From Worldometer (new COVID-19 deaths yesterday):
DAY USA WORLD Brazil India South Africa
June 9 1093 4732 1185 246 82
July 22 1205 7128 1293 1120 572
Aug 12 1504 6556 1242 835 130
Sept 9 1208 6222 1136 1168 82
Oct 21 1225 6849 571 703 85
Nov 25 2304 12025 620 518 118
Dec 30 3880 14748 1224 299 465
Jan 14 4142 15512 1151 189 712
Feb 3 4005 14265 1209 107 398
Mar 2 1989 9490 1726 110 194
April 6 906 11787 4211 631 37
May 4 853 13667 3025 3786 59
June 1 287 10637 2346 3205 95
July 7 251 8440 1595 817 411
Aug 4 656 10120 1118 532 423
Sept 22 2228 9326 839 279 124
Oct 6 2102 8255 543 315 59
Nov 3 1436 7830 186 458 23
Dec 1 1633 8475 266 477 28
Jan 7 2025 6729 148 285 140
Feb 2 2990 12012 946 991 175
Mar 2 1778 7756 335 173 28
Apr 1 439 4056 290 52 12
May 5 225 2404 151 ? 64
June 2 216 1413 130 10 31
July 7 320 1958 297 38 9
14 231 1721 292 47 8
21 367 2063 351 45 4
27 397 2326 308 44 5
28 260 2088 276 47 10
Aug 2 363 2047 271 47 ?
Summary:
- Nothing much has changed from last week.
- New cases yesterday (with new cases/million population in the parentheses)
- #1 Japan 167,678 (1331)
- #2 S. Korea 111,700 (2173)
- #3 Germany 87,681 (1040)
- #4 Italy 65,196 (1083)
- #5 USA 61,162 (183)
- #9 Taiwan 23,529 (980)
- #12 Singapore 10,230 (1734)
- #16 New Zealand 7382 (1476)
- #40 Thailand 1843 (26)
- #55 UAE 1032 (103)
- #83 China 107 (0.07)
- I especially included countries on our Fall trip.
- Not sure when we were that low in ranking. Note, though, that we had an infection rate around 1/12 that of S. Korea.
- As terrible as the COVID situation is in S. Korea, tourists are allowed, but need to show a negative test within 2 days of entering.
- No mandatory quarantine.
- Additionally must test negative within 24 hours of arrival.
- Of those countries above, Singapore had the second highest new cases/million rate. However, tourists remain welcome, after showing proof of vaccination. No negative test requirement.
- Japan allows visitors on organized tours, but only a very few are coming.
- Tour companies are super cautious.
- No sign of possible relaxation for solo travelers.
- Okinawa has been the worst stricken prefecture for many weeks. They are these days daily suffering at around 2500 new cases/million, which is worse than even South Korea.
- Hawaii is among the worst U.S. states, but we are ten times lower in new cases/million than Okinawa.
- Notice that China, #83 in new cases/million with a rate of 0.07, is almost 3000 times lower than the USA. The USA is open to anyone. China is the most isolated, preventing entrance of foreigners. So don't think of going there any time soon.
The primaries yesterday insured for the continued control of Congress by Democrats. A lot of Trump-supported victories and the spark of how important the abortion issue will be on November 8. Tomorrow, why Republicans won't have the tsunami they were expecting.
I was contemplating on my professional past and realized that I have had no experience in fossil fuels and fission energy. These two provide nearly 88% of the energy used in the country today.
- Sixty years ago my first job was in biomass engineering. Well, it was an engineer in a sugar cane processing factory.
- Then when I started my University of Hawaii career, I suddenly found myself growing marine algae in a raceway, with carbon dioxide from a generator to mimic the effectiveness of this option to combat climate warming, while producing a biofuel.
- Immediately came the energy crisis of 1973 when I also became part of the Hawaii Geothermal Project.
- Then for the next few years I had summer assignments at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on laser fusion.
- In 1979 I was part of the congressional staff team that marshaled the first wind energy bill, and I drafted legislation on OTEC and hydrogen that became law.
- Returning to the University of Hawaii in 1982 I also ventured into solar photovoltaics, plus methanol and electric vehicles.
- I led teams in macrobiotechnology and algology.
- But no oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear fission on my record.
Maybe because of my lack of knowledge, I was surprised by some of the microdots of information below from the energy media. While the biggest shocks are with the fossil fuels, there are others.
So to begin, Honolulu will be shutting down it's dirtiest power plant on September 1, the AES 203 megawatt coal-fired facility after 30 years of service. With this comes the end of coal in Hawaii. The plant now provides 11% of our island electricity with coal from Indonesia.
From Time magazine:
- So is the world quickly shedding coal for electricity? Nope. Last year, the global generation of power from COAL was at an all-time high!
- If that is not bad enough, the generation this year will be even more.
- Coal-fired electrical generation accounts for about 30% of all global carbon dioxide emissions.
China is terrible, where the growth was 9%.- India was worse at 12%.
- Of course, the USA and EU are good citizens and are quickly shifting to the renewables, right? Not at all! The COAL jump since 2020 is almost 20%!!! We are double the villains of China and India.
- Can you believe that, as tarnished as China's reputation is regarding coal, their per capita emission is half of the USA?
- India set a net zero goal for 2070, and will produce more renewable energy electricity than the current capacity of their grid by 2030.
- China is expected to account for 43% of all new renewable energy capacity over the next five years!
Here is the latest from ENERGY MATTERS by the American Energy Society.
- During the past year the average price of natural gas has nearly doubled.
- A year ago the price of WTI crude was $71/barrel. Today, $91/barrel, a 28% increase. Actually, Brent and Murban crude were at $97/barrel, so the increase is a bit higher than that.
- In 2021, global coal-fired power set an all-time record of 10,244 terawatt-hours, which will be shattered this year
- This publication said that 70% of the growth will come from China and India.
- Further, the U.S. will reduce coal use 5%.
- This is the problem with statistics. You can turn them into your favor or not. Both Time and the American Energy Society said the same thing, in a manner that confuses the issue.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz supports keeping nuclear plants in operation. There is, after all, that Ukraine War and problem with Russia's supply of natural gas.- Popular support for nuclear power in the USA is at an all-time high. California is getting ready to keep Diablo Canyon's nuclear reactor in service by providing funds.
- These are the countries most reliant on nuclear power. Must only include Europe, for the USA is not shown, for we are at 19%, which is 1% less than from renewables.
- Total worldwide offshore windpower capacity = 35,300 megawatts. With UK at 29% share China 28% and Germany 22%. The 1200 MW Hornsea Project of the UK is the largest. Here is where offshore windpower looks good...the dark redder the better.
- Heatwaves:
- Southern Europe: wildfires from Portugal to the Balkans have forced evacuation of villages.
- China: heat and flooding are forcing masses of people to relocate ... and a museum roof melted. Portions of the country are facing unprecedented temperatures.
- Northern India: In May, temperatures reached 49°C (120°F), a record that has been broken many times since.
- The heat wave in Japan is its worst on record (in terms of heat, intentsity and duration).
- Texas: Extreme high temperatures are straining ERCOT. What is ERCOT? I think Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
The status of the monarch butterfly has been reclassified...from ENDANGERED to EDGE OF COLLAPSE, for the population has declined by 99.9% from 1981. Nothing much to do with global warming, but a crisis.
Communities that replace dark surfaces — like streets, rooftops, playgrounds and parking lots — with lighter and cooler alternatives can lower "heat island" temperatures by 5°F, and the overall total can feel up to 15°F cooler.
- We just passed that mark,: July 28th is Earth Overshoot Day, the date each year when humanity has used all the biological resources that Earth regenerates during that year. In 2021, Earth Overshoot Day was July 29th.
Valero Energy Corp, Marathon Petroleum Corp. and Phillips 66, the three largest independent refiners in the U.S., will set all-time cash records for the third quarter of this year.- Because the value of the Yen has dropped, the price of oil this year shows an increase of 70% in Japan. The USA? Only +40%.
Bad enough that there is a lot of methane leaking out of home appliances, but recent research has detected 21 toxins/carcinogens like benzene and hexane from natural gas. However, this risk is less than from secondhand smoke from cigarettes.- People in Texas might not realize it until they see their electricity bill, but the price instantly jumped for short periods up to $4/kWh this summer. The usual price is from 4 cents to 7 cents / kWh. Hawaii is as bad as it gets with a range of 30 cents to 40 cents/kWh.
- Think you're having a hot summer in Phoenix? Be thankful that you can remain comfortable. The annual per capita income in India is about 91,000 rupees ($1183). The average cost of an air conditioner (that is, the electricity cost) is about 22,000 rupees ($286)/year. That is about one-fourth of their annual income.
- I can go on and on....but enough is enough.
The beauty of mathematics:
Day 15 of Blood Lily batch 1, Day 2 of BL2 and BL 3/4 on lanai:
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