“Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has denounced that the CFE and Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) were significantly harmed amid https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Mexico-Seeks-Power-Sovereignty-With-Reform-To-Electricity-Law-20210218-0021.html in previous administrations. Moreover, private companies were granted subsidies despite raising prices as the state-owned plants were closed.”
Moreover, private companies were granted subsidies despite raising the prices as state-owned plants closed.

Posted by: arby | Feb 19 2021 15:14 utc | 204

@Bemildred | Feb 19 2021 0:00 utc | 184

“Agreed, but ideology in this country and elsewhere has its focus 100% on CO2. And that is a 100% failure.
Oh, so now you want to talk about ideology.

I don’t think I have stated I don’t want to talk about ideology. Sometimes I point out that people use ideology instead of scientific arguments. That’s more or less what I did there. I don’t deny the existence of ideology, but replacing real science with ideology is a bad idea.

Also, in saying “this country” do you mean Norway?

Yes.

Thank you for your comment.

The same!

Posted by: Norwegian | Feb 19 2021 15:51 utc | 206

There is no argument about what’s happening as the facts are capable of speaking for themselves through the increasing inability of fundamental oceanic organisms to reproduce in an increasingly acidic environment. This action threatens the stability of the ocean’s trophic system–the food chain. As a carbon sink, the ocean is essentially overflowing.
Posted by: karlof1 | Feb 18 2021 17:55 utc | 139
You seem not to understand the proportions, the oceans contain about 40 to 80 times (!) more CO2 then the whole atmosphere. There is no ‘overflowing’.
The oceans PH is basic not ‘acidic’.
No showing of ‘overflowing’ CO2 in ocean data:
https://sciencenorway.no/climate-change-environmental-policy-forskningno/co2-map-provides-quality-control-for-climate-research/1463117
I have not seen any scientific research to show any ‘inability of fundamental oceanic organism to reproduce in an increasing acidic environment’ happening in the real world…
Do plants like CO2? Yes. We have about 20% (or more) increased plants productivity due to the increased CO2 in the last 100 years.
Historically the Earth has seen higher CO2 levels, trees evolved and grew in 1000+ ppm CO2.
Pls search a bit ‘greening of the planet’, it is really a good thing to see.
Why do almost all producers pump CO2 in their greenhouses?
BTW, trees did show CO2 starvation during the ice ages…
CO2 is not the climate controls knob, historically CO2 followed warming or cooling by a gap of about 800 years (see Antarctic ice cores)

Posted by: LP | Feb 19 2021 17:15 utc | 208

I’d like to pass on some useful information I read at naked capitalism yesterday — it’s about covid, so if you aren’t interested, you can move on. I had already found this to be true for myself, at least as far as comfort wearing masks is concerned. The information was simply that a cloth mask gives one a humid environment in which to breath, which is uncomfortable for the virus, more so than for the wearer. My own experience has been with double masking cloth masks when shopping. I have my original padded, home made mask which is fitted nicely to my face lower regions but tends to slip slightly above the nostrils. That mask has three layers of old cotton undershirt quilted into it. (Nice and warm the cold weather we’ve been getting.)
My sister sent me some nifty cloth masks that are rather skimpy. These have loops over the ears while my original one ties at the back and above my head. I put on the new mask first, then my old one over that. The new one tends to slide up, while the old is very good under my chin. With the two in place I don’t have to adjust either one and they feel very comfortable and even stylish.
So, just passing that on – and by the way my thought is that Iran is blessed to have such intelligent prospects for leadership. An indictment of the US education system is in order.

Posted by: juliania | Feb 19 2021 18:20 utc | 210

@ juliania | Feb 19 2021 18:20 utc | 212
How was this masking tested for usefulness and efficiency in preventing the passing of any virus ?
Are you taking the diameter of the virus particle to be around 120 nm ( 1/600 th. the diameter of a human hair ) or other ? Comparative to the space between the threads of the material. Or is the virus carried on particles which can be stopped by this masking ?
Or, put in other words, how do you know of the effectiveness of that which you use to cover the mouth and nose orifices ?.

Posted by: Fíréan | Feb 19 2021 18:50 utc | 212

@GM
Same answer as to that above. Whether it’s a “blip” is not the point I was making. Texas has the capability for hydropower, both currently in place and possible to expand upon in the future. I took the math from one of the utility’s websites and how many homes it is possible to power according to them is not really relevant to my point that in fact it does exist in that state. I don’t care to quibble about math when I wasn’t claiming that hydropower makes up any particular % of CURRENT electrical generation in that state.
To that same idea, wind power “only” accounts for 13% of Texas’ electricity generation capacity but outlets that you cite here often are falsely blaming the blackouts on wind turbines when in fact it was a massive failure of the LNG supplied generators. As stated above, the few areas of Texas with utilities that are members of different ‘interconnects’ didn’t experience any significant, lasting blackouts. That is because they were mandated to winterize after the 2011 event whereas ERCOT was simply given suggestions (and passed to their generators) to winterize, which they didn’t do. In fact they are disincentivized from doing so for reasons of profit and executive compensation.
Will they do it this time around even with (fake) political pressure from the ruling GOP and Greg Abbott? I doubt it, and if they do 100% of the costs will be passed down to the customer. Texas already has either the highest or close to the highest electricity costs in the USA. Why do you think that is? I thought they were the “energy capital” and “open for business.” Maybe if Tesla and others rethink relocation to Texas as a result of this catastrophe, something will change. Otherwise the GOP and Abbott will kick the can down the road, slap ERCOT on the wrist and continue with business as usual.

Posted by: _K_C_ | Feb 19 2021 20:37 utc | 214

Norwegian | Feb 18 2021 17:41 utc | 136

The Earths atmosphere contains CO2 as a trace gas only, 400 parts per million, of which essentially all is entirely natural. 400 ppm is too little for efficient photosynthesis, that is why you can buy CO2 generators to put in greenhouses.

I read some research on this subject which said that some land crops preferred (did better with) more CO2 and some with less. What is clear however, is that some marine creatures that make shells out of calcium carbonate, are struggling to make shells as the acidity of the oceans increases.
The “fact” that 400ppm makes it a “trace”, is really neither here nor there, given time, a “trace” of HCN will kill you and so will a “trace” of CO. A trace of radon will give you cancer, while a trace of O3 (ozone) will kill covid-19 spores and is not very good for humans to breathe for long periods. Traces of trymethyl tin, in concentrations of a very few parts per billion, are enough to disrupt the sexual development of sea creatures.

Posted by: foolisholdman | Feb 19 2021 20:51 utc | 216

@vk #180
Your ongoing divorce from reality is obstructing even your theoretical capability to reason.
First – I never said frozen windmills. What I said was that the grid buildout for the Texas wind buildout seems to have come at the expense of the maintenance of the existing Texas energy grid.
Secondly, Texas may be a red state but they have over 150 wind farms with 60,000 wind turbines and 30,000 MW of nameplate capacity. Every single one of the 60,000 wind turbines had some significant amount of electrical grid expansion to connect it, as well as the secondary infrastructure needed to control and direct this variable power.
Thirdly, the “Green New Deal” or whatever scamcronym pops up has been ongoing for decades. Obama had any number of high profile alternative energy failures to accompany the actual functioning – albeit heavily subsidized – working alternative energy.
But thanks again for chiming in with irrelevancies and lack of reality.

Posted by: c1ue | Feb 19 2021 20:57 utc | 218

@foolisholdman #218
Are you indoors at this moment? If so, it is very likely the CO2 is 1000 ppm. This is not an unusual level indoors, particularly in either confined spaces or with a lot of people.
400 ppm isn’t harmful – neither is 1000 ppm.
The Earth has had 3000 and higher ppm CO2 in its past – it was actually the more biodiverse eras which had the high CO2 levels.

Posted by: c1ue | Feb 19 2021 21:07 utc | 220

Posted by: c1ue | Feb 19 2021 21:07 utc | 222
Who cares about indoor CO2 levels? I have a meter right here next to me. Currently it says 978 ppm. When I open a window that drops to 400 or less. So what is your point with regard to the environment outdoors?

Posted by: _K_C_ | Feb 19 2021 21:15 utc | 222

Fascinating presentation provided for Putin by Head of the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring Yury Chikhanchin which I would describe as actions to control corruption and criminal activity in the widest sense of what compromises the financial sphere. Much is being accomplished with billions of rubles being returned to the budget or impounded along with the opening of several thousand criminal cases. Also a method’s been devised to track crypto currency transactions since they’re often used in criminal schemes. Of further interest is this service’s working with several nations which are avowedly Russophobic, and its involvement with anti-terrorism and sanctions work. Like I said, fascinating!

Posted by: karlof1 | Feb 19 2021 21:17 utc | 224

For the troll trying to discredit me on Ocean Acidification and the Climate Crisis, Read this, although I really doubt that will occur. Naysayers are anchored to their positions and no amount of facts can pry them free from their purchase as I’ve discovered over the years in trying to do so. As I wrote above and several times over the years, the Climate Crisis’s basic fundamentals are explained by high school physics, that is if that subject’s still taught.

Posted by: karlof1 | Feb 19 2021 21:26 utc | 226

Posted by: _K_C_ | Feb 19 2021 21:18 utc | 227
To correct my post, CO2 levels NEAR Hawaii’s volcanos…not actually on them.

Posted by: _K_C_ | Feb 19 2021 21:54 utc | 228

vk | Feb 18 2021 12:47 utc | 107
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/21598282.2020.1869993?needAccess=true&
Yes a very interesting and well-written paper. Thanks!

Posted by: foolisholdman | Feb 19 2021 23:20 utc | 230

Smith | Feb 18 2021 12:32 utc | 105

At that point, why is there a need for private companies at all? Why pay these fat cats? To quote the chinese, this is nursing the tiger so it can eat you.

The problem as we found out in postwar UK, is that if you have socialist , “Nationalized” companies and a capitalist government (even one disguised as “socialist”, as ours was) the managers are still the same old bosses, just paid by the state instead of from the profits and the company is run so as to subsidize big private firms. So for example British Electricity supplied Imperial Chemical Industies Ltd, ( a privately owned firm) with extremely cheap power and British Coal supplied it with dirt-cheap coal and British Rail transported stuff for it for very little. As a result the books showed that the “Nationalized” firms made massive losses. The MSM seized on this and continually trumpeted “Socialism is all very well, but it Always makes a loss!!”
In the end, after the run-down industries had been rebuilt, at the working class’s expense and “Socialism” had been well and truly discredited, a series of Conservative governments sold off the refurbished industries to their friends, for pennies on the pound.
To have socialist industries in a capitalist society, it seems the only possibility is to form cooperatives. There are a few that survive and even prosper but it is not easy to start and they face quite a lot of hostility from the ptb.

Posted by: foolisholdman | Feb 19 2021 23:46 utc | 232

Thanks for asking, Firean @ 214; here you go:

#COVID19
Hydrating the Respiratory Tract: An Alternative Explanation Why Masks Lower Severity of COVID-19 (pre-proof) (PDF) Biophysical Journal. From the Abstract: “We demonstrate that normal breathing results in an absorptiondesorption cycle inside facemasks, where super-saturated air is absorbed by the mask fibers during expiration, followed by evaporation during inspiration of dry environmental air. For double-layered cotton masks, which have considerable heat capacity, the temperature of inspired air rises above room temperature, and the effective increase in relative humidity can exceed 100%. We propose that the recently reported, disease-attenuating effect of generic facemasks is dominated by the strong humidity increase of inspired air. This elevated humidity promotes mucociliary clearance of pathogens from the lungs, both before and after an infection of the upper respiratory tract has occurred. Effective mucociliary clearance can delay and reduce infection of the lower respiratory tract, thus mitigating disease severity. This mode of action suggests that masks can benefit the wearer even after an infection in the upper respiratory tract has occurred, complementing the traditional function of masks to limit person-to-person disease transmission. This potential therapeutical use should be studied further. ” The Daily Mail’s retelling (nvl).

My point addressed my experience double masking. You appear to be skeptical on the entire issue. Good luck with that!

Posted by: juliania | Feb 20 2021 0:01 utc | 234

c1ue@221 continues to get it wrong. I wrote “I will note that any ‘argument’ relying on the premise that averages aren’t meaningful—as opposed to criticizing a particular method of averaging as undersampled or well, any actual criticism—is in the ‘not even wrong’ category of error.” c1ue misreads this somehow as to mean I’m saying the opposite, that averages are meaningless. (The comment was inspired by another commenter by the way whose user name I’ve forgotten, but c1ue’s vanity misleads.)
But then, to contradict the implication c1ue wanted to make, that averages *are* meaningful, c1ue in a silly attempt at a rhetorical “gotcha!” asks the question of why the average temperature rising matters when the highest temperatures aren’t rising so much, but most of the increase is in the lowest ones. The amount of evaporation from soil increases, for one thing. The plants that grow better at the lower temperatures and/or lose water by transpiration at higher temperatures suffer. Many plants whose germination is triggered by temperature changes are affected. (Some plants even require freezing before they can germinate.) In any given site, the effects are various, maybe minimal and sometimes may be locally beneficial. But globally? Widespread changes in the composition of the ecosystem has highly unpredictable effects. But one thing is known: Rapid climate change can overwhelm the ability of forests to migrate. (And yes, forests do migrate, as seeds dispersed into the areas newly receptive sprout and grow, while the seeds dispersed into the areas becoming less favorable, don’t.)
Change is frightening for most people, but change is inevitable. It is too soon to counsel despair over the technical ability of humanity at large to adapt to the ongoing changes in the biosphere. It is the political factor that may doom humanity, the refusal to take the challenges seriously. Knee jerk climate change denialism is motivated reasoning in defense of the status quo. Unfortunately for the rest of us, we are not threatening the status quo—the status quo is changing all on its own—but denialism will disarm us all. Being defeated is one thing, but refusing to fight, is cowardice.

Posted by: steven t johnson | Feb 20 2021 1:01 utc | 236

@ steven t johnson | Feb 20 2021 1:01 utc | 238
What is this? Beta-testing of an AI-generated social media word salad program?

Posted by: gm | Feb 20 2021 1:14 utc | 238

Update on Texas:
Nearly 15Mln Texans Affected by Water System Disruptions Due to Weather
It appears gas supply disruptions are coming. Hard to say what can be done about the water system problems in the short term. I don’t think little water bottles are going to fix it.
COVID appears to be in decline just about everywhere now, I hope this cold blast does not lead to a change.

Posted by: Bemildred | Feb 20 2021 2:08 utc | 240

For the troll trying to discredit me on Ocean Acidification and the Climate Crisis, Read this, although I really doubt that will occur. Naysayers are anchored to their positions and no amount of facts can pry them free from their purchase as I’ve discovered over the years in trying to do so. As I wrote above and several times over the years, the Climate Crisis’s basic fundamentals are explained by high school physics, that is if that subject’s still taught.
Posted by: karlof1 | Feb 19 2021 21:26 utc | 228
Here from the troll: no intention to discredit anyone, just pointing the facts.
From your posted link, reading for you as you seem unable to do it due to the green glasses.
(now, just poking a little, don’t take it personally pls)
The ocean’s average pH is now around 8.1, which is basic (or alkaline)
There is a sentence “Ocean acidification is already impacting many ocean species” not supported by anything. Typical alarmism there are a lot of might could and would. Unfortunately a lot in science has been corrupted and is used in various ways.
Please, no projections have seen enough BS, just facts. Tell me when the oceans’ average is down to 8.0.
“Although climate models suggest the ocean’s surface pH has dropped from pH 8.2 to 8.1 since 1750, that change was never actually measured. The pH drop is merely a modeled conjecture that is, unfortunately, constantly repeated as fact.
https://www.heartland.org/news-opinion/news/the-biggest-climate-change-lie-of-all-ocean-acidification

Posted by: LP | Feb 20 2021 8:48 utc | 242

Left out by EU, Eastern Europe scrambles for Russian, Chinese vaccines
Discarded like useless old dogs.
Sometimes you are what you are.

Posted by: vk | Feb 20 2021 14:50 utc | 244

gm@240 gives an example of the internet principle that pretending not to understand English is an admission of defeat in argument. Also, that gm doesn’t know what “word salad” means. And that gm attributes magical powers to “AI.”
And it’s still true: c1ue misread my rebuttal to another commenter’s claim that averages are meaningless, into the opposite. Then after saying averages are meaningful, promptly proceeded to imply a specific average *wasn’t* meaningful, asking what difference it made if the average was rising. c1ue was incoherent but that’s not “word salad” either, by the way.

Posted by: steven t johnson | Feb 20 2021 15:26 utc | 246

@ james | Feb 20 2021 17:01 utc | 249 with the follow up about Princess of the Yen
I have read about how the Asian Tigers were taken down but didn’t have a bigger picture view of the Japan part.
Have you read The Shock Doctrine? It is about the same Central Bank set up, establish and oligarchy and rape the commoners that went on through South America and is about to happen to America and Canada too.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 20 2021 17:18 utc | 248

i think naomi is a canuck too as memory serves… she might live in vancouver.. that is what i remember from the book.. i might be wrong..

Posted by: james | Feb 20 2021 17:43 utc | 250

@ psychohistorian.. thanks…. we own our house and love where we live… if this place went to zero – we would still love it! i have nothing in the equity/bond markets.. my wife has some…. i guess this is the 64,000 question – when does the bubble burst?? it is very hard to predict, but it will eventually happen.. cheers james

Posted by: james | Feb 20 2021 19:47 utc | 252

c1ue@255 displays more incompetence. The claims that I’m wrong would give me food for thought if ever there were actual examples of elementary errors. Misreading my attack on the idea that averages are meaningless as a claim that averages are meaningless, is an example of genuine incompetence, as opposed to an unsupported assertion. That’s nothing but malice and malice is not an argument.
In addition to poor literacy skills, c1ue hides the supposedly-superior research skills that produced the figure of trillions in spending. A source would make this point so much stronger. Adding “magic” to alternative energy does not. Adjectives are not arguments. Plus of course, good reasoning about numbers would compare the money invested in alternative energy to the money invested into fossil fuel energy. Liars can play tricks with percentages to provide an illusion of significance…but liars can avoid percentages in order to give a false impression.
A note on history? When I have cited history I have usually cited a left-wing viewpoint which is *not* dependent thinking or repetition of the standard story. c1ue’s nonsense is forgettable *because* it’s nonsense, the way random numbers are harder to remember than a regular sequence. But I’m pretty sure c1ue is offended by my history because it is not always the same old orthodoxy.
And it’s still true that a higher average temperature will—for one single effect—increase the amount of evaporation from the soil, affecting plant life, even if the highest temperatures don’t change much. c1ue implying otherwise (as ignoring the answer c1ue *asked for* implies) is very much like saying that a crock pot won’t cook because it’s temperatures are not as high as the oven’s.

Posted by: steven t johnson | Feb 20 2021 22:46 utc | 254

Thanks, Fíréan @ 245 — your post is most interesting, more detail! Apologies for my misapprehension – You are absolutely correct: critical thinking and good study, well said — we all need to act on these principles. Best wishes for good health!

Posted by: juliania | Feb 21 2021 1:44 utc | 256

Take that, Bill Gates!
Data Shows Wind-Power Was Chief Culprit Of Texas Grid Collapse
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/cascend-data-shows-wind-power-was-chief-culprit-texas-grid-collapse

Posted by: gm | Feb 21 2021 3:09 utc | 258

@ Posted by: gm | Feb 21 2021 3:09 utc | 260
The report you linked stated the two main problems were lack of winterization and the fact that Texan grid is not connected to the outside grid (federal?), so there was no “plan B”. Both problems are directly linked with the lack of investment in infrastructure.
It never stated the problem was with wind.

Posted by: vk | Feb 21 2021 3:36 utc | 260

IN China, guys like Ted Cruz would prolly get a firing squad…
https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-lawmaker-compared-to-cruz-for-fleeing-state-on-jet-2021-2

Posted by: denk | Feb 21 2021 5:07 utc | 262

I haven’t seen this reported here
”
TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) – Several rockets hit the Iraqi military air base of Balad north of Baghdad on Saturday, injuring one Iraqi contractor, Iraqi security officials said on Saturday.
No group immediately claimed the attack. It was the second salvo of rockets to hit a base hosting U.S. forces or contractors in less than a week.
The Iraqi military said four rockets hit the base. Iraqi security officials initially said three rockets had hit and told Reuters the contractor had suffered non-lethal injuries.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to the media.
Armed groups that some Iraqi officials say are backed by Iran have claimed similar incidents in the past, including an attack last week on the Erbil International Airport compound. The attack killed a contractor working with U.S. forces at the military base part of the compound.
Iran-aligned paramilitary groups demand that all foreign troops, including U.S. forces who number around 2,500 in Iraq, leave the country, calling their presence an occupation.
A U.S.-led coalition whose mission is to fight Islamic State militants is still stationed in Iraq, as well as a NATO-led mission that trains Iraqi security forces.
”

Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 21 2021 6:49 utc | 264

In spite of the Texan troubles, watch out for this if you are a “fin-du-monde” fan. Edgar Cayce prophesied that the “earth changes” would be signaled when Etna erupted, and would include the US being divided by being invaded by the sea. (Mississipi basin). Texans, visit Florida while you still can without taking a boat….
Pretty pictures, even if you don’t really believe him.
https://sputniknews.com/viral/202102211082142502-mount-etna-spits-out-fountains-of-fire-and-lava—photos-videos/

Posted by: Stonebird | Feb 21 2021 11:08 utc | 266

FB stronger than governments? As long as you have a few billions customers, you bet you are stronger than a gov. But that does not mean that the customers are not being willingly fooled by FB.

Posted by: Mina | Feb 21 2021 12:01 utc | 268

Jesus christ, I just discover new smartphones don’t even come with chargers anymore.
Apple did it first, for “green” reasons, now Samsung and now Xiami follow the leaders.
This is just terrible, next I guess they will just sell the screen and we have to buy the phone separately. Freaking capitalist greed.

Posted by: Smith | Feb 21 2021 13:50 utc | 270

@ Posted by: gm | Feb 21 2021 12:32 utc | 271
But the “dominos” only fell because the private companies administering it weren’t required to have excess capacity as is the normal (as the linked report itself states). When you run at full capacity all the time, every fall in output will generate an outage. And eventually, as the linked report also states, the gas infrastructure also failed – only some moments later. The dominos were going to fall, with or without wind, because there was no cushion. There was no cushion because the Texas grid is privatized, and those private companies operated at the limits of the infrastructure because it is more profitable.
But even then, the Texas grid could have gotten away with murder if they had a secondary source (aka plan B), i.e. if they were connected to the federal grid. They weren’t because of historical reasons: Texas is the most independence-minded of all American states, and, in 1935, it refused to be regulated by the new Federal Act, so they cut themselves off from the federal grid.
Besides, there’s no excuse not to winterize your energy grid. Forget about climate change or unusual weather. There’s a little thing called meteorology stations. They can see a snowstorm or a hurricane coming months in advance. Didn’t the Texas meteorology services know a big fucking snowstorm was coming? Of course they did – Ted Cruz planned his trip to Cancún because he new of this. The Texas grid administrators, therefore, had months to winterize their infrastructure. They didn’t because it is not profitable.

Posted by: vk | Feb 21 2021 14:32 utc | 272

@ vk | Feb 21 2021 14:32 utc | 274
It is not clear from what I have read how much autonomy/independence/immunity from local political control that ERCOT power grid corporate leadership has over major directions/budgets/planning, but I get the sense they are sort of like the FED, ie. Federal Reserve, for Texas electrical power decision/policy-making.
Clearly ERCOT knew well in advance that some very rough and prolonged weather was in headed for a big area of the state,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/02/19/texas-cold-early-warning/
and I read somewhere from a local TX news source recently (although can’t locate the exact link at the moment) that the ERCOT CEO Bill Magness and the board of directors held a [probably on-line] meeting on FEB 9, where the approaching weather/storm was an agenda item, and was discussed for a grand total of only forty (*40*) seconds [!!] during the Feb 9 meeting.
Five of the ERCOT directors, including the Chair and and vice-Chair, don’t/never even live/ed in-State, and another three of the present directors were serving in their same seats during the last (2011) TX cold-snap induced power outage (after which they appointed a ‘lessons learned’ follow-up study commission, and then did NOT adopt any of the commission’s winterization recommendations).
[Sounds like a real sh!tshow of rubber-stamping recycled bureaucrats and BS-ing lawyers on that ERCOT board.]
https://www.kxan.com/investigations/5-ercot-board-members-dont-live-in-texas-one-from-canada/
https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/16/ercot-board-under-fire-texas-five-out-state-members/6768919002/
And as to your assumptions of inadequate reserve power capacity in TX, from what I have read, there is plenty of endogenously produced reserve capacity in the TX system—enough to keep the entire state comfortably air-conditioned for 8+ months out of the year.
What happened appears to be a domino-effect collapse of the entire TX system, and if Texas had been tied into the [decrepit] national grid (also run by many the same inbred/incestuous stock of seat-warming incompetent rubber-stampers as those apparently on the ERCOT leadership/ board), the collapse might just as likely could have propagated in a wave of collapse throughout the entire tied-in system.
https://patriotrising.com/the-temporary-collapse-of-texas-is-foreshadowing-the-total-collapse-of-the-united-states/

Posted by: gm | Feb 21 2021 16:55 utc | 274

Posted by: gm | Feb 21 2021 16:55 utc | 276
Forgive me if I’m misinterpreting your comment, but if I’m reading it right you’re literally 180 degrees from the truth and 100% wrong. In fact, IF 90% of Texas had been tied into the other regional grids (Western and Eastern Interconnects), then there would have been few blackouts and they would have lasted minutes, not hours. This is borne out by the very reality of El Paso, Beaumont and other towns in the panhandle that are not part of ERCOT’s grid.
This was a GOP legislated, deregulation-based failure of epic proportions in the state that you correctly cite as being potentially energy independent because of a once in a DECADE freeze and incentivized refusal to winterize their equipment.
https://news.yahoo.com/parts-texas-not-ercot-power-080159059.html
Texas == Fail. Period. Now will the rest of the states let those idiots secede (after the Texas GOP has received $4Bn in federal aid)? I hope they do and I’m from Texas. Time for them to learn their lesson. Federal regulations and a lower profit motive protected El Paso and Beaumont. Profiteering, lobbying and conservative GOP politics caused many of my relatives to be plunged into darkness for DAYS in sub 20 degree F temperatures. There are pictures of Texas towns and grocery stores that I could swear I’ve seen the US corporate illiberal media pushing every day about Venezuela, Iran, Russia and Cuba.
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2021/02/photos-extreme-winter-weather-and-power-outages-texas/618059/
But here’s another thing still…..Is California “dunking” on Texas like Texas Republicans did to California when they had rolling BROWNouts a few summers ago? Also, where’s John Cornyn? Missing in action, probably in Cancun where Teddy F-Lyin Cruz had to cut his trip short.
https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/wheres-john-cornyn-twitter-users-theorize-texas-senators-location-in-wake-of-winter-storms/

Posted by: _K_C_ | Feb 22 2021 6:41 utc | 276

To gm and whoever else might still be reading, I apologize for the formatting shitshow I just added above. No idea how that stuff ended up on block quotes. Hopefully y’all (that’s the Texan in me) can still make sense of it.
P.S. to gm – I appreciate your consistent civility even though I often think you’re posting sources and ideas that are disingenuous in nature. You’re a good guy in my book, even though we disagree on a lot, for example that the election was not, in fact, stolen. At least not in November, LOL.

Posted by: _K_C_ | Feb 22 2021 6:50 utc | 278

gm #276

What happened appears to be a domino-effect collapse of the entire TX system, and if Texas had been tied into the [decrepit] national grid (also run by many the same inbred/incestuous stock of seat-warming incompetent rubber-stampers as those apparently on the ERCOT leadership/ board), the collapse might just as likely could have propagated in a wave of collapse throughout the entire tied-in system.

I just hope Rachel Maddow doesn’t read your post. We will never hear the end of it. She will work her febrile brain into a frenzy and claim this is proof that the Dulles brothers were right in their theory of the Russian/Chinese Communist inspired domino effect.
THAT would be too much, I would have to drink tequila yet again.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 22 2021 11:15 utc | 280

@_K_C_ | Feb 22 2021 6:47 utc | 279
RE: “It’s a straight up deception (lie) to call the other grids “decrepit” and your source is dead wrong.”
When I use that term to describe the US power grid hodge-podge, I do it based on personal experience.
I’ve lived mostly in the Midwest, also for a couple years in the mid-atlantic and New England seaboard regions.
I experienced the August 14 2003 NE Blackout cited above, where a tree falling on a power line in Ohio on a clear afternoon took out power to 50 million customers.
My local state privatized utility still has relatively inexpensive electric rates, mainly due to access to many natgas pipelines that crisscross the region, to fire gas turbine plants, and also access to cheap locally mined soft coal that still fires a few but dwindling # of large coal power plants within my state.
In spite of its affordability, our power is dropping out *all the time*, w/o warning, rhyme or reason, in any kind of/ no weather at all. The outages in our area have been so frequent and [during winter ice/wind storms, so damaging/long-lasting] that ~25% of our neighborhood now have installed those Generac-style home backup generator systems that run off natural gas or propane and come on automatically when an outage hits.
We have finally decided to bite the bullet and find the $6K+ to put one in too. But guess what? There is currently a 22 week backlog wait for US made (Kohler, Briggs & Stratton) units! Stable national grid? My hairy yellow butt it’s stable.
I’ve also lived for several years in Tokyo, INCLUDING during the time of the Great Northern Japan Earthquake/tsunami/Fukushima Disaster of March 2011.
In all my time there in Japan, during taifun, numerous magnitude 4-6 level earthquakes, even including during the Great earthquake where I watched 50 story Tokyo highrises wiggle and sway, and during the Fukushima meltdowns, over the next few days, while 40+ nuke power reactors were being SCRAM-ed or dropping off-grid, the power was somehow maintained and barely flickered in residences in Tokyo and the cities not directly hit by the tsunami.
Now THAT is what I think of as a stable power grid.

Posted by: gm | Feb 22 2021 13:23 utc | 282

@Smith #88:

Putin is speaking to Zyuganov, a communist.
It would be hard for a communist to defend privatization of ANYTHING, let alone for the “sake of privatization”. In your mind, what is honestly an industry that can be privatized AND be made to serve the people better?

Off the top of my head—grocery stores and restaurants/cafes.

This is not even ideological purism, this is just nonsense and confirms that, even in flowery speech, Putin is a gatekeeper.

A gatekeeper of what? Putin does not claim to be a communist. How can he be a gatekeeper of it? You should read definitions of words before using them.

As usual, I would refrain people from trusting speeches, but rather compare the data, how many hospitals, how many highways, how many schools, how much russian wages have increased this year compared to the last.
Actions matter, not words.

Real wages in Russia increased by 2.5 percent in 2020 (RIA Novosti, February 18, 2021 — machine translation)

Posted by: S | Feb 22 2021 23:27 utc | 284