#Also this ooze can grant some power. With a cost of course. There's a reason quinacridone has been king for so long

[dragoncarrion]

who’s an OC you haven’t shared on here before :0?

ahhhh a bunch 😭 mostly because I have almost nothing on them.... But I'll pick one that is REALLY IMPORTANT yet barely developed. Sad!

So I think in other posts I've mentioned there's a titan beneath the colosseum? Yeah well those are "doomsday" titans, much, MUCH bigger than regular titans, practically country or continent sized. Got a bit inspired by iaconus from cbv as in these were buried a loooong time ago, being akin to gods. These titan's city speakers (and city speakers in general) disappeared, either because they went into hiding, jail, stasis lock or they just were killed sometimes 💀 in fear that they'd try to reawaken these titans. There's some prophecy or whatever of them waking up once again, destroying Cybertron and a whole lot of other planets in a struggle for power, but because of how much time has passed, this had pretty much been completely forgotten, spoken of as myths at MOST. There's around seven of these? And most of them are underneath MASSIVE cities since valuable minerals always surround them, as well as some odd energy that can be used to power up shit yadda yadda. They're technically dormant, but not fully powerless, as their influence can still take hold of feeble minds.

One of these rotten minds is an odd bot. Not quite an outlier, but not a regular mech at all either. Granted the ability to completely shape shift into whatever body he wishes, he goes by many names, but let's call him Armageddon. I'm still figuring out how he stumbled upon (one of. Maybe) the titans, and also WHICH one, but long story short, they promised power and glory. His mind was corrupted; after all, only city speakers can converse with titans. A destroyed world was a promise to start anew (he's just some doomer wacko and insane. think of the cultists from Dredge) with him as everyone's saviour and new chance of course, a loyal servant to the titans. Little by little, he's been looking for clues and pulling strings to awaken the titans and fulfill this prophecy, bringing in other impressionable and easily persuaded bots, always with the same promises: an end to the wretched today, and a chance for a fresh start, a clean slate tomorrow... Of course, there not doing all this thinking by themselves. Many swear they can feel something at the back of their minds, tugging at their thoughts

#Ask box #As you can see he has a very. Skewed perspective lol #LISTEN I THINK. TITANS COULD BE VERY COOL AND FREAKY #Also they ooze this like. Oil. Actually one of the Titans was badly injured. Where it fell it's blood spilled #And anything it touched was turned into a barren wasteland #Hell an entire section of the planet is almost completely inhabitable because of that titan #Also Armageddon IS various characters throughout the story just in different bodies. One of those alter egos is the one who runs the #Colosseum because like. It's right atop a titan so why wouldn't he #Also this ooze can grant some power. With a cost of course. There's a reason quinacridone has been king for so long #And why his ambition is a bottomless pit #Never full never satisfied #There's probably sooooo many typos bt typing on my phone from browser Tumblr is always so annoying #Also my projection moment here. I grabbed a bit from Armageddon's mindset with how uh... christians (at least the ones I was raised with lo #See the end of the world which definitely did shit to me but I can use that for stories now so 👍

[darkcloud-kcalifornia]

Alright, season finale time for My Little Pony.  I’ve been trying to avoid spoilers for this one.  No idea what’s going to happen.  So, let’s see what goes down in “Shadow Play”

* We open on the book that got the ominous sting at the end of the last episode.  So yeah, I guess we were in the finale then.

* Huh, a different set of Elements being talked about here.  OK, we’ve got Rockhoof as Strength, Flash Magnus as Bravery, Meadowbrook as Healing, Mist Mane as Beauty, Somnambula as Hope, and who I’m guessing is Star Swirl the Bearded as Sorcery.  [note to self: look up actual names]

* And apparently they had been gathered together by somepony else to embody their ideals, like the Mane 6 were.  Was this Celestia, or somepony else?

* Ooh, the gatherer was a unicorn stallion, but the ancient Elements came to believe he was just wanting to use their power for himself and so they cast him out.

* Then he became Shadow Pony, and the Pillars stood as one against him.  They beat him but had to make some kind of sacrifice to do so, and created a seed to carry hope to the future.  I wonder, was that seed the origin of the Tree of Harmony?  I’m also seeing the emergence of the sun and moon on the sides of where I have it paused right now, so maybe it’s the origins of Celestia and Luna?

* Incidentally, I am loving this lore dump.

* Oh good, Sunburst was smart enough to make a report on this directly to the Alicorn Sisters and the Mane 6.  I guess he knows who has to deal with all the destiny crap around here.

* Huh, apparently Celestia never knew what happened to Starswirl, but these were apparently his last words before vanishing.

* OK, so Celestia and Luna were around back then, but young and had only ever met Starswirl.

* Reluctant nerd hoofbump. Also, I like how Celestia doesn’t know much Old Ponish anymore due to disuse.  It’s a nice nod to what happens when you don’t use something.  I can’t imagine how bad it would be after 1000 years. I’m a bit surprised Luna isn’t more familiar with it though, given how she spent most of the time sealed away. Unless she was fully cognizant of the passage of time during those 1000 years, which is… fairly nightmareish.

* So, more to Old Ponish than she thought, actual other languages being used, or Starswirl just had horrible hornwriting.  You decide!

* Ah, sloppy writing. Only readable by somepony who is ever worse at that kind of thing.  Anyway, the last stand was at the Temple of Ponhenge at the base of Mt. Foal.  …OK, I know they try and fit in horse puns, but “Ponhenge”?  Surely they could have done better than that.

* Those ruins look nice and ruiny.  Also not much like Stonehenge, which again makes me wonder why they referenced that.

* Be careful what you wish for Twilight.  Also, be careful where you place ancient magical tomes.

* Ooooh, ancient holographic display of the final battle.  So, sealed away, and the objects each pony carried are somehow related. Well, they’ve got the book, and they know where the mask is at least, so that just leaves the flower, the blindfold, the shield, and the shovel.  Gonna be honest, might be hard finding a flower after 1000 years.

* Never underestimate Twilight’s ability to be a nerd.

* Right, so banished to Limbo, but they had to take him there themselves and so got stuck there with him.  …Who’s gonna be the idiot to try and get them out and release the Pony of Shadows in the process?

* Twilight!  Twilight shall be that idiot!  Come over here so I can slap you!

* RD does not like demonstrative models.

* Boo!  The Map stepping in to help the search is cheating! Although this might be seen as the Tree of Harmony trying to get its parents back.  Kinda touching if you think of it like that.

* Skeptical archeologist is skeptical.  Somepony should tell her she’s in a fantasy series.

* Had no idea AJ was that strong.  Oh well, Shovel Get!

* Rarity’s problem to overcome is crappy gardening?  I can’t say I think much of Mist Mane’s descendant if it never occurred to her to, you know, perform upkeep.  Or hire others to do it.  Heck, just apply for a government grant if money’s the problem, that place has got to be a historical site, and once you attract tourists you can get money for, you know, upkeep.  Flower Get.

* Actually Flash Magnus’ shield being in the Dragon Lands makes quite a bit of sense.  It was made to combat dragons after all.  Makes sense that either it would accidentally get left behind after an expedition, or stolen by the dragons to keep it from being used.

* Also, neat to see a Spike/RD teamup, even if it’s likely gonna last a minute or two of screentime.

* Ugh, seriously, Garble has it?  Somepony just kick that idiot in the face so this can be over with.

* Garble is stupidest dragon.  Seriously, he just got outwitted by Rainbow Dash.  Well regardless, Shield Get.

* Fluttershy… just help to move the zap bee hive, and didn’t even need to do that to get the mask. She just felt like it.  But then arguably her trial was a few episodes ago anyway.  Mask Get.

* Pinkie’s trail… was very Pinkie.  And that ooze was a lot less dangerous then they made it out to be.  Um, Blindfold get?

* How is Starlight the voice of reason with regards to the risk involved in this plan?

* Why didn’t Pinkie wash that thing before bringing it >P

* Oh, gee, Starswirl is horrified that somepony broke the seal what are the odds?

* Way to summon the ancient evil, Twilight.

 And there’s the end of episode 1.  Time for a stretch and snack I think.  Let’s all go to the lobby, let’s all go to the lobby…

 * Yeah, having a backup plan in case the ancient evil escaped as well would have been a great idea, Twilight.  You still have that slap coming.

* Twilight and Starlight are able to hold the PoS back with a double tech… but can’t stop him from escaping at the speed of dark.  Nice going, Twilight.

* On one hoof, having the person you’ve revered all your life give you the dirtiest look for your incompetence must suck.  On the other, she really has this coming.

* Heh, Pinkie pointing out all of the other threats they’ve had to save Equestria from is a good one. And I like how Magnus is totally down for teaming up with the modern heroes to beat PoS into submission.  But Starswirl is going to be an absolute grumpy gus about this.

* Yay, source of Tree of Harmony, and the Elements, confirmed!

* And now Starswirl is planning on sacrificing the Elements to seal PoS again.  Despite the cost to Equestria.  Yeah, getting Outer Senshi vibes from this guy.  Which is a shame, because all of the other Pillars seem to be perfectly nice and affable ponies willing to work together.

* And Twilight’s search for a different solution… just has keeping the Pillars around while still sacrificing the Elements.  And yeah, the Pillars made the elements, but did so over a long incubation period. Try following Starlight’s advice and look for a non-banishment solution, stupid.

* Kinda funny how the heroes are having trouble tracking PoS down because Equestria is a better place, so all of the old dens of darkness are just fine these days.

* Starswirl needs to get his head outta his flank.

* I think some offense was taken.

* Yeah, the narrative is leaning pretty hard against Starswirl and towards Starlight here. Especially with the whole “Once a villain, always a villain” bit.

* Thank you, Starlight, for actually asking what happened all those years ago.

* Huh, Sirens confirmed as series canon.  Odd. Mind you I don’t know that much about them as I’ve never watched the movies, but some things are unavoidable knowledge if you hang out online in the fanbase.

* The PoS’s name was Stygian?  Man, it’s like his parents wanted him to go supervillain.

* So Stygian gathered them together to fight evil, but got jealous.  At one point he stole their artifacts to work some spell or another, but was discovered before actually finishing and was cast out.  And when he came back he did so as Dark Death Evil Man. But as Starlight helps to point out, they don’t know what exactly he had been trying to accomplish with his spell, though their guess is stealing their power.

* Yeah, Starlight has had enough of Starswirl’s crap.

* Now I’m wondering who build the temple to the Shadows, as apparently it already existed before Stygian came upon it.  Also, never listen to the mythos spoken from the depths of the Earth, dude.

* Oh look, there’s more to the story than meets the eye, who could have guessed.

* Well, Twilight’s been holding the idiot ball all finale thus far, but at least she noticed the pony of Stygian within the Pony of Shadows.  Not sure diving in was the right idea though.

* OK, Stygian’s side comes out, he wanted to make copies of their artifacts in the hope it would make him a Pillar and he could join the battles.  That’s still something you really need to talk about before you go stealing stuff.

* Rainbow Friendship Lasso Beam go!

* So The Shadows are banished, but Stygian remains.  Happy end!

* Aw, Starswirl commenting on how tall Celestia got is cute!  And Luna asking not to have to turn in the essays they were supposed to 1000 years ago is just funny.

* Can’t blame the Pillars for wanting to see what’s changed over the course of a millennia.  Of course there’s the problem of nopony’s gonna believe who they are.

 And that’s the end of the season.  It was pretty good all things considered.  Although this ending does make one question how things are going to work out with the non-reformed villains.  OK, Sombra isn’t likely to be a problem, but he is still awkward in that they killed him all kinds of dead.  But the new characters introduced seem decent enough now that we actually get to see them in something other than tales.  And I’m still curious about who built the shrine to the Shadows.  Evil cultist ponies!

Also, I may not care much about shipping debates and all that, but I can definitely see Rainbow Dash/Flash Magnus being a thing.  At the very least they’re certainly chummy with each other.

#tv talk #episode reactions #my little pony friendship is magic #MLP:FiM #mlp s7 e 25 #mlp s7 e26 #shadow play

[loreleywrites]

The Limited Archetypes of Modern Masters 2017 Edition

So, how ‘bout that Modern Masters 2017 Edition?

While the majority of the hype surrounding the newest Magic set was for the sheer volume of sexy reprints at rare and mythic rare, don’t forget that this set was designed for limited play as well. If you’re gonna be spending more money on booster packs, you might as well throw a draft together and get some extra value out of them!

Like all sets, Modern Masters 2017 Edition has a few different archetypes to build around. Unlike most Standard sets, however, these archetypes are loosely defined. There are five basic ally-color themes that support a heckload of multicolor cards. There’s a lot going on, so today’s article is going to help give you some direction when drafting this set.

And as always, make sure to check out the whole set in the Card Image Gallery! Drafting is always easier when you know what you’re looking for.

White/Blue – Flicker

Aethermage’s Touch by Randy Gallegos

“Flicker” is Magic slang that means to exile a permanent and return it to the battlefield. Sometimes the object returns immediately, and sometimes the object doesn’t come back until the end of the turn (slow flickering).

The goal of this strategy is to accrue value from creatures with enter-the-battlefield effects. It’s not a fast archetype, but it’s not always slow either. These colors have access to a lot of fliers, which can end the game quickly if left unchecked. Flickering can also help those creatures dodge removal spells; keeping tempo is important.

It’s tempting to draft a bunch of flickering spells, but you’ll still want to focus on creatures first. In limited, drawing a card like Momentary Blink when you have nothing to flicker is not good (AKA bad). You can win games if you only draw creatures, but no flicker spells. The other way around does not work.

Key cards: Attended Knight, Flickerwisp, Ghostly Flicker, Wing Splicer

Blue/Black – Control

Pilfered Plans by Michael C. Hayes

This is easily the least-defined archetype in this set. Am I supposed to be milling myself? Do I want evasion? Is there a Blue flash package here? So much confusion.

Regardless of how this color pair shapes up, it’s gonna be slowww. Overall, I think a general “control” label can be applied to the Blue/Black strategy. You’ll want to draw cards, counter some spells, and kill whatever else gets through. Card advantage is the name of this game, which is where some of the graveyard shenanigans come into play. Flashback gives your spells an extra use. It also gives you a place to spend your mana later in the game.

What you will inevitably need is a way to win the game. A few powerful, resilient threats should do it. Evasion is also key, so keep an eye out for fliers with 3 or more power. Being a slow deck also means more time to find lands for a splashed color. If you see a bomb rare that can win the game if it sticks, take it. You’ll probably be fine playing it.

Key cards: Rewind, Compulsive Research, Cower in Fear, Abyssal Specter

Black/Red – Sacrifice

Falkenrath Aristocrat by Igor Kieryluk

Death reigns supreme if you’re drafting Black/Red.

The battlefield is only a temporary residence for your creatures, as you’ll practically be sending them from your hand to your graveyard. Of course, you won’t be doing this for no reason. You’ll also be drafting cards that care about creatures dying or cards that have nifty effects that cost creatures to activate.

And if you can send your army from cradle to grave so easily, why not the other way ‘round? Unearth, the “flashback for creatures,” is a mechanic that shows up in this color pair. You can sacrifice creatures for value and attack with them later, or unearth can bring them back to be sacrificed yet again. There’s a lot of value here, and how you use it depends on how you build your deck.

In general, I think this archetype is going to lean aggressive. Unearth grants haste, so you’re often better off focusing on offense and ending the game as quickly as possible. But I also think there’s a slower, grindier, more controlling deck to be had here.

Key cards: Grixis Slavedriver, Entomber Exarch, Scourge Devil, Skirsdag Cultist

Red/Green – Go Wide

Wort, the Raidmother by Dave Allsop

Ain’t no breaks on the Goblin train! Because Goblins haven’t invented breaks yet. That’s not their style.

In this set, Red/Green wants to flood the battlefield with creatures, turn them sideways, and then take a nap after 2-0ing its opponent in ten minutes. It wants to employ abilities like menace and first strike to make combat miserable for any blocking force. It wants to deploy far more threats than any deck can deal with.

It’s not really a difficult deck to draft at first glance, but Modern Masters 2017 Edition has a lot of smexy cards that help this deck out a lot. People often tend to forget that they need cheap removal for their aggressive draft deck too. You won’t want to spend more than one or two mana to trade for an opponent’s creature. The burn in this set is very good at this, as much of it also hits players. Being removal when you need it, but the final bits of damage when you don’t, gives those spells lots of value. Absolutely pick them up if you’re in Red at all.

Key cards: Magma Jet, Goblin Assault, Strength in Numbers, Gaea’s Anthem

Green/White – Tokens

Call of the Conclave by Terese Nielsen

In most limited formats, “tokens” is synonymous with “go wide.” While there is certainly overlap in these adjacent archetypes, this Green/White deck is looking to go much bigger than the Red/Green deck.

Populate, the Selesnya mechanic from Return to Ravnica, prefers a few large tokens to a bunch of small ones. You’ll notice that both colors have the ability to make tokens that are at least 3/3. This makes the archetype more of a midrange beatdown strategy than an aggressive swarming one. White’s ability to flicker creatures is also relevant here.

You’ll notice a lot of different tokens in this set. From 1/1 flying Birds, 3/3 Golems, and 4/4 Beasts to 4/4 Angels, 5/5 Wurms, and massive X/X Oozes. All creatures big and small are welcome in this army.

Key cards: Slime Molding, Baloth Cage Trap, Rootborn Defenses, Master Splicer

Multicolor Madness

All that said, this set is loaded with multicolor cards. With Guildgates at common and Signets at uncommon, it’s very easy to splash a third color in your draft deck. You can sure as heckfire just draft a full three-color deck too. Maybe even four! Sky’s the limit!

Because the main archetypes, and thus the bulk of the gold cards, are ally-color pairs, you’ll most often end up drafting a shard (color and its two allies) if you do go three colors. So I’m going to briefly talk about how all these themes overlap if you do walk this yellow-bricked road.

Green/White/Blue (Bant)

Stoic Angel by Volkan Baga

This combines the Green/White Tokens strategy with the White/Blue Flicker strategy. As I mentioned above, flickering works great with the creatures that create tokens when they enter the battlefield. Can you imagine casting Ghostly Flicker on two Splicers to get two extra 3/3 Golems? Because you should be imagining that. It’s the dream of this deck.

Green brings a beatdown speed to the White/Blue archetype that turns the Bant deck into more of a tempo deck. You’ll want to stick a meaty creature early and then use spells to disrupt your opponent’s plans. Because you get to recycle so many effects, this deck has some huge late-game plays too.

White/Blue/Black (Esper)

Tower Gargoyle by Matt Cavotta

Flickering and Control are kind of a weird pair, but this is the three-color deck that most wants to win the card advantage game. Doing more with less is the goal, and you can see that in both individual strategies.

If you want to draft this deck, efficiency is your top priority. Play the cheapest, but most impactful, cards from all three colors. Find threats with a lot of stats. Disrupt your opponent’s plans while furthering yours at the same time. You’ll eventually win if you have more resources than your opponent.

Blue/Black/Red (Grixis)

Cruel Ultimatum by Todd Lockwood

I mentioned that the Black/Sacrifice deck probably has a grindier game plan in it somewhere. Combined with Blue/Black Control is a surefire way to bring that slow side out.

This deck can look a lot like the Esper one, just with the value focused on the graveyard instead of the battlefield. Then again, Blue’s bounce spells can simply supplement the aggressive Black/Red strategy you have. There’s a lot of flexibility in three-color decks, so try not to lose focus on what your specific draft deck is trying to accomplish.

Black/Red/Green (Jund)

Broodmate Dragon by Vance Kovacs

Sacrifice decks need food, so give it to them with Red/Green’s surplus of little creatures. Green pushes Black/Red in the more aggressive direction for sure. This is a deck that wants to put a lot of stuff onto the battlefield and then use it as needed.

Having the option to simply attack with your forces or sacrifice them for other effects is the dilemma the Jund deck thrive in. And really, it’s not much of a dilemma. Attack when you can, sac when you can’t. You’re getting closer to victory either way, so stay adaptable.

Red/Green/White (Naya)

Woolly Thoctar by Wayne Reynolds

If you want to draft the most brutal curve-out creature deck in Modern Masters 2017 Edition, these are the colors you’re going to do it in. Many limited games are won by simply casting effective bodies on turns two, three, and four.

Red provides the damage reach that a Green/White deck might struggle with, while White provides some of the better removal for larger creatures that burn spells can’t hit. Together, this strategy has some of the most impactful spells in the format. Playing good cards is always a good idea.

Mastering Limited

If you think this is a lot to keep track of, note that I didn’t even mention the enemy-color gold cards that enhance this format even further. I, for one, am hoping to get to draft Simic Sky Swallower, Urban Evolution, and Coiling Oracle for that Green/Blue Ramp action. In Modern Masters 2017 Edition limited, almost anything seems possible if the cards get passed your way. I can’t wait to get a draft in.

Until next time, planeswalkers, may you draft bomb rares and have your favorite colors always be open.

#Magic The Gathering #MTG #Modern Masters 2017 #MTGMM3 #limited #draft #sealed #archetypes

[adzoe]

OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE

I admire your healthy skepticism about the relationship between global warming and human activity. There is reasonable cause for doubts. Consider this graph developed from examining the plankton fossil record showing the spread of ice over the earth’s surface.

This image provided by the petroleum industry makes it clear that for almost a million years there have been cycles of warming and cooling. The image also makes it clear that we are presently in a warming cycle. Since I do not have a reference date for this graph I cannot comment on whether the current spike has reached its peak. It is, however, safe to say that we are in a period consistent with one of those peaking periods. We also know from not yet fossilized biological remains that at some time in the not too distant past we had periods when temperate climates were seen in the Arctic region.

Irrespective of the causes for this present spike, however, it has serious consequences for our economic well being here in America and around the world. Should the Greenland ice cap melt and the Antarctic ice cap continue to lose volume the consequences for our seaport cities and other low lying areas will be devastating. Consider this image of the Eastern US seaboard. You have properties here in America within this region as well as Florida and Southern California that will be in a flooded state. Florida already has cities that experience “sunny day flooding” where ocean water oozes up from the storm drains at high tide. The economic impact of even a 5 foot sea level rise could be devastating and cost trillions of dollars in losses and or mitigation. As a real estate developer I am sure you thoroughly understand this.

It therefore behooves us to do everything in our power to slow or even reverse the current rise in our planetary temperature irrespective of its cause. But what does science tell us can be done? Our initial line of defense should be atmospheric. Science is indisputable that there are gasses that have a greenhouse effect. Laboratory tests easily prove that in a container having a black bottom filled with air and flooded with white light there will be a given level of heat radiating up through that air. If one introduces a gas into that atmosphere we can measure the level of heat that escapes and determine the greenhouse effect (or non-effect) of a given gas. Having done those experiments it is clear that carbon dioxide and methane are two such gasses and that the heat blocking power of methane is 20 times that of CO2. There are many other gasses that have greenhouse effects but these two are of particular interest because we produce vast quantities of them. I am certain that you know the fossil fuel industry is responsible for a significant portion of that production. It may not, however, even be the largest contributor. There are estimates that animal husbandry and agriculture may be responsible for up to 51%. It may be advantageous for those involved in these industries to modify their business models and practices. I greatly admire those businessmen who can operate across a wide spectrum of commerce and technologies. Such a man is Elon Musk. He began a successful career as a computer programmer. But as time passed he realized that our planet was developing serious risks to our lifestyle and visions for the future. One such risk was global warming. (I know, the politically correct term today is climate change, but that term does not reflect the trend that even the fossil fuel industry grants,-- that the planetary near surface temperature is rising.) He sold off his programming and computing interests and decided to do what nobody before had accomplished: develop a mainstream automobile market capable electric car. He succeeded so well that every other major automotive manufacturer is now producing in that direction. But that wasn’t enough. Solar production of electricity would also have a positive impact on global warming. He and his family started the most successful solar installation company in America. On top of that he just introduced solar panels that look like traditional roofs, eliminating one of their drawbacks. Hey, that’s only three technologies in which he has succeeded. So wh… THERE’S MORE? Of course! Electric cars and solar homes need batteries. So he launched in another direction and built the largest battery factory in the world (and of course, powered by wind and solar). But what if earth someday becomes uninhabitable or is in danger of destruction by another celestial object. We need a way of escape: SpaceX. Are we done yet? Well, not exactly. You see, aircraft burn a LOT of fuel. And for short haul flights much of that is in take-off and landing. What if there were a better short haul system that was faster, cheaper, and burned no fossil fuels. (You mean high speed rail, of course). No! That’s too slow, too costly to build, and still consumes fuels. That’s why he designed Hyperloop.

I spent all this time on Elon Musk to show that it is very possible for successful businessmen and therefore industries to change as needed. This includes agriculture and the fossil fuel industries. In both of these cases there are strong economic reasons for change. Back to the issue of global warming and sea level rise. Most of America’s coastal cities are at elevations only slightly above sea level. Those areas with attractive beaches have been developed with expensive high rise hotels and other tourist facilities. Some are your own. In these cases building a sea wall to protect them from rising ocean levels will largely defeat their purpose. In Florida there is the additional problem that the local area consists largely of limestone that has been severely eroded subterraneanly by acidic water. Even if a wall is built ocean water can come up from below via these underground caves and tunnels. A potential 5-foot rise in ocean levels would put extreme economic stress on property owners in these reasons. Such a rise is possible. Last month an iceberg the size of Manhattan calved off the ice shelf in Antarctica.

Your administration seems to be taking actions that will make this scenario more likely. Approving pipelines to extract more fossil fuels, particularly the Alberta tar sands, and proposing increased extraction of coal will only increase the methane and carbon dioxide load in the atmosphere. This will increase the speed with which sea levels rise. There is another problem with promoting the extraction and sale of fossil fuels. They are becoming financial Albatrosses for purely economic reasons. Consider the development of new power generation facilities. The least expensive per kilowatt produced of the fossil fuel based plants are currently bidding at five cents and above per kilowatt hour. But the latest solar facilities are winning closing bids under three cents per kWh, with the latest closing at $0.0241. This is the primary reason coal fired plants are retired, scheduled for retirement, and canceled. Here is their recent history as a chart.

Here is another telling graph. It shows that the new power infrastructure today is largely wind and solar. This is purely based on the economics of new facilities. This is in spite of the fact that fossil fuels are subsidized at higher levels than renewables. 

Natural gas has a fair percentage because of its use as a buffer during peak loads or when other facilities are not producing. But that is also about to change. Two developments in recent years obviate the need for fossil fuel based “peaking” plants. High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) is so efficient in carrying electricity that 1,000+ mile grid lines are not only feasible economically but are increasingly deployed worldwide. Here in the US, for example, an HVDC line has been supplying Los Angeles from the Columbia River on the northern border of Oregon. New HVDC is also being installed from Northern Africa to supply Europe. This means that when the wind is not blowing or the sun shining power can be imported from far away rather than firing up expensive “peaking” natural gas plants.

The other development obviating their need is inexpensive and robust energy storage. For example, Tesla Power’s new facility in Nevada has already deployed two battery backup facilities even though the factory is far from being fully built out. Furthermore, battery capacities are rapidly increasing, and with the emerging capability of producing continuous graphene rolls capacity per cubic inch can increase by at least 10 times. Because of these developments already deployed more Americans are employed in the solar industry than in all the fossil fuel industries combined. If you want Appalachian  coal workers to return to full employment your best bet is to widely promote wind and solar development in that region. I want your presidency to be marked by prescient and far-reaching success. In this 5th open letter to you I hope I have given suggestions that will assist you in achieving that goal. In my next letter I hope to show how you can increase agricultural efficiency and in the process sequester so much atmospheric CO2 that it will offset ALL of the current emissions due to fossil fuel consumption.

Sincerely, Richard E Reed [phone]