QUICK NEWS, February 17: HOW CLIMATE CHANGE IS AND IS NOT LIKE TERRORISM; WHY SUN IN THE SOUTHEAST ISN’T SHINING; THE COSTS FOR INSTALLING FASTER EV CHARGERS

HOW CLIMATE CHANGE IS AND IS NOT LIKE TERRORISM Why don't we treat climate change with the rigor we give to terror attacks? They’re both extreme hazards, but evolutionary responses favor real-time threats, not those that take place on an extended time scale

Ruth Greenspan Bell, 15 February 2016 (The Guardian)

"…[W]e still don’t treat climate change with the reverence we reserve for something like a terrorist attack…[Maybe it’s because evolutionary] responses favor real-time threats, not those that take place on an extended time scale…The challenge in moving more forcefully to stop the flow of greenhouse gases is that if you have to stop and think about whether a specific action or activity is threatening, that very process engages very different parts of the human brain, and not the ones that impel us to action…The hormones that flood through our bodies to provide increased strength and speed in anticipation of fighting or running won’t kick in when the threat is one that can only be understood through research and thought…One result: we only pay attention to climate change from time to time, and usually when it hits us in the face…But disaster rarely hits all humanity at the exact same time. And life goes on…The US supreme court’s recent insistence on looking through the lens of legal process…[and staying] implementation of the Clean Power Plan until the case is argued and decided isn’t fatal…But the time lost in climate terms cannot be made up…Climate change is relentless; human habit, Daniel Kahneman tells us, is oblivious. Bridging those two extremes is the central challenge…” click here for more

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WHY SUN IN THE SOUTHEAST ISN’T SHINING Why there aren't many rooftop solar panels in the South

Sophie Quinton, February 14, 2016 (Fredricksburg.com)

“… Sunny Southern states have plenty of solar energy potential, and utilities across the region have begun to build large solar projects as the technology’s price has dropped. But few homes and businesses sport solar panel systems largely because states in the region haven’t embraced policies that support a residential market… Utility companies say [rooftop] residential solar systems…cost them money because solar owners pay less in monthly electricity bills yet expect their utility to step in and deliver power whenever their system doesn’t. Solar advocates, on the other hand, say residential solar systems save utilities money by taking pressure off the electrical grid…[North Carolina’s environmental advocacy group NC WARN is challenging state regulators to legalize the third party ownership finance plan that has driven solar growth elsewhere. Only Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia] ban third-party power purchase agreements, according to the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center…[Utilities like Duke Energy], worried that they may be crowded out, are pushing back [with the claim it allows private parties] to set themselves up to be an electric utility…” click here for more

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THE COSTS FOR INSTALLING FASTER EV CHARGERS Installation Costs Of Electric Car Charging Stations By Type

Mark Kane, February 15, 2016 (Inside EVs)

“…[A U.S. Department of Energy comparison of installation costs for different types of charging stations in 2011 to 2013 shows] Blink DC fast chargers were installed at an average price $22,626, and the lowest registered cost was $8,500…[T]here is no data for 2015, but for sure it should be somewhat less expensive to install charging points as more places (and persons) are in the business of doing it…[The stations now] are significantly less expensive (some of them at lower power level even don’t need installation because they are equipped with a plug). The average person probably will also take care to keep costs to a minimum, much lower than companies engaged in public projects. If the location is difficult and requires a lot of work/parts/etc. the cost could surge…Results from this study show that DC fast charger installations were by far the most expensive, ranging…to $50,000 per installation, though it is important to note that the DC fast chargers installed had dual ports as opposed to the single port level 2 charging stations. The cost for public level 2 charger installations ranged from about $600 to $12,660. Residential installations had the lowest average installation cost with a mean of $1,354 though individual installation costs ranged from just a few hundred dollars to as much as $8,000…” click here for more

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