Will we have enough electricians? Democrat Drug Den Update. And, because it's Friday, sweet potatoes.
Will we have enough electricians?
Here's the problem:
Building codes in parts of the Marshall Fire burn area are stringent in terms of energy efficiency.
So stringent, in fact, that many homes HAVE TO HAVE solar panels to meet code.
People build homes with these solar panels.
Then they face delays in getting Xcel to approve them.
Which delays their ability to either move on with construction or move in to their home.
This does not bode well for our state. I say this because codes similar to those adopted by BoulderCo, Louisville, and Superior** (cities which have houses in the Marshall Fire area) are now statewide.
What will happen at the next big fire? Would homeowners face not only a giant new bill based on our new energy code but also the catch 22 of needing solar and being unable to get approval?
It gets worse too. I believe I posted on this before, but it's a good time now to remind you that these new energy codes (with electric vehicle charger inputs and panels and beefier electrical service for same) on top of an effort to electrify the state will mean we need more electricians.
Electricians which (see the Sun story linked below) are not really materializing.
This self-caused injury is a direct consequence of one party rule in this state. It is a consequence of policymakers who do not listen to the voices that have a different perspective and/or foresight enough to see some of the pieces that they don't.
Elections do indeed have consequences and the consequence for electing the folks running this state for the last four years is higher cost and regulatory hassle.
**In the interest of fairness, I should point out here that Louisville and Superior both relaxed their (beyond) stringent energy codes a little for Marshall Fire victims to ease the difficult-to-meet and expensive requirements.
https://www.denverpost.com/2023/09/17/marshall-fire-xcel-energy-solar-hookups/
https://coloradosun.com/2023/06/29/colorado-electrician-shortage-electric-push/#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20the%20number%20of,occupation%20growth%20rate%20of%2014.8%25.
Related:
Speaking of electrification and eliminating natural gas, I wanted to include the op ed below to remind you that we need natural gas for many things in this world.
It isn't just as a source of heating or cooking.
https://www.coloradopolitics.com/opinion/natural-gas-regs-affect-everything-from-food-costs-to-land-value-podium/article_6f4f35ca-51a5-11ee-ac5c-47dc42186f4d.html
Democrat Drug Den Update
An update on the Democrats' effort to make drug use legal (and have taxpayers fund places where drugs can be used). They'll likely follow a model from Rhode Island, and I get the sense that this version has better prospects.
I wrote a post recently about the Opioid and Other Substance Abuse Disorders Study Committee agreeing to forward the idea of allowing "overdose prevention" sites (aka "safe-use", aka "harm-reduction", aka "a place where drug addicts can come and shoot up which you get to pay for" sites).
The update here is twofold. I'll leave it to you to read up on the specifics (see the article below), but the version we'll likely see is based off one in Rhode Island and will have, you guessed it, another unelected board making the decisions.
You see, one of the Democrats' (and Polis') favorite tricks is to create boards which they then appoint and fill with their political cronies. Said boards then, since they face no fear of being voted out of their jobs, make decisions that the Democrats can wash their hands of.
Why, no it wasn't me that decided to let addicts shoot up in a tent on the front lawn of the elementary school, it was the advisory committee!
Oh, and should you think that perhaps the story will play out the same with this bill as with the last one (where it lost in committee by one vote--Sen Mullica), I have the distinct intuition here that this one will pass.
Not only does it have a board to shield the elected officials, but this article appeared in the Sun (proud home of racist OB/GYN's!), an outlet that is the voice of Progressives, and carries the distinct whiff of frontloading.
That is, if you read the article, you'll pick up on a tone of how this bill's different. It's more carefully crafted you see. There's been, like, tons of stakeholding. And it's it's totally endorsed by the AMA guys.
I mean it still takes money from you to help aid and abet drug use, but, seriously, it's like gonna reduce harm.
I guess we'll see. This one, if introduced (likely), will be on my list to watch and speak against. Keep watching for updates.
https://coloradosun.com/2023/09/20/colorado-overdose-prevention-centers-bill-untested-rhode-island-law/
Some garden notes -- putting a pin in this year's sweet potato harvest.
That time of the week again. We've reached the last post on a Friday and that means it's time for something fun that's not related to politics.
As usual too, this will be the last one til Sunday.
You may or may not remember, but I tried sweet potatoes again this year, though with some changes. I ended up buying some slips (like I did last time--this time with the "Georgia Jet" variety), but I also grew my own from a purple sweet potato and a white sweet potato I got from the store.
I wanted to see the yield for homegrown slips vs. a different variety of purchased slips and I also wanted to see how they did being grown in bags and towers (as opposed to in my raised beds like years past).
Results are in and I wanted to share. The total yield for the year is attached as picture 1 above. All three varieties are visible.
Pictures 2 through 4 show you the individual varieties in close up. I put a red solo cup in there for size.
The results, compared to the first time I grew sweet potatoes were encouraging.
--I think I validated growing in towers and also in grow bags. Sweet potatoes do pretty good there. That's good news: I was a hair's breadth from getting rid of the towers I'd made (originally made for regular potatoes but that effort failed spectacularly, the soil got too warm too quick). This means that I can pretty efficiently use space around my little house to grow a crop. This is always a plus in my book! I don't have any more grow bags and don't want to buy more so I think for the immediate future, I'll focus on the towers (these are the equivalent of two stacked 15 gallon grow bags).
--The yield in pounds was about the same across all three types with purple winning. I planted more purple sweet potato slips than the other varieties, however.
--The size yield obvious was held by the Georgia Jets (orange) and the White in that order. The purples produced more, but they're tiny and suitable for chunks and purees, not baking and eating.
--All the varieties had roughly the same growing conditions, so my guess is the purple ones just grow smaller and thinner on average**. Bigger taters means less work overall for the guy (me) who has to prep for canning or freezing and novelty wears off, so I probably will do fewer purple next year.
--The yield in terms of cost was interesting. I bought the Georgia Jets and they came out to about $4 a pound whereas the purple and white were made from locally purchased sweet potatoes and came out to about $0.50 per pound. I like the Jets, but I like the price on the others better. If I can't find local Georgia Jets next Spring (and if I can't overwinter one of the ones I grew this year), I may not plant them again. I like the size and yield and don't expect necessarily to save money gardening, but twice the price of storebought is a bridge too far.
Overall I'm jazzed at what I got and look forward to further refinements and seeing what produces consistent results.
If you're open to recommendations, I'd definitely recommend doing sweet potatoes in a tower or container. They're cheaper if you grow your own slips (see any number of videos on the internet), but you can get good results with purchased ones too if you can swallow the cost.
One last thing I learned the hard way this year. I had always assumed in the past that curing sweet potatoes was solely to help them store longer. Since I store as puree or chunks (frozen or canned) I never cared. I read this year that curing has other benefits. If you cure your sweet potatoes they'll be sweeter.
Oops. Learned this after roasting some for a pie and for some breads/rolls. 2 pounds of my yield. Now I have to decide whether I can live with this or not; should I figure that the pie filling has sugar and it doesn't matter? Should I figure on other competing flavors in the bread to make it not matter? Or, should I be a stickler and compost what I've done so I can use cured (taking the loss)? Not sure yet.
I did have a fifth photo attached. Don't worry, I was getting to it. Picture #5 is my sole watermelon and it just came ripe at the same time as I harvested the sweet potatoes. I had a hell of a time with melons this year and was surprised I got any frankly. I think the only reason I did was because this is very-short season variety (the white Siberian kind). I sowed over and over hoping to get something to take and, later than I wanted, I did get a plant to start and live. I was doubtful it would get a fruit over the finish line. It did.
Strange year.
Anyways, good luck if you try sweet potatoes and please share tips if you have them! Have a good Friday and Saturday. Back at it Sunday.
**My little one saw one of the long thin purple ones and said it looked like a poop. I do see the resemblance.