Maxed Out Solar

This will be a trigger for some. It's not meant to be. It is simply data plotted and it shows that global temperatures are warming at an accelerating pace. I can give you a whole disertation about what's happening. I won't. I'll make it simple. It's mainly forced warming from greenhouse gas/carbon pollution emissions, and related feedbacks (clouds/ ice/forests). Natural causes may spike the football every few years due to transitions to El Nino and create a new plateau, but natural forcing always goes both ways. Greenhouse gas forcing only goes one way. That's up. Pollution increases/ reductions factor in too, but pollution is also driven by humans. Link in comments. Image credit: NY Times

Puerto Rico hasn't had reliable power in a decade.

The grid sends occasional surges through the wires that fry appliances.

Electricity rates are among the highest in the entire U.S.

Heat waves are getting intense in the summer, and outages mean air conditioning is no guarantee for an aging population.

A coal plant producing deadly pollution was just extended for years because the island needs more power generation. Utility-scale solar projects have also taken a toll, messing with local hydrology and flooding neighboring barrios. The territory depends on a financially troubled LNG company that has given up its long-term incentives for good service in favor of short-term payouts for the natural gas that's supposed to shore up the grid.

Pretty wild that a small part of that story was told on stage at the Super Bowl halftime show tonight.

- Alexander C Kaufman