Ehlana and Ethan:
We’re really noticing the difference between here and where Cassie and Michael are working and playing in Myanmar; and yes – that has everything to do with the weather and the high temperatures there and the below-freezing temps here! Cassie and Michael have already started their Tuesday work as we’re writing this update, and they are working hard along with the cameo sightseeing and play moments, but they are getting to do all of that while sunny and warm; so we can’t exactly feel bad for them!
Here at home, we stayed indoors as much as possible. That included for Tai Chi this morning; while we were at school; during the lab or archives play-work after school; and our evening of office work and a Magi lesson with Mom and Dad. The cold convinced us to add in bath or Jacuzzi time even though we have been warm and indoors; and now we’re winding down toward nap time after a very long day – especially when you add in a half-dozen bonus hours of work that we fit in thanks to some time phasing at the lab and home.
While we’ve been happy to hide from the winter freeze here at home; it continues to be a top news story around the country. Problems range from power outages and energy challenges due to the storms and extreme cold; the post-storm clean-up that ranges from clearing roads to roof collapses caused by the heavy snow and ice. We won’t try to cover all of those stories, since there are thousands of them, but we do want to mention a couple of infrastructure-related stories.
First up, we note that green energy proponents are not screaming in protest today while coal and gas and oil fueled electricity generation is the only thing saving the south and east from blackouts as grids are stressed by record demands for heating. Limits for emissions output have been suspended during the emergencies in many States; and that is still currently the only way to ramp up production of electricity; since nuclear can’t do that either for emergencies – and let’s not even get into what happens with solar when the panels get covered by heavy snow and ice! For the record, our solar-wind farm knows how to deal with weather; and our equipment can handle the cold and snow – which is proved by the fact that we are currently producing more electricity into the grid than we are using in the region even just a day after the storm went through here! Don’t take that the wrong way, since we do still rely on the grid and other power generation too, but we also have other options for heating in the winter too – like fireplaces and wood stoves in enough homes to reduce risks of overloading our local systems.
The other story we wanted to mention is the issue of natural gas freeze-offs – and that is both a national and international story; since production and distribution is being affected when demand is hitting peaks due to the storms and deep freeze. Natural gas freeze-offs happen when well heads and other system connections freeze in the deep cold and block the flow of the gas. That isn’t just a problem for getting natural gas into homes – it affects everything from the wells extracting the gas to keeping gas flowing into those electricity-generating power plants. This is also an international issue now that so much of our liquid natural gas production is being sent to supply Europe, and while that takes time to work through the transportation system; a week of reduced production capacity now will affect deliveries to Europe in a few weeks or month. The European countries might be regretting their choices to stop using Russian natural gas and oil for more reasons soon than the much-higher costs they’ve been paying to replace that resource with ‘our’ alternative!
Winter is not going well in Ukraine; the frontlines are a horror for their soldiers; and Russia continues with bombs, drones, and missile strikes pretty much at-will anywhere in the country. There is no or limited power and hit in many of the cities in Ukraine; and they really need to make whatever deal they are forced to accept with Russia before there is nothing left of the country to save and rebuild! Attacks on Iran are still expected more than not; that is a terrible idea for our country – and for Israel; and we’ll be sarcastic and suggest that our leaders will go that route because they believe they can do whatever they want with no true consequences. Ditto that for the Palestinians – though there isn’t really anything new out of the council of peace – or Board of Peace as it now seems to be getting branded. Maybe that’s more-accurate if joining the board really does cost a billion dollars per member! Denmark and Greenland might be in trouble since they aren’t just going along with the supposed ‘deal’ to give the United States sovereignty over land it takes for military bases in Greenland; and the ‘new’ Venezuelan government and acting President has started pushing back against American demands too. Maybe another round of political leader kidnappings is in order in both places! Yes, that was definitely sarcasm; so we should likely just wrap this up and get some sleep.
Before we do that, Ethan wants me to mention the NFL conference championship football games from Sunday that the guys talked about today. Consider that done, but I really don’t care that the Patriots and Seahawks won and will play in the Super Bowl – or that the Chiefs and Rams lost yesterday and are out! The highlights we saw from those games weren’t really impressive; and the three or four point victories certainly weren’t decisive – particularly for the ten-to-seven final score where the weather appeared to best both teams! ;^)
Okay, I’m ready to sleep now thanks to that snooze of a football recap; so we’re out of here and off to dreamland!
Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!
