So, the energy crisis has finally arrived. I am mulling this over from my underground bunker, my ‘home office’ on one side and flats of dried pasta/canned goods/instant coffee/baked beans on the other (speaking of the beans, hmm, there’s no proper ventilation - I did not think this through very well). While, like most serious students of energy, I’d expected its arrival sometime, but scrolling through the energy news flow, I must admit I had no idea it would unfold quite like this. To anyone [Read more]
Column: As the world’s energy and supply systems teeter, Thanksgiving season is particularly relevant this year
Some might argue that it’s hard to whoop it up too much this Thanksgiving season. It’s true, much is not going well. Covid is proving to be the most robust of China’s exports. Supply chain problems are so bad that that power sander in the garage you bought 20 years ago and used once to try to remove your fingerprints is probably appreciating in value, because inflation is here, it’s feisty, and it is just getting settled in. Of course, the idea that things are all that difficult is a bit [Read more]
Column: European cargo cults? Standing on the shore, waiting for ‘energy cargo’…a full circle of colonial irony
I’m not sure what is politically incorrect, what isn’t these days, but screw it - some aspects of history are just too absurd to not be amused by. It becomes even funnier when, subjected to certain lenses of political correctness, the mirth is multiplied into top-notch black humour. In today's sermon, colonialism provides just such a wonderful tipping-of-the-table. Consider a cultural oddity of last century - ‘cargo cults’ that appeared in some undeveloped countries like Papua New Guinea. [Read more]
Column: Looming European energy crisis: A lesson in averages that won’t soon be forgotten
I’m not sure about you, but the last thing I want to talk about is elections. When I think of how much of my precious time has been wasted hearing about politics in the last year, I want to puke. No more from pollsters, talking heads, or statisticians. Well, maybe I’d like to talk about statisticians, as in the old joke about the one that drowned because he forded a river that was only three feet deep, on average. See, isn’t that better than politics already? However, as funny as a drowned [Read more]
Column: For the record…
I probably owe social media platforms some sort of apology, for cursing and mocking them for their relentless flow of stupidity and/or paid muckraking, the combination of which is paralyzing public discourse on any topic of substance. While that is no doubt happening, to rave against social media is, at the end of the day, like howling at the moon. For all the destructive power of these platforms, they also provide a service that humanity clearly values highly. Those platforms aren’t going [Read more]
Column: The global energy chasm, in stark terms
“A blind horse should be slow." "Driving at 600 mph is certainly never the fastest way to get somewhere.” Mixing some metaphors from Principia Politica by Nassim Nicholas Taleb Avoiding the news is good for one’s mental health, and sadly this fact has even engulfed energy news. What used to be a decent, business-like and relevant flow of energy happenings, developments, and price conjecture has turned into a muddled cacophony of emotion. It has been this way for a while, but we are [Read more]
Column: Which is code red again – the ‘death knell of fossil fuels’ or Biden’s demand for more of them?
"We can’t wait to tackle the climate crisis. The signs are unmistakable. The science is undeniable. And the cost of inaction keeps mounting.” President Biden on Twitter “President Biden has made clear that he wants Americans to have access to affordable and reliable energy, including at the pump.” White House statement, two days later, pleading with OPEC to produce more oil to reduce gasoline prices Confused? Bad news; it gets worse. That's what happens when you have a minimum wage job and [Read more]
Column: Looming energy wars – lecturing 4 billion people isn’t as easy as it looks
“Logic is the art of non-contradictory identification. A contradiction cannot exist. No concept man forms is valid unless he integrates it without contradiction into the total sum of his knowledge. To arrive at a contradiction is to confess an error in one’s thinking; to maintain a contradiction is to abdicate one’s mind and to evict oneself from the realm of reality” - Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged Most university philosophy departments loathe Ayn Rand, but that’s ok. True, her fiction and [Read more]
Column: What would Putin do?
If you were running a country, and you’re not sure of the best path forward, a good piece of advice might be: What would Putin do? I get it, he might not seem like the best example. The Ex-KGB despot’s tactics tend to be a bit on the barbaric side, like explaining nature to a kindergarten class by releasing a bunny and a wolf into the classroom simultaneously. But hear me out. First and foremost, I’m no politician, and lobbing advice is easy, and I know that. But some things are [Read more]
Column: The petroleum sector’s carbon emissions drive is going to surprise many as the results start coming in
There is an image bandied about the nation that Canada’s hydrocarbon sector is an out-of-touch dinosaur - steadfastly clinging to the past, yelling at clouds, and holding out for the glory days of the next petroleum boom. In reality, do you want to know what is the hardest part of business in today’s oil patch? Figuring out which emissions-reduction schemes and programs to focus on. There are dozens taking shape, everywhere you look. Those that don’t want to hear it won’t believe it, but [Read more]
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