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I'm a retired psychologist, author and freelance writer focusing on science, technology and fact-based political and social commentary.
OpEd News Member for 647 week(s) and 3 day(s)
48 Articles, 7 Quick Links, 878 Comments, 0 Diaries, 12 Series, 0 Polls
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7 Quicklinks
(2 comments)
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
We've been looking at energy savings the wrong way around SHARE
With a virtual forehead slap, energy expert Michael Barnard, writing in CleanTechnica, invites us to look for the energy (and greenhouse gas) savings we so desperately need from the demand side rather than the supply side. In particular, he walks us through data and calculations showing that just one intervention -- using heat pumps to do most of our domestic, commercial and industrial heating and cooling -- could cut U.S. energy requirements by a stunning 50%.
Looking at cutting energy demand rather than trying to reduce primary energy production makes a huge difference in our assessment of what's possible, what's economically and technically feasible, and what we can do in the few decades we have left to stabilize the climate.
We've been looking at energy savings the wrong way around SHARE
With a virtual forehead slap, energy expert Michael Barnard, writing in CleanTechnica, invites us to look for the energy (and greenhouse gas) savings we so desperately need from the demand side rather than the supply side. In particular, he walks us through data and calculations showing that just one intervention -- using heat pumps to do most of our domestic, commercial and industrial heating and cooling -- could cut U.S. energy requirements by a stunning 50%.
Looking at cutting energy demand rather than trying to reduce primary energy production makes a huge difference in our assessment of what's possible, what's economically and technically feasible, and what we can do in the few decades we have left to stabilize the climate.
(2 comments)
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
Still a strong link between Trump votes and covid deaths SHARE
This Daily Kos post by Brainwrap updates county-by-county Trump votes, vaccination rates and covid death rates.
The graphs are striking, but the one that impressed me the most matched the 2020 Trump vote percentage with covid death rates per 100,000 population since May 1, 2021.
The reddest 1/10th of the US died from covid at 2.72 times the rate of the bluest 1/10th.
The correlation between county-by-county Trump voting percentage and covid deaths was an astonishing 0.97. That means that the county-by-county percentage of people who voted for Trump in 2020 accounts for nearly 95% of the variance in subsequent covid death rates.
Readers can draw their own conclusions.
Still a strong link between Trump votes and covid deaths SHARE
This Daily Kos post by Brainwrap updates county-by-county Trump votes, vaccination rates and covid death rates.
The graphs are striking, but the one that impressed me the most matched the 2020 Trump vote percentage with covid death rates per 100,000 population since May 1, 2021.
The reddest 1/10th of the US died from covid at 2.72 times the rate of the bluest 1/10th.
The correlation between county-by-county Trump voting percentage and covid deaths was an astonishing 0.97. That means that the county-by-county percentage of people who voted for Trump in 2020 accounts for nearly 95% of the variance in subsequent covid death rates.
Readers can draw their own conclusions.
(13 comments)
Sunday, March 6, 2022
Wuhan market or Wuhan Lab? New evidence tilts the balance. SHARE
Two new scientific papers still in the preprint stage, detail significant new evidence that points to animals being sold at the Wuhan Huanan Seafood Market in 2019 as the source of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the COVID pandemic, rather than the much maligned Wuhan Institute of Virology. This quicklink is to the NYT story reporting on this.
Wuhan market or Wuhan Lab? New evidence tilts the balance. SHARE
Two new scientific papers still in the preprint stage, detail significant new evidence that points to animals being sold at the Wuhan Huanan Seafood Market in 2019 as the source of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the COVID pandemic, rather than the much maligned Wuhan Institute of Virology. This quicklink is to the NYT story reporting on this.
Saturday, January 29, 2022
The (Mc)Kinsey Report of 2022--not at all sexy, but vital SHARE
The world needs to spend $9.2 trillion a year for decades to stabilize the climate and steer the world into a sustainable future, this new analysis shows. That's a lot of money, but not so much when compared to the $83 trillion per year that business-as-usual will cost in terms of energy, health and climate. You can dive into the details here.
The (Mc)Kinsey Report of 2022--not at all sexy, but vital SHARE
The world needs to spend $9.2 trillion a year for decades to stabilize the climate and steer the world into a sustainable future, this new analysis shows. That's a lot of money, but not so much when compared to the $83 trillion per year that business-as-usual will cost in terms of energy, health and climate. You can dive into the details here.
(4 comments)
Monday, January 24, 2022
If you didn't like the Covid mRNA vaccines, you're going to hate the ones for cancer and MS SHARE
Here's a link to a must-read article providing a heads-up about the mRNA and DNA vaccines that are being developed to fight cancer, HIV and other chronic viral infections, and auto-immune disorders such as MS.
Like them or not, it looks as though mRNA and DNA treatments are going to be a permanent feature of the medical landscape.
If you didn't like the Covid mRNA vaccines, you're going to hate the ones for cancer and MS SHARE
Here's a link to a must-read article providing a heads-up about the mRNA and DNA vaccines that are being developed to fight cancer, HIV and other chronic viral infections, and auto-immune disorders such as MS.
Like them or not, it looks as though mRNA and DNA treatments are going to be a permanent feature of the medical landscape.
(9 comments)
Saturday, January 22, 2022
Latest vaccine and booster effectiveness data from the CDC, in the time of omicron SHARE
The CDC just released data on hospitalization rates among vaccinated, boosted and un-vaccinated Americans through 12/25/21. The graphs track these rates for different age groups over the full course of 2021. Please click here to go through the details.
Quick summary:
In the month of December, when omicron was dominant, unvaccinated adults were 16 times more likely to be hospitalized because of covid than were fully vaccinated adults.
In December, unvaccinated people 50 to 64 years old were 44 times more likely to be hospitalized for covid than peers who had received two vaccines plus a booster.
In December, unvaccinated people 65 or older were 49 times more likely to require hospitalization than their vaccinated and boosted peers.
Please look at these graphs and form your own conclusions.
Latest vaccine and booster effectiveness data from the CDC, in the time of omicron SHARE
The CDC just released data on hospitalization rates among vaccinated, boosted and un-vaccinated Americans through 12/25/21. The graphs track these rates for different age groups over the full course of 2021. Please click here to go through the details.
Quick summary:
In the month of December, when omicron was dominant, unvaccinated adults were 16 times more likely to be hospitalized because of covid than were fully vaccinated adults.
In December, unvaccinated people 50 to 64 years old were 44 times more likely to be hospitalized for covid than peers who had received two vaccines plus a booster.
In December, unvaccinated people 65 or older were 49 times more likely to require hospitalization than their vaccinated and boosted peers.
Please look at these graphs and form your own conclusions.
(8 comments)
Friday, December 10, 2021
How COVID looks to a treating physician SHARE
A doctor describes what he and other medical care providers are experiencing as hospitals fill up once again, mostly with unvaccinated patients. His narrative takes us past politics and data and brings us face to face with what it's like on the COVID frontlines.
Series: Pandemic (1 Articles, 39013 views)
How COVID looks to a treating physician SHARE
A doctor describes what he and other medical care providers are experiencing as hospitals fill up once again, mostly with unvaccinated patients. His narrative takes us past politics and data and brings us face to face with what it's like on the COVID frontlines.
Series: Pandemic (1 Articles, 39013 views)
