A great sadness swept over me when a respected colleague asked if I would write about the election. The feeling is akin to being a lifer in prison and having someone ask you if you would rather go to Hawaii next week, or Fiji. If you weren’t in prison. You’d just want to bash their head in with a rock (because this is a prison analogy), and while I didn’t want to bash anyone’s head in with a rock (for the most part), I had zero enthusiasm to offer commentary, and that was even before the results … [Read more...]
Column: An open letter to Patagonia, Lush Cosmetics, and Ben & Jerry’s – your climate activism/lifestyle marketing/bipolar worldview begs the question: why do you exist?
Hi companies, A quick note from a puzzled customer/bystander. I’m trying to decipher the signals that you’re sending out to the world; there seems to be a sizeable paradox on display. All three of you made coincidental headlines in support of the global climate strikes, even halting business for a day to show that you mean business. It is awesome to see companies taking their environmental footprints seriously; that is the only way we’re going to make any progress – if entities and people … [Read more...]
A new Big Bang is brewing – unimpeded climate activists are assuming control and demanding a truly impossible energy transition. Things are about to get wild
It’s show time, everyone! Get comfortable, maybe make some popcorn, settle down in front of your electronic device of choice, and watch the world go Boom. Like an uncontrolled nuclear reaction, a meltdown of some sort is underway. That might be a huge helping of hyperbole, but it might not, and part of what makes this all so exciting is that we really don’t know what will happen. We have not been here before. I'm referring to the recent masterfully-orchestrated climate activist agenda, the … [Read more...]
Proposed General Terms & Conditions for Future Fossil Fuel Acquisition and Usage – time to sign on the line and say “I did that”
In the turbulence of modern daily life, a number of factors have emerged as constants. There are of course a great many, but a few in particular have become a staple of the weirdness that is modern life. One of them we can’t help but notice, and the other one we can’t help but ignore. Perhaps there is vast potential in marrying these current cultural oddities. The first factor is, of course, climate change. This past week saw the tension ratcheted up to a near breaking point. The climate … [Read more...]
Column: Carbon capture ingenuity shows resilience of petroleum sector whether activists acknowledge it or not
Whenever I mention Carbon Engineering, the Murray Edwards/Bill Gates-backed, Squamish-based company that’s developing large scale carbon capture technology, some wise monkey points out to me that the technology is too expensive or too impractical. They come up with some mechanical/cost yardstick, and say that it doesn’t make any sense. I have nothing against monkeys, but these sorts or replies do earn them a scowl. Oh, they may well be right about the cost being suboptimal. But the more … [Read more...]
Column: Climate crisis solved! A quick, socialist-friendly path to environmental nirvana. Who could complain?
As we enter 1984, metaphorically speaking, I realized I’ve had enough of the climate madness. Not just the mass delusion (the equivalent of Y2K times the dot-com boom times Beatlemania), but the whole topic, a twisted mess of ideology, speculative science, and fear. "The science is settled" vs. "no one will give up lifestyle". Science/lifestyle, back and forth for eternity. Elon Musk’s marketing/engineering genius is now a symbol for those who want to destroy the fossil fuel industry, despite … [Read more...]
The power of the Permian – would anyone have attacked Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities so brazenly a decade ago?
Eighteen years ago, a bunch of crazed religious activists, most of whom were from Saudi Arabia, hijacked four planes and attacked the US on its home soil. A frightened then enraged US snapped into action, and invaded the country next door. Several of them actually; both Iraq and Afghanistan received a fairly significant pounding from the finest military hardware available on the planet. Saudi Arabia remained a bizarre oasis of calm; there may have been a few unpleasant diplomatic exchanges … [Read more...]
Column: “I said, you’re SITTING on the BABY!” Apathetic export pipeline companies slash commodity prices/government royalties, compound abandoned well issues, and wipe out otherwise healthy producers
Life in the petroleum sector used to be exhilarating - earning a living in an incredibly dynamic business, providing the fuel that the world needs to maintain its standard of living, and working with energetic, motivated people. Today, producers no longer feel quite so enthused; in fact they feel like 60-year-old former NFL linemen trying to get out of bed. Watching the news is like seeing your face pop up on the nation’s most wanted list for some unspeakable act committed to a dying orphan’s … [Read more...]
Column: Negative interest rates – not an economic curiosity, an ominous pall of government control about to storm the US and an ill-prepared Canada
An apology is in order for the following subject matter. This is an energy-focused website, and energy alone is a fiendishly hard topic to explain properly to the general public. The energy world is complicated and frankly not that interesting to most, made up of pipes and tanks and tankers, all central to the industry known as “utilities”. Who in history was ever interested in the word “utilities”? Unfortunately, the problem of disinterest is compounded by folding in an interest rate … [Read more...]
Column: India’s infrastructure requirements are an eye-opening reminder of the world’s staggering demand for all energy sources
I’ve recently succumbed to an infatuation, much like a grade-school crush. Mind you, what is appealing at my current age is markedly different than what was back then; having traversed a generation's worth of the realities of adulthood, and with the prospect of hoping to retire someday, the subject matter of my admiration has shifted. Monumentally. Sadly, and weirdly, my current crush is on a company, or more specifically their stock: Brookfield Infrastructure Partners. This is disturbing in … [Read more...]
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