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Benjamin Nead

@bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social

1.4K followers 2.3K following 485 posts

Observing the ongoing struggle to mitigate the climate crisis via electrification, from a rural southern Arizona perspective. Favorite topics include EVs, solar, batteries, etc. Please interact with my public posts and don't DM me. Thanks!

Posts Replies Media

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

I'm a bit late here to BlueSky in forward promoting this, but I will be using this space to document Bisbee Earth Day, which is Wednesday, April 22, 3PM-6PM at the Bisbee Science Lab.

I'm pleased to have struck up a collaboration with a local non-profit, The Bisbee Science Lab, as a co-producer for our 1st annual Bisbee Earth Day. As the poster explains, it's 3PM to 6PM on Wednesday, April 22, at the Science Lab's facility, 5199 Melody Lane, in Bisbee's San Jose neighborhood. I'm excited for the big day tomorrow and I'll be using this space to further document the event with photos and, perhaps, video footage.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

I'm hosting a Sun Day event on Sunday, September 21, at my home. Specifically, it's a "rain or shine" event under my carport. Explore the interactive map at sunday.earth/events and look for the star at the southeastern corner of Arizona, which would be Bisbee. Click the below graphic as well.

Sun Day is a global day of action on Sunday, September 21st, 2025: a celebration of the unstoppable rise of clean energy. Sun Day is being presented nationally by Third Act: a community of Americans over 60 founded by activist and author Bill McKibben, focused on climate and democracy. Bisbee joins a growing number Arizona cities - including Tucson, Tempe and Flagstaff - hosting a Sun Day event. Hundreds of communities across the United States and counting - and internationally - will be participating.

My shaded carport - come rain or shine - will be set up to display a variety of interesting and affordable devices that will help you move away from a dependency on fossil fuels . . . solar panels, storage battery systems, induction cooking tech, heat pumps and the like. And, yes, because it's my carport, my electric car will also be there . . . probably plugged in and charging when you arrive.

I'd like to have one-on-one conversations with my neighbors, here in Bisbee and in surrounding communities, on how we might be able to ditch our gas stoves and furnaces for good, consider an EV for your next car and go with solar, whether that's a traditional grid-connected rooftop system or one of the new modular/portable ones. There are efficient devices and energy harvesting technologies available today to match virtually any price point or budget.

Those of us who are concerned about climate change - and I hope that's everyone reading this - will be reminded that electrifying your life is one of the most effective ways to make a positive impact in this capacity, even if the politicians aren't currently paying attention. When a sane national energy policy returns, even the smallest the investments you make today will allow you be ready for the more expansive - and less expensive - cleaner energy world of the future. No suffering or sacrifice needed along the way. Just a little perseverance.

Benjamin Nead

https://actionnetwork.org/events/sun-day-in-bisbee-3

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

We need more journalists in America like Brian Tyler Cohen and politicians everywhere like Scottish Parliament member Patrick Harvie. Climate topics are on cue here, with a reminder of what's at stake everywhere . . . www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zYs...

🚨 Trump gets SHUT DOWN by Scottish lawmaker in Scotland

YouTube video by Brian Tyler Cohen

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

I'm always impressed how David Borlace can take a technical topic, like grid forming inverters in renewable energy grid settings, and explain it in understandable layman's terms, as he does in this week's Just Have A Think . . . www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SOq...

How GRID FORMING INVERTERS are paving the way for 100% renewable energy.

YouTube video by Just Have a Think

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Bisbee will be participating in Good Trouble Lives On: a non-violent mobilization in tribute to Civil Rights pioneer and Congressman John Lewis, on Thursday, July 17, 5PM to 7:30PM. Our location is Grassy Park in the old town. Click the illustration for more details.

Good Trouble Lives On, staged on this fifth year since the passing of Civil Rights pioneer and U.S. Congressman John Lewis, is a national day of nonviolent action to respond to the ongoing attacks posed on our liberties by the Trump Administration.

Pertaining to what John Lewis fought for and against all his life, we are now witnessing the expansion of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) into nothing short of a Gestapo-like paramilitary that is now prepared - and now officially funded by congress - to round up sizable portions of the U.S. population and confine them to remote and inhuman Gulags with perverse names like Alligator Alcatraz.

Closer to home, this ongoing militarized anti-immigrant and racist agenda will manifest itself as unnecessary border wall construction resuming, with the negative ramifications there also encompassing a threat to the wildlife ecosystem and even more ground water depletion.

Meanwhile, the funding cuts to federal services to pay for us becoming a police state, along with the ham-fisted attempts by Trump himself to manipulate world markets for personal gain, will mean the eventual closing of things like rural hospitals and the elimination of social services that will particularly impact those on the lowest economic rungs. Everything you and I buy at the store becomes more expensive in the coming months and years, unless you're an oligarchy class insider.

Don't like any of this? Maybe you've got the wrong skin color or tattoos, or you've submitted the wrong essay to a local newspaper. You may find yourself joining the other "undesirables" in confinement without legal due process. This is not a drill.

Bisbee is aligning nationally on Thursday, July 17, from 5:00PM to Sundown (approximately 7:30PM) for our contribution to Good Trouble Lives On. Our location will be in the old town at Grassy Park, adjacent to the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum. See you there.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

Recycling of lithium ion batteries is not only getting more efficient, it's becoming a far less environmentally caustic process. More of this and less of talking about new mining projects here in southern Arizona . . . www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_v-...

Recycling Lithium batteries in 15 minutes. How do they do that?

YouTube video by Just Have a Think

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

The very plain spoken (F-bombs in video alert) Louis Rossmann details how Right To Repair and Right To Own is an essential element in so many aspects of our daily lives, whether it's the cell phone you bought last or a f*cking (sorry) oven on an aircraft carrier. www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNg4...

The US military might as well be dealing with the genius bar...

YouTube video by Louis Rossmann

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

We were part of No Kings Day yesterday in Bisbee. Ours was a significant element of a larger Pride Day parade . . . which, in turn, is part of a big day-long annual celebration down here. So, even though we weren't an official dot on the national map, we did the deed. Good times were had by all.

We were part of No Kings Day yesterday in Bisbee. Ours was a significant element of a larger Pride Day parade . . . which, in turn, is part of a big day-long annual celebration down here. So, even though we weren't an official dot on the national map, we did the deed. Good times were had by all.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Time to call out the hypocrisy of Michigan Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin and General Motors, who teamed up with the anti-clean-energy MAGA crowd yesterday to vote against California's right to phase out the sale of new fossil fueled vehicles by 2035. www.detroitnews.com/story/busine...

detroitnews.com

Senate sidesteps referee, ends California's influential EV mandate

President Donald Trump is expected to approve the congressional measure after repeatedly bashing "EV mandates" on the campaign trail last year.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Excellent analysis here. If Tesla, if fact, would have attempted their own simple $25K pickup, it would have ended selling for $40K . . . which, if you'll remember, was the original projected retail price for the Cybertruck.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Notification here that Bisbee, Arizona, will host a public mobilization on Saturday, May 3rd, 12Noon to 2PM. We march from Bisbee's Iron Man Statue at Noon to Grassy Park just a few blocks away, all in the historic old town. Click the photos for a more detailed narrative.

Of all the atrocities committed by the current political majority in Washington, I'm particularly troubled by the dismantling of clean energy initiatives, denial of climate change as a factor in our planet's future and the general repudiation of logic, sound economics, science and sanity related to all of this. This photo shows the sign I've made for May 3rd. If these issues are as important to you as they are to me, look for my sign on Saturday. I'd like to talk with you further specifically on this.

The 1930s WPA era Iron Man Statue in historic old town Bisbee, Arizona, in front of the Cochise County Courthouse. This is where we'll assemble just before 12:00 Noon on Saturday, May 3rd, 2025, for a march down Main Street. We'll end up in Grassy Park , just a few blocks away, moments later for a mobilization gathering that included an open mic for you, your friends and neighbors to verbally express your concerns about our current state of affairs. The Mule Mountain Democrats will also have voter registration forms and information on this fall's special election to fill the US House seat now left vacant after the recent passing of the late, great Raul Grijalva.

Conveniently, the May 3rd march and mobilization are rolled into an annually-scheduled weekend celebration we call Hippie Heritage. That event honors the young counterculture optimists who moved here in the early to mid 1970s, just as the copper mining economy was fading, to establish arts, crafts and forward-thinking culture that make this place unique and vibrant today.

So, after our mobilization, you're only a few steps away from live music and food. Dress casually for the day. If you've got a tie-died t-shirt and well-worn jeans, you'll fit right in to both the mobilization/march and the Hippie Fest.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

OK, I just watched the live reveal earlier tonight for the Slate EV Truck and put down a refundable $50 deposit. If this thing gets here, it promises to be a highly configurable EV that starts at $25K before tax rebates. www.slate.auto/en

OK, I just watched the live reveal earlier tonight for the Slate EV Truck and put down a refundable $50 deposit. If this thing gets here, it promises to be a highly configurable EV that starts at $25K before tax rebates. https://www.slate.auto/en

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

The cover image from Der Spiegel dating to November 12, 2016. This perfectly sums up Trump's danger to us all on Earth Day 2025.

The cover image from Der Spiegel dating to November 12, 2016. This perfectly sums up Trump's danger to us all on Earth Day 2025.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

In the spirit of Earth Day, here's the premier episode of a brand new podcast, "WFT Now?" It's Rick Wheatley in conversation with energy analyst Jan Rosenow: "Three things that are still true about the energy transition."https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubti4j9eoE4&lc=Ugz9FOpITgNjGUIo7qR4AaABAg

Episode 1: Three things that are still true about the energy transition

YouTube video by WTF Now? by S7

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

I particularly like the analysis of David Borlace regarding the worldwide battery market in this week's Just Have A Think. Earth Day is this Tuesday. I'll be posting several videos, including some longer form ones with renewable energy themes, here in the coming days. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjPv...

Have batteries just hit their exponential curve??

YouTube video by Just Have a Think

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

This Saturday, April 19th, 9AM to 1PM, I'll have an Earth Day display of solar PV and lithium storage battery tech at the Bisbee Community Market, Vista Park in Warren. There are also a host of Hands Off! mobilizations nearby that same day. I'll have additional information coming up soon.

This Saturday, April 19th, 9AM to 1PM, I'll have an Earth Day display of solar PV, lithium storage battery tech and home electrification tips at the Bisbee Community Market, Vista Park in Warren. I'll also have my EV parked just a few feet away.

Obviously, with Cheeto Jesus in charge, what sensible and sane people should be doing to get fossil fuels out of their lives is now characterized as the "Green New Scam." More to say about all of that in the coming days.

There are also a host of Hands Off! mobilizations nearby that day in old town Bisbee, Douglas and Sierra Vista. We'll have information on when and where, exactly. The Mule Mountain Democrats are on it.

I believe the source of this artwork is The New Yorker magazine, circa 2017. Same stupid "clean coal" policy then as now.

This Saturday, April 19th, 9AM to 1PM, I'll have an Earth Day display of solar PV, lithium storage battery tech and home electrification tips at the Bisbee Community Market, Vista Park in Warren. I'll also have my EV parked just a few feet away.

Obviously, with Cheeto Jesus in charge, what sensible and sane people should be doing to get fossil fuels out of their lives is now characterized as the "Green New Scam." More to say about all of that in the coming days.

There are also a host of Hands Off! mobilizations nearby that day in old town Bisbee, Douglas and Sierra Vista. We'll have information on when and where, exactly. The Mule Mountain Democrats are on it.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

#HandsOff #HandsOffAZ We had approx. 250 people show up for our April 5th 'Hands Off!' event in Bisbee, Arizona. Other communities dotted around southeastern Arizona, such as Douglas and Sierra Vista, had similarly impressive turnouts. Click the photos for further details and acknowledgements.

Approximately 250 people assembled at Grassy Park in Bisbee, Arizona, for our April 5th 'Hands Off!' event. Acknowledgment to the local coalition of the Mule Mountain Democrats, ReSisters and Women In Black, as well as our friends with Hands Off! and Indivisible. We also have received word that nearby southern Arizonan communities of Douglas and Sierra Vista had similarly strong showings.

Well, I certainly had fun assembling my protest sign collage with a variety of "found objects" culled from online sources . I don't know who the artist responsible for the drooling Trump Roman Emperor image was (I know it dates from about 8 years ago,) but it's particularly poignant rendering for commemorating the 2nd reign of "Comb-over Caligula."

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

All over the US tomorrow, April 5th - and in Mexico and Canada, from what I hear - non-violent "Hand Off!" mobilizations will be occurring. Here in rural southeast Arizona in towns like Bisbee, Douglas and Sierra Vista, we'll be part of it. Stay safe, everyone.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

Here's an interesting take on the solgen idea: 1.6kWh LFP batteries that mostly stay at home - yet renters can take them wherever they go - to backup your appliances in case of a blackout, take advantage of variable rates, modular solar storage, etc. www.pv-magazine.com/2025/03/11/u...

pv-magazine.com

U.S. startup offers plug-and-play, renter-friendly backup battery

The Pila Energy home battery is a portable, renter-friendly backup-power battery with enough energy storage to power a refrigerator for up to three days.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

More stupidity from MAGA/DOGE affecting Arizona: the cancellation of USDA rural electrification grants that tie into the deployment of solar, directly impacting sustainable agriculture in southern Arizona . . . www.kgun9.com/news/local-n...

Rural electrification grant freeze leaves local farmer in limbo

Local farmer John Rueb of Amado’s Forever Yong Farm is facing financial uncertainty after the federal government froze grants for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

So, why is California Governor Gavin Newsom and his appointed utility commissioners continually vilifying the rooftop/distributed solar industry and consumers? The proposed cancellation of contracts is clearly illegal and only makes the grid dirtier . . . www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IbI...

Solar Rights Alliance Podcast: Newsom Administration proposes to break 2 million solar contracts

YouTube video by Solar Rights Alliance

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

It's plainly obvious that the residents of Tucson don't want the 3 large investor-owned electrical utilities in Arizona to pursue a nuclear powered future . . . www.kgun9.com/news/communi...

Going nuclear: Protestors rally Downtown against proposed plan for new reactor

Arizona's leading utility companies are exploring the addition of a second nuclear reactor to meet the state's growing energy demands

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

This week's Just Have A Think explores new developments in heat pump technology that can eliminate the refrigerants being used in these devices today . . . www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m2P...

Taking greenhouse gases out of heat pumps. (YES! They do contain them!)

YouTube video by Just Have a Think

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

10 spineless Congressional Democrats voted to censure fellow Representative Al Green, for his standing up to Trump's public display of fascism this past Tuesday evening. Each of these compromised individuals need to be primaried for 2026 and replaced with REAL Democrats . . .

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Marvelous conversation with Robert Llewellyn and Saul Griffith on how to - and in some places how NOT to - Electrify Everything . . . www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pjd...

Saul Griffith On How To Lead the Race To Electrify Everything! | Fully Charged Show Podcast

YouTube video by Everything Electric Show

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

As someone who owns what can be best described a subcompact EV weighing ~2500 lb (~1135 kg,) I'm glad I'm not the only one acknowledging the problem of car bloat and the need for it to be addressed here in the US . . . www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

Why large cars are a public health hazard, according to one expert

Four in five cars sold in the United States last year were either SUVs or pickup trucks. That's a far cry from even the 1990s when that number was closer to 25% of all sales.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

As always, David Borlace is able to - from "across the pond" - put into perspective everything wrong with what anti-renewable, fossil-fueled US Republican administrations always do with energy and infrastructure policy when they get in charge . . . www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgZA...

US Energy Catastrophe!

YouTube video by Just Have a Think

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

It was announced in the Tucson paper this morning that the 3 major AZ electric utilities are wanting to develop new nuclear power generation. How convenient that our Australian friends at Juice Media have produced one of their comedic infomercials on that topic . . . www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBqV...

Honest Government Ad | Nuclear (Australia)

YouTube video by thejuicemedia

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

OK, getting off the political beat and back to the ongoing story of efficiently electrifying my homestead here in southeast Arizona, I just bought a Samsung Bespoke 120V washer/dryer combo machine, with a heat pump drying tech, and luvin' it so far. Click the photo for a more detailed description.

A picture of my new Samsung Bespoke washer/dryer combo unit with heat pump drying technology. It's a beast, weighing in at almost 400 Lbs. The heat pump function dries the clothes very nicely and, operating at only 120V, is super efficient. The Energy Star rating is for $14 worth of electrons annually under typical use (watch for Trump/Musk to scrap that very helpful Department of Energy efficiency database for appliances again, just because they're a bunch of dickish goons. Fuck 'em.)

The old washer began leaking the other week and was doing a poor job of cleaning the laundry even before that. I still have the old 240V dryer, but will soon be having that hauled away, probably donating it to charity.

Note this is one of those machines where you put the laundry inside, close the door, push a touchscreen, and then come back several hours later with all the cleaned cloth completely dry. I have a lot of zero phosphate powdered detergent, and it requires very little of that. Alternately, I can use liquid soap and have that automatically dispensed. I got the optional pedestal stand, extend warranty, etc. So far, so good after putting 3 loads through it.

The other result of all this, since I no longer need a separate dryer, is that I now have a free dedicated 240V/30A circuit in the utility panel that can eventually become Level 2 charging for my EV.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

So, who are Akash Bobba, Edward Coristine, Luke Farritor, Gautier Cole Killian, Gavin Kilger, Ethan Shaotran? Answer: they are the young DOGE information thieves hired by Elon Musk to steal YOUR private data. They need to be outed, arrested and charged for their crimes against the American people.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

We've now got the names of the college-age kids Musk is using to pilfer the most sensitive of Federal government records, including data on hundreds of millions of people . . . us! Democrats in the Senate better start getting their shit together here . . . and fast! www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4ke...

Elon Musk BANS EVERYONE for EXPOSING THIS....

YouTube video by Adam Mockler

Reposted by Benjamin Nead

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

Elon needs to be behind bars RIGHT NOW and then deported back to South Africa, after the actual Department of Justice (not DOGE/MAGA swamp creatures) get through with him . . . www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPbT...

WATCH: I’m DEMANDING We Deport Elon Musk

YouTube video by Adam Mockler

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

Adam Mockler's examination of last night's tragic plane/helicopter collision over Wash. DC is spot on. Trump, of course, blames everything on DEI, despite the fact that we don't have TSA and FAA administrators in place, due to his frantic govt. gutting . . . www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAnx...

Trump's Presser BACKFIRES after HE GETS CAUGHT LYING

YouTube video by Adam Mockler

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

The entire anti-rooftop solar and anti-customer technology campaign from utilities has always been and will forever be about utilities trying to protect their bottom line from utility customers that are looking to take greater control of their own energy destiny insideclimatenews.org/news/2109202...

insideclimatenews.org

Some Rare, Real Talk From a Utility About Competition With Rooftop Solar - Inside Climate News

In a hearing last month in Arizona, an expert witness for the state’s largest utility said he agrees with the idea that utilities oppose rooftop solar because it is a threat to their profits. If ever ...

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

This week's Just Have A Think puts the focus on financial divestment strategies that target the fossil fuel industry #EnergySky #EnergyTransitionHub www.youtube.com/watch?v=D97N...

How BIG OIL captured $7 TRILLION of OUR money

YouTube video by Just Have a Think

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

Yes, when it's time to rebuild Los Angeles, make the structures more resilient to fire. But don't forget to get rid of the fossil gas . . . heatmap.news/ideas/la-fir...

The Los Angeles Fires Accelerated the Looming Natural Gas Crisis

All American cities are at risk.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

A technical discussion provided by Texas-based house builder Matt Risinger, regarding how to utilize fire-safe design and building practices, as well as a comparison of various modern construction materials. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZe-...

Lessons From Two Surviving LA Fire Homes

YouTube video by Matt Risinger

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

The Mule Mountain Democrats here in Bisbee, Arizona, encourage everyone, everywhere to NOT tune in or stream live media coverage of the inauguration on January 20th. We'll, instead, be holding a NON-watch party . . .

Join the Mule Mountain Democrats of Bisbee, Arizona, for our 2025 Presidential Inauguration NON-Watch Party. We'll be celebrating, instead, the significance of the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday and continue to honor the memory of recently passed former US President Jimmy Carter.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

This week's edition of Just Have A Think is a focus on new developments in sodium ion battery chemistry. #EnergySky #EnergyTransitionHub www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdeC...

American breakthrough in battery cell design.

YouTube video by Just Have a Think

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

Brian Tyler Cohen surveys the devastation of the Los Angeles fire, as well as the hypocrisy of the Trump/MAGA response . . . www.youtube.com/watch?v=cabn...

Trump pulls DISGUSTING stunt over Los Angeles fires

YouTube video by Brian Tyler Cohen

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

Regarding no new oil & gas leases being taken at Alaska's Arctic Natural Wildlife Refuge, despite open bidding opportunities: “This proposal was misguided in 2017, and it’s misguided now,” Acting Interior Secretary Laura Daniel-David said in the statement. alaskabeacon.com/2025/01/08/o...

alaskabeacon.com

Oil and gas lease sale in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge draws no bids • Alaska Beacon

Gwich’in, environmental opponents celebrate, while state officials expect the upcoing Trump policies to make it easier to drill the refuge.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

"Oh Gawd, I'm itching all over! I never had this problem when I heated my house with freshly-fracked methane. Make it stop! I'll vote Republican next time, I promise! Just make my electric HVAC itching go away!"

A photo of a woman who is, apparently, a victim of the dreaded and mysterious electric heater itch phenomenon, as described by President-Elect Trump at a press conference on January 8, 2025.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

These work well. I installed one a few years ago at the rented house in Tucson, purchased at the local ACE for about $20. Heck, it's even made in the USA. Basic science dictates that, when compressed, water squirts out efficiently and at a good force. Buy yours before The Orange Menace outlaws them!

The Wheldon model #USP1C Saver Shower Plus: a high quality, affordable and high-velocity low-flow shower head, made in the USA, that can be purchased for about $20 at many local hardware stores. Buy one for yourself before Trump outlaws them!

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

2025 is going to be the year I develop an educational (STEAM) solar electric car. The Volta Racer from 2014, pictured below, was one I took to many public EV events. It was a kid magnet. I'd ditch the foam plastic for wood composites and include energy harvesting electronics with a supercapacitor.

Volta Racer toy solar car, circa 2014-17.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

EV charging at home, rural Arizona style. No exterior outlets here. That will change someday. In the meantime, one of the sliding windows facing my carport allows me to plug into a good 120V outlet inside. A shop rag and a pool noodle ($5 at the local Dollar General) keep the bugs from coming in.

EV charging at home, rural Arizona style. No exterior outlets here. That will change someday. In the meantime, one of the sliding windows facing my carport allows me to plug into a good 120V outlet inside. A shop rag and a pool noodle ($5 at the local Dollar General) keep the bugs from coming in.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

Instead of utilities and regulators wringing their hands over midday over-generation of their solar, with not enough grid storage batteries available, why not deploy water desal units that work efficiently without big batteries and the Sun's intermittency? interestingengineering.com/energy/mit-b...

interestingengineering.com

MIT unveils battery-free solar desalination device with 77% efficiency

Researchers created a solar-powered desalination system that adapts to sunlight, providing cost savings and high efficiency without batteries.

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

In light of the tragic terrorist events of Jan. 1 - and, in particular, the Cybertruck EV explosion in Las Vegas - some clarification is needed as to what happened in relation to the petroleum explosives used and the true nature of EV lithium battery fires. www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaVN...

Vegas Cybertruck Battery DID NOT Blow Up.

YouTube video by Tailosive EV

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Happy New Years, everyone. Some music for your party, courtesy of Charlie Parker (alto sax,) Kenny Dorham (trumpet,) Al Haig (piano,) Tommy Potter (bass) and Joe Harris (drums) Live at The Royal Roost, New York City. January 1, 1949. East of The Sun, West of The Moon www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmfF...

Charlie Parker - East of The Sun (West Of The Moon) - January 1st, 1949, Royal Roost

YouTube video by Андрей Миронович

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

A video here from Adan Dorr of ReThink X. He basically destroys the idea of building out nuclear, in an attempt to eliminate carbon emissions from the grid . . . www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0f1...

Brighter | Episode 10 - Why we shouldn’t build nuclear power

YouTube video by RethinkX

Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

My big tabby cat, Daenerys, shares some window ledge space with a Bluetti EB3A solgen. Tucson, AZ. Summer, 2024.

My big tabby cat, Daenerys, shares some window ledge space with a Bluetti EB3A solgen. Tucson, AZ. Summer, 2024.