May 7-- 33 million jobless claims

May 8-- “This is going to go away without a vaccine. It is going to go away.  We are not going to see it again.”

May 11-- “Coronavirus numbers are looking MUCH better, going down almost everywhere. Big progress being made!”

May 14-- “Could be that testing’s, frankly, overrated. Maybe it is overrated.”

May 14--“Don’t forget, we have more cases than anybody in the world. But why? Because we do more testing,”

May 16-- “We’ve done a GREAT job on Covid response, making all Governors look good, some fantastic."

May 18-- U.S. death toll passes 90,000

May 19--“When we have a lot of cases, I don't look at that as a bad thing, I look at that as, in a certain respect, as being a good thing,...Because it means our testing is much better. I view it as a badge of honor, really, it's a badge of honor.”

May 21--USA Today reports that mortgage delinquencies surged by 1.6 million in April, the largest single-month jump in history.

May 22--38 million jobless claims

May 27--U.S. death toll passes 100,000

May 29--“We will be today terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization”

June 6--U.S death toll passes 110,000

June 15--“At some point this stuff goes away and it’s going away.”

June 20--"Testing is a double-edged sword,...When you do testing to that extent, you're going to find more people, you're going to find more cases, so I said to my people, 'Slow the testing down, please.'"

June 22--U.S death toll passes 120,000

June 25--“The number of China Virus cases goes up, because of GREAT TESTING, while the number of deaths (mortality rate), goes way down. The Fake News doesn’t like telling you that!”

June 25--“Coronavirus deaths are way down. Mortality rate is one of the lowest in the World. Our Economy is roaring back and will NOT be shut down. “Embers” or flare ups will be put out, as necessary!”

June 30--U.S. has just 4% of the global population, but 25% of global coronavirus cases and the second highest death rate per capita.

July 6--U.S. death toll passes 130,000

July 7--"I think we are in a good place." 

July 8--“In Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and many other countries, SCHOOLS ARE OPEN WITH NO PROBLEMS. The Dems think it would be bad for them politically if U.S. schools open before the November election, but it is important for the children & families. May cut off funding if not open!”

July 18--U.S. death toll passes 140,000

July 19--“I think we have one of the lowest mortality rates in the world”

July 19--“Many of those cases are young people that would heal in a day”  “They have the sniffles, and we put it down as a test”

July 21--"You will never hear this on the Fake News concerning the China Virus, but by comparison to most other countries, who are suffering greatly, we are doing very well - and we have done things that few other countries could have done!”

July 27--"America will develop a vaccine very soon, and we will defeat the virus. We will have it delivered in record time."  

July 28--U.S. death toll passes 150,000.  

August 1--“Wrong! We have more cases because we have tested far more than any other country, 60,000,000. If we tested less, there would be less cases,”  (Donald Trump in a retweet of Anthony Fauci saying the U.S. has seen more cases than European countries because it only shut down a fraction of its economy amid the pandemic)

August 3--"They are dying. That's true. And you — it is what it is.”

August 3--“OPEN THE SCHOOLS!!!”

August 5--“If you look at children, children are almost - and I would almost say definitely - but almost immune from this disease.” 

August 5--“It will go away like things go away”

August 6--U.S. death toll passes 160,000

August 12--U.S. reports highest number of COVID-19 deaths in one day since mid-May

August 16--U.S. death toll passes 170,000

August 22--“Many doctors and studies disagree with this!” (Donald Trump in a tweet stating that the FDA is revoking hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for COVID-19 treatment, as they are “unlikely to be effective”)

August 22--“The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics. Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives!”

August 23--The President claims that ballot drop boxes are a “voter security disaster” and a “big fraud,” “possible for a person to vote multiple times” and that they aren’t “Covid sanitized.”

August 26--U.S. death toll passes 180,000

September 4--There will be a vaccine “before the end of the year and maybe even before Nov. 1. I think we can probably have it sometime in October.”

September 9--U.S. death toll passes 190,000

September 10--“This is nobody's fault but China.”

September 14--Trump, was asked if he is afraid of Coronavirus risk at his rallies: “I’m on a stage, it’s very far away, so I’m not at all concerned.”

September 16--Reporter: “[The head of the CDC] said that the vaccine for the general public wouldn’t be available until next Summer or maybe even early fall. Are you comfortable with that timeline?” Trump: “I think he made a mistake when he said that. That’s just incorrect information.”

September 19--U.S. death toll passes 200,000 

Since the pandemic began initial jobless claims have increased by more than 58 million, according to the Dept. of Labor.

 As the election draws near, there has been a plethora of anti-Trump messages in print, on TV and videos from a myriad of groups and individuals who are united by their fear that we are witnessing the end of American democracy.  I am sure that many of you, dear readers, are aware of many of these postings.  But I  would like to submit one more which carries enormous weight. It was published on Sept. 24 by United Press International.  The full report is here.   Some excerpts:  "...489 retired generals and admirals, as well as former national security officials and diplomats signed a letter endorsing Joe Biden..."

"The signatories include [over]...200 retired generals and admirals, and [289]...former national security officials and diplomats, including former CIA and FBI Director William Webster as well as former defense secretaries William Perry, William Cohen, Chuck Hagel, Leon Panetta and Ash Carter."

"We believe that Joe Biden is, above all, a good man with a strong sense of right and wrong," they wrote.

For this writer, perhaps the most succinct comment was made by Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence from 2017 to 2019.  In an editorial published by the NY Times published on Sept. 17, he said  "We hear often that the November election is the most consequential in our lifetime. But the importance of the election is not just which candidate or which party wins. Voters also face the question of whether the American democratic experiment, one of the boldest political innovations in human history, will survive."

 

                      

                                                   

                                          

  

Neon Leon: Neon Leon's Big Break

Neon Leon: Neon Leon's Big Break: Neon Leon 720 J Street Centralia WA Dear Readers--There will be no blogs released for a few months.  I am taking a break to consider...

Neon Leon's Big Break

Neon Leon 720 J Street Centralia WA

Dear Readers--There will be no blogs released for a few months.  I am taking a break to consider new milieus for my scribblings.

I have spent the last five years focusing on climate change, the ongoing loss of habitat for a multitude of creatures, the continuing depletion of the sources of water and food and the political shenanigans and corruption of the Trump administration, and I still believe that the lying leader of our nation is goin' down one way or another soon.   

I have also revealed the vast amount of wonderful things on the horizon in farming, 3D printing and the enormous capacity for improvements in the healthcare industry.  I also took note of  the marvelous autos and flying machines headed our way.  

And I tried very hard to illuminate the power of the internet as a two sided monster which can bring people together for any number of worthwhile pursuits but also giving access to the nasty side of human nature.

Let me be clear here--I will return to this site.  Perhaps I will return with stories about the Great Pacific Northwest.  Or the long overdue, loving look at some of the legendary pioneers who just happened to be my kin.  Maybe an analysis of the Baha'i Faith and the human need for love.

See you soon--Leon Chamberlain

Neon Leon: ABOUT THOSE FLASHING RED LIGHTS...

Neon Leon: ABOUT THOSE FLASHING RED LIGHTS...:                                                                           Coal is not a renewable resource, however.

ABOUT THOSE FLASHING RED LIGHTS...

                                                                         

Coal is not a renewable resource, however.

"Even those who don't believe in climate change believe we should develop renewable energy. Americans get it: it's time.  This is not controversial.  It's actually right in the wheelhouse of American business" --Marshall Herskovitz

Herskovitz,  67, is currently the President Emeritus of the Producers Guild of America.  He serves on the advisory board of The Climate Mobilization, an advocacy group calling for a national economic mobilization against climate change on the scale of the home front during World War II, with the goal of 100% clean energy and net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.

I agree with his concept of massive mobilization,  especially his embrace of American business.  I will deal with that shortly.  ed. note:  Check out my blog archives for info on the world wide deterioration of our supplies of water and food as well as air quality.

I continue on that path today, by analyzing the current capacity of alternative and renewable sources to replace fossil fuels. 

Renewable energy comes from a source that is naturally occurring and replenishes naturally without human intervention. Examples include biomass resources, solar energy, wind energy, geothermal and hydro resources, while alternative energy includes resources like natural gas, fuel cells or any waste energy that does not naturally replenish but emits lower carbon emissions.

First, however, an update on what's happening to our planet seems appropriate, given the stubborn resistance of climate change deniers, to wit:

One million plant and animals species are on the verge of extinction, with alarming implications for human survival, according to a United Nations report released on May 6.  

According to The Washington Post:


"The landmark report...from universities across the world goes further than previous studies by directly linking the loss of species to human activity [and] shows how those losses are undermining food and water security, as well as human health."

"More plants and animals are threatened with extinction now than any other period in human history, it concludes. Nature’s current rate of decline is unparalleled, and the accelerating rate of extinctions 'means grave impacts on people around the world are now likely,' the report said."

"Robert Watson, a British chemist who served as the panel’s chairman, said the decline in biodiversity is eroding 'the foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.' "

" 'Once you get to basically 2 degrees Celsius [35 degrees fahrenheit], the models show that only 1 percent can survive,' Watson said. 'Let’s be quite candid. We’re not on the pathway to 2 degrees Celsius. We’re on a pathway to 3, 3 ½ degrees Celsius.' " 

" 'If we are able to decrease CO2 emissions to zero by  2080, we might avoid 2 degrees Celsius of global temperature increase, but would pass 1.5 degrees Celsius before the year 2040. To actually avoid 1.5 degrees Celsius altogether, CO2 emissions from both fossil fuels and deforestation would need to be eliminated by the year 2050.' "

Here's another red blinking light from The Post:   

The headline on May 3 reads  As seas rise, Indonesia is moving its capital city. Other cities should take note.

The article by John Englander,  president of the International Sea Level Institute is a stunner.
Some excerpts:   "The decision [to move Jakarta] validates decades of warnings about the city’s catastrophic flood risk due to sinking land and rising seas." 

"While Jakarta is especially vulnerable...to rising seas, it serves as a profound wake-up call for hundreds of major cities, Washington included." 

"Indonesian President Widodo said  'the move is necessary, [as] the city can no longer support its massive population in the face of environmental threats...concerns of traffic congestion and water shortages' ...the city is sinking, a phenomenon known as subsidence. In the past 30 years, Jakarta sank more than 10 feet — a problem made only worse as the world’s great ice sheets melt."

"Jakarta is... by no means unique. In the USA major cities such as New Orleans and Norfolk are also subsiding, though not nearly as fast. Even still, all coastal cities must face...the reality of rising seas. There is no time to waste in planning and adapting to this threat."

"Although Miami is often cited as the city most at risk, there are many highly vulnerable — and highly populous — cities around the world, including Mumbai and Calcutta, India; Shanghai; Lagos, Nigeria; Manila; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Bangkok; Copenhagen; Tokyo; London; Houston; and Tampa...[these cites] already experience increased flooding during extreme high tides, often referred to as 'king tides.' "

"The latest projections for average global sea-level rise this century range from about three feet to as much as eight. [To lower]... that range largely depends on [reducing] greenhouse gases far beyond current efforts. But even a one-foot rise in sea level can dramatically increase coastal flooding. Hundreds of millions of people and trillions of dollars of assets are at risk."

"... the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently announced that...rising seas and subsidence will render the $14 billion fix to New Orleans levees inadequate in just four years. Clearly, we need a new strategy, too."

" [The reduction of] carbon emissions could avert the worst scenarios, but sea-level rise probably cannot be stopped this century. The planet has already warmed almost 2 degrees Fahrenheit, which means ice sheets and glaciers will continue to melt for centuries."

Before you start quivering in fear or hiding under your bed, let me lift your spirits with the increasing levels of success in harnessing the power of renewable and alternative energies.


First, the 2018 report by The International Energy Agency:  

"Of the the share of electricity from low-carbon technologies – including renewables, nuclear and carbon capture and storage -- around one third (35%) of generation came from low-carbon sources in 2017, with the share of renewables reaching 25% and nuclear declining to 10%. In the Sustainability Development Scenario (SDS), the share of generation from low-carbon technologies should increase to nearly two-thirds (63%) in 2030, with wind and solar PV accounting for over 50% of this growth."


"Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) starts being deployed in the late 2020s and accounts for almost 4% of new additions in the period to 2040 with 5% of new generation."

Second, The 2018 Global Status Report (GSR) by Ren 21 noted the following in their executive summary:
"Positive developments show that the renewable energy transition is possible, but advances...are uneven across sectors. The year 2017 was a record-breaking one for renewable energy, [marked]  by the largest ever increase in renewable power capacity, falling costs, increases in investment and advances in enabling technologies."

"Increasingly, regions within governments are becoming leaders in renewable energy.  At the same time, many emerging countries are expanding their deployment and investment in renewables and related infrastructure. The private sector...drives the deployment of renewable energy through its procurement and investment decisions."

"Renewable-based stand-alone and off-grid single home or mini-grid systems represented about 6% of new electricity connections worldwide between 2012 and 2016."

On the home front, an article a year ago from Fortune magazine click here  was upbeat about gains in alternative energy sources:  

"Eighteen percent of  [American electricity] was provided by renewable sources in 2017, including solar, wind, and hydroelectric dams. That’s up from 15% in 2016. Meanwhile, both greenhouse gas emissions from power generation and consumer spending on power declined."

"Renewables’ share of U.S. energy consumption has now doubled since 2008, as coal’s share crashed in the same period from 48% to 30%."

"Solar and wind projects made up roughly 62% of new power construction in 2017, as their cost continues to plummet.  2.9 gigawatts of new renewable energy projects were initiated last year [and] the solar and wind industries are creating jobs faster than the rest of the economy.  In 2017, 10.4 million people were employed in the renewable energy industry globally, [mostly] in the solar and bioenergy industries." 

Here's a breakdown of the energy sources coming to the rescue:

                                  SOLAR

The size of more than 3,500 Soccer fields, Noor Ouarzazate in Morocco is the world's biggest concentrated solar power farm.

First, let me define what solar energy is. There are two main types of solar energy technology: photovoltaics (PV) and solar thermal, also known as Consolidated Thermal Power (CSP). Solar PV is the rooftop solar you see on homes and businesses - it produces electricity from solar energy directly. Solar thermal technologies use the sun’s energy to generate heat, and electricity is generated from that. It is completely renewable installation costs are outweighed by the money saved in energy bills from traditional suppliers.  

A summary of Wikipedia sources click here about solar power reports in 2018 includes the following:

SOLAR PV

New solar PV installations surpassed net additions (the total amount of energy gained from harvesting the source after deducting the amount of energy that was spent to harvest it) of fossil fuels and nuclear power combined. Solar PV was the top source of new power generating capacity in 2017, due largely to strong growth in China.  Global capacity increased nearly one-third, due largely to the increasing competitiveness of solar PV, combined with growing electrical demand in developing countries and rising awareness of the technology’s potential to alleviate pollution, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and provide energy access. 

The year 2017 saw record-low auction prices driven by intense competition  to increase efficiencies and reduce energy costs. Even as falling prices have challenged solar PV companies, low and predictable energy prices offered by solar PV, along with expanding markets, are luring new participants to the industry, including oil and gas companies.

CONCENTRATING SOLAR THERMAL POWER

CSP plants with thermal energy storage emerge as a viable competitor to fossil fuel thermal power plants. Global concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) capacity reached 4.9 gigawatts (GW) in 2017, with South Africa being the only country to bring new CSP capacity online (100 megawatts (MW).  However, at year’s end about 2 GW of new plants was under construction; Spain remained the global leader in existing CSP capacity, followed by the United States.

                           WIND POWER

Norway Wind Energy Farm

An analysis by REN21 shown here  in 2018 is bullish on wind power.  Some excerpts:

"Current wind energy installations power roughly twenty million homes in the US per year and that number is growing. Most states in the nation now have some form of wind energy...and investment... continues to grow."

"Prices fell rapidly for both onshore and offshore wind power, and the offshore sector had its best year yet. The year 2017 brought tumbling bid prices for both onshore and offshore wind power capacity in auctions around the world...due to technology innovation and scale, [continuing] technology advances, reduced financing costs...and fierce competition in the industry. Electric utilities and large oil and gas companies continued to move further into the industry."

"...Rapidly falling prices for wind power have made it the least-cost option for new power capacity in a large and growing number of countries."

"The offshore wind sector had its best year yet, as total capacity increased 30%. ...and the world’s first commercial floating project was commissioned in Scotland...[while] at least 13 countries...met 10% or more of their electricity consumption with wind power during 2017."

                   

                      OCEAN ENERGY

 technologies creating renewable energies from seas and oceans 

                                          

Ocean energy was also covered in the 2018 REN21 report cited above.  

"[Overall] industry’s optimism and development efforts brought ocean energy closer to commercialisation. Of the approximately 529 megawatts (MW) of operating ocean energy capacity at the end of 2017, more than 90% was represented by two tidal barrage facilities."

"...in Europe...some technologies advanced enough to be on the brink of commercialisation. The industry started constructing its first manufacturing plants, promising greater production scale and cost reductions. Government support...through direct funding, [research] and infrastructure support, remains a critical element in ongoing development."

TIDAL ENERGY        

 The French Sabella Tidal Generator

"While tidal energy uses the power of water to generate energy, much like with hydroelectric methods, its application...has more in common with wind turbines in many cases."

"Though it is a fairly new technology, its potential is enormous. A report made in Britain estimated that tidal energy could meet as much as 20% of the UK’s current electricity demands."

"The most common form of tidal energy generation is the use of Tidal Stream Generators [which] use the kinetic energy of the ocean to power turbines, without producing fossil fuels waste or being as susceptible to the elements as other forms of alternative energy."

"In the USA, most of the tidal energy resources are along the coast of Alaska where populations are small. Still, tidal energy could power their small cities."

"Unlike the wind, the tides are very predictable. So it’s easy to decide where to put tidal turbines and figure out how much energy they will generate.

"Another plus--the turbines are usually completely under water, so no one can complain about them spoiling the view."

The Oyster has been making wave energy since 2009 

WAVE ENERGY

According to the Ocean Energy Council,   

"Water again [is] a valuable contributor to alternative energy... sources with wave energy converters. [They are better than]  tidal energy sources because they can be placed in the ocean in various situations and locations."

"[Benefits include:]...no waste production, high reliability and...enormous potential."

"... the cost of such systems is a major contributing factor to slow uptake.  Even though wave energy is [new] capital costs per net kw are already down in the range of wind energy devices, and below solar."                      

HYDROPOWER

Harnessing the force of falling water may be the world's oldest source of power. Its value lies in more than energy production--it also helps to control flooding  control and irrigating crops.

The 2018 Report by the International Hydropower Association  has these updates on their website:

•  Hydropower generates about 24 percent of the world's and 12 percent of the United States' electricity.
• China remained the perennial leader in commissioning new hydropower capacity, accounting for nearly 40% of new installations in 2017.  
• Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH) (a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems during periods of high electrical demand) accounted for about 96% of global energy storage capacity in 2017.  
• According to the EIA, "Hydropower is also growing and accounts for one-fifth of new renewables...and over a quarter of the growth in renewable energy electricity generation."
   

                            

                           BIOENERGY

Bioenergy is defined as renewable energy made available from materials derived from biological sources.  Biomass is any organic material which has stored sunlight in the form of chemical energy. As a fuel it may include wood, wood waste, straw, and other crop residues, manure, sugarcane, and many other by-products from a variety of agricultural processes.  

Recent advancements have also seen waste, such as that in landfills, and alcohol products used for similar purposes.

Some highlights from the 2018 GSR Renewables Report:

"Bioenergy accounts for roughly 9% of world total primary energy supply today...half of this relates to the traditional use of biomass in developing countries for cooking and heating, using inefficient open fires or... cookstoves with impacts on health [like] indoor [and outdoor smoke pollution..." 

"Modern bioenergy [however] is an important source of renewable energy--its contribution to final energy demand...is five times higher than wind and solar PV combined."  

"...bioenergy [represented] around 6% of global heat consumption in 2017.  Recent advancements have also seen waste, such as that in landfills, and alcohol products used for similar purposes.in 2017."

"In recent years, bioenergy for electricity and transport biofuels has been growing the fastest, mainly due to higher levels of policy support."

Swimmers near icelandic geothermal plant 

GEOTHERMAL  ENERGY  

According to a recent National Geographic article,   geothermal energy is "simply power derived from the Earth’s internal heat...contained in the rock and fluids beneath Earth's crust [ranging] from shallow ground to several miles below the surface..."

"These underground reservoirs of steam and hot water can be tapped to generate electricity [in power plants] or to heat and cool buildings directly."

"A geothermal heat pump system can take advantage of the constant temperature of the upper ten feet of the Earth’s surface to heat a home in the winter, while extracting heat from the building and transferring it back to the relatively cooler ground in the summer."

                     HYDROGEN POWER

 Linde's hydrogen station in Emeryville, California

Hydrogen (H) is defined as a chemical element with atomic number 1 in the periodic table of elements.  It is the lightest element and the most abundant chemical substance in the universe.

Hydrogen power can be a mite complicated to understand, so let me help simplify the subject with this diagram:

The supply area depicts all of the sources (renewable and non-renewable) used in the process of creating power and all of them can be used to create hydrogen (H) power. The most common forms are hydrogen gas and hydrogen fuel cells.

The best synopsis of Hydrogen power   is by the aforementioned Energy Information Agency.  Some excerpts:

"Hydrogen gas (H2) is colorless, odorless and highly flammable. On the periodic table, it is the chemical element of atomic number 1..  

"Unlike other forms of natural gas, hydrogen is a ...clean burning fuel. Once produced, hydrogen gas cells emit only water vapor and warm air when in use."

"The major issue with this form of alternative energy is that it is mostly derived from the use of ...fossil fuels. As such, it could be argued that the emissions created to extract it counteract the benefits of its use." 

"The process of electrolysis, which [splits] water into hydrogen and oxygen, makes this less of an issue [but] electrolysis [is used far less than the other methods] though research continues to make it more efficient and cost-effective."

 "Hydrogen fuel cells produce electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen atoms.  [They] are pollution-free and have greater efficiency than traditional combustion technology."

"...Small fuel cells can power any portable device that uses batteries [while] large fuel cells can provide electricity for emergency power in buildings and in remote areas...not connected to electric power grids."

"Hydrogen use in vehicles [has] enormous potential as an alternative transportation fuel [because] its fuel cells [are highly efficient] and [have] zero emissions in electric vehicles."

"Most hydrogen-fueled vehicles are [cars] and transit buses [with] an electric motor powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. A few of these vehicles burn hydrogen directly. The high cost of fuel cells and the [small number] of hydrogen fueling stations have limited the number of [these] vehicles."

But, hold on!  Get this--Europe is beginning to use Hydrail (Hydrogen powered trains)!  According to the British newspaper, The Telegraph  click here  reported in January that " [Hydrails could be running] on British railways as early as 2022...

Based on the tried-and-tested British Rail Class 321, the fuel cell trains – nicknamed ‘Breeze’ – will bring zero-emission hydrogen tech to parts of the UK that still run on diesel."

                      NUCLEAR POWER

Starting with the first nuclear power station in 1956 (Calder Hall in England), nukes enjoyed continued growth for decades until the events at Chernobyl and Fukushima cast a critical eye on the massive danger poised to mankind when real things go bump in the night.  

However, nuclear power remains as one of the most abundant forms of alternative energy. And few would deny that there are direct benefits in terms of emissions and efficiency, while also boosting the economy with creating jobs.


The 2018 report by the World Nuclear Organization click here  indicates some of the changes to the industry, to wit:


"[There were] 9 reactor startups (8 less than scheduled), 7 closure decisions and 5 construction starts. Two new reactors entered Long-Term Outage (LTO) and 7 were restarted. Globally, 415 reactors are operating (10 more than a year ago), 49 are under construction (lowest in a decade)."   

"Only two countries have started up new reactors in 2018, China connected seven and Russia two. The total of nine new startups compares with 17 units scheduled at the beginning of the year."


"Four units were permanently closed, two in Russia one each in South Korea and the U.S., while two reactors were added to the LTO category, one each in China and India. [The]... 415 operating reactors [includes] 10 more than at the beginning of 2018, but still below pre-Fukushima levels and 23 units from the historic peak of 438 in 2002."

ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor)

                                      

Finally, scientists all over the world are heavily engaged in the pursuit of the holy grail in power- -Nuclear fusion.  It offers a means of producing energy that’s safer and cleaner than current methods. 

According to  the dictionary (Merriam-Webster Online, www.m-w.com), the process is essentially the opposite of nuclear fission, which is used to power today’s nuclear plants. Fission involves splitting large atoms into smaller ones; fusion, on the other hand, combines atoms  to release even greater amounts of energy.

Fusion has been a long-sought-after energy source because it is the most efficient power-producing process we know of.  Hydrogen is a plentiful fuel, and unlike fission, fusion reactions create minimal, carbon-free waste. Further, hydrogen is in near infinite supply, so we’d be able to power fusion reactors for a long time. For a dramatic demonstration of fusion’s power, just look up toward the sun.

Nuclear fusion is attracting investors interest.

The Economist Magazine focused on nuclear fusion in May. Their findings:

"Firms in North America and Europe are... planning to build...profitable fusion reactors. Their projects have different approaches and different amounts of money behind them. But they all have one thing in common, a desire to bury the old joke that commercial fusion power is 30 years away—and always will be."

"These days most attempts to achieve [fusion] are made using machines called tokamaks...And it is the tokamak route that several of the commercial fusion-power wannabes are travelling along. One such is Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS)...Another is Tokamak Energy...Tokamak Energy has already built a series of working prototypes [CFS has not]." 

"There are other approaches beyond using tokamaks.  In Vancouver, Canada, a firm called General Fusion is working on one that uses a phenomenon called field-reversed configuration (FRC). [They hope to [build] an experiential plant within five years."

"Another firm...is TAE Technologies...TAE’s... device, unveiled in...2017, is a 25-metre-long machine named Norman,  [which] is a cylindrical reactor. It is radical in it's choice of fuel (plasma injectors)."

"And, in the actual design of its reactor, the most radical of the lot is probably the path being pursued by First Light Fusion...Though First Light’s process aims to extract energy from a conventional mixture of deuterium and tritium, [they are unique in their usage of hydrogen isotopes found in normal water.]"  
Investment Capital is being raised for these ventures. TAE has rustled up $600m in private funding so far. General Fusion has raised over $100m, Tokamak Energy  $65m and First Light, which is still at the earliest stages of progress, $33m.

"[There is] no shortage of ideas about how a practical fusion reactor might be built [and]
everyone talks a good story about this. CFS wants to achieve gain by 2025...TAE aspires to supply fusion-based electricity to the grid by 2030. Which is also the year that Tokamak Energy says it will start generating grid-scale electricity...First Light Fusion predicts that reactors using its technology will be in place some time in the 2030s."

"Stephen Dean, of Fusion Power Associates...  observes, 'the history of fusion doesn’t give you a lot of confidence that there won’t be a problem...  We’ve been at it for 50 years and there’s always been a problem.'  Nevertheless, he also says that ...'They’re all based on good physics. They’re all good people that are doing these programmes. And the prize is enormous. If even one of the fusion startups succeeds, the world’s electricity supply will be guaranteed—and carbon free—for ever.' "

SHOW ME THE MONEY $$$$$$$$$$$$$

So, ya gotta wonder--is all this hoopla about renewables attracting investors with very deep pockets?

One source for an answer comes From the REN21 2017 report mentioned earlier:

A number of countries have introduced initiatives to promote the growth of solar power.  Britain's "Feed-in Tariff’ is one example, as is the United States "Solar Investment Tax Credit".

Dollar investment in new renewable power capacity (including all hydropower) was three times the investment in fossil fuel generating capacity, and more than double the investment in fossil fuel and nuclear power generation combined.

Developing and emerging economies overtook developed countries in renewable energy investment for the first time in 2015 and extended their lead in 2017, accounting for a record 63% of the global total, due largely to China. Investment in developing and emerging countries increased 20% to USD 177 billion, while that of developed countries fell 19% to USD 103 billion.

In 2017, corporations sourced renewable electricity in more than 70 countries through corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs), utility green procurement programmes and unbundled renewable electricity certificates (RECs) or guarantees of origin (GOs). In addition, corporations in a large number of countries worldwide have invested directly in renewable energy systems for their own consumption. 

I should also note that Ford has announced a $500 million investment to develop an all-new electric vehicle in Michigan.

In April, Forbes Magazine   published an analysis of the bucks flowing to renewables and alternative fuels thusly: 

(1)  Big oil is putting capital into low carbon initiatives such as using captured carbon dioxide in oil recovery, returning massive amounts of carbon permanently into the ground. Examples: Occidental Petroleum is building gas liquefaction plants and Shell has been building off-shore wind facilities.  

(2)  Capital is indeed being raised by the  fusion companies mentioned earlier. TAE has rustled up $600m in private funding so far. General Fusion has raised over $100m, Tokamak Energy $65m) and First Light, which is still at the earliest stages of progress, $33m.

(3)  Natural Gas will facilitate the increased use of wind and solar energy until utility scale batteries are developed. And methanol is in increasing use as a bunker fuel for shipping, displacing diesel. 

(4)  Investments in battery storage continues apace and could eventually lead to a more robust renewables sector.  The price of battery storage has tumbled by 79% since 2010, from $1,000/kWh to $209/kWh (kilowatt hours)

(5)  Governments around the world have chipped in big time with green energy requirements, tax and regulatory mandates and financial incentives while government research has led to past innovations such as unlocking trapped natural gas to current efforts to make cold fusion a reality. 

(6)  Oil will be with us for decades, natural gas likely much longer. But progress is being made and, from an investment perspective, a new green deal is already here. There is no reason for an investor today to choose between doing good and doing well, at least in the energy and climate change space.

(7)  Each of these strategies represents a part of a now undeniable megatrend and investing in the energy transition is no longer an aspiration, it is now a powerful portfolio tool.

There is yet another future renewable energy source which has received little attention--converting air to gas.  It seems that Microsoft founder Bill Gates has found a new outlet for his restless energy and wealth.

The Guardian online Magazine  has published an article entitled "Could the future of clean energy be to turn air into petrol?"  Some excerpts:

"It may sound too good to be true, but Bill Gates and his partners are experimenting with a technology that could potentially help stop global warming as well as provide clean fuel."  

"[In fact, their] engineers have already succeeded in extracting CO2 from the air and using it to produce a mix of petrol and diesel. They hope to eventually replicate the process on an industrial scale."

OK, let's go to my get real department.  

In the foreseeable future, coal is toast. The stinky stuff is simply no longer competitive, despite Trump's ill founded support. 

No energy sector can stand alone; none have an absolute lock on power generation, to wit:  

Solar power is reliant on locations where the sun shines. Ditto for wind power. 

While geothermal energy is generated in over 20 countries, the heavy upfront costs of creating  power plants as well as the eye watering
expenses necessary to drill six miles to reach the "hot spots", can be daunting.

Although research continues into ways to better harness the power of fusion, it remains in experimental stages.

Biofuels stand out because they make use of animal and plant life to create energy and are renewable when plants are used and are renewable in cases where plants are used.  The catch?  Currently, they usually require fossil fuels to power the machinery for extraction, which can contribute to increased emissions even if biofuels themselves don’t.


There are signs everywhere that the auto industry is going fully electric. 

For instance, in the 2019 New York International Auto Show, 40 vehicles had a battery power component; the top two finalists for World Car of The Year were fully electric (Jaguar's I-Pace, followed by Audi's e-tron). 

Also, according to Inside EVs, "...in 2018, electric vehicles sales were up by 81%. The sales of electric vehicles are also increasing...in other countries. Electric cars outsold other non-electric car models in Norway...which was about 60% of all vehicles sales."

However, while its true that EVs put out zero emissions, they don’t produce any power themselves; they are only as green as the power that comes out of the wall socket.  Further, driving ranges vary greatly.  In particular, if you love to put the pedal to the metal, your range drops dramatically.

Bottom line?  There is no silver bullet here. Renewables are clearly on a tear but they still produce only some 20 % of our energy sources worldwide.  They must work with all the other energy sources whenever and whenever they can in order to meet the insatiable energy needs of an ever increasing population.

Given enough time, there is little doubt that we can do this, especially if we can somehow resist the urge to buy piles of stuff we really don't need at all.

Is there enough time?  For this writer, that  question is one I have often tried to answer and failed. But I am beginning to think the odds are increasingly in mankind's favor, given our capacity to choose kindness over meanness; to embrace nature like an old friend long missing but found again; to finally realize that while the clock is ticking ever faster, we can do this!