Power, or ""Power""

Regarding "California Steamin',"1 California politicians wrote an incoherent power regulation, regulators refused to license new power generators and lines for its transmission. The losses to the citizens, lowly humans, are being treated as inconveniences and explained away as unintended consequences of a "green" policy that had only the good of the planet in mind. Surely, of any body of thinkers, scientists are the most aware of "unintended consequences"; they plan meticulously to exclude them

Written byMartha De Mey
| 2 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
2:00
Share

Why then did the California scientific community leave its energy supply in the hands of politicians and cult members, the former who will lie, cheat, and steal to get elected, and the latter who rely on their emotions to point the way to salvation, both of whom are only interested in what feels good now. To say that "power failure... ruined those experiments" is to obscure the fact that it was the failure to provide power that did the deed. Power, failed or successful, doesn't do things; it must be directed by a human being who accepts the responsibility for its supply, or absence in this case.

But political solutions seem to be the direction of choice. Doesn't it freeze your soul to acknowledge that only through government dispensation can important scientific research and production progress? I am not reassured that researchers have "embraced conservation." To be sure, there is ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

Published In

Share
February 2026

A Stubborn Gene, a Failed Experiment, and a New Path

When experiments refuse to cooperate, you try again and again. For Rafael Najmanovich, the setbacks ultimately pushed him in a new direction.

View this Issue
Human-Relevant In Vitro Models Enable Predictive Drug Discovery

Advancing Drug Discovery with Complex Human In Vitro Models

Stemcell Technologies
Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Beckman Coulter Logo
Conceptual multicolored vector image of cancer research, depicting various biomedical approaches to cancer therapy

Maximizing Cancer Research Model Systems

bioxcell

Products

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Pioneers Life Sciences Innovation with High-Quality Bioreagents on Inside Business Today with Bill and Guiliana Rancic

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Expands Research Reagent Portfolio to Support Global Nipah Virus Vaccine and Diagnostic Development

Beckman Coulter

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Partners with Automata to Accelerate AI-Ready Laboratory Automation

Refeyn logo

Refeyn named in the Sunday Times 100 Tech list of the UK’s fastest-growing technology companies