When it comes to politics, I've found that most people have a simple, circumspect viewpoint. Whenever I try to understand their underlying logic, I only have to drill down so far to realize that their belief is driven by someone else's conclusions they've pawned off as their own. But they take it as a given & can get really angry when challenged.
Anyhow, that is probably the best indication of how a weak foundation in math & science is afflicting our society today. There is no rigor in analysis nor is there any visible evidence of hypothesis testing. Hypothesis testing doesn't necessarily have to be formal, however, one can suspect they have a notion of how something works out and find out more about it to see if that really is so. By doing so, you complete a few iterations in understanding your underlying assumptions. And you no longer have a shallow understanding of the problem.
Why is that important? Well for one, if you're going to get so emotionally invested in a perspective, then you should spend some time understanding why you feel that way. Otherwise, you're just getting angry for no good reason. We also need to elevate our level of understanding because the complexity of our problems today is increasing.
Another result of my findings is that there is a tendancy to use a modified form of DesCartes's "I think therefore I am" as "I think therefore it is" & that is the end of the analysis. This should be the beginning of the analysis as this is essentially the hypothesis. Or more pointedly, this is a prematurely drawn conclusion.
Lost in all of this is the fact that we have an oversimplified explanation for a more complex problem. If we can't shake off this apple is red associative logic then we cannot possibly solve the problems of tomorrow. Kids use fast mapping where for example, they associate the color of an object such as the apple is red to learn things. We need to be more mature in our analysis and move beyond simply associating things. For example, saying that government deficit spending is like consumer over-spending isn't necesarily true. It is an over simplification of how it would affect the economy and one should spend some time in understanding it before drawing conclusions.
One can argue that we have a moral responsibility to understand the conclusions we're drawing because they carry the motivation of our actions. Keep in mind that in Ephesians 6:12 in the Bible, it tells us that: we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Stop spewing hate & racial slurs. Learn more about math & science and sit down with Excel and build a model first before you start drawing conclusions. At the end of the day, the fighting men & women of our armed forces want to fight for a noble cause. They don't have a choice in the battle they fight -- our Political Leaders make that choice. But in other arenas we have a choice. And there is nothing more ignoble than fighting for a cause you don't understand.
Spewing hate doesn't impress me! Pick up a gun and go defend our country! That'll impress the heck out of me!!!
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Mr. Otway Goes to Washington
The Otways are available for interviews, by phone and in person.
Please contact Repower Florida Communications Director Blake Williams at
312-772-5253 or Blake.Williams@climateprotect.org for booking.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Director’s Message: Energy Too Costly for Florida
While gasoline prices have recently dropped, electric costs are skyrocketing! Gasoline for all of the 90s was about $1 a gallon, oil $18 a barrel, natural gas was $2 for a thousand cubic feet and residential electricity in Florida was 8 cents a kWh. Gasoline at its peak last year was over $4, oil over $140 a barrel, and natural gas over $11 for a thousand cubic feet and residential electricity in Florida was 12 cents a kWh. In the last several months, the price of electricity to some consumers in Florida has reached 15 cents per kWh. The average Florida customer who used 1,250 kWh of electricity per month paid $120 in 2005 and $152 per month in 2008. In 2009, the average customer will be paying more than $160. So by doing nothing, the price has gone up more than $40 per month (33%) since 2005. Some customers will be paying $188 per month, a $68 per month increase (50%) since 2005!
Alternative energy is called alternative, until it is cheaper, but cheaper than what? – electricity out of the wall at 12 cents yesterday, 15 cents today, 18 cents tomorrow? Are you aware that people in the U.S. pay different amounts for electricity? The average residential retail price of electricity in the U.S. was 10.6 cents per kWh in 2007. Florida was 11.2 cents, most southern states were about 9 cents, WV 7 cents, UT 8 cents, NY and CT about 18 cents, and CA and NJ 15 cents. So, states that burn coal have the cheapest electricity rates. Places like Utah and West Virginia burn their own coal, so even though they get all the pollution and the greenhouse gasses, at least they get to keep all their money, unlike Florida which ships more than $25 billion out of state to purchase fuel. Florida has already been paying more for cleaner burning fossil fuels than the Southern states to our north. We are now paying more for natural gas than we are for coal, and that price increase is more than what is being suggested to add to our electric bills for solar energy.
New Jersey has more solar than Florida because homeowners in NJ have a Renewable Portfolio Standard, and fees (collected into a Public Benefit Fund) are used to incentivize the homeowner for solar on their roof. If such a fund collected $1.50 on your electric bill in Florida, we could have the equivalent of California’s Million Solar Roofs Program. Clearly $1.50 is less than the $40 a month cost of doing nothing. While solar water heating is cost effective today, solar electricity (photovoltaics) without a subsidy is not cost effective today, but the subsidy is still less than the cost of “accelerated cost recovery” for nuclear power. What about the jobs? These jobs will not be in China and India, they will be done by your neighbor. Vote Solar estimates that more than 3,800 megawatts (MW) of solar could be added by 2020 and with it approximately 85,500 new jobs in Florida. What a great way to love your neighbor.
Jim Fenton, Director
Florida Solar Energy Center
Alternative energy is called alternative, until it is cheaper, but cheaper than what? – electricity out of the wall at 12 cents yesterday, 15 cents today, 18 cents tomorrow? Are you aware that people in the U.S. pay different amounts for electricity? The average residential retail price of electricity in the U.S. was 10.6 cents per kWh in 2007. Florida was 11.2 cents, most southern states were about 9 cents, WV 7 cents, UT 8 cents, NY and CT about 18 cents, and CA and NJ 15 cents. So, states that burn coal have the cheapest electricity rates. Places like Utah and West Virginia burn their own coal, so even though they get all the pollution and the greenhouse gasses, at least they get to keep all their money, unlike Florida which ships more than $25 billion out of state to purchase fuel. Florida has already been paying more for cleaner burning fossil fuels than the Southern states to our north. We are now paying more for natural gas than we are for coal, and that price increase is more than what is being suggested to add to our electric bills for solar energy.
New Jersey has more solar than Florida because homeowners in NJ have a Renewable Portfolio Standard, and fees (collected into a Public Benefit Fund) are used to incentivize the homeowner for solar on their roof. If such a fund collected $1.50 on your electric bill in Florida, we could have the equivalent of California’s Million Solar Roofs Program. Clearly $1.50 is less than the $40 a month cost of doing nothing. While solar water heating is cost effective today, solar electricity (photovoltaics) without a subsidy is not cost effective today, but the subsidy is still less than the cost of “accelerated cost recovery” for nuclear power. What about the jobs? These jobs will not be in China and India, they will be done by your neighbor. Vote Solar estimates that more than 3,800 megawatts (MW) of solar could be added by 2020 and with it approximately 85,500 new jobs in Florida. What a great way to love your neighbor.
Jim Fenton, Director
Florida Solar Energy Center
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