The Market, Energy, And Political Page, T+38 -- December 13, 2018 -- Color Me Worried. Not. Peak Oil? Hardly.

ISO New England. Link here. Spike to $160/MWh. Coal at 6% and increase in coal not yet seen this morning. Renewable energy at 8% -- low end of "normal."

What to do with your Christmas tree after February? South Korean wood pellet imports hit a record in November, 2018. I can't make this stuff up. It is the 21st century, isn't it?

UN climate initiative update: a long, long article to say this about the Polish conference now wrapping up -- no progress. None. Zilch. Nada. Goose egg. Zero. But I assume the attendees had a rip-roaring good time flying into and out of Katowice in their private jets. One year close to Armageddon, and they keep flying their private jets, and taking SUV motorcades to these conferences. Remember: this is an existential issue for humanity --

The 2015 Paris Agreement's ultimate goal is to limit global warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels by 2100 and to aim for no more than 1.5 C.  

US shale -- leading the world into an energy crisis: great op-ed. Over at Financial Times. Archived. Very, very interesting. Some thinking outside the box. Having said that, see if you can:

a) figure out the solution to the problem raised by the writer: and,
b) why this particular writer might write this "op-ed";
c) explain why I'm not a bit concerned

From the linked article, the lede:

The obsession with US shale oil is leading the world into an energy crisis.

The world’s leading forecasting agencies have hailed shale’s tremendous growth as key to meeting oil demand in the coming decades. But by focusing on volume rather than quality, they are missing the point. Crude extracted from shale rock is generally far lighter than conventional oil and is not the type wanted by the world’s oil refiners as demand for heavier products such as diesel increases and demand for petrol decreases.

At the same time, we are approaching the limits of achieving full vehicle fuel efficiency while European consumption has grown faster than previously anticipated. Once the lack of demand from refiners starts to limit the growth of US shale production, we will end up with lower oil supply and higher consumption.

Meanwhile, Rigzone says the world could be "oversupplied" by 2020 -- again.

Of the "original" big three -- Chrysler, GM, and Ford -- only Chrysler -- now Fiat Chrysler seems to be hitting on all 12 cylinders. But not all good news. From windsorstar:

The Windsor Assembly Plant’s 6,000 workers will be getting the first two weeks of January off next year.

Unifor Local 444 notified its members on its Facebook page and Twitter Wednesday afternoon that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will be closing the plant and employees will be on layoff on from January 2-4, 2019, and the week of January 7, 2019, returning the week of January 14, 2019. That is in addition to previously announced holiday shutdown dates of December 31, 2018, and January 1, 2019.

The last time the plant’s 6,000 workers were on layoff was at the end of October and early November when the plant was idled to adjust inventories. The plant also shut down last January. The plant manufactures the Chrysler Pacifica and the Dodge Grand Caravan.

***************************************

Waterloo Sunset, The Kinks

************************************

Back to Blogging

Changing the conversation, why I love to blog -- always in the forefront -- as my wife would say -- LOL --  on December 7, 2018, I posted this:

Someone mentioned yesterday that it would be wise to take Occasional-Cortex seriously. She may be a ditz, but she will change the conversation, and sometimes that is all it takes. Age 29, born 1989. A real millennial. 

Screenshot from twitter:

**************************

Best Interview Ever?

If you don't have time for the entire interview, begin at 3:57. To be safe, so you don't miss the lead-in to this best part of the interview, start a few second earlier. Also, note the other "celebrity."

Dame Edna and k. d. lang