Monday, October 12, 2009

"SCILLY"-NESS

From Best of the Web (scroll down):

"A world-first experiment to try and reduce energy use for the day on the Isles of Scilly was foiled after a turn in the weather caused participants to use more electricity," London's Daily Telegraph reports.

In the day-long experiment, Scilly people were asked to follow "a series of guidelines including switching off unnecessary lights and TVs when not in use and only filling kettles with the exact amount of water required." Result: Energy use dropped, but by only 1%.

The reason: "Organiser Dr Matt Prescott said the experiment was undermined by bad weather--which saw people using more power than usual." The experiment might well have been a success had it been conducted a day earlier, when it was sunny and warm.

Which leads us to a thought. What if there were a way of changing the climate so that the weather was warmer all over the world? We realize this is probably unrealistic, but if it could be done, it would be a great way to save energy.
The link is here.

HELL IS DOWNWARD MOBILITY

Robert J. Samuelson thinks health care spending will threaten our children’s future living standards by squeezing their disposable income: “The road to downward mobility is paved with good intentions. The health debate has focused on insuring the uninsured and de-emphasized controlling runaway spending, much of which is ineffective.”

Hmm. Haven’t I seen this somewhere before?



Why, yes. Yes, I have.

A HINT OF FALL

Some pictures from the neighborhood ....








.... taken 12 October 2009

TIME FOR A REMINDER

First, federal spending:


Source: TaxProf.

Second, unemployment rate:


Source: Don Surber.

Third, projected deficit:


Source: Heritage Foundation.

Need more be said?