Southern Bookman

Brian Kemp ties Georgia's economic future to Rivian's electric vehicle dreams

Exuberant Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp might be excused for his hyperbole about Rivian's massive electric truck factory coming to a rural outpost east of Atlanta.

Kemp called the $5 billion Rivian plant "the largest single economic development project in the state's history." 

Georgians hearing the news might ask "what's Rivian?" and wonder why the startup company's plant will be bigger than the Atlanta Airport, the Savannah Port, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, and so on.

The governor's jubilation at the Georgia State Capitol festivities is not misplaced: Rivian said the plant will employ 7,500 workers and turn out up to 400,000 vehicles a year. The state gave economic incentives estimated at around $400 million to attract the Irvine, Calif.-based company, which also reportedly considered a site near Fort Worth, Texas.  

Rivan raised nearly $12 billion in its initial public offering last month and is valued at $90 billion, more than Ford and General Motors.

Begun in 2009, the electric vehicle company has orders for 71,000 of its electric vehicles.

On the negative side, it's falling behind production at its initial plant in Bloomington-Normal, Ill., where fewer than 3,000 vehicles will be made this year, and lost $2.2 billion for the year through September.

As Neil Sedaka would say, ramping up is hard to do.

Founded by CEO R.J. Scaringe, Rivian is vying to take a major share of the transformation to electric vehicles, despite intense competition from Tesla, GM, Ford and Japanese and European automakers. The company has attracted an impressive lineup of investors, such as Cox Enterprises, Ford and Amazon, which has ordered a fleet of vans from the company.

Operations will begin in 2024 at the nearly 2,000-acre site between the small communities of Social Circle and Rutledge, which haven't experienced such a disruption since Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's army came through. Work beginning in 2022 will bring an end to the rural way of life treasured by longtime residents.

Global operations upon which Rivian's ambitions depend will also bring severe environmental costs. As electric vehicle manufacturing increases, the need for essential materials will rise, causing devastation from lithium mining in Bolivia and cobalt mining in Africa's Congo, according to recent investigative articles in The New York Times.

Rivian has received glowing reviews for the small number of trucks produced so far. But Rivian will be challenged to garner a major slice of the market from Ford's new electric F-150, GM pickups and vehicles from Toyota and Tesla.

While Kemp's Republican Party denies climate change, his deal with Rivian marks Georgia's second major investment in electric vehicles, considered essential in reducing carbon emissions. SK Battery is completing an electric battery factory in Commerce, Ga., for which the company received massive state incentives, although apparently less than Rivian's. 

Kemp, who will make the factory announcement a main component of his re-election effort, has linked Georgia's future to Rivian's. Perhaps one day the electric truck company will define the Peach State as much as Coca-Cola.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Freddie Freeman's dramatic homer reinforces need for Braves to resign slugger

Freddie Freeman’s eighth inning home run off the Brewers’ Josh Hader only advanced the Braves to the National League Championship Series.

While Freeman’s blast doesn’t have the majesty of a National League championship or World Series win, it’ll live on in the memory of Braves fans.

Freeman’s joy at the home run reflected that of the Truist Park crowd. After subduing the Brewers in the first round of the National League playoffs,  the Braves will play either the Dodgers or Giants for the league championship and a World Series berth.

In his post-game interview, the Braves’ gregarious slugger praised General Manager Alex Anthopoulos for his midseason deals that raised the team from mediocrity to excellence. Fans hope Freeman’s cordiality toward Anthopoulos results in a new contract for Freeman, soon to become a free agent.

New Braves hero Joc Pederson made his first postseason start in right field in the come-from behind victory over the Brewers, after leadoff man Jorge Soler received a positive covid test.

Pederson, who won game three of the series with a pinch-hit three run home run, showed his presence by driving in a run with a ground ball and making a running catch, his pearl necklace flying.

The Braves might not go on to win the World Series, but they play the game with a special joy.

 

 

Images from a trip to San Diego and Los Angeles

From the 101 freeway, Los Angeles appears like a giant movie set, stretching for miles along the cliffs and valleys.

The vast array of buildings seems fantastical, stunning and yet fragile, their imposition on the landscape impressive and foolhardy.

In 20 years, Atlanta will be LA, without the ocean. Atlanta's already nearly there, ravaging the forest as LA has the desert.

A week-long visit to San Diego and Los Angeles left a sideshow of impressions:

San Diego's architecturally magnificent Balboa Park during a surprising rainstorm. With museums, theaters, restaurants, sports fields and trails, Balboa Park is a great center of culture and recreation.

Petco Park's fans, still loving their Padres despite a disappointing season.

The lovely Horton House, an oasis of Old West elegance amid the rowdy bars and touristy restaurants of San Diego's Gaslamp District.

La Jolla's sea lions and seals, their cries haunting after a devastating oil spill farther up the coast.

Dodger Stadium, rising from canyons.

The Beverly Hills Hotel, where a snooty hostess denied us entry to the Polo Lounge, more amusing than upsetting.

Riding the bus down Wilshire Boulevard, past MacArthur Park and the site of the Ambassador Hotel, where Robert Kennedy was shot and Roy Orbison recorded his black and white concert at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub.

Vestiges of Los Angeles' political history and  glamorous old Hollywood at the Millennium Biltmore and Hilton Checkers hotels.

San Diego's Sante Fe train station, where you can still buy a daily newspaper, unlike at Lax.

Union Station in LA.

Downtown Los Angeles' public library, where we saw a wonderful exhibit of Los Angeles and California maps by the artist Jo Mora. I remembered one of Mora's illustrations from the cover of the Byrds' "Sweetheart of the Rodeo."

Beverly Hills. Rodeo Drive (underwhelming). Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, closed to the public on a Friday afternoon. USC's young students. Will they be able to show sea lions to their children and grandchildren?

From a distance, the Rams' new futuristic SoFi Stadium. Seen closeup from a bus, the Staples Center.

The inspiring/heartbreaking stories of Lyft drivers, Latinos striving to provide for their families in the contract economy.

Torrey Pines' fairways, where hang-gliders soar above the Pacific.

The kindness and courtesy of San Diego and Los Angeles' residents.

 

 

Journalists stepping up to sound climate change warnings

Alarms are clanging that the world's losing the battle against climate change.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned this week after a closed door meeting with global leaders that the Glasgow climate change conference in November will fail if countries don't strengthen pledges to reduce carbon emissions.

Gutterres said that the world must cut emissions by 45 percent by 2030 to control rising temperatures. Instead, humanity's on pace to increase emissions by 16 percent by decade's end.

That would mean a catastrophic 2.7-degree celsius increase in temperatures over pre-industrial averages, instead of the 1.5 degree threshold set in the 2015 Paris agreement.

As the United Nations holds its annual climate change week in New York City, New Yorker magazine columnist and environmental activist Bill McKibben sounded the alarm that immediate action is needed to stop the worst ravages of climate change. Immediate shifts to renewable energy will be less expensive than delaying the transformation, he said.

Along with New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, McKibben targeted West Virginia Democratic  Sen. Joe Manchin, who seeks to slow down climate change action proposed in President Joe Biden's spending plans.

McKibben pointed to Manchin crony Nick Akins, head of West Virginia's American Electric Power, which relies on coal to generate clectricity. Manchin, whose family owns a coal brokerage company and who receives millions in donations from fossil fuel companies, is being solicited by Akins to delay shifts to renewable energy.

Like McKibben, Krugman condemned Manchin holding so much power over decisions upon which the world's fate rests. Krugman reported that West Virginia's coal industry has suffered major losses, and is no longer the state's major employer. Manchin's nostalgic support for coal hurts the state's citizens, Krugman concluded.

The Washington Post's Eugene Robinson echoed Gutterres' warnings, but his climate change villain was Chinese Premier Xi Jingping, not Manchin. Although China seeks to develop solar power, it is also developing a number of coal-powered plants, Robinson said.

Xi is also moving to take control of Chinese companies that had achieved independence under the country's hybrid economic model, the Wall Street Journal reported.

As the globe suicidally increases emissions, and extreme weather worsens, columnists are speaking out. The world's hopes depend on their voices being heard to counter political intransigence and the power of fossil-fuel companies.

LSU in game against UCLA plays for Hurricane Ida victims

My resistance won't last long.

One long run. A pass. A touchdown drive.

College football returns this weekend, and like a recovering alcoholic who falls off the wagon, I'll  succumb to a five-month bender.

Forced to practice in Houston because of Hurricane Ida, my LSU Tigers travel to the Rose Bowl to play the UCLA Bruins Saturday night. The journey from hurricane-battered Louisiana to a wildfire-ravaged California is a saga for our apocalyptic times.

The game itself is loaded with compelling themes. The clash of LSU coach Ed Orgeron and UCLA's Chip Kelly. The proud old Pac-12 seeking a prestigious victory over a school from the arrogant SEC. The clash of two major state universities with vaunted athletic histories.

Several families of LSU players suffered serious damage to their homes from the hurricane, as the Athletic's Brody Miller detailed in a comprehensive report. Miller, who covers LSU for the sports web site, ranges from how the team's equipment managers organized the Texas trip to heart-rending stories from players' family members.

Orgeron, a Louisiana native whose native South Lafourche Parish was devastated by Ida, said that he and and his team know that suffering Louisianians will look to the Tigers for solace. To ease their pain for a couple of hours, they'll be listening to the radio or watching on TV when the Tigers take the field.

One heartbeat, as he tells his players.

 

 

 

Hurricane Ida shows Louisiana's increasing vulnerability

As remnants of Hurricane Ida brush across Atlanta, Louisiana again awakens to devastation.

New Orleans' rebuilt levees held, but millions of people in my native state lost power and water. Many suffered damages to homes and businesses. Services won't be restored for weeks.

While New Orleans escaped the collapsed levees and flooding that all but destroyed the city after Hurricane Katrina 16 yeas ago, a familiar scenario from that disaster returned when people farther south had to be rescued from their attics.

In recent years, massive hurricanes have hit Louisiana and Texas with more frequency than in the past. Lake Charles, west of New Orleans, is still recovering from two hurricanes that struck in 2020. Now, Houma, Grand Isle, Lafitte, New Orleans, Baton Rouge and other Louisiana places must repeat the state's now regular rebuilding ritual.

After Katrina, the Army Corps of Engineers spent billions to strengthen New Orleans' storm protection system. So far, the enhanced levees have withstood Ida's fury.

But the city's future remains bleak, as the New Yorker's Elizabeth Kolbert pointed out. The increased protection won't hold for many years as the intensity and frequency of storms increase and sea levels rise because of climate change.

The threat is worsened because most of New Orleans lies below sea level, and much of it was built upon marshland that is now sinking, as Kolbert pointed out. Also, southern Louisiana loses massive amounts of land to the encroaching Gulf of Mexico each year. Even if billions more are spent on bolstering storm protection, New Orleans' vulnerability will increase.

As the rain grows heavy outside my window, I grieve for my native state.

 

 

World running out of time on climate change, U.N. panel's "code red" warns

The U.N.'s International Panel on Climate Change issued its first dire warning to humanity in 1988.

On Monday, the organization gave what U.N. Executive Secretary Antonio Guterres called a "code red" for our fragile Earth; it's already too late to stop climate change. The world will be hotter, extreme weather common, and wildfires normal.

Yet the world can still take action to prevent even worst disasters by limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C over pre-industrial temperatures in the next two decades, the latest report from the panel said. 

Hundreds of scientists conducted research for the report, which for the first time looks at regional effects of the warming planet. The report unequivocally linked climate change to human activity.

Guterres warned that to stand a chance to keep temperatures within the 1.5-degree threshold, the world must cease petroleum exploration and the construction of new coal plants.

The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, scrapped by the Trump administration, committed nations to slash carbon emissions. But CO2 and methane discharges have kept rising, with a brief pause during the Covid-19 shutdown.

Nations will gather again in November, no doubt transported by emissions-spewing jets, for another last ditch effort to save our descendants from an increasingly uninhabitable world. The COP25 Conference in Glasgow is our final chance to take climate-change action, both U.S. climate envoy John Kerry and United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned.

Monday's report made me think of T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufock," with Eliot's indecisive character representing the world. "There will be time, there will be time," Prufock says.

The world has almost run out of time. Unless we awaken, we will drown.

The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufock

By T.S. Eliot

S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse
A persona che mai tornasse al mondo,
Questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse.
Ma perciocche giammai di questo fondo
Non torno vivo alcun, s'i'odo il vero,
Senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.

Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question…
Oh, do not ask, "What is it?"
Let us go and make our visit.

In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo.

The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.

And indeed there will be time
For the yellow smoke that slides along the street,
Rubbing its back upon the window-panes;
There will be time, there will be time
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;
There will be time to murder and create,
And time for all the works and days of hands
That lift and drop a question on your plate;
Time for you and time for me,
And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of a toast and tea.

In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo.

And indeed there will be time
To wonder, "Do I dare?" and, "Do I dare?"
Time to turn back and descend the stair,
With a bald spot in the middle of my hair—
[They will say: "How his hair is growing thin!"]
My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,
My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin—
[They will say: "But how his arms and legs are thin!"]
Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.

For I have known them all already, known them all—
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;
I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room.
So how should I presume?

And I have known the eyes already, known them all—
The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase,
And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,
When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall,
Then how should I begin
To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?
And how should I presume?

And I have known the arms already, known them all—
Arms that are braceleted and white and bare
[But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!]
Is it perfume from a dress
That makes me so digress?
Arms that lie along a table, or wrap about a shawl.
And should I then presume?
And how should I begin?

. . . . .

Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets
And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes
Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows? …

I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

. . . . .

And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully!
Smoothed by long fingers,
Asleep… tired… or it malingers,
Stretched on the floor, here beside you and me.
Should I, after tea and cakes and ices,
Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis?
But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed,
Though I have seen my head [grown slightly bald] brought in upon a platter,
I am no prophet—and here's no great matter;
I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,
And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,
And in short, I was afraid.

And would it have been worth it, after all,
After the cups, the marmalade, the tea,
Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me,
Would it have been worth while,
To have bitten off the matter with a smile,
To have squeezed the universe into a ball
To roll it toward some overwhelming question,
To say: "I am Lazarus, come from the dead,
Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all"—
If one, settling a pillow by her head,
Should say: "That is not what I meant at all.
That is not it, at all."

And would it have been worth it, after all,
Would it have been worth while,
After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,
After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor—
And this, and so much more?—
It is impossible to say just what I mean!
But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:
Would it have been worth while
If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl,
And turning toward the window, should say:
"That is not it at all,
That is not what I meant, at all."

. . . . .

No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—
Almost, at times, the Fool.

I grow old… I grow old…
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.

Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.

I do not think that they will sing to me.

I have seen them riding seaward on the waves
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back
When the wind blows the water white and black.

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown.

 

Capsized Golden Ray an ominous environmenal threat to St. Simons Island

Like a long-running horror movie in which the monster never dies, the capsized ship Golden Ray keeps despoiling St. Simons Island.

In the latest attack, a massive oil spill from the Korean cargo ship ruined marshland and beaches on Georgia's coastal jewel.

Environmental workers have collected and bagged 35,000 pounds of oil-soaked sand, according to local reports. Volunteers and state officials are trying to soak up the oil with sphagnum moss and chemicals. The cleanup is expected to last for days, unless another spill occurs.

Saturday's oil leak came after the separation of the sixth of eight sections of the ship, which capsized in September 2019 in St. Simons Sound after leaving the port of Brunswick laden with 4,200 new cars.

At high tide Saturday, the oil escaped beneath a protective barrier surrounding the ship. The failure to prevent such a disaster is puzzling and disturbing.

Hampered by Covid and a fire aboard ship, the U.S. Coast Guard, Georgia Environmental Protection Division and Gallagher Marine Systems have been working to dismantle and remove the 650-foot long ship.

Environmental groups have been monitoring the removal. Sections of the unsalvageable ship are being sent to a Louisiana landfill.

Much of the oil on the ship had been removed before Saturday's spill, but as much as 44,000 gallons were estimated to have remained. Several other oil spills have occurred during the ship’s removal, but Saturday's was reportedly the worst.

The oil spill is sickening for Georgians for whom St. Simons is a beloved vacation spot and favorite place for second homes and retirement.

While distressing, the long delay in removing the ship and the inability to prevent environmental catastrophes have shown the importance of local news.

The severely decimated Brunswick News and the new online venture the Current, staffed with several former AJC stalwarts, have been steadfast in reporting on the disaster, which has belatedly received The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's attention. Alas, the local coverage has not prevented the series of debacles.

After pulling back from Georgia coverage for years, the AJC has renewed its commitment to state news.

Recently installed political columnist Patricia Murphy has traveled around the state to talk to local officials and voters, although the series has been disappointingly superficial.

The AJC has also entered into a partnership with the Savannah Morning News to provide coastal coverage, so far emphasizing cultural features and human interest stories more than "hard news."

The Golden Ray disaster deserves an extensive examination from the state's major newspaper. A coastal jewel beloved by Atlantans is threatened by economic and environmental devastation if more oil escapes from the hulking ship. Oil also reached nearby Jekyll Island.

Along with the AJC, major newspapers like The New York Times and Washington Post should step up reporting on what’s turning into a major national environmental disaster.

The federal government should also boost efforts to remove the ship as soon as possible, and prevent any further oil spills.

 

Biden administration betrays climate change goals with backing of ConocoPhillips' Arctic drilling

As environmentalists celebrated major victories over Big Oil, the empire struck back.

The reputedly climate-change busting Biden administration, taking the baton from the Trump White House, will defend a ConocoPhillips venture to drill for oil in the Alaskan Arctic.

That bad news followed the election of two climate change activists to Exxon Mobil's board,  a court ordering Royal Dutch Shell to slash emissions and Chevron stock holders demanding similar climate change action.

But the Biden administration's betrayal of its climate change efforts shows that the Democratic Party remains as committed to oil drilling as the science-denying GOP.

The Wall Street Journal in an editorial bemoaning the Exxon Mobil vote presented the prevailing view that fossil-fuel dominance will last as the developing world's economy increases.

"Nigeria won't drive Teslas," the WSJ sniffed, ignoring the auto industry's move to electric vehicles, and the declining costs of wind and solar energy. The choice of Nigeria was an arrogant effort at irony; the African nation has suffered major devastation from oil production.

Support of oil drilling counters the recent International Energy Agency warning that petroleum exploration must end if the world has a chance to achieve carbon-emissions goals and survive climate change.

The Conoco-Phillips extraction of oil from the Arctic will blast more emissions into the atmosphere. Biden's support of the project is a distressing capitulation to the oil industry and an assault on his climate-change agenda.

International Energy Agency calls for end to oil production

For the world to achieve "net-zero" carbon emissions by 2050, exploration for new oil must end, the International Energy Agency said this week.

The IEA in a far-ranging report sets 400 milestones to "guide the global journey" to the net-zero future.

Along with ending petroleum exploration and production, the oil companies' business, the report calls for no further "final investments" in what it calls "unabated coal plants," which opens the door to carbon capture projects, another key element of the plan. "Cap and trade" programs apparently will also be allowed.

Vehicles with internal combustion engines won't be sold by 2035 under the report's projections.

"By 2040, the global electricity sector has already reached net-zero emissions," the IEA proclaims.

Eliminating carbon emissions and shifting to solar and wind-generated power are humanity's only hope for holding temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial averages, the report said. Here is the press release summing up the findings.

While the IEA calls for drastic measures to head off the devastation of climate change, the report rosily envisions robust economic growth and increasing jobs.

In a snapshot of the world in 2050, the IEA discloses without fanfare the disturbing fact that the population will grow by 2 billion. The IEA claims that the world economy will double in 30 years, with nearly 70 percent of power coming from wind and solar. Some coal generation apparently would remain, with technological improvements.

The IEA's optimistic forecast doesn't mention the toll all of those additional people will have on the world's already diminished resources. One of climate change's worst effects will be water scarcity, which will imperil agriculture.

While soaring population and water shortages threaten the IEA's Panglossian economic scenario, the report makes clear that further oil projects must cease if the world is to meet the overwhelming challenge of ending carbon emissions.

That means no more projects like the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge search, which off-shore exploration and the Keystone XL pipeline. As the IEA report makes clear, the petroleum-based economy has reached its sunset.