iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

I'm actually optimistic that we're going to get to a renewable energy grid in the not too distant future, since the sheer economics of solar with batteries defeat everything else. Everything on the consumption side has also already been invented. Nostalgia for fossil fuel is the only real enemy.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

There's a lot of literature from that period that tried to nail down a time frame for peak oil. We are actually going to run out of the stuff someday. But fracking tech simply added another 10 to 15 years to the calendar. What the FF industry is doing right now is nothing short of criminal.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

So true! After you have finished with this unnamed book from the early 2000s, I highly recommend Saul Griffith's 2020 volume, Electrify. It should still be a relevant guide in 2030

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

What happened is, in addition to improvements in energy efficiency, hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of shale really came into its own in around 2008. So, any book written much before that predicts a big economic downturn when all the oil runs out, since renewables were so expensive back then.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

Part 2 of photos documenting my Sun Day In Tucson event . . .

The "conference" area at the opposite end of the carport overlooking my backyard and a view of the Mexican border, just about 5 miles away. A 6.3kWh Bluetti AC200L/B210 system assembled there is more than capable of handling another Bonbowl induction hob and a Panasonic FlashXpress micro oven. These are actually the most often used components in my 120V kitchen.

A trio of Renogy 115W bifacial PV panels on the cement pad in the backyard photographed just after a light rain shower passed through the area. Until recently, a rickety metal shed lived out there. Now, the pad is a testing area for quickly-deployable solar arrays.

Just off the carport entrance to the house is an enclosed back porch, which currently houses my Samsung closed loop heat pump 120V washer/dryer. Also just inside the backdoor is a Reencle kitchen composter. An Iceco 12V portable dual zone refrigerator/freezer in my kitchen is yet another highly efficient small scale consumer device that's perfect for efficient but comfortable solo living.

While I didn't get high foot traffic, that was more than made up by the handful of knowledgeable and enthusiastic locals who appreciated what I was showing and had stories of their own to share. Long time off-grider Steve Austin and independent energy analyst Kevin McArthur were among those who stopped by to compare notes on everything from home battery backup systems to renewables on the grid.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

The 3rd and final photo album for my Sun Day in Bisbee event. Click each of the photos for a narrative . . .

A self portrait by yours truly at the end of a very satisfying first-ever Sun Day in Bisbee 2025.

A rainbow appears over Old Town Bisbee, just about 5 miles to the northwest, as I was in the process of packing up for the day. The shaded carport proved to be the ideal setting for this event, which witnessed mostly sunny skies getting punctuated by a welcomed late afternoon seasonal monsoon rain shower: a perfect day in the high Arizona desert.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

Here's part 1 in a series of photos detailing my Sun Day In Bisbee event. Click each of the photos to read individual narratives . . .

The carport entrance to my home in Bisbee, viewed due south by southeast, and showing repurposed signage from my Tucson days. The 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV, which is now proving to be excellent for regional rural travel, will be celebrating it's 10th anniversary with me later this fall.

The lead display table shows a collection equipment common to do-it-yourself solar projects: Some Victron MPPT controlers, A Giandel inverter, a Battle Born LFP battery, a 100W HQST monocrystalline PV panel and a 100W BougeRV CIGS flex PV panel. Will Prowse's Mobile Solar Power how-to book and a small solar generator - a Bluetii EB3A - are also shown.

Portable induction hobs can instantly allow you to retire your gas cooktop. Because induction cooks with magnetism, it's a natural for cast iron pans and skillets. Joining the larger Duxtop units is the diminutive BonBowl, with it's latex-wrapped magnetic stainless steel vessel: super efficient (535W) and convenient for flame-free single-person cooking.

Renewable energy activism, science and history are acknowledge with books, charts and posters. The green pool noodle wedged into the frame of the sliding glass window allows for weather/insect sealing of a robust interior outlet used for 120V EV charging. Also on the table - next to yet another EB3A - are various low voltage energy harvesting technologies, including an EcoFlow solar hat.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

I had a marvelous time hosting a Sun Day this past weekend. This is the promotional documentary film, The Light Won't Dim, that was produced by the Third Act organizers. Really beautifully done . . . www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDK-...

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The Light Won't Dim | Solar Power & Clean Energy Documentary

YouTube video by Fossil Free Media

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

A Sun Day preview from one of my favorite climate-aware energy/tech analysts, David Borlace, on Just Have A Think . . . www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYSU...

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The UNSTOPPABLE rise of AMERICAN renewable energy.

YouTube video by Just Have a Think

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Sun Day in the press, via a recent Democracy Now! interview with Bill McKibben . . . www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb2_...

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Bill McKibben on Renewable Energy, "Sun Day" & the "Last Chance" for Climate

YouTube video by Democracy Now!

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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

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

Oh, Hell yes. The other one that bothers me is people - and news organizations - who can't figure out that overbuilding solar and having "too much" electrical generation on sunny days is a problem. Build water desalination plants and run them full tilt when it's sunny, and don't when it isn't.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

Why don't they just build water desalinization infrastructure - which is very energy intensive - and operate it at full tilt on those days when there's "too much" solar capacity? This seems like a good problem too have.

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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...

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🚨 Trump gets SHUT DOWN by Scottish lawmaker in Scotland

YouTube video by Brian Tyler Cohen

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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...

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

YouTube video by Just Have a Think

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

I just heard the Freakonomics Radio Network interview on Youtube. Your book is on my short list now. Thanks.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

We had a nice turnout for our Bisbee, Arizona, Good Trouble Lives On mobilization. About 80 of us, all told, assembling in Grassy Park. Thanks to all who joined us and lent their voices. Photo set 2.

Good Trouble Lives On. Thursday, July 17, 2025. Bisbee, Arizona. 4 of 6.

Good Trouble Lives On. Thursday, July 17, 2025. Bisbee, Arizona. 5 of 6.

Good Trouble Lives On. Thursday, July 17, 2025. Bisbee, Arizona. 6 of 6.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

We had a nice turnout for our Bisbee, Arizona, Good Trouble Lives On mobilization. About 80 of us, all told, assembling in Grassy Park. Thanks to all who joined us and lent their voices. Photo set 1.

Good Trouble Lives On. Thursday, July 17, 2025. Bisbee, Arizona. 1 of 6.

Good Trouble Lives On. Thursday, July 17, 2025. Bisbee, Arizona. 2 of 6.

Good Trouble Lives On. Thursday, July 17, 2025. Bisbee, Arizona. 3 of 6.

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

I should also mention that you can electronically register for the Bisbee event here . . . www.mobilize.us/john-lewis-a... Find an event near you on the interactive map (scroll down after the page opens, scroll down and check out the international activity) . . . goodtroubleliveson.org

mobilize.us

Grassy Park · John Lewis Actions

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 pos...

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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.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Other interesting prospects for affordable and sensibly-sized EVs for the North American market include the relaunch of the Chevrolet Bolt EV and the Slate EV Truck. I drive a 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV, which was the original subcompact electric when introduced here. I bought mine used in 2015.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

It was a pleasure to get to talk with you and hear you discuss the issues, Deja, this past Saturday in Bisbee. Wherever your pursuits take you, please stay in touch with us down here. Always about 10° cooler than Tucson on any given day, incidentally.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

I really like David Bolace's weekly Just Have A Think segments. He's a journalist, not a manufacturer, so his coverage of complex subject explained clearly feels genuine. Simon Clark is another Brit who does an excellent job covering these topics.

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

A couple more shots from Bisbee on No Kings Day, courtesy of Deja Foxx on her Bluesky page . . . bsky.app/profile/deja...

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

Interesting. Thanks. With current MAGA trends to essentially erase all that was good in the Inflation Reduction Act, it's important to keep these topics front and center. Manganese mine in Patagonia? How about, instead, getting a 97% yield from thousands of old dead cell phone batteries?

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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-...

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

YouTube video by Just Have a Think

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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...

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

YouTube video by Louis Rossmann

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

Just want to add that 3 of the Democrats running in the special CD7 election - Michael Hernandez, Adelita Grijalva and Deja Foxx - were part of an after-parade meet & greet at the Bisbee Royale Theater. The primary is July 15, with the general contest on September 23rd.

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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.

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

Thanks. I began culling online images as far back as 2016. They've aged well.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

Not to get salty on you, Rob, but you're preaching to the choir. What indicates to you from my post that I just complain out loud and don't engage local, regional, national politicians in my sphere of influence? Or talk to my neighbors?

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

Not to change the subject here, Elissa, but yesterday you were also the lone Democratic vote in the Senate to rescind California's right to zero out the sale of fossil fuel vehicles by 2035. Shame on GM as well to collude with you on this. I was considering buying a new GM EV someday. Not any more.

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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.

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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.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

I'd love to chat about this! I relocated here from Tucson, where I attempted to learn as much as I could on these topics. Just now beginning to meet people here with similar interests. Maybe meet over a cup of coffee someday soon in the old town?

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Yeah, that's a legit concern. When I bought the used i-MiEV in 2015, I also bought the CD-ROM of the factory service manual (a 3K page item in print,) in case I couldn't get service at an Arizona Mitsubishi dealer. Fortunately, I never had problems there.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Your comment made me laugh out loud. So true. In all seriousness, though, Slate will probably offer a heated steering wheel as an option. I've got $50 down on a Slate and will probably keep it fairly bare bones. Love the simplicity of this thing.

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

A little smaller than April 5th was here, but May 3rd's mobilization was still a success, with an estimated 150 participants and considerable enthusiasm. You gotta love those signs!

The start of our May 3rd mobilization in Bisbee, AZ, was a march from the Iron Statue to Grassy Park. About 30 of us got it going.

A panorama of the Grassy Park assemblage in Bisbee, AZ. We estimate about 150 were there at the height of the afternoon on May 3rd.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

You're welcome. Yes, come on down, if you can. There are mobilizations today, May 1st, in both Douglas and Sierra Vista. It's important to keep these up and have them grow a little larger each time.

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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.

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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

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Also, I appreciate your appraisal of high speed rail in Arizona, as you outlined in your editorial in The Star some months ago. But SMRs? I'm just not there. The rural exemptions for local zoning restrictions in HB2774 was also particularly troubling.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Thanks, Chris. But I'm afraid we're going to agree to disagree on the alleged benefits of SMRs. Let's reform the ACC by getting rid of the fossil fuel fools. If we quit marginalizing distributed solar, we wouldn't have to expend so much land for large utility scale projects.

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

As an Arizona solar advocate, I'm glad this one was vetoed down. Nuclear is not only the most expensive energy source per kWh, it's also extremely water intensive. I'd rather we go full on with solar and battery storage, and stop whittling away at net metering for existing rooftop solar customers..

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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.

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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

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

YouTube video by WTF Now? by S7

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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...

youtube.com

Have batteries just hit their exponential curve??

YouTube video by Just Have a Think

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Benjamin Nead @bisbeeunplugged.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

Here's what I'm finding out: Grassy Park starts at 10AM and might be small, ending early. Sierra Vista is supposed to be big and starts at 11AM. I'm not sure of the ride situation at this point. My day at the Market is 7AM to about 2PM. We'll find a way to get you over there!

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