Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Former Shell employees resurrect dead well in ‘monumental’ move for geothermal energy

by Laurelle Stelle msn.com, The Cool Down Nice read on geothermal energy produced from pumping water into fracked rock formations in deep dry oil wells. In Texas, several innovative new companies are combining clean energy technology and the expertise of former oil and gas industry employees to create a whole new generation of geothermal power plants, Grist reported. […]

Switzerland significantly exceeded winter gas savings target  

SWI swissinfo.ch Switzerland exceeded its voluntary gas savings target this winter. Compared to average consumption between 2017 and 2022, the target was to reduce gas consumption by 15%. However, according to provisional government figures, it was 23% less. ______________________________________________ Keystone-SDA The target was 3,997 gigawatt hours (GWh) of gas savings, regardless of the weather, over […]

Small scale carbon capture

EVs are certainly proliferating, not only here in East Providence but all over the planet. However, Hertz’ retreat from the rental market demonstrates the challenges facing companies with large fleets of vehicles. Hertz cuts EV fleet by a third Trucking companies have a lot invested in their diesel engine-powered truck fleets, and of course, many […]

Record wind and solar power generation in Germany. No foolin’.

When I think of the places on the planet that seem optimized for solar and wind power generation, I think of deserts like the Sahara and the desert Southwest in the US. And yet Germany is generating a growing share of its electricity through these renewables: “Preliminary data by energy market research group AG Energiebilanzen […]

You can’t fool Mother Nature

Back when we lived in Chapel Hill NC, we made a few trips to the Outer Banks where my wife had an uncle who built fishing boats in Buxton NC. Back then, nobody was talking about sea levels rising because of global warming and yet it was obvious back then (early 1980s) that these sandy […]

King Canute economics comes to Massachusetts

According to legend, King Canute tried to order the tide not to come in. Needless to say, he failed, divine rights of kings nonwithstanding. Back when we lived in North Carolina, we visited the Outer Banks a few times. There were many expensive homes on the shoreline. These were often casualties of hurricanes that would […]