Friday Homestead Dispatch

Elegant Egalitarian Estuary

"Where do I get my ideas from? You might as well have asked that of Beethoven. He was goofing around in Germany like everybody else, and all of a sudden this stuff came gushing out of him. It was music. I was goofing around like everybody else in Indiana, and all of a sudden stuff came gushing out. It was disgust with civilization." —"Armageddon In Retrospect" Kurt Vonnegut

1.
It may not seem like we’re (as in the U.S.) doing much to ween ourselves off fossil fuels. In our family, we still have three gas burning cars. I will say that my two vehicles, a 2000 and a 2001, are still under 100,000 miles so our use of fuel is minimal. We’re looking at possibly replacing our gas range with an induction stovetop (although cost is still an issue) and electric oven, and replacing our perfectly fine 18 year-old gas water heater with an electric unit.

It was heartening to read in the New York Times that the United States is pivoting away from fossil fuels and toward wind, solar and other renewable energy, even in areas dominated by the oil and gas industries. Wind and solar power are breaking records, and renewables are now expected to overtake (https://www.iea.org/reports/renewables-2022/executive-summary) coal by 2025 as the world’s largest source of electricity. Automakers have made electric vehicles central to their business strategies and are openly talking about an expiration date on the internal combustion engine. Heating, cooling, cooking and some manufacturing are going electric. 2025 will be here in a blink of an eye.

The scale of change required to remake the systems that power the United States — all the infrastructure that needs to be removed, re-engineered and replaced — is mind-boggling. There are major challenges involved in adding large amounts of renewable energy to antiquated electric grids and mining enough minerals for clean technologies. Just another example to JUST VOTE BLUE, Some politicians, including most Republicans, want the country to continue burning fossil fuels, even in the face of overwhelming scientific consensus that their use is endangering life on the planet. Dozens of conservative groups organized by the Heritage Foundation have created a policy playbook, should a Republican win the 2024 presidential election, that would reverse course on lowering emissions. It would shred regulations designed to curb greenhouse gases, dismantle nearly every federal clean energy program and boost the production of fossil fuels.

In the first 180 days of a Republican presidency, the plan calls for shredding regulations to curb greenhouse gas pollution from cars, oil and gas wells and power plants, dismantling almost every clean energy program in the federal government and boosting the production of fossil fuels. This is an organized plan, dubbed Project 2025, by Paul Dans of the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank organizing the effort. It says on their website that The actions of liberal politicians in Washington have created a desperate need and unique opportunity for conservatives to start undoing the damage the Left has wrought and build a better country for all Americans in 2025. It is not enough for conservatives to win elections. If we are going to rescue the country from the grip of the radical Left, we need both a governing agenda and the right people in place, ready to carry this agenda out on day one of the next conservative administration. 

The radical Left. Is that Joe Biden? Is he radical? I’m not sure what or who is this radical left. The dictionary says it’s the faction representing extreme left-wing political views, often Marxist or Maoist in ideology.

2.
Are you hip to the tax incentives for homeowners under the Inflation Reduction Act? Energy Star, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has posted home products that qualify for tax credits through 2032. These include heat pumps, windows and exterior doors, water heaters, AC units, and solar and wind energy systems.

Did you also know that NOT ONE Republican voted for the IRA but are certainly willing to accept the money in their red states. Roughly two-thirds of the major projects are in districts whose Republican lawmakers opposed the Inflation Reduction Act, according to a POLITICO analysis of major green energy manufacturing announcements made since the bill’s enactment.

“Great to see Alabama receive crucial funds to boost ongoing broadband efforts,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville wrote on Twitter, without acknowledging that the money originated in a law that he — and dozens of other Republicans — had voted against. A growing roster of voices in the GOP also has been willing to abandon their fierce opposition whenever the federal money starts flowing in their direction.

The Transportation Department, using the IRA, unveiled the recipients of roughly $2.2 billion to help rehabilitate roads and bridges in late June, including two highway improvement projects in Arkansas, which received about $50 million. Republican Senator Tom Cotton said, “I’m pleased Senator Boozman and I were able to secure the grants for these projects.”

Politico reported that there are many small town Republicans now embracing the act. In Rogers County, Okla., Republican Commissioner Ron Burrows looks at the Inflation Reduction Act and sees jobs — 1,000 of them to be exact. At least once the Italian giant Enel opens its $1 billion solar manufacturing plant there in 2025. Burrows is not alone. Other political and economic leaders in Oklahoma, including Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, are glad to receive the major investments they say they’d never have attracted without the climate law.

Despite the Republican-controlled House voting to slash all the tax incentives tied to the act, it did not pass due to a Democratic controlled Senate. What does that tell you? We need to take back the house and keep the Senate in ’24. JUST. VOTE. BLUE.

3.
Just one more reason to vote blue…Erin Reed reports that On Wednesday, the North Carolina legislature convened to override several of the governor's vetoes, including several targeting the transgender community. The passed bills are carbon copies of other anti-trans laws in other conservative states with Republican supermajorities this year. They prevent transgender students from participating in sports aligned with their gender identity and compel schools to disclose a student's transgender status to their parents. Additionally, they limit classroom instruction on gender and sexuality, commonly referred to as the “don’t say gay or trans” law. They also deny transgender youth access to gender-affirming care, contrary to established medical guidelines. This shift in the legislative landscape became possible after Representative Cotham switched from the Democratic to the Republican party, giving Republicans the supermajority needed to pass such measures against governor’s vetoes. The three bills were stagnant until Cotham jumped ship giving the GOP the crucial 72 votes required to override a governor's veto. If you have a mind to drop ol’ Tricia Cotham a ‘thank you’ note, here you go: Tricia.Cotham@ncleg.gov.

The three bills are House Bill 574 - Transgender Sports Ban, House Bill 808 - Gender-Affirming Care Ban, and Senate Bill 49 - “Don’t Say Gay Or Trans”/Forced Outing. One bit of possible good news; North Carolina falls under the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals which has already blocked a transgender sports ban in West Virginia. This prior judgment may bolster arguments against the fairness of these bans targeting transgender youth in North Carolina. Stay tuned.

Tiny Tidbits of Goddamn!

1. I had not heard of flash mob robberies until recently. ABC reports that Dozens of masked suspects have run out of stores in Century City, Canoga Park, Glendale and other Southern California communities with armfuls of stolen merchandise, sometimes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Goddamn!

2. Ales Hrdlicka, a Smithsonian anthropologist from the 1930s, amassed an enormous collection of body parts in Alaska and used his research to propagate the theory that the first people to populate North America crossed a land bridge at the Bering Strait. For years he dominated the still hotly contested debate over when these people first traversed the Pacific. He considered people who were not White to be inferior and collected their brains and other body parts, convinced that he could decipher race primarily through physical characteristics, according to his writings and speeches. He was celebrated in his time, testifying before Congress and as an expert witness in court, and sought out by the FBI to help with cases. Goddamn!

And now…