Energy & Climate - science, technology, policy, economics & law. Innovation & optimism, not habit & fear. Adjunct Prof of Energy, @JHU
Maryland, USA
Joined April 2009
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#Energy rule #1 The energy system is complex & connected. Diverse sources, processes, & uses - issues of economics, science & tech., environment, culture & politics, security, access & equity & much more are all connected. Beware of simple, silver bullet, "just do this" answers.
It is amazing how little most people know about the basics of oil in the United States. A few fundamentals for the interested. 1. Oil production in the U.S. is at record levels (still slightly below pre-pandemic levels)
2. The reason for the sharp increase in production around 2008? Fracking. Fracking utilizes two technologies (hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling) which were decades in development. nesfircroft.com/resources/bl…
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Attention Montgomery County voters, the Democratic Central Committee may be “downballot” but please vote for Andrew. I may be biased, but if you know him, you know what a great person he is and how devoted to making our community a wonderful place to live for everyone.
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To be fair, even understanding something profound about nature is an amazing thrill even when you are not the first.
Quote of the Week: "The reward of the young scientist is the emotional thrillof being the first person in the history of the world to see something or to understand something. Nothing can compare with that experience". - Cecilia Payne
#quote #quotes #quoteoftheday
Kudos Simon. It seems crazy that it needs to be said, but it does. plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/f…
Just finished one of the best books on COVID, Daniel Defoe’s Journal of the Plague Year, published in 1722 about 1665. The more things change, the more they stay the same. For better or (mostly) worse, human behavior hasn’t changed much over the centuries. amazon.com/dp/B087HJT9KY/ref…
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A big part of the situation in Texas is a dramatic fall in gas production (because of freezing in and around wells) causing gas-fired power plants to reduce or stop generating power. These two graphs from this week's @EIAgov's Natural Gas Weekly Update illuminate the situation.
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Ford to transition to just electric passenger vehicles in Europe by 2030. Another day, another step on the transition to low-carbon transportation. Before you comment, yes, decarbonizing electricity generation is integral to this transition. apnews.com/article/ford-all-…
A 2011 winter storm resulted in electric power outages for 3.2 million Texans. Recommendations to avoid a repeat were largely ignored. The fundamental failure is not about energy sources, energy mix, or technology, it is a failure to prepare. ferc.gov/sites/default/files…
Another 13% drop in the cost of lithium-ion #batteries in 2020 shows that economics is lining up to support the transition from petroleum-based internal combustion engines to #ElectricVehicles. There are other factors (e.g. changing stations) but change is unavoidable.
General Motors plans to exclusively offer #ElectricVehicles by 2035! Cars, trucks, SUV, and even Hummers. The times, they are a-changin' cnbc.com/2021/01/28/general-…
Some perspective on the share of US production of #FossilFuels occurring on public federal lands:
#Oil: 22% (16% offshore; 6% onshore)
#NaturalGas: 11% (3% offshore; 8% onshore)
#Coal: 42% (Existing federal coal leases could sustain 2019 level of production for ~22 years)
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An impromptu memorial to the victims of the COVID-19 pandemic in our local park (Germantown, Maryland) Are there other examples?
In 2020, natural gas spot prices (Henry Hub) averaged $2.05 per million British thermal units, the lowest annual average price in decades. Cheap natural gas has killed coal-fired generation but also slows the deployment of renewables.
eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail…
With control of both Houses, Democrats can utilize the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to reverse recent (60 legislative days) Trump Administration rules. What rules would you like Congress to subject to CRA? For example: EPA's "Strengthening Transparency in Pivotal Science" rule
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Oil drilling rights on 22 tracts of land in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were offered at auction today.
11 tracts received NO bids.
10 tracts went to the state of Alaska (AIDEA).
Just 1 tract went to an oil company.
"Epic Fail" "Dry Hole" npr.org/2021/01/06/953718234…
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Trumpism summarized: “One of the great conditions of anger and hatred is, that you must tell and believe lies against the hated object, in order, as we said, to be consistent.” Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray, 1848
Biden Pledges Ambitious Climate Action. Here’s What He Could Actually Do. - The New York Times nytimes.com/2020/10/25/clima…
This is #energytwitter at its best. Concise but thoughtful discussion on important issue. The entire thread is worth reading.
OK, so I need to do a brief rant on something hugely important that almost no one cares about. Humor me.
To wit: in the absence of an as-yet unidentified break through in storage tech, hydrogen is never going to be anything other than a niche player in energy mkts. Thread:
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These Dos and Don’ts for the 1918 Pandemic are just as valid today as then. And, they remind us that the key issue is not science but human behavior. As Pogo said “we have met the enemy and he is us”
Article 2 Section 1 of the Constitution: "The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States." The President has no power to unilaterally change the date.
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