Wolf/ADM (2022) wants to run a CO2 pipeline through Peoria and Tazewell Counties, route a trunk line to Peoria’s BioUrja ethanol plant, and possibly inject CO2 into the Mt. Simon Basin extending beneath your counties. For an antidote to Wolf/ADM…
Author Archive for William Rau
Heat Waves in Red & Black: Melting Glaciers involve more than rising sea levels
by William Rau • • 0 Comments
Heat waves — in red & black | Danger zone: Will Greenland, West Antarctic ice sheets collapse?
by William Rau • • 1 Comment
Climate scientists lose sleep over tipping points, temperature thresholds when crossed initiate self-sustaining, irreversible, and massively-destructive changes in natural systems, such as glaciers and forests. Countless living things will face untimely and unnatural deaths if these systems collapse. New…
Heat Waves in Red & Black | SOO Green Line needs green light
by William Rau • • 0 Comments
Heat Waves — In Red and Black | State of our electricity shortage
by William Rau • • 0 Comments
Illinois once exported 40% of its electricity generation. Now, we must import electricity. Between 2007 and 2020, 44 Illinois coal plants closed (EIA) thus eliminating a sizeable fraction of our generation capacity. Another 12 coal plants may close by 2023.…
Heat Waves — In Red and Black | Forecast for rolling blackouts?
by William Rau • • 0 Comments
The ultimate just-in-time commodity, supply and demand for electricity must be immediately and precisely balanced. If a supply deficit can’t be closed rapidly, grid operators order round-robin shutoffs across all customers, i.e. “rolling blackouts” lasting hours to days depending on…
Heat Waves — In Red and Black | Emergency Management hiding behind wall of voodoo statistics
by William Rau • • 0 Comments
Heat Waves — In Red and Black | Illinois unprepared for killer heat
by William Rau • • 2 Comments
Deadly heat gets no respect. Natural hazards that count — tornadoes, floods, etc. — are property-destroying traumas. Homeowners, public infrastructure, and insurance companies all take big hits. The Great Flood of 1993, for example, destroyed 24,000 Illinois homes and 884,000…
Heat Waves — In Red and Black | The Grid-AC Conundrum
by William Rau • • 0 Comments
A climate crisis conundrum involves heatwaves, air conditioners, and blackouts. Air conditioning saves lives during heatwaves, but soaring AC demand can crash the grid and claim lives. Today, the top 20% of peak electricity demand involves the hottest 200 hours…
Heat Waves — In Red and Black | Demand Flexibility vs. Murphy’s Climate Law
by William Rau • • 0 Comments
Murphy’s Law, “If anything can go wrong, it will,” merits climate crisis amplification: If two things can go wrong simultaneously, they will. And they have via electricity blackouts due to extreme weather. Examples: California in August 2020, and Texas in…