Cuba Solar Irradiance

Cuba has pretty high solar irradiance everywhere in the country, not the best, but pretty good and consistent. Given how cheap solar + batteries is getting, it is a great way to achieve energy independence.

It is really unfortunate that all the good soil for agriculture is at the south of the peninsula, leaving the DPRK in a really difficult spot. That’s why these greenhouses are so vital.

This chart really shows the stark difference between the two countries, which is to be expected, as neoclassical economics treats energy as an intermediate good, rather than as the foundation of basically every economic sector today.

Everything needs energy, and you can’t just substitute it with something else. China recognizes this, and is expanding renewable energy production faster than the rest of the world combined. I suspect this blind spot will haunt the US for decades to come as their industries become increasingly noncompetitive due to high energy prices.

Excellent. The more countries become willing to engage in bilateral or multilateral agreements without involving the US, the less Washington can throw its economic weight around to force concessions and bully smaller economies. The effectiveness of US sanctions have already been eroding, and the tariffs will only accelerate that.

Found more specifics here: https://en.mehrnews.com/news/236644/What-happened-at-UN-Security-Council-meeting-on-Iran

• Against: United States, United Kingdom, France, Greece, Denmark, Slovenia, Panama, Sierra Leone, Somalia
• In favor: China, Russia, Pakistan, Algeria
• Abstentions: South Korea (Council President), Guyana