In 1992, James Carville, a lead strategist in the presidential campaign of Bill Clinton coined the phrase “It’s the economy Stupid” as motivation for campaign workers in their effort to unseat George H. W. Bush whose approval rating was flagging because of a recession, which also brought about the resignation of Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney, whose party was reduced from 156 to only 2 seats out of the total of 294 in the 1993 Canadian federal election.
Besides the economy, Carville instructed his campaigners to focus on two other slogans, "Change vs. more of the same" and "Don't forget health care." And 31 years later, the economy and health care remain the top two issues per the following graphic from Pew Research.
Thursday, the Canadian government announced it is doubling the pollution price rebate rural top-up rate, and implementing a three-year pause to the federal carbon price on deliveries of heating oil in all jurisdictions where the federal fuel charge is in effect.
In addition to touting a "new energy affordability package," that will make it easier for Canadians to switch to an electric heat pump to heat their homes, starting first in Atlantic Canada. They will increase the maximum amount of funding towards the purchase and installation of a heat pump from $10,000 to $15,000. Which along with along with matching grants from the country’s provinces and territories, according to a release from the government, will mean most households will be able to get their pumps for free. Which, is of course, magical thinking.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration says, energy heat pumps, powered by low‐emissions electricity, are the central technology in the global transition to secure and sustainable heating.
They are currently available on the market and are three‐to‐five times more energy efficient than natural gas boilers.
They reduce householders’ exposure to fossil fuel price spikes and can provide cooling as well as heating, which is responsible for 4 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually or about 10% of all emissions.
Like a heat pump, Thermodynamic Geoengineering, heat pumps for the planet, moves heat through the phases of a low-boiling-point working fluid. But in the latter case this is a free ride. Furthermore, the hotter the ocean surface gets, the more energy Thermodynamic Geoengineering produces and the more efficient it becomes.
An evaporator at the surface passively boils the Thermodynamic Geoengineering working fluid, producing a pressure that allows the vapor to flow into the deep, cold, water at a velocity approaching that of sound, where the vapor condenses to a liquid that is pumped back to the surface to complete the cycle.
This vapor flow is interrupted by a heat engine that changes the work into electrical energy with a loss of only about 4.8% in pumping losses incurred returning the condensed working fluid back to the surface.
In other words, about 12 times more energy is produced by the system as is consumed internally by the pumps.
Heat pumps typically use about five times less energy in the cooling mode than in the heating mode, because in cold weather there isn’t as much heat that can be absorbed from outside the system.
Since Thermodynamic Geoengineering is always in a cooling mode, it is a highly efficient way of cooling the surface. In part because there is always a lot more cold-water in the oceans than hot water, which in the latter case is the principle threat from global warming.
In last weeks 60 Minutes segment, “Five Eyes” intelligence leaders from the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand warned of the danger of China’s global espionage campaign aimed at stealing industrialised intellectual property.
It is the experience of this writer; instead of worrying about China, these countries drive intellectual property offshore in their effort to protect incumbent technology. And as The Atlantic article points out, America Doesn't Build.
This protection comes at an enormous energy and environmental cost to the citizens of these countries.
Instead of worrying about China, they need to win the economic battle against global warming with the best and cheapest available technology.