Michigan has small deposits of coal, although many of our coal deposits are in thin seams, and not economically valuable for that reason.
The swamp forests of the Pennsylvanian stored many forms of usable wealth. The sands at the bottom of the swamp, now hardened into the Parma sandstone, are a prominent reservoir for fresh water in central Michigan counties; in a small area natural gas has been obtained from it. The trees of the forest died, were buried, and became the coal of the Saginaw valley, Grand Ledge, Shiawassee, Ingham, and Jackson counties. The coal is a bit difficult to use in the ordinary furnace, but with the proper type furnace and proper firing methods, it burns well.
What was the Pennsylvanian environment, during which these coal deposits formed, like? Slow, gentle crustal movements caused the Mississippian seas to almost retreat from Michigan, leaving a shallow pool in the central part of the basin and cut off from the outside sea. The time was the Pennsylvanian, the last 45 million years of the Carboniferous, and the time of the great coal swamps. Sedimentation was partly marine, partly fresh or brackish water in swamps. A layer of sparkling sand was first spread over the last Mississippian limestone and above this in the shallow waters a luxuriant swamp forest flourished --- but the trees were quite unlike our modern trees. They were giant fern trees, ground pines, and horsetail rushes that grew to 10 meters or more in height. No birds or butterflies or flowers were there, but dark loathsome amphibians and the earliest known reptiles crawled in the muds; giant scorpions and dragonflies flew about. The climate was warm and moist. The swamp vegetation died and fell to the swamp floor, layer upon layer of plant remains accumulated, changed to peat, were buried under a blanket of dark muds which slow streams brought from forest covered lands. Thus protected from oxygen, they have become the coal beds and shales of the central counties.
There may be “no collusion” between individuals with disabilities ♿ and the oil industry, but the big oil companies, that are depending on an ever expanding amount of disposable plastics to sell their product, 🛢are leaning on disabled people to make the case against corporations voluntary dropping the use of plastic straws in their products.
Useful idiots aren’t bad people per se, but they have their own interests hijacked by other special interests to propagandize their ideas. They are called useful idiots, because the policies they are advocating could be done in a cheaper way that doesn’t benefit those exploiting them.
Plastic straws are inexpensive — if person with a disability need them, they could bring them along in their bag. 👜 Reusable ones are a great alternative to disposable ones. Or restaurants could also offer them just upon request. It’s not expensive or difficult to have 10 of them in a cabinet for that one time a year they are requested. It’s a lot less waste then giving them out to every patron. But just because some people have disabilities, there is no reason for every restaurant to offer every patron a plastic straw even when they don’t need one.
I am sure many people in disabilities community, feel awful about being taken advantage of by the big oil companies. 😠But those in disabilities communities that do the propagandizing for big oil should be called out, 📢 and explained to why their actions are morally wrong.
Been investigating capacity factors for solar farms in New York. The math isn’t hard, as you just have to get production data from the Electricity data browser, divided by the number of hours in a month, and then by the nameplate capacity of the power plant.
For example, for DG Bethlehem Solar West at Selkirk Railyard is a 1,000 kW nameplate industrial solar facility, but in reality the output is far below nameplate as there is night time, clouds, and snow. This facility has a capacity factor of 18.7% or about 187 kW average output. But the capacity factor rises to closer to 30% during the June and July but falls to around 8% in December and January.
A comparison could be made to PSEG Bethlehem Energy Center, a natural gas plant with a nameplate capacity of 893,100 kW nameplate with a capacity factor of 69.2% or an average output of 580,731 kW. This could be higher, but it’s a mid-market plant so they shut it down or run it at reduced output during times of low-energy demand.
To generate as much electricity PSEG Bethlehem Energy Center over the April 2016 – December 2019 time period, it would have taken 3,100 industrial solar facilities the size of DG Bethlehem Solar West.
I think it's worthwhile to at least review some of the meetings and materials of the Climate Action Council to get a better idea of the future of the state. While certainly these materials -- largely generated by idealists with no real power -- are just brainstorming sessions, the state may have dropped hints on how they plan to use political power to change the face of the state. After all, the works of the Temporary Commission on the Future of Albany, along with planning document "Albany - A Plan for the Capital City 1963" has proven to be a powerful roadmap in understanding on what has happened to Albany in the coming years.
