The transparency of energy: where does our power come from?

The HyWy and I watched part of a documentary on coal power plants in America, specifically in Appalachia, called Burning the Future: Coal In America.  One part of the energy market that the documentary really made me think about is where does our power come from?  Almost 45% of the total power generated in the US comes from coal according to the Department of Energy.  As awareness about the environmental impact of various power generation methods grows so does the desire to have the power plants far from our homes.  At some point it becomes a case of out of sight out of mind, because for those of us living in the major cities we are simply not confronted with massive power plants in our daily lives.  I think there needs to be a level of transparency in the energy markets, which would allow consumers to understand the true source of our energy.  As consumers the strongest tool we yield is our ability to curtail or cut our consumption, particularly during peak consumption periods.  In the middle of summer when everyone is turning on their air conditioners and the primary power plants are at their capacity the additional power plants that are often brought on just for that one day are usually coal power plants.  Not only are they coal power plants, but they are aging inefficient coal power plants.  If there was greater transparency to promote awareness of where our power came from and greater public awareness of these peak power plants it might encourage people to control their usage.  I understand that the specific data about what power plant feeds what area is sensitive information for the stability of our infrastructure, but some general information would be immensely helpful.  Imagine if you got your power bill and it said that your breakdown was: 30% from coal, 40% from nuclear, 30% from solar, and 10% extra during peak periods from coal peak plants.  This might spur people to direct their protests at the appropriate industry, it could inspire them to curb their consumption, and it might go so far as inspiring people to make their homes more efficient.  

The paradox of success

We saw a very interesting movie, The Fighter, last night and it made me think about the paradox of success.  The core of the story was around the rise of boxer near the end of his career.  The movie is based on a true story and the boxer's brother is the one training him.  The boxer's brother, Dickey, lives his life based on the single greatest success in his life, when he defeated Sugar Ray Leonard.  Of course a victory like that is a major milestone in someone's life, but it shouldn't be what defines them.  Naturally this is easy for me to say, because I don't have something that consider to be a defining moment in my life that is unique.  However, it was interesting to see how 15 years after that moment Dickey continued to relive it and in doing so let it consume him.  I have read about people who get equally absorbed in a major failure and how it redefines who they are.  To some extent this is what happens with winners of mega jackpot lotteries.  So the title of this post refers to the paradox that comes with success as one's major success has the potential to ultimately undo them if they don't find a way to keep it in perspective and under control.  Keep in mind that I'm not suggesting that every successful person experiences this type of paradox, but just that it is present in the shadows of success. 

The first post of the new year

As the HyWy and I were driving home this evening she pointed out something that I had never thought about: the purpose of New Year's celebration.  It seems obvious, but why celebrate the new year?  I'm not trying to rain on people's parade, but just trying to understand this a little more.  The HyWy had a more philosophical point, which hopefully she can elaborate on or correct me on in the comments.  However, I think her point was that the Western calender is not particularly rooted in any cosmic change (like the Lunar calender) so what is the significance of January 1?  We both also agreed that if it wasn't for the presence of calenders then the passage of time would be minimally focused on.  By demarcating a single day as the end of one measure of time and the start of another we also create an idea of past and future, which leads people to look to the future and look back upon the past.  I have read articles about rural tribal cultures, which have no measure of time beyond the sunrise and sunset so when meeting someone they just wait at the appointed location (which sometimes works out to be several days).  The mere idea of waiting at a location for someone for more than 1 hour is near appalling to most of us.  Anyways back to my original point, which is in our current calender where did the significance of January 1 come from?  My research has led me to conclude that January 1 was decreed the start of a new year during the rule of Caesar and the Romans.  There are two reasons as I understand it: one corresponds to first day consuls would enter office and the second says that Caesar felt the start of the year should be in the month of January, which is named after the Roman god Janus.  Janus, the god of doors and gates, had two faces, one facing forward and the other backward, and thus would be symbolic as we 'enter' a new year.  Interestingly during the Middle Ages it seems that the start of the year corresponded to a major Christian date (birth of Christ, Easter, etc.), but William the Conqueror moved the date back to January 1.  Ultimately the Gregorian calender was adopted by decree of Pope Gregory XIII (hence the name) and that differs slightly from the Julian Calender (of Julius Caesar, hence that name), but the both agree on the start of the year. 

So after that slightly abbreviated history lesson I find it interesting that we celebrate a day, which is an arbitrary assignment for the start of the year to correspond with government officials taking their offices 2000+ years ago, a god in an ancient religion that is no longer practiced, and without any true significance to modern society.