As an undergraduate, I was trained to read between the lines and to interpret the words on the page in context with the author’s background and intent. With that in mind, I see an interesting marketing plan in between the following words from page 31 of ExxonMobil’s 2012 The Outlook for Energy: A View to [...]
Gasland II coming to HBO just in time to influence 2012 elections
Natural Gas Watch has published a fascinating interview with Josh Fox, the creator of the often mentioned documentary about the impacts of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) titled Gasland. Fox is well into the production cycle for a sequel titled Gasland II; he described the difference between filming the first movie as an unknown documentarian and making [...]
Nuclear proponent versus free market advocate for natural gas
My continuing discussion with Robert Bradley at Master Resource provides an opportunity to concisely document information about energy market competition gathered over several decades. I hope you continue to enjoy it, but part of the reason for publishing it here is to add to a growing web log (blog) about the topic that may be [...]
Debating a natural gas booster about nuclear competition
My discussion with Robert Bradley at Master Resource regarding the relative value of investments in natural gas generation versus nuclear generation continues to result in some interesting exchanges worth additional visibility and comment. Here are some of the recent posts: Robert Bradley { 12.03.11 at 9:47 pm } Rod: $4/MMBtu natural gas–how can nuclear compete [...]
Don’t blame “the market.” Individual people with money and power do not like nuclear
Robert Bradley at Master Resource has responded to my criticism of his continued dismissal of nuclear energy in favor of burning more hydrocarbons. He kindly visited the Atomic Insights comment thread to let me know that he had responded. Here is his response from a comment that he posted on his blog titled Remembering ‘Green’ [...]
Smoking gun – German president of Environmental Protection Agency touts natural gas instead of nuclear
An article in The Guardian titled UK’s faith in nuclear power threatens renewables, says German energy expert is full of evidence of the alliance between natural gas salesmen and the advocates of unreliable sources of energy like wind and solar in an effort to discourage the use of nuclear energy for economic, market-based reasons. Jochen [...]
Nuclear energy in Virginia – Public Square debate hosted by Richmond Times-Dispatch
The Richmond-Times Dispatch hosted a debate on November 15, 2011 titled Public Square: The debate over nuclear energy in Va.. Since I recently moved to Virginia specifically because of nuclear energy, I figured that attending the debate was a good way to invest my time. Aside: . I am one of several hundred people who [...]
John Rowe wants everyone (else) to buy natural gas
The Philadelphia Inquirer recently ran a story titled Exelon’s Rowe an unlikely booster for shale gas. The headline writer was wrong; John Rowe is one of the most motivated natural gas salesmen in the United States right now. Though he will not receive any commission checks for his efforts, he stands to profit immensely if [...]
Ed Markey, LNG and antinuclear activity
I have frequently wondered why Representative Ed Markey is such a powerful antinuclear activist. The mystery has not been just trying to understand why he is so actively opposed to nuclear energy, but how he accumulated so much legislative power so early in his career. A few days ago, I started piecing together some interesting [...]
Former ExxonMobil guy – “nuclear is great stuff, but people are afraid”
My wife and I just spent a glorious weekend with some old friends who were entertaining a number of people I had never met at their lake house. As I too often do when socializing over adult beverages, I got engaged in a conversation about energy. One of the participants stated that he thought that [...]
What Does San Bruno Pipeline Catastrophe Tell Us About Gas Transportation Infrastructure?
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is the responsible federal regulator for natural gas pipelines, has issued the report of its year long investigation of the San Bruno pipeline explosion and fire. That September 9, 2010 event, involving a pipeline located directly underneath a residential area, killed 8 members of the public, injured dozens [...]
Backlash Against Nuclear Power Adds to the Top Line of Oil and Gas Companies
An article titled Backlash Against Nuclear Power Hits the Bottom Line provides some interesting food for thought about the intricate connections associated with the world’s $6 trillion per year energy market. Here is the first quote I want you to ponder. The combination of earthquake, tsunami and human ineptitude produced a fiasco at Japan’s Fukushima [...]