Let me fix that headline for you: The New Yorker wonders if the environmental movement should fully embrace terrorism.
"Biden's plea to OPEC is an acknowledgement that windmills and solar panels -- no matter how generous the subsidies -- cannot supply the nation with the energy it needs. "
Leaked footage of the latest board meeting of Plug In America.
Bloomberg (9/24/21) reports: "In late August, General Motors announced that it was recalling 142,000 Chevy Bolts — every Bolt ever made — because of fire risk. Over the course of about 17 months, the company confirmed 13 fire incidents involving the model — 11 in the U.S. and 2 overseas. GM said the recall was due to rare manufacturing defects by South Korea-based supplier LG Corp. On Monday, the automaker said it has found a fix and will begin replacing defective batteries in October. Even so, GM has advised Bolt owners to park their cars 50 feet away from other vehicles to reduce the risk that a spontaneous fire could spread. Recent battery fires haven’t happened just to cars. In early September, Vistra Corp.’s massive 300 megawatt Moss Landing battery plant in northern California was knocked offline after overheating triggered the sprinkler system. In late July, a fire broke out at one of the largest utility-scale storage projects using Tesla Inc. batteries in southeastern Australia. And in 2019, a blaze at an energy storage facility in Arizona injured four firefighters. Leading automakers are investing billions of dollars to transition away from gas-powered cars, while energy storage systems are being added to electricity grids to help integrate more solar and wind and meet ambitious climate goals. Executives from both industries are realizing that batteries — widely seen as a key technology to enable the shift away from fossil fuels — aren’t entirely free of risks."
Once government starts meddling with prices it's only a matter of time...
Bloomberg (9/24/21) reports: "An energy crisis is exposing the vulnerability of food supply chains. As soaring gas and power prices hit industries across Europe, fertilizer plants halted or curbed output in the past week or so, threatening even higher crop nutrient costs and potentially smaller harvests if farmers cut back on the key input. In the U.K., it also raised the specter of an almost immediate shortage of carbon dioxide, a by-product of fertilizer production and widely by the food and drink industry. A lack of CO2 would force slaughterhouses — which use the gas to stun animals — to close, at a time when staff shortages have left British farms crammed with roughly 100,000 extra pigs. It’s hitting grocery stores, too, because CO2 is used in packaging to extend the shelf life of food and for the 'dry ice' that keeps items frozen during delivery, as well as giving soda and beer their fizz. The risk to food supplies is so great that the U.K. government stepped in to help get a fertilizer plant running again, at least for a few weeks. But the threat may be far from over. About half of Europe’s ammonia capacity is probably at risk of shuttering or curtailing output, or already closed, consultancy CRU Group said. Tighter fertilizer and CO2 markets may further push up global food prices, which are already near a decade-high."
Food prices going up around the world and the government wants to send more money to farmers not producing food.
Catalyst (9/22/21) column: "New legislation to benefit biofuel production may soon be forthcoming, according to recent reporting by Reuters. One proposal would use federal dollars to build new high-blend ethanol fuel pumps while another would provide tax credits for more biofuel-friendly vehicles. These policies would be harmful to consumers and prop up an uneconomic industry. Farm-belt Senators including Sen. Amy Klobuchar D-MN, Rep. Cheri Bustos R-IL, and Rep. Cindy Axne D-IA are leading the biofuels push, according to Reuters sources. This should come as no surprise, as the biofuel discussion has long been backed by members of Congress from highly agricultural districts...In a country with more than $28 trillion in national debt, the subsidization of inferior fuel products serves special interests in the farm belt without providing the substantial environmental benefit is folly. Although Ethanol and other biofuels may burn slightly cleaner than other fuels, they have serious problems as well, including land use, fertilizer requirements, and the energy requirements of growing its feedstock. Hopefully, none of these ill-considered biofuel proposals are eventually adopted, either stand-alone legislation or as part of a larger action."
