In 2020, renewable energy sources exceed coal and nuclear plants in producing the most electricity, with only natural gas providing a greater share of electricity generation.
Together, wind, hydroelectric, solar, biomass, and geothermal energy generated a record 834 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, or about 21 percent of all the electricity generated in the United States. The increase is mostly due to the United States using significantly less coal for electricity generation and steadily more use of wind and solar.
While the use of coal declined 20 percent from 2019, renewables increased by 9 percent. Wind, currently the most prevalent source of renewable electricity in the United States, grew 14 percent in 2020 from 2019.
New England is discussing offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine, although many questions remain unasked or unanswered, and the fishing industry, along with environmentalists, are worried about what floating wind towers might do to marine life.
Utility-scale solar generation (from projects greater than 1 megawatt) increased 26 percent in 2020, and small-scale solar, such as grid-connected rooftop solar panels, increased 19 percent.
Coal was the largest source of electricity in the United States until 2016, and 2020 was the first year that more electricity was generated by renewables and by nuclear power than by coal, according to data going back to 1949. Nuclear electric power declined 2 percent from 2019 to 2020 because several nuclear power plants retired and other nuclear plants experienced slightly more maintenance-related outages.
Confused By New Mask Mandates
The Centers for Disease Control is now recommending that everyone wear masks in indoors areas where there is high community transmission. That has created some confusion among those who thought that having a significant of fully vaccinated people would make masks unnecessary.
Fifty-seven percent of New Hampshire’s population has been fully vaccinated, placing the state in seventh place, behind the rest of New England and Maryland. Vermont has the highest percentage of its population fully vaccinated, at 67 percent.
Ben Vihstadt, the spokesman for New Hampshire’s governor, said, “Governor Sununu does not support the reimplementation of COVID restrictions, including mask mandates. … The vaccine is the single greatest tool individuals have to protect themselves and their family, and the governor continues to urge all who have questions to talk with their trusted health-care provider to help get as many Granite Staters vaccinated as possible.”
Part of the hesitation in getting the vaccine is the possibility of rare side effects, but health officials say the benefits far outweigh the risks. Another factor is that a vaccine does not grant full immunity. The number of fully vaccinated people who have gotten COVID-19 since February 1 has increased from 505 to 617 in the last week, and there were 10 deaths over the last week, according to The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.
Unidentified Aerial Phenomena May Be Earth-Based
A national task force investigating reports of unidentified aerial phenomena (formerly unidentified flying objects, or UFOs), suggested they may be of terrestrial origin, and therefore could be a threat to national security.
The Wall Street Journal reports that, in 2018, the U.S. Navy registered a patent application for “a method where a laser beam is configured to generate a laser-induced plasma filament (LIPF), and the LIPF acts as a decoy to detract a homing missile or other threat from a specific target.”
What if another country already possesses such a laser that generates a holographic image to confuse fighter pilots and their sensors during aerial combat? In 2017, Russia claimed it had achieved “next-generation” laser plasma weaponry. While the 144 UAP reports that originated from U.S. government sources predate 2017, the task force found that a “handful” of UAP “appear to demonstrate advanced technology,” and “observers reported unusual UAP movement patterns or flight characteristics,” including the ability to “maneuver abruptly, or move at considerable speed, without discernable means of propulsion.”
“While many questions remain about UAP, it’s clear that someone has either achieved air dominance or wants the U.S. to think they have,” writes WSJ contributor Jeffrey Scott Shapiro.
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