Earth Day – Mesquite Weekly

Mesquite’s Flat Top Mesa – Rocks, Sandstone and Art

March 7, 2021 RUDY MOERTL Earth Day, Inspirational Commentary, Mesquite Events, Public Lands

I am a frequent visitor to the Flat Top Mesa and have explored the area for more than 12 years. The Flat Top Mesa is exemplary of the magnificent beauty the Colorado Plateau and the river valleys that carved through the sandstone formations of the plateau. The mesa provides a spiritual reprieve from all that is below and one can easily be immersed and in complete solitude in this immense expanse.
Just below the Flat Top Mesa is a recently constructed road which I have frequented traveled. The road was cut through several small hills forming sandstone walls along that road.

A local artist noted that these walls provided an ideal medium for (“sandcastles” – remember how easy it was to sculpt and build in the sand on the beach) carving two and even three-dimensional images. The sandstone carvings were completed over the last three years with the grandest of them finished the end of February 2021.
Here is the Mesquite Weekly exclusive interview with the artist Pete Karns:

Last week I stumbled upon rock arrangement forming a small circular enclosure. Another nearby larger rock arrangement formed the writing “LOVE IS FOREVER”. And indeed, from the perspective of this expanse and from the viewpoint of the Mojave Desert flatness of the mesa with majestic mountains in the background and sweeping views of the mesa cliffs and the valley below, we are easily deceived by our senses and the temporal dimensions of our influence on this eternal place. The Anasazi, Hopi and the Paiutes have also left reminders of their presence in the area. More recent artistic endeavors were also noted by painted rocks left behind on and below the mesa by other unknown local artists.

Markers on our Mesa include a giant white V painted on a southeastern flat top mesa slope overlooking I15 by our current local population. The sense of permanence fades just like the fade of the petroglyphs and the realization that the V requires upkeep for its fresh appearance.
Kurt Vonnegut’s journey through time detailed in the authors book “Slaughterhouse 5” and my journey on the top of the flattop inspired these thoughts on time and our temporal influence on this place:

An event attended by some 100 and about 40 endurance run participants was held on the Flat Top Mesa on February 20 and 21, 2021. Please join me in our next edition of the Mesquite Weekly for the MW’s coverage of an event that is inspiring and exemplifies the apparent permanence and endurance of the flat top mesa.

TerraScale’s Energos Reno Project releases plans to develop a data center with 500MW of renewable power.

February 6, 2021 RUDY MOERTL Earth Day, Public Lands, Technology

Solar Power, Wind power, Tidal and Wave power, Water Mills, and etc., it is the new Energy Infrastructure shaping our future and and our tomorrow and it is in play as of today. Energy Capturing technologies have been around almost as long as mankind itself. Energy storage however is only a very recent activity (aside from dams and natural resourced carbon). Electric transmission lines have been the flywheel that kept the electric power flowing and reliable. Transmission lines are very costly and power losses increase with transmission distance.

Highly promising energy storage batteries have provided an answer as to what do we have when the sun don’t shine or the wind don’t blow. Batteries have been around for quite a while, however a major enabler of the electronics world were batteries that could store and transmit(discharge) and deliver power to where needed. Small size and powerful, credentials that led the Lithium Ion battery to the undisputed leader position in the energy storage world.

On a larger scale, a battery suited for the electric grids could not be produced without financially unstainable cost, environmental instability, and exhaustion of raw material resources.

In the 1990’s MIT’s Prof. Don Sadoway progressed from a theoretical position to a practical solution which led to the development the Ambri liquid metal battery. For a quick video to help explain why this battery will dramatically impact the energy industry and literally turn it it on its head please watch this.

Technologically advanced and with its sight on a sustainable and economical power plant in Nevada is Terrascale and its partner Ambri and the Energos Reno Project. TerraScale, a clean infrastructure design and development firm committed to transforming and modernizing digital infrastructure, announced in 2021 that it has signed an agreement with Ambri, to deploy its proprietary Liquid Metal Battery technology. As part of the agreement, TerraScale and its data center development partners will integrate an Ambri energy storage system for its Energos Reno project. The project will include the development of a data center that will capitalize on the site’s renewable energy infrastructure. The reduced carbon operations are of strong interest to TerraScale’s data center future tenants including large commercial and government data users, as sustainable data center demands continue to rise.

Together with its partners, TerraScale’s Energos Reno Project intends to deploy green data center technologies that are based on proprietary, high-performance energy production and data computing processes. Energos Reno is a 3,700 acre mixed-use development near Reno, Nevada that aims to enable secure, swift storage and transmission of data between government agencies and commercial clients. TerraScale intends to develop a data center with 500MW of renewable power on-site generation within ten years to power an inside-the-fence microgrid.

“Our data center technology partners are looking forward to deploying Ambri’s technology to enable high-volume, reliable, and resilient energy storage with potentially the lowest levelized cost of storage in the industry,” said Danny Hayes, Chief Executive Officer, TerraScale. “TerraScale is very excited to deploy Ambri’s technology into our Energos Reno project.”

“The collaboration is underway and includes delivery of 250 MWh of Ambri systems to TerraScale’s first project in Reno, Nevada starting in 2021,” said Adam Briggs, Ambri’s Chief Commercial Officer. “The Ambri systems are particularly well suited for the project’s high-desert operations, for the shifting of its large amounts of renewable solar load, and for its grid-system peak shaving capability.”

Ambri’s batteries utilize a calcium – antimony based cell chemistry that began at MIT in the lab of Professor Donald Sadoway. Ambri’s investors include Bill Gates, Khosla Ventures and TOTAL SE.

Ambri’s long-duration systems, which are based on its patented chemistry, can deliver daily 100% depth of discharge cycling performance for more than 20 years with negligible degradation at a significantly lower system cost than other battery storage technologies. Systems built with Ambri’s cells can operate safely under all environmental conditions without the need for air conditioning or fire suppression equipment—increasing the system’s efficiency while reducing project cost and maintenance.

About Ambri
Ambri Inc. is developing and commercializing a new long duration battery technology that will enable widespread use of renewable energy sources, reduce electricity costs and enable power systems to operate more reliably and efficiently. The liquid metal battery project began at MIT in the lab of Professor Donald Sadoway and the company was formed in 2010, when the project achieved significant technical breakthroughs. Ambri’s investors include Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates and TOTAL SE. More information is available at:

About TerraScale
TerraScale is a clean infrastructure design and development firm that is transforming and modernizing digital infrastructures around the world. Through the company’s consortium, TerraScale takes a unique approach to future-proofing our planet by collaborating with the best in class green engineering, technology, real estate, fiber and energy construction firms globally, to ensure maximum value delivery across the lifecycle of its projects. Whether site development or build-to-suit, colocation, hyperscale or regional strategies, TerraScale’s projects and programs are designed to meet the needs of government and industry in the most responsible, secure and sustainable manner.

For more information on TerraScale, please visit:

Cracks In The Growth Ceiling !

June 26, 2017 Rudy Moertl Earth Day, Editorial - Fact vs Fiction, Editorial - Global Crisis

Most business and government development models advocate growth as solutions to social and economic problems. Growth in real terms requires an ever-increasing population and an incessant search for the resources required to service the burgeoning global population. Growth expectations are a cultural remnant of the feudal societies of the middle ages.
The monarchist ruling parties required strong adherence to growth goals to facilitate expansion of power through violent wars and economic monopolies. Population growth was needed to replenish the ranks of those lost on the killing fields as well as a source of cheap labor to supply the machinery to wage these constant power struggles. Cultural dogma was veiled under well orchestrated and mass marketed righteousness and ascertains that population growth was a valued principle.

Earth Day – A Celebration by Those Who Value Science

April 23, 2017 RUDY MOERTL Earth Day

On Saturday April 22, 2017, many within the Southwest regions celebrated Earth Day by enjoying the areas national and state parks and basking in some of the finest weather we have to offer. Many also felt a need to demonstrate and speak about the value that science brings to our lives and took to the streets all over the world including Las Vegas and St. George, Utah. Erin O’Brien a biology professor at Dixie State University organized a March for Science traversing the St. George Ancestor Square and downtown Park areas. The march was attended by some two hundred participants and observers.