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California issues first rolling blackouts since 2001

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Re: California issues first rolling blackouts since 2001

#141

Post by mperham »

donw wrote: post #138
roughly wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is because one of our two political parties doesn’t believe that government spending should exist, and is iffy about the concept of government overall. Because of that, the only body able to respond to crises is the Federal Reserve, and the only lever they have is the money supply. We’ve had multiple trillion dollars worth of infrastructure repairs we need to do and nearly sub-zero borrowing rates for the last d…

The GOP has no power in California, though, and that’s been true for over a decade.

California can't print more money, the Fed can.

Re: California issues first rolling blackouts since 2001

#142

Post by mperham »

jeffbee wrote: post #137
jonny_eh wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lost power but don’t have a Tesla. Your tip doesn’t help me.

If you had one, your individual choice would not prevent your particular electric service from going out, so no big deal. It would be neat if the utilities had the ability to selectively shed car chargers, clothes dryers, and suchlike loads. I imagine they have to make the choice at a much more coarse level, like at a distribution substation.

V2G is very much designed for this scenario: electric cars effectively become a very large battery farm for the grid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle-to-grid

Re: California issues first rolling blackouts since 2001

#143

Post by adrr »

scarface74 wrote: post #134
nemo44x wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a huge state with a lot of people with a massive heatwave covering a lot of it. It’s easy to rag on California lately but it’s still American’s living there and I feel bad for them.

What makes California different than Texas? I don’t have a dog in the fight, I live on the east coast.

This is just a guess. Most housing built after 2000 have AC units but our weather tends to be mild so people don't run it normally. Heatwave is causing everyone to flip on their ACs. Also in the middle summer, hydropower i would guess is at its lowest output. Also noticed a lack of a breeze at the beach today which would be affecting wind power if there wasn't significant air movement.

Re: California issues first rolling blackouts since 2001

#144

Post by nradov »

heavyset_go wrote: post #58
ed25519FUUU wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Healthcare costs are up, but you don’t have to worry about dying from a scraped knee. This is by far the greatest era to be alive. Anyone telling you otherwise is selling you something.

> Healthcare costs are up, but you don’t have to worry about dying from a scraped knee. As an American, you just need to worry about dying from incredibly common and treatable diseases like cancer, heart disease or diabetes due to lack of treatment. If you show up to an emergency room without insurance or ability to pay and expect chemo or a supply of insulin or blood pressure medication, you're out of luck. My grand…

The US is at or near the top for cancer 5 year survival rates.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/cancer-su...

Re: California issues first rolling blackouts since 2001

#146

Post by throw0101a »

cipher_system wrote: post #10

I wish the massive financial bailout money could be used to build and improve infrastructure. There doesn't seem to be a lack of money but it never seem to do anything useful.

> […] could be used to build and improve infrastructure.

But what about Infrastructure Week?

* https://www.npr.org/2018/05/15/611389675/why-its-infrastruct...

* https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/23/politics/donald-trump-infrast...

* https://theweek.com/articles/839005/all-infrastructure-weeks...

/s

> There doesn't seem to be a lack of money but it never seem to do anything useful.

Well, at the federal level, there are two chambers of Congress and the Executive. Given that there's an election coming up in November, you may wish to do vote for the folks that you best think will change the situation.

Re: California issues first rolling blackouts since 2001

#147

Post by jlmorton »

cipher_system wrote: post #10

I wish the massive financial bailout money could be used to build and improve infrastructure. There doesn't seem to be a lack of money but it never seem to do anything useful.

Much of the bailouts you're speaking of are loans, not grants. The very large exception is the Paycheck Protection Program, which will in most cases become grants to small businesses.

Given the need to institute social distancing, this is the only thing which is keeping hundreds of thousands of small businesses alive. Without the PPP, and other loans to large businesses, we would be seeing tens of millions of permanent job losses.

Much of this money was not spent, it was loaned. And without it the lasting economic effects would have been catastrophic.

I too would like to see additional spending on infrastructure, and I think we can afford it, but I find myself frustrated to see it framed as bailout vs. infrastructure. These financial lifelines are meant to keep our economy treading water while we necessarily social distance. They're not to save corporations from excessive speculation.

Re: California issues first rolling blackouts since 2001

#148

Post by dmode »

lisper wrote: post #2

The entire U.S. is feeling more and more like a third-world country. Corrupt government. Unreliable and deteriorating infrastructure. Extreme poverty (I recently learned that 30% of houses on Indian reservations don't have running water). Marginalization or even outright vilification of intellectuals. 75 years ago we saved the world from fascism. Who is going to save us from ourselves? :-(

Indian reservations are truly in horrific condition. I have spent many days in Navajo nation during my time in Arizona and it reminds of developing countries

Re: California issues first rolling blackouts since 2001

#150

Post by khuey »

jeffbee wrote: post #137
jonny_eh wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lost power but don’t have a Tesla. Your tip doesn’t help me.

If you had one, your individual choice would not prevent your particular electric service from going out, so no big deal. It would be neat if the utilities had the ability to selectively shed car chargers, clothes dryers, and suchlike loads. I imagine they have to make the choice at a much more coarse level, like at a distribution substation.

Residential air conditioners are usually the largest "peaky" electrical demand and most utilities have a program where they'll give you discounts in exchange for being able to remotely turn off your air conditioner occasionally.
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