Subtitle: The Emperor Ain’t Gonna Jones
This blog repeatedly has noted the push for gasification of hydrocarbons, commonly referred to as “Syngas“, and warned that such waste to energy advocacy really is a cover for promoting “clean coal” technology, which isn’t.”
And, you know what? Even fellow, moonbats greenie-weenies green bloggers are ignoring my sage advice and either overtly or apartar la vista y, help to push the Syngas spin. Can you imagine?
On the one hand, Professor Romm has proposed that “whatever technology we’ve got now — that’s what we are stuck with to avoid catastrophic warming.” And, on the other hand, has warned that “we must all be very wary of people who say the solution is new technology.”
Now this is my presumption; I do think that the author of “Hell and High Water” wants us to avoid those unintended consequences that could reduce or override expected benefits. “Rufus” selling US hi’ “corn likker”, (i.e., corn-to-ethanol) being a prime example.
Perhaps, though, it simply is a matter of ambition of returning to the stage, a.k.a., “Washington theater” and this is more weasel language. After all, gasification is other than a “new” technology and “Diamond Jim” Peabody can afford to buy the super delegates seats in the House (and Senate). (Snarkier jibe: The ones in the Senate are season’s tickets.)
Doktor Fischer-Tropsch, or how I stopped worrying and learned to love Climate Change
Imagine, suggests the amazingdrx, that you are part of the ExxonMob or PeabodyPosse, which Jesse “I Learned a New Word Today” Jenkins refers to as the Carbon Oligopoly…
From that POV (Point O’ View) it would make sense to keep energy prices on the rise enough to sap the political and financial will from your enemies. But not boost energy prices quickly enough to make alternative energy sources cost competitive.
So, it Yogi Berra’s repeating once again, for all the guys and gals at the Department of Redunancy Department and all the ships at sea, that while cellulosic ethanol, when derived from waste, e.g., agricultural, forestry or municipal solid waste, can be an environmental winner, that is to say claims of about 5 g CO2 eq / MJ are valid and there is “reasonable” CLAWS (Cost, Land, Air & Water) (represented by Dewey, Weasel and Howell), there remains the distinct possibility that promoting ceeoh is a strategy to establish gasification technology, not to mention that it reinforces the existing ICE paradigm.
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Speaking of political solutions Professor Fischer-Tropsch, look what your Congress critters are selling us more of now…
While restoring Renewable Energy Credits, guess what Congress really is pushing?
“The collision between coal and climate change now looms so large,” writes Geoffrey Styles, “that a former Vice President of the United States has shockingly called for civil disobedience to stop the construction of coal plants that don’t capture and sequester CO2–which today includes essentially all of them.”
The red, white and blue plate special that our staff at “We Know Our Pork” Burgher Emperor (Where Washington Theater actors find a temporary job) will be happy to serve ya’.
Speaking of strategy, writing for the NY Times, James Kanter notes, “Policies aimed at improving sustainability and the environment usually are put on the back burner at times of financial hardship — and this time, despite the unprecedented global attention on the dangers of climate change, is beginning to look no different.”
Curiously, after the financial crisis, with ongoing threats of a world wide depression, the price of gasoline has gone down rather than up. Very curious, indeed.
Climate Progress provides some examples that illustrates Kanter’s assertion there there is no difference this time, a.k.a., SSDD (Same Solipsism, Different Diatribe or something like that)
Brooklyn Treehugger Matthew McDermott relays a view shared by the UN’s senior advisor on water, Maude Barlow. “After a recent bus and helicopter tour of a tar sands operation in Fort McMurray she had one word to describe what she saw: Mordor.”
Reclamation Efforts Touted
Tar Sands Environmental Destruction Not Worth It
At the risk of sounding flippant, sounds like too little too late: I’ll stand by the WWF’s assessment that the economic and environmental costs of continuing to develop tar sands and oil shales—in energy speak ‘unconventional fuels’—are simply unthinkable.
photo: WWF-UK
A mining operation for tar sands gives Fort Murray in Alberta, Canada the Mordor Look. Environmental Defense has called Alberta’s tar sands “the most destructive project on earth.”
And, and the fuel made from the such devastating mining operations, guess where it goes? Right into your gas tank, ‘Merika!
Recommended Recent Information about Canadian Tar Sands
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[...] with BTL (Biomass To Liquid fuels) zombies. Even with a better environmental profile than some, Ceeoh, otherwise known as cellulosic ethanol, has yet to be proven a viable source of alternative fuel. [...]
[...] Professor Crisis, Google isn’t running the country; Emperor Fossil is. That is why 1 bil went to cleantech, 25 bil to coal and 100 bil for George’s private army. [...]