Thousands Evacuated in Tianjin, China, After Fissures Open near High-Rise Buildings: Tianjin’s municipal government described the situation as “very rare,” a “sudden geological disaster” that might have been caused by previously undetected cavities thousands of feet beneath the city. City officials said the problem could have been exacerbated by drilling for geothermal wells near the city. According to the International Geothermal Association, there are over 150 wells around Tianjin, which has long been presented as a showcase for the possibilities of geothermal energy and heating. The thermal field surrounding Tianjin covers almost 5,500 square miles, producing significant amounts of water for agriculture and human consumption in addition to heating. The cracks that appeared in Tanjin’s streets and sidewalks are not small affairs. Photos from the city showed streets buckled and torn, as though shattered by an earthquake. (Photo at link.) Surprise! Canada Smoke Causes 50% Reduction in Solar Power Production in the Northeastern US: Solar power generation in parts of the northeastern United States has taken a significant hit in recent weeks, primarily due to smoke from wildfires in Canada. A thick shroud of smoke has caused solar power production in these areas to plummet by more than 50%. “With a situation like this, it’s really unprecedented” in the Northeast, said Matt Kakley, a spokesperson for ISO-New England. “We don’t have a lot of historical data to look back on. There is some learning in real-time.” The Gateway Pundit reported on Wednesday that the northeastern United States was engulfed yesterday with a massive blanket of smoke from wildfires burning in Quebec. New York City quickly all but disappeared behind the orangish haze. TGP’s Brian Lupo reported that satellite imagery from the College of DuPage Meteorology Department shows plumes of smoke rising from at least 17 separate visible sites (over 100 separate fires have been reported) at around 6pm EST. We experience this every few years in California. It's not unprecedented here. But on the national news, they spent 30 minutes talking about it since it affected NYC and Washington, D.C. I once put a photo of our sky during fire season on Facebook, and people accused me of faking it. Now, maybe they understand. No surprise that solar panels don't work when the sun is not out. Just like windmills don't work when there is no wind. No surprise that solar panels don’t work when the sun is not out. They will want to use this event to further their global warming charade but at the same time it has reminded everyone how unreliable solar can be.
