Lifeboat Foundation

A https://www.carbontracker.org/42-of-global-coal-power-plants…rst-study/” target=”_blank” rel=” nofollow noopener noreferrer” data-ga-track=” ExternalLink: https://www.carbontracker.org/42-of-global-coal-power-plants…rst-study/”>new report reveals 42% of global coal capacity is currently unprofitable, and the United States could save $78 billion by closing coal-fired power plants in line with the Paris Climate Accord’s climate goals. This industry-disrupting trend comes down to dollars and cents, as the cost of renewable energy dips below fossil fuel generation.

Across the U.S., renewable energy is beating coal on cost: The price to build new wind and solar has fallen below the cost of running existing coal-fired power plants in Red and Blue states. For example, Colorado’s Xcel will retire 660 megawatts (MW) of coal capacity ahead of schedule in favor of renewable sources and battery storage, and reduce costs in the process. Midwestern utility MidAmerican will be the first utility to reach 100% renewable energy by 2020 without increasing customer rates, and Indiana’s NIPSCO will replace 1.8 gigawatts (GW) of coal with wind and solar.

Lazard’s https://www.lazard.com/perspective/levelized-cost-of-energy-…rage-2018/” target=”_blank” rel=” nofollow noopener noreferrer” data-ga-track=” ExternalLink: https://www.lazard.com/perspective/levelized-cost-of-energy-…rage-2018/”>annual Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) analysis reports solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind costs have dropped an extraordinary 88% and 69% since 2009, respectively. Meanwhile, coal and nuclear costs have increased by 9% and 23%, respectively. Even without accounting for current subsidies, renewable energy costs can be considerably lower than the marginal cost of conventional energy technologies.

Continue reading “Plunging Prices Mean Building New Renewable Energy Is Cheaper Than Running Existing Coal” »

I love hearing the enthusiasm and joy in the voices of first time home buyers who are going to save money, bond and remodel their house together. Brand new doctors, seasoned lawyers, accountants, project managers, the boldest of GenX and Millennials who grew up swinging VR joystick in lieu of hammers. But they’ve watched Property Brothers and Love It or List and have the best database of YouTube videos for home remodeling in their entire subdivision or building. They even park in the “Pro” section at Home Depot and have their very own monogrammed Leatherman construction gloves.

You can remodel your own home. Even “just” your kitchen or “just” your bathroom. You can read and have all the resources at your disposal. But don’t. Don’t even fucking think about it. Remember how you tried to cook Thanksgiving dinner last year and ended up burning up your kitchen, which is why you need to replace it? Those were simple enough directions too, right?

But what does this have to do with blockchain and more importantly your business?

Glad you asked. Well, your business is like your house. Blockchain is like a remodel. You can do it yourself. You’re after all a pro at your business. But your business isn’t blockchain. Your business is shipping, consulting, farming, logistics, banking, money exchange, insurance, lending, maybe even selling pizzas. Your business is a business. Your business isn’t a way of doing business or a business tool like blockchain. Your business is a way of generating you income to provide for your family, workers, community, financial security and future. It ain’t a way to decentralize any of those, unless you want to find out what a “decentralized” retirement looks like. (Hint, think working poor at 75 years old. #GigEconomy).

Continue reading “Blockchain — Why remodeling your own house is stupid.” »

Can cutting-edge new treatments and therapies put an end to cardiovascular and circulatory disease for good?

WASHINGTON — A new study offers some of the strongest evidence yet of the connection between the marketing of opioids to doctors and the nation’s addiction epidemic.

It found that counties where opioid manufacturers offered a large number of gifts and payments to doctors had more overdose deaths involving the drugs than counties where direct-to-physician marketing was less aggressive.

The study, published Friday in JAMA Network Open, said the industry spent about $40 million promoting opioid medications to nearly 68,000 doctors from 2013 through 2015, including by paying for meals, trips and consulting fees. And it found that for every three additional payments that companies made to doctors per 100,000 people in a county, overdose deaths involving prescription opioids there a year later were 18 percent higher.

Continue reading “Study Links Drug Maker Gifts for Doctors to More Overdose Deaths” »

A broader range of treatments for this disorder offers patients a more personalized approach.

• By David Blum on January 18, 2019

The problems with cryptocurrencies and their energy usage are well-known. However, Ethereum is planning to address the issue. They’re planning on doing a 99% decrease in the amount of energy used in obtaining new coins.

It would be good for other cryptocurrencies to take this problem just as seriously.

The cryptocurrency is going on an energy diet to compete with more efficient blockchains.

Continue reading “Ethereum Plans to Cut Its Absurd Energy Consumption” »

In December, NASA released a report on looking for “technosignatures” which are indirect pieces of evidence for extra-terrestrial civilizations. It covers a bunch of different scenarios.

NASA’s final report from their Technosignature Workshop is now out and addresses all the ways in which humanity is looking for evidence of extra-terrestrial civilizations.

Continue reading “NASA’s Technosignatures Report is Out. Every Way to Find Evidence of an Intelligent Civilization” »

This is a horrible, horrible idea. The company wants to create a series of satellites that can unfurl, which will reflect light, and that can be manipulated to send messages to earth. The entire collection, comprised of CubeSats, will provide an area of about 50 sq. km. and create a whole new kind of orbital debris.

According to the website, “When phones don’t work, during zero visibility, power cuts and catastrophical emergencies – government can use the display for urgent notifications for the population.” We can ignore the idea of them being seen during zero visibility, but can you imagine a message floating in the sky that you can’t just turn off?

It was bound to happen.

Continue reading “Astronomers aren’t pleased about a Russian plan to put billboards in space” »

A trio of researchers at the University of Wisconsin has discovered that a common soil bacterium produces a chemical that is more effective in repelling mosquitoes than DEET. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, Mayur Kajla, Gregory Barrett-Wilt and Susan Paskewitz describe their search for the chemical made by the bacteria and their hopes for its future.

DEET has been the leading mosquito repellent since the late 1940s and multiple studies have shown it to be safe to use—still, some believe its synthetic nature suggests it might be causing harm. Because of that, scientists have continued to look for a natural repellent. In this new effort, the researchers report that they have found a naturally occurring chemical that is even more repellent than DEET, though it will have to undergo extensive study to see if it is safe to use.

Continue reading “Soil bacteria found to produce mosquito repelling chemical stronger than DEET” »