29 May 2019
Question: According to MSN: News: Are most people in jail convicted of felonies or misdemeanors?
Betting on a ‘water battery’ – Pg. 7
– Pumped hydro is a century-old technology, which provides about 95% of worldwide energy storage linked to electricity grid systems
– It works by using excess or cheap power at off-peak times to pump water into raised water basins, from where it can be released to generate electricity when demand and prices are highest. The need for storage is expected to accelerate massively with the greater use of renewables – and while there has been a lot of hope surrounding lithium batteries, pumped hydro is expected to remain the back-bone of the renewables revolution
– Just over a fifth of Australia’s electricity is now generated by renewables
– Over the past two years it has deployed wind and solar generation up to five times faster than the US, China or the EU on a per capita basis
– In the 1960s and 1970s, pumped hydro was typically deployed by publicly-owned utilities alongside nuclear or coal power stations, which provided low-cost electricity to pump water up hills at night during off-peak periods that could then be used when consumer demand spiked. But as companies deploy wind and solar energy on to national grids pumped storage is enjoying a renaissance as a means to help stabilize electricity systems
– Lithium-ion batteries, can, however respond to outages within milliseconds and are ideal for preventing the outages seen in 2017
Charities reap huge Bezos windfall – Pg. 11
– The Giving Pledge was started by Mr Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates in 2010, and each year they invite more wealthy individuals to join
– Mr Harding said that he and his wife Claudia did not wish to pass on their “unexpected level of wealth” to their children, saying, “Our admiration for our ideals and aims of the pledgers has thus made it easy for us to sign up”
– (Prof Note: In physics there is no such thing as perpetual motion. There is drag and inefficiencies that prevent perpetual motion. In finance there is not just perpetual motion but, what I call, growing acceleration. It is possible to accumulate more than one can spend and have it grow at an increasing rate. Great article here when I get time…)
Norway pension fund drops drink and gaming investments in ‘sin stock’ purge – Pg. 19
– Norway’s largest pension fund will divest from companies that rely on alcohol and gaming ot drive sales in a push to purge its portfolio of so-called sin stocks
– The decision follows moves by other large institutional investors to scrutinize more closely environmental, social impact and governance standards in their portfolios
Answer: Neither! Most are awaiting trial!