First weekly roundup of energy items of interest.
Michael Shellenberger on the possible end of the RE craze, extract provided by David Blackmon on his Energy Transition Absurdities site.
Peter Smith on the astronomical number of electricians required to deliver on the green fantasies regarding electric vehicles and new transmission lines.
Interesting reads Rafe ?
Maybe some slight optimism too look forward to given the inevitable darkness that is quickly becoming a reality for many Western countries.
How long before things collapse – I just cannot understand the resiliance of the exisiting system .
I think the resilience will very quickly crumble – we’re starting to see it in Europe now. I give Australia 2-3 years.
Thanks Rafe..
that’s the thing. It only takes 5min of back-of-the-envelope calculations to understand that all the posturing is lala-land.
The fact that very few of our politicians can do this speaks volumes for their numerical abilities.
EV plague?
I saw my first EV “rescue” van the other day; here in the inner-north-western Burbs of Brisbane.. Typical white commercial van (Toyota Hi-Ace?) with a panel of text about its role on the sides.
Appears to be loaded with a generator and charging electronics,. I have severe doubts that this “rescue unit” is itself electric or even hybrid.
More eco-political Kabuki; probably “funded” by a generous slab of taxpayers’ cash??
Perhaps thats why I am still waiting, after 6 weeks and 3 different electricians, for one to come and install a changeover switch so I can run the house on the genny when it goes dark again.
1) ‘Theres a lot of ruin in a nation’ (Adam Smith)
2) ‘Gradually then suddenly’ (Hemmingway)
the road to energy poverty will be slow and changes to their surroundings not so easily noticed to those on the journey
a little at a time, each step packaged in sweet terms of reasonable justification, entirely understandable and acceptable
until in 20 years time we look back (as we do now) and say to ourselves, wait we didn’t have these problems 20 years ago, this wasn’t even a concern on the horizon then and now it is
one very troubling aspect of this is the loss of free speech to question what’s going on. with each passing day the threat to anyone questioning government policy or processes becomes more real
there is now a law in Australia about renewable targets, does questioning the renewables goal break the law?
Is it sedition to publish articles that ridicule a new federal law ?
will it become illegal in Australia, as the USA is heading, to question government at all?
No.
What it points to is the inherent corruption.
Moral and fiscal.
Modern Times?
http://www.sondrakistan.com/2022/09/07/evs-and-public-health/
Also, @ flyingduk:
“1) ‘Theres a lot of ruin in a nation’ (Adam Smith)
2) ‘Gradually then suddenly’ (Hemmingway)”
3) “The worse; the better”. (Lenin).
The scale and complexity of what must be done to achieve net zero by the timelines will require a “wartime effort” with significant resources diverted from other sectors of the economy and other major priorities forgone (which Departments are to be cut?). The logistics alone in securing and ordering parts, acquiring land, upgrading roads for access, shipping and transport and training and organizing a labor force may seem feasible on a computer project model (has one even be done? )but, remember at the same time this is supposed to be happening, the security of our electricity grid is being depleted by coal mine closures and the price of electricity is spiraling upwards. I’m wondering whether a project planning team has been established or is the government and its bureaucrats still knee deep in welcome ceremonies and morning teas.
Agriculture matters rapidly catching up with energy matters. Get a load of this one.
UN Food Official Warns Fertilizer Affordability Crisis Could Slash Global Grain Production By 40% (9 Sep)
This would be the same UN which is in cahoots with the governments banning farmers from using nitrogenous fertilizers because of a miniscule amount of a harmless gas. The Dutch government is arresting farmers right now because of their opposition to this abhorrent policy. They’re mad. They’re all complete lunatics.
Let’s suppose that the Covid19 response and even the virus itself were introduced specifically to enable the WHO to compel member governments to introduce state of emergency powers that could then be carried forward (having set a precedent) to be implemented to complete the introduction of renewable energy grids on a grand scale using emergency laws. It is a question I ask because it would only be by declaring a State of Emergency that governments could co-ordinate the massive effort needed to establish the required infrastructure. Such thinking would have presumed that battery technology would have been solved by now. The rapid increase in energy costs in Europe due to the Russian/Ukraine War I don’t think would have been built into the plan, but who (WHO) knows. Presuming this hypothesis is true the end game is to have mostly renewable grids (minus nuclear) by the time the planet cools off again. Thus you would achieve a catastrophic reduction in global population with those in control of strategic energy resources and communications running the joint. While far fetched, I am relatively convinced there have been high level strategic planning exercises run by idealistic think tankers who have built such scenarios into their propositions. The self identified big thinkers behind the end game get a thrill out of the manipulation believing they are running the world. Or in some cases that they are the new Gods of the Universe.