My notebook: 6–27–22
Factoids, ideas, thoughts, predictions
Not all facts, ideas, and arguments are created equal. Here are the items from my reading that impressed me most yesterday, along with my thoughts and predictions.
The Alito opinion overturning Roe v. Wade
I’m going to review the opinion here in my notes, one paragraph at a time. Here is the first paragraph…
Paragraph 1: Abortion presents a profound moral issue on which Americans hold sharply conflicting views. Some believe fervently that a human person comes into being at conception and that abortion ends an innocent life. Others feel just as strongly that any regulation of abortion invades a woman’s right to control her own body and prevents women from achieving full equality. Still others in a third group think that abortion should be allowed under some but not all circumstances, and those within this group hold a variety of views about the particular restrictions that should be imposed.
Yep. But nothing about the Constitution yet. More in my next installment.
Net-zero carbon
My last notebook entry predicted that France would be the first to reach net-zero carbon because of their devotion to nuclear power. The infographic used above suggests that Brazil might get there first, based on their heavy use of hydropower.
Alas, I am not a fan of hydropower. I am a laizzes faire environmentalist. I want all the rivers to run free. I want to tear out all the dams and all the Army Corp of Engineers’ flood controls and stop subsidizing people to live in flood plains via tax-funded flood insurance and disaster relief. Plus, hydro opportunities are much more limited than nuclear is.
Thank you to the excellent Refutations to Anti-nuclear Memes for the infographic.
High-leverage concepts
It seems obvious to me that not all facts, ideas, and arguments are created equal. Some are more important and potent than others. Nuclear power is definitely one of those important and potent ideas. That’s why it will appear in my notebook very often.
- If you want to end air pollution you need nuclear power.
- If you want a net-zero carbon economy then you need nuclear power.
- If you want to stop creating a hundred million tons of toxic coal ash each year then you need nuclear power.
- If you don’t want to clog landfills with old solar panels and wind turbines then you need nuclear power.
- If you want to reduce the waste from energy production to the lowest level possible, then you need nuclear power. If all power generation were nuclear the amount of waste created per person per year would be the size of an aspirin, as opposed to the 329 pounds of ash and other poisons we are each responsible for each year. (From “The Health Hazards of Not Going Nuclear” by Petr Beckman, page91.)
- If you want to rip out the dams and let the rivers run free then you need nuclear power.
- If you want abundant water through desalination then you need nuclear power.
- If you want to replace internal combustion vehicles with electric vehicles then you need nuclear power.
Asteroid mining is another high-leverage concept
- If you want a limitless abundant future without tearing up the earth then we need asteroid mining.
- If you want to move polluting industries off-planet then you need asteroid mining.
I will be making notes about this subject too as new information becomes available.
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