Just when you think that the world has not gotten crazy enough, it goes out and decides to get all Myrtle Beach drunk on you.
Someone was joking about what would be the next disaster to befall us in 2020, but no one else really thought it was a joke. If frogs started to fall from the sky it would not be very surprising. Really, as long as we avoid the whole plague of boils thing I might consider us winning.
Stay safe out there.
On to the links…
Can We Survive Extreme Heat?—Get ready. It was already 130 degrees Fahrenheit in Death Valley.
Revealed: How the Gas Industry is Waging War Against Climate Action—The fossil fuel industry does not care about the future beyond the day when its latest earnings come in. Everything else is subservient to making more money including the future of a habitable Earth for human beings.
Insurance Giant Suncorp to End Coverage and Finance for Oil and Gas Industry—Actuaries may be fairly boring, but when they decide it is no longer prudent to insure oil and gas projects you better pay attention. Credit and coverage are the lifeblood of modern business models. Without them nothing is scalable.
Oil Frackers Are Breaking Records Again – In Bankruptcy Court—Fracking is an industry that has done one thing really well…burn through cash. It’s like they were trying to warm themselves by lighting dollar bills on fire.
Norway Plans to Drill for Oil in Untouched Arctic Areas—Does it seem like a bad idea to go drilling for oil in an inhospitable place of pristine nature during a time when oil prices are low with no indication that higher prices will return?
Nearly Half of Germany’s Electricity has Come from Wind and Solar this Year—If Germany can get to half can’t just about every other Western nation state do the same? Hell, Iowa is on track to get 50% of its electricity from wind and this is no hippie paradise.
11% EV Market Share In Germany! Let The Disruption Begin!—I am sure that if I look hard enough I can find articles that state there is no possible way that EVs can gain more than 5% or share or 10% share. Just like renewable energy before it, the better solution will find a way.
Transitioning to Renewable Energy Isn’t So Simple. Just Look at California.—California’s story is about so much more than just the availability of electricity. It is about an ageing power distribution infrastructure that has been allowed to rot. It is about bad development decisions that favored inefficient and expensive single family homes almost to a degree that is illogical.
Electric Trucks Are Coming. Where Should They Go?—My suggestion is heavily populate areas on the eastern seaboard where trucks do not have to travel as far compared with the rest of the country, but where the concentration of people creates a lot of exposure to pollutants. Or, just send them everywhere.
What Contains 3 Times More Energy Than Gasoline, But Produces Zero CO2?—The hydrogen economy is like the villain in a teen slasher movie. It just keeps coming back from the dead no matter how many times it is killed. I swear by now we are well past the credits for the third or fourth sequel but here comes hydrogen again.
The Biblical Flood That Will Drown California—California is a place defined by natural disasters. The crazy thing about this flood is that it occurred within the time when photographs could record the results. This is not some part of the fossil record. It is part of our modern history and it could happen again.
Hong Kong’s Terracotta Tile Army Marches to the Rescue for Coral—If this really works, what would it take to scale the idea across a lot of different areas with damaged reefs? Like oyster reefs being constructed from discarded oyster shells that restaurants collect this seems like a no brainer.
Mobile Canning Is Saving That Local Beer You Love—Now, go out and buy a six pack of that beer from your local brewery. If you do not that brewery may not be around much longer. You do not want to be forced into drinking Keystone Light, do you?
The Pandemic Is No Match for the Pumpkin Spice Latte—Oh sweet Jesus, it has begun.