rgrasshopper

Everything is energy. Centrist. Red & Blue make purple. Engagement does not equal endorsement. Thoughts are my own. Awake. Married. Mother. No DM. Gen X.🇺🇸

[rgrasshopper @rgrasshopper]

New timeline topic-
We watch a lot of paranormal investigative content. There's a real opportunity for answers to questions nobody is asking. If they are it's not making the final edit. Why not ask what goes on in the after, spiritual and religious questions? 1/?

[rgrasshopper @rgrasshopper]

Last night I dreamt everyone in the world was singing Total Eclipse of the Heart together & woke up to news Bonnie Tyler passed. Rest in Peace Bright Eyes. 🕊️

[rgrasshopper @rgrasshopper]

@Biznitch1177 What a sucker punch to realize it too (sigh)

[rgrasshopper @rgrasshopper]

@peterthenobody @Ric_RTP Praise God, indeed. Reg & oversight is practically non-existent. Now is a good time to start. Data centers req regulation also- build responsibly. Let's not be a cautionary tale of how humans ruined the only planet they have to call home & depleted all their resources.

[Give A Shit About Nature @giveashitnature]

Citronella candles flickering on a patio table do a great job setting the mood, but almost nothing to the mosquitoes.

Researchers at New Mexico State built a test for exactly this. They put a person at one end of a wind tunnel as live bait, mosquitoes in a screened cage at the other end, and measured how many actually moved in toward the person depending on what repellent was running. They ran eleven products: sprays, wearable clip-on gadgets, and the classic citronella candle.

The candle did nothing measurable. People sitting beside it got approached by just as many mosquitoes as people with no protection at all. Most of the wearable gadgets flopped too. The two things that actually worked were sprays with DEET or oil of lemon eucalyptus, which cut mosquito attraction by about 60 percent.

Citronella oil isn't fake, exactly. Dabbed straight on your skin it'll repel a mosquito for a few minutes before it fades. But a candle burning a few feet away can't put enough of it into open, moving air to build any kind of shield around you.

If you want to sit outside unbitten, put DEET or lemon eucalyptus on your skin and point a cheap oscillating fan at yourself. Mosquitoes are weak, slow fliers, and struggle to make headway even into light wind.

[Give A Shit About Nature @giveashitnature]

The fireflies in your yard are flashing this week, and your porch light may be jamming the signal. Turn it off tonight.

Males drift over the yard flashing species-specific patterns. Females wait in the grass and flash back. For many fireflies, that call-and-response is how the next generation gets made, and they only have a few weeks as adults to pull it off.

Then we light up the yard.

Even dim outdoor lights can wash out the conversation. Researchers have repeatedly found that artificial light at night reduces firefly courtship and mating, and newer work suggests even amber bulbs aren't harmless. The best light for fireflies is no light at all.

So here's the easiest thing you can do tonight. From dusk onward, turn off the porch light, the floods, the string lights, the landscape uplighting. Then stand in the dark for five minutes and watch what comes back.

This is one of the rare conservation wins that costs nothing and starts working tonight. The fireflies are already out there waiting for it to get dark.

[0️⃣BlackBetty ⚓️ @BabyD1111229]

THE GOVERNMENT JUST PROPOSED BREAKING UP AMERICA’S LARGEST ELECTRICITY GRID — AND AI DATA CENTERS ARE DIRECTLY TO BLAME!

This story dropped two days ago — June 4, 2026 — and it may be the single most important data center story ever published. Because it is not about one community. It is not about one state. It is not about one billionaire.

It is about the electricity grid that powers 67 million Americans — from Illinois to New Jersey, from Virginia to Ohio — being pushed so far past its limits by AI data centers that the federal government is now seriously considering breaking it apart entirely.

This has never happened before. In nearly 100 years of American electricity history, nothing like this has ever been proposed.

And the reason it is being proposed is sitting in a data center near you right now.

⚡ WHAT IS PJM — AND WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?

Most Americans have never heard of PJM Interconnection. But every person living in 13 states depends on it for electricity every single day.

PJM Interconnection manages the web of power lines that runs electricity from the Illinois prairie to the Jersey Shore — serving 67 million people across 13 states. It coordinates which power plants run, when they run, and how power flows across the grid to reach your home, your hospital, your school, and your workplace. It has done this for nearly a century. It is the largest electricity grid operator in the United States. And right now — it is breaking. 

PJM is not a government agency. It is not a public utility. It is a nonprofit organization that manages the grid on behalf of utilities, power companies, and ultimately — you. The electricity you used this morning to make coffee passed through PJM’s system. The air conditioner keeping you cool right now is running on PJM’s grid.

And the federal government just said: it may need to be broken up. Because of data centers.

💥 THE PRICE SPIKE THAT STUNNED EVEN THE EXPERTS

The numbers tell the story better than any words can. PJM uses a system called capacity auctions to guarantee that enough power plants will be available to meet demand. In 2024, the price of that guarantee was $28.92 per megawatt-day. By 2026, that price had risen to $329.17 per megawatt-day. That is not a typo. That is an increase of more than ten times — in two years. One auction alone added an estimated $9.4 billion in costs — translating to an 82% jump in expenses for consumers. The Natural Resources Defense Council projects that cumulative extra consumer costs could reach between $100 billion and $163 billion through 2033. 

$163 billion. Taken from the pockets of 67 million Americans. Over the next seven years. Because data centers are consuming electricity faster than the grid can supply it.

In plain English — what this means on your actual bill: DC residents saw Pepco bills rise about $10 per month from the latest capacity auction. Western Maryland faces roughly $18 more per month. Ohio about $16 more per month. And the Trump administration estimates a PJM-wide average hit of 15% versus the pre-AI baseline — meaning before AI data centers started consuming the grid, your bill was 15% lower than it is today. And it is going higher. 

$16 more per month in Ohio. $18 more in Maryland. Starting June 1, 2026 — this month. Right now.

EVEN PJM’S OWN CEO SAYS IT IS “NOT TENABLE”

PJM’s own chief executive officer — the man who runs America’s largest electricity grid — has publicly stated that the current situation is “not tenable,” saying his organization can no longer ensure ample future electricity supplies while shielding residential consumers from rising bills. That is the CEO of the grid admitting, on the record, that he cannot do his job anymore because of AI data center demand. 

The CEO of the grid. Saying he cannot guarantee both affordable electricity AND reliable electricity at the same time. Because the data centers are consuming too much.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has threatened to pull Pennsylvania out of PJM entirely — which would be a catastrophic fragmentation of the eastern United States’ electricity system. American Electric Power — one of the largest utilities in PJM’s territory — has threatened to leave and merge into a different grid. Even PJM’s own board members have been voted out amid the chaos. The CEO announced his departure. The chair of the board of managers was removed. 

The CEO gone. Board members voted out. Pennsylvania threatening to leave. A major utility threatening to defect to a different grid.

The largest electricity system in America is fracturing. In real time. Because of AI data centers.

🏛️ WHAT “BREAKING UP PJM” ACTUALLY MEANS

Federal officials have suggested breaking up PJM Interconnection — splitting the 13-state grid into smaller regional systems. The proposals on the table range from aggressive to radical. On the aggressive end: emergency procurement of around 15 gigawatts of backup capacity — a massive safety net to prevent blackouts. On the radical end: completely restructuring how PJM works, possibly splitting it into separate grid operators for different regions — effectively ending the unified eastern grid that has existed for nearly 100 years. 

Ending the unified eastern grid. That has existed for 100 years. Because Amazon and Microsoft and Meta need more electricity for their AI servers.

President Trump — alongside the governors of several states — has called for a new electricity auction in which tech companies would pay for building new power plants by bidding on 15-year electric capacity contracts. In other words: if your data center is consuming this much electricity, you pay for the power plant that generates it. Not the 81-year-old widow in Hampton, Virginia. Not the family in Ohio already $16 deeper in the hole every month. You. 

Make the tech companies pay for the power plants their data centers require. That is Trump’s proposal. And for once — on this one specific point — many Americans across the political spectrum agree with him.

💰 THE $16 BILLION BILL THAT LANDED THIS MONTH

When PJM purchased capacity for 2026-2027 and discovered the true scale of data center demand — the result was a capacity bill of $16 billion for a single year. That $16 billion increase was almost entirely due to forecasted data center expansion. And that $16 billion does not sit with Amazon or Microsoft or Meta. It flows through the utility system — and lands on your electricity bill. Every month. Starting now. 

$16 billion. This year. From one auction. For one year of the PJM grid. Caused almost entirely by data centers. Paid by 67 million Americans who never voted for a single data center to be built.

PJM’s own market monitor has raised serious alarms about the data center demand forecasts being fed into the system — saying plainly: “Forecast data center load growth has been the primary cause to date and the accuracy of those forecasts is highly questionable.” In other words: the data centers promised they would need X amount of electricity. The grid planned for X. And now it turns out the real number is far higher than X. And the grid cannot handle it. And consumers are paying the difference. 

The data centers overpromised. The grid overcommitted. The consumers are paying for the gap.

🗓️ WHAT HAPPENS NEXT — AND WHEN

PJM’s own projections now show that the region will not meet required power reserves starting in June 2027 — just 12 months from now. That means if nothing changes, 67 million Americans will be living on an electricity grid that does not have enough power to meet peak demand. The shortfall is driven by a slow replacement of retiring power plants and rising demand from data centers. PJM’s June 2026 auction — happening this month — for the 2028/2029 delivery year is the next major pricing signal. Whatever it shows will determine just how high your bill will go in two years. 

June 2027. 12 months away. America’s largest electricity grid projected to be short on power. For 67 million people. In the middle of what is already shaping up to be the hottest decade in recorded history.

🗣️ THE BOTTOM LINE

This is the story that connects every other story in this series.

The dry wells in Indiana. The trailer park families in Kentucky. The 81-year-old widow who can’t pay her bill in Virginia. The Georgia data center that secretly drank 29 million gallons of water. The farmers leaving fields unplanted in Arizona. The children getting sick near facilities in North Carolina. The nuclear plants being bought up. The farmland being bulldozed. The shell companies with ridiculous names.

All of it flows into this one fact:

America’s largest electricity grid — the backbone of the power system for 67 million Americans — is being pushed so hard by AI data centers that the federal government is now discussing breaking it apart. The CEO of the grid says it is not tenable. The governor of Pennsylvania is threatening to walk away. A major utility is threatening to defect.

And the June electricity bill increase — $9.4 billion more across the system, paid by you — landed in accounts on June 1st. This month. Already.

Share this with every person who lives in these 13 states: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina. They are all on this grid. They are all paying this bill. They all deserve to know why.

🎩 The Stoic Way

📌 Source: Bloomberg — “AI Data Center Boom Risks Breakup of Biggest US Power Grid Operator” (June 4, 2026 — TWO DAYS AGO)

[rgrasshopper @rgrasshopper]

@BabyD1111229 It's clear effects on people, air, water, land & grid wasn't factored into planning & building. They are focused on getting it done fast...but at what cost? Not a good look for them. Being welcomed in the community is hard when living conditions deteriorate.

[rgrasshopper @rgrasshopper]

@RichGarrick @yacineMTB Try people living close to big ones genuinely relating a good experience (air, water, electric) that can be confirmed by others. That would definitely help. I've looked for these types of stories. I haven't found one.

[rgrasshopper @rgrasshopper]

@herakleitos137 @yacineMTB I don't know, I've seen tons of information through searching the topic. Reading articles of people's stories about life with one close by. Not a pretty picture.
I choose clean air & a good water supply for my home. I've looked for positive experiences by one and found none.

[rgrasshopper @rgrasshopper]

@Momoko_19830310 Yes

[Roy T. Bennett @InspiringThinkn]

I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart's affections and the truth of the Imagination. John Keats

[rgrasshopper @rgrasshopper]

@Biznitch1177 It's easy to forget 😂 I make my own, no store bought

[rgrasshopper @rgrasshopper]

@KathleenKesra @keith369me Yes it is 💞

[rgrasshopper @rgrasshopper]

Same

[Kathleen Winchell ❤️🤍💙🇺🇸🇺🇸 @KathleenWinche3]

Remember the bicentennial quarter?

[rgrasshopper @rgrasshopper]

Love covers a multitude of sins.

[Biznitch @Biznitch1177]

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[Give A Shit About Nature @giveashitnature]

The reason we think dandelions are weeds is because of a 1950s marketing campaign.

Dandelions, native to Europe and Asia, were brought to North America in the 1600s by European colonists who grew them deliberately.

Every part is edible. The leaves are a salad green, the flowers were made into wine, and the roots were roasted as a coffee substitute and used medicinally for liver and kidney conditions for thousands of years. They were a kitchen-garden staple well into the 1800s.

The shift happened after World War II, when 2,4-D (originally developed for chemical warfare research) was approved as a residential herbicide. Companies like Scotts built the modern lawn-care industry around the idea that a perfect green lawn meant zero broadleaf plants.

Dandelions, being bright yellow and resistant to mowing, became a visible enemy, and the campaign worked. By the 1970s, "dandelion-free" was synonymous with "well-kept."

They aren't native, but they aren't doing significant ecological harm either. The herbicides used to kill them, on the other hand, kill bees, contaminate groundwater, and have been linked to non-Hodgkin lymphoma in humans.

If you hate dandelions, it's most likely due to a marketing campaign that ran before you were born.