Earth Day 2021: Realism vs. Hope

Fellow earthlings, on this fine Earth Day let's take stock of the global trend.  We will leave determining the local B'game impact to the reader, just this once, except for a hint.  From today's WSJ piece titled "Smaller Energy Firms Bet on Acquiring Fossil-Fuel Assets" we learn

Major oil companies such as BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC are selling billions of dollars of assets to bolster their finances and reduce carbon emissions, while mining companies including Anglo American PLC and Rio Tinto PLC have exited coal projects.  Snapping up those unloved assets is a band of smaller competitors that wager that fossil fuels will remain the world’s main energy source for years to come.  “While I agree that the direction of traffic is one way, toward renewables, I think it’s going to take longer than people think,” said Blair Thomas, chairman of Harbour Energy PLC.

In 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic hammered global transportation and industry, oil, natural gas and coal accounted for 81% of global energy consumption, according to the International Energy Agency. That figure is forecast to drop to 76% by 2030, though rising overall demand means using even more carbon-intensive energy.  While the world’s wealthiest countries might have already hit peak oil demand, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, forecasts that countries such as China and India will drive oil consumption up 43% by 2045 from 2019 levels.  Developing economies don’t have the luxury of accelerating their transition away from fossil fuels, said Mike Teke, chief executive of Seriti Resources, a coal-mining company.

"When one door closes, another opens" as the saying goes.  Now the hint from the city e-newsletter:

Induction cooktops are touted as high performance alternatives to gas cooking. They are fast, efficient, and don't use open flames. You can sign up to borrow an induction cooktop for two weeks and see how it works for yourself.

You don't even need your library card...... 

Comments

[Paloma Ave]

From the Post, "It Doesn't Matter"; President Biden's climate czar, John Kerry, told a White House press briefing that even if the U.S. reduced its emissions to zero, it wouldn't make much of a difference in the global climate change fight because 90% of the plant's emissions come from foreign countries, such as China.

Kerry made his remarks before President Biden signed a number of executive orders on climate.

[JP]

This fiction is gonna cost a lotta money. And Buyden will not be the one paying it.

[[email protected]]

And JP will not be around to see what happens. So why care?

[Paloma Ave]

Holy - Did you think changing your handle from Holy to Holly would lead people to believe you are more sane? (P.S. It is not working)