Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Mainstream Media Throwing in the Towel on Renewables?

They say you can't fight the Fed, and it seems you can't fight fossil fuels, either. Even The New York Times realizes this (by the way, Jim Cramer on Fast Money said something to this effect earlier this week or last week -- I was quite surprised).  A perfect storm? a) President Obama desperately needs jobs; b) price of oil trending upwards; c) mainstream media throwing in the towel on renewables; d) GOP control of the House with a strong message from the people -- they won't stay there if they don't follow through.

Here are the headline stories on the front page of the Business Day / Energy Section of today's issue of The New York Times:
  • There Will Be Fuel: Recent discoveries of oil and natural gas fields and new mining technology have combined to help increase the world's supply of energy for decades to come. Repeat: decades to come. Peak oil theory, anyone?
  • In the Heartland, Still Investing in Coal: Despite calls to cut greenhouse gases, numerous coal plats under construction today are likely to be pumping out carbon dioxide until at least 2050.
  • Diesel, Cleaner, Is Set to Make a Comeback: With advances in diesel engineering and heightened interest in fuel economy, cars with diesel-powered engines are starting to sell again in the United States.
  • When Uranium Outshines Gold: Nuclear power projects worldwide, especially in China, are driving up prices for uranium earlier than industry insiders expected.
  • Solar Storm Risks Bring Disaster Plans: The growth of the transmission network in the United States has increased the risk that a severe solar storm will cause crippling damage.
  • GOP Gains on Capitol Hill May Not Advance Nuclear Power: Many Republicans support building more nuclear reactors, but several factors make the outlook for new plants mixed at best.
  • Some Exceptions to the Rule, but Pipelines are Safer: Oil and gas industry expers say that despite several major accidents this year, pipelines are getting safer as technology improves.
  • Concerns as Solar Installations Join a Desert Ecosystem: With solar projects approved that would cover 42 square miles of California desert, environmentalists rear the impact of industrialization of the desert.
Comments:
  • There Will Be Fuel: Proves my assertion that US wasted a decade on renewables
  • Still Investing in Coal: North Dakota at the center of new coal technology; and coal ain't gonna go away
  • Diesel Is Set to Make a Comeback: It will be interesting to see how many more diesel cars are sold than the GM Volt and the Nissan Leaf combined
  • When Uranium Outshines Gold: Everywhere but in the US; but if they need it, North Dakota has uranium, too, but it won't be mined in ND in my investing lifetime
  • Pipelines Are Safer: But you can bet the mainstream media will highlight every spill, no matter how small
  • Solar Installations Join a Desert Ecosystem: Now, when a oil company wants to drill in the desert, all it has to do is copy what the solar folks did; oil takes up a much smaller surface footprint. Love it. 
The whole New Yorks Times Energy section sounds like it was taken from latest issue of Journal of Oil and Gas

I'm really looking forward to stats on diesel cars vs hybrids five years from now.

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