“So: the paths we have tried to tackle global warming have so far produced only gradual, halting shifts. A rapid, transformative change would require building a movement, and movements require enemies.” - Bill McKibben, legendary environmentalist and author “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” - Guess who…Donald Trump, leader of the free world “…with the fossil fuel-industry, wrecking the planet is [Read more]
Finally, something real about bitcoin – it’s about to break the energy system
The Harry Potter books and movies were wildly popular and extremely well done. It was hard to believe a single imagination could create such a complete world, with human values and foibles being the only connection to real life. It was a fascinating place to sink one’s self into, though the general concept made it easy to keep from getting too carried away – few of us needed to wave a stick around to know that magic can’t be relied on to help us with our own earthly villains no matter how much [Read more]
Abolish fossil fuels? Any volunteers for this weekend? Didn’t think so
It doesn’t take many days in one’s life of consumerism to recognize that “vital information” provided to you by someone selling something is to be taken with a grain of salt, to put it mildly. A sexy model draped over the hood of a car is not indicative of the life you will lead if you buy those wheels, unless that sort of thing happens to you regularly at present. Information from special interest groups who have vested interests, careers and/or funding to protect therefore need a little [Read more]
A new year needs a new message: Canadian resources benefit the world, and time to stop apologizing
Ever seen a movie where a scrawny quiet kid, after years of being bullied, finally comes of age and punches some punk in the head, and the theatre is filled with a sense of euphoric release? In those terms, Canada is currently the scrawny quiet kid, but there’s been no sign it’s ready to stand its ground. It's time to change that. To say that we need our very own Trump would be a bit much, but we do need a few pages from his play book. Part of Trump’s appeal is that he took back the [Read more]
Energy conversations matter, thanks for reading
Given the festive time of year with the holidays fast approaching, it’s a good time to talk for a minute about tuberculosis. Don’t be judgemental; you have your fireplace-on-TV traditions and I have mine. The disease has thankfully been pretty much wiped out of North America decades ago through the wonder of vaccinations. The discovery and propagation of this disease-stopping technique was an incalculable gift to us all, saving heartache that relatively few of have to endure these days, at [Read more]
The wurst – Germany’s energy ingredients spawn deceitful headlines that one picture can quash
Germany breaks green energy record by generating 35% of power from renewables in first half of 2017 - The Independent, July 2017 Germany breaks a solar record – gets 85% of electricity from renewables - Clean Technica, May 2017 Germany just got almost all its power from renewable energy – Bloomberg, May 2016 I haven’t been to Germany in 20 years, and it sounds like I wouldn’t recognize it. According to a first hand report from a large, bald, German acquaintance who sometimes cycles [Read more]
An app-happy world values convenience over infrastructure, and we’re doomed if we don’t reverse that
A man must stand on the side of a mountain a very long time with his mouth open before a roast duck flies into it – Chinese (I think) proverb One fine summer day when I was a kid there was a power outage that impacted a sizeable chunk of the eastern parkland region of my home province. A cat had gotten into one of the larger central power substations, whereupon it apparently completed a circuit of some kind and used up all its nine lives in a brief but no doubt spectacular blaze of glory. [Read more]
A shale gas superstar utters the unmentionable: “sweet spot exhaustion”
Those who are concerned the U.S. might run out of natural gas in the years ahead ignore estimates made by government and industry experts that this country has enough shale gas to meet domestic needs as well as export opportunities through the rest of this century and beyond. (The Washington Examiner, November 2017). There’s a fine line, sometimes indistinguishable, between saying things no one wants to hear and being the crazy guy on the corner shouting at governments or mailboxes. The weird [Read more]
Oh for…governments once again do what they do best – shoot the wrong horse
If you like solitude and a good view, the steppes of Mongolia are pretty darned attractive. The country is the least densely populated in the world, so the vast town-less southern plains that border China are like nirvana to us antisocial introverts. Until recently, that is. A remarkable story appeared in Reuters the other day, with equally remarkable photos showing queues of coal-laden trucks up to 80 miles in length waited to cross the border into China. You know what it’s like to be at the [Read more]
Saudi Arabia’s admirable plans most likely involve another oil price shock, and soon
Sometimes it’s funny listening to armchair quarterbacks, the ones who comfortably critique the pros because there is zero chance they’ll ever be in a position to show the world how miserably they’d perform in a similar situation. It’s not just a sports phenomenon; we see it in business too. A recent wave has been OPEC bashers, specifically Saudi Arabia. While some of us (ahem) may make fun of their gold Ferraris, it is very unwise to think they don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to [Read more]
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