I was thrilled to see that an old friend of mine, an extremely astute political observer who’s just recovered from a traumatic accident, is back online. Though he dislikes Trump, he views the presidency with a yawn, which I find strange. He’s often expressed that he thinks that I’m extreme in my desperation to see Trump removed. Here’s a quick conversation that, as usual, has me scratching my head. (more…)
Though England is the de facto language of Wales, anyone who’s ever struggled through a conversation in that part of the world knows that the accent, along with an occasional Welsh word or phrase thrown in makes spoken communication intensely difficult. (more…)
The State of New York has filed suit against ExxonMobil for misleading investors. According to the complaint, there is ironclad evidence that Exxon systematically lied when it said that it had factored in the costs associated with regulation re: the price of carbon into its financial future. (more…)
Most Americans are unaware that the U.S. is the only country on Earth in which there exists a debate among its political elites as to the validity of the theory of anthropogenic global warming. Elsewhere, climate change is simply accepted as an objective fact that needs to be understood and taken into consideration.
The Chinese, for example, recently published a white paper that forms the underpinning of an important part of its plans to meet its internal and external economic challenges, which includes strategic use of the Arctic. The paper begins: ‘Global warming in recent years has accelerated the melting of ice and snow in the Arctic region.’ The ‘development of shipping routes in the Arctic’ as the ice retreats is therefore a goal because those routes will ‘become important transport routes for international trade’.
Obviously, countries that accept science have a huge advantage over those that deny it, and this is one of the major reasons for pessimism when it comes to U.S. competitiveness in the global economy. What industry sectors will come to dominate the 21st Century, a time in which humankind is forced to deal with an existential threat? Well, here’s a solid guess: it will be the industry that is most germane to dealing with the threat, i.e., cleantech.
Absent geoengineering, the only tools we have to deal with climate change are those that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and that means:
Low-carbon energy (renewables and nuclear)
Efficiency solutions
Smart grid
Energy storage
Electric transportation and synthetic fuels
Sustainable ag, including plant-based meats
We can talk about ending the war on coal and removing the environmental protections that have been put in place over the last half century. We can make the oil companies happy by lowering vehicle CAFE standards. We can isolate ourselves with trade wars, while we recklessly threaten to engage in nuclear wars. The problem: the rest of the world is making real progress in the only industry that really matters.
By pretending that the problem doesn’t exist, not only are we dimming the hopes that our civilization will make it through this crisis, we are also making ourselves increasing irrelevant in world commerce.
We can run with this, or we can run away from it; the choice is entirely ours.
Exxon covered up its knowledge about climate change
IMO, one of the great discussions in human history took place in 1973 during the Watergate years, which I paraphrase as follows:
Richard Nixon: We need $X million to buy the silence of …. (someone who knew about the cover-up). John, could we do that? (more…)
As noted here:
Germany is Europe’s largest economy, and its wealth depends heavily on exporting industrial goods made with cheap electricity. (more…)
Here’s another installment on the tech sector of the economy from my colleague Frtiz Maffry:
The trends and the issues ahead of three American-based car companies illustrates extraordinary divergence of fortunes, strategies, and valuations that pertain to their businesses. (more…)
Re: this article: “Trump and Republicans settle on fear — and falsehoods — as a midterm strategy,” a friend writes:
Phew, I’m taking a brief respite from barricading my doors against all these rioters in California. (more…)
The abandonment of all principles of ethics, fairness and justice.
If you’re not a rich white straight guy who’s going to be dead before the coming environmental collapse and either a) has no children or b) lacks any concern for them, you’re screwed, and we simply could not care less.
At wastewater treatment plants, motors, pumps and other kinds of equipment needs to be running constantly, which requires a lot of energy. Around three to four percent of the energy used in the United States is used for wastewater and drinking water systems. These systems produce about 45 million tons of greenhouse gases annually. (more…)
