[OT] They're restarting Chernobyl?

Chuck McManis wrote: and, if you consider the possibility of catastrophic climate change from global warming resulting by past and present burning (the blame falling disproportionately on the US), the number of casualties might be in the billions, due to starvation. I know, nobody really knows what _could_ happen, but nobody can deny that the possibility exists either. Well, maybe some people deny it, but by and large they are linked to the oil companies. To keep this on topic, I have been comparing daily electric load profiles from 40, 30 and 20 years ago to the present ones. Starting 40 years ago, profiles became bimodal (one peak at 11:00 AM, another (larger) around 5-6:00PM in winter, or 8:00PM in the summer). So, turning the lights on at home after work (and for preparing dinner) meant the largest load. This second peak slowly evolved to an earlier hour (2:00PM-4:00PM), while the earlier peak grew to a size comparable to that of the second one in winter, and only slightly smaller in the summer. Only two factors at work here: computers and air conditioning. -- Carlos Murillo-Sanchez email: cem14(a)cornell.edu 428 Phillips Hall, Electrical Engineering Department Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853