I imagine we’ll synthesize whatever chemical is inhibiting the methane production and it’ll become a standard feed supplement.

Hopefully, it can be produced by some type of GMO grass and can be sown into hay fields.

https://caes.ucdavis.edu/news/feeding-cattle-seaweed-reduces-their-greenhouse-gas-emissions-82-percent

We The People do not recognize your small group as independent. You are living in our society, utilizing our roads, our government, industrial, and commercial infrastructure. Your declaration of independence is nonsensical so long as you are dependent on the rest of us.

We The People.

Some of y’all motherfuckers need to take a goddamn civics class.

Or, and hear me out on this: terrorist doesn’t mean “fucking anything ever”. The term actually only refers to those who use or threaten unlawful violence in an attempt to achieve an effect that could only be lawfully acquired through executive, legislative, judicial, or democratic processes.

Uh huh.

I have zero doubt that you would call 911 should the “need” arise. So you’re a terrorist as well. As am I. There is literally zero distinction between you, me, and Mohamed Atta.

A puppy would qualify as a terrorist. A house cat. A sheep. A blackberry bush. An amoeba qualifies as a terrorist under this insane definition.

By that argument, a “no shirt, no shoes, no service” policy is terrorism. “$1000 fine for littering” is terrorism. “Keep off the grass” is terrorism.

There is an IOS app for hot air balloon pilots called “Hot Air”. There is a similar app for Android that… Leaves much to be desired.

There’s several functions that are needed. First, we need a map. We need to be able to enter waypoints and/or polygons charting landing zones, prohibited zones, targets, etc. we need an easy way to select targets, and our bearing and distance to those targets.

For planning purposes, we need a bearing line that we can place and move on that map. We need to be able to easily drag and drop each end of the line, and get the bearing and distance between the endpoints.

Next, we need track recording. It should record a ground track during flight, preferably with altitude information, and notes about the flight.

Next, a wind map. The wind speed and direction varies considerably by altitude. It needs to record direction and speed as we climb and descend, telling us what altitude has winds favorable for our current target.

Bonus points if we can prepopulate that wind map with data from a “pibal” (pilot balloon; a simple latex party balloon released and tracked with compass and stopwatch before a flight)

Next, coordination with other pilots and ground crews. 3D location sharing between participants; wind map data shared between pilots.

We do need both. My concern is that the focus seems to be almost entirely on supply shaping, while demand shaping is either completely ignored, or is intended to maximize base load generation by driving demand toward overnight hours that can’t be met by solar.

We need a much greater focus on demand shaping than we currently have, which is why I promote it almost exclusively. Supply shaping measures will take care of themselves.

Everything you’ve mentioned are “supply shaping” measures: trying to match supply to an independent, wildly variable demand.

We need to focus on “demand shaping”. We need to “flatten the peak” of our energy consumption, by adjusting how and when automated systems use power.

For example, water heaters consume about 20% of our energy. If we were to install thermostatic mixing valves after our water heaters to provide a consistent output, we could wildly vary the setpoint of our tanks, from anywhere just above shower temperature, to just below the boiling point. We could have our water heaters soak up every available kilowatt during a solar peak, raising the stored water temperature to 190F, and storing that hot water until it is needed for showers overnight.

Desalination, hydrogen electrolysis, and various other industries could also adjust their production rates to take advantage of favorable energy pricing, shutting down production entirely and backfeeding the grid with their own, on-site solar and wind production when energy prices favor their power more than their nornal production.

With the “slack times” heavily moderated by effective demand shaping, the rigid consistency of nuclear isn’t nearly as detrimental.

Pretty much the whole world had genetic purity fanatics in the 1930s. Eugenics was broadly supported for most of the 20th century.

Turbine engines (jets) do not burn leaded fuels. Jet fuel is similar to kerosene or diesel fuel, with certain additives to meet aviation needs.

The overwhelming majority of piston powered aircraft use 100LL, which has a relatively tiny amount of lead compared to automotive fuels of the 1970s. The FAA has recently certified 100UL for use in all aircraft, but production does not yet meet demand.

Jet-A has higher energy density and is cheaper than 100LL or 100UL, but can’t be used in spark-ignition engines.

Compression-ignition (“diesel”) piston engines are coming on the market as new and retrofit kits, allowing the use of Jet-A in general aviation aircraft.

We didn’t “switch” to unleaded gas in the 1970s. We added unleaded, required gas stations to offer it, and vehicle manufacturers were prohibited from making new cars that required it.

Leaded gas was still being offered at some stations well into the 1990s.

the most humble dude in history

What does Mr. Rogers have to do with this?

Have a wonderful day.

Gotcha. You’re a connoisseur of religious philosophy. You know that it can only be called “god” if it comes from a specific region in France. Every other worldview is “sparkling belief”.

The UU MOU demonstrates that “atheism” is not inherently incompatible with scouting. The memorandum does not mean that if you want to be an atheist and a scout, you must also be a Unitarian. It means that the duty required of the oath can be fulfilled by an atheist. How is it possible to fulfill a duty to “god” without believing in “god”? That MOU serves to clarify the distinction between what the BSA refers to as “god” and what other entities refer to as “god”. It demonstrates that the BSA uses a non-standard definition of “god”, and that we need to understand what they mean by that term before we can make a meaningful judgment of their policies.

I don’t believe in any gods, and would never say that something was a god if I did not think it was a god. Consciousness is not a god, nature is not a god, the laws of thermodynamics are not gods. Labeling these things gods only serves to imply some sort of mystery thing about it when there is none, I would consider it lying to do so.

I consider it lying for me to deliberately substitute my meaning of a word for the meaning intended by another. What you (and I) would and would not call “god” is completely irrelevant to how BSA uses the word. BSA does not hold to the idea that “thermodynamics cannot be god”. Quite the contrary. If a scout wishes to define god as thermodynamics, BSA accepts it.

BSA does not hold to the idea that “consciousness cannot be god.” If a scout wishes to claim consciousness as god, BSA accepts it.

BSA does not hold to the idea that “God can only be a supernatural entity” or that “God refers to a sense of mystery”. If a scout does not wish to declare God to be a supernatural entity, BSA does not force them. If a scout determines that a sense of mystery is not necessary, BSA does not require it.

BSA developed their policies using one definition. You are using a completely different, contradictory definition. Your conclusions do not at all reflect their actual intent. It is intellectually dishonest for you to impose your meaning in place of their intended meaning.

Dishonesty does, indeed, go against scouting principles, but I am in no way being dishonest.

What I am doing is explicitly following BSA policy, both the letter of the policy, and the intent of the policy. That policy was specifically established to be inclusive on the basis of religion. Scouting follows it’s own law: it is “Reverent”, which includes a requirement to respect the beliefs of others.

Buddhism does not include a concept of a deity, yet Buddhist youths are welcomed within the BSA. The “God” that BSA refers to can be found within a religion that does not include the concepts of a god.

Unitarian Universalism does not require congregants to have a belief in a supernatural entity. While some UU members are theistic, there are many atheists and agnostics among them.

I mention UU specifically, because the BSA entered into an MOU with the UUA on the subject. UU organizations are welcomed to charter Scouting programs, without requiring their atheist members to abstain. The “God” that BSA refers to can be found within an atheistic Unitarian.

If I were asked how I, personally, perform my “duty to god” I would say that within my worldview, the concept that BSA refers to as “god” is usually thought of as “consciousness”. My duty is to utilize that consciousness in my daily life, to experience, to learn, to discover, to teach. I would recount one of my memorable experiences to my inquisitor, and thank them not just for asking, but for giving me an opportunity to perform that duty.

BSA policy charges me with defining “god” for myself, and nothing in BSA policy prohibits me from appointing “consciousness” to that role. I am, indeed, an atheist as the term is normally used, but my belief system is compatible with Scouting.

The members of the organization decide how changes will be implemented. The members (citizens) of the US decided to remove the references. The members of scouting decided to keep the vague concept of religion, and leave it to the individual to determine specifics.

It is not “mockery” to understand that the religious aspects of scouting are defined by the scout and the scout’s family, rather than BSA or a church.

Your link is to a site hosted by andividual scouter. It is not the policy of the organization.

Faith ends up being extremely hard to define

Correct. Which is why the organization does not actually define it. They explicitly state that it is to be defined by the scout and the scout’s family.

I, too, am an atheist, by the usual definition of the term: I believe in no supernatural deities. However, with BSA’s definition, “atheism” is only possible if I believe in nothing whatsoever. Some extreme form of nihilism. With BSA’s definition, I do, indeed, have a “god”: my own consciousness. I do, indeed, have a “religious” creed: logic, rationality, the pursuit of understanding reality. I wouldn’t normally refer to these as “god” or “religion”, but they serve the same purposes for me that gods and religions serve to theists.

and ask if I am eligible

That is not a question they can answer. They charge you with defining your “god”. You are the authority on the subject, not them.

If asked how I fulfill my “duty to God”, I would respond that within my worldview, the concept that BSA refers to as “god” is more commonly described as “consciousness”. I might mention that within my worldview, it is considered “impolite” and “imprecise” to refer to consciousness as “god”, but that I recognize there is no malicious intent behind the BSA usage of the term. If I got any pushback on that, I would remind the inquisitor that my family and I are charged with defining God and religion. I would further remind them that a scout is reverent, and reverent includes tolerance and respect of the beliefs of others.

I would explain that I fulfill my duty by experiencing, learning, teaching. I would describe a memorable experience, what I learned from that experience, and thank the inquisitor for giving me the opportunity to fulfill my “religious” duty by sharing the knowledge I had gleaned.

If I recall correctly, (it’s hard to look at previous messages with this app), you said you could truthfully describe yourself as your own god. Do you exist? If you exist and you can describe yourself as your own god, is it still reasonable to call yourself an atheist?

If you are your own god, what duty do you have to yourself? Are you fulfilling that duty? Are you reverent? If you can answer those questions (and it doesn’t really matter what the answers are), you are eligible to be a scout.