Never underestimate the ability of humans to overestimate their own intelligence. - moi

2025.02.28 Opportunity: fix Canada's dependence on U.S. oil and gas

BOE Report: 'Big vulnerability': How Ontario and Quebec became reliant on U.S. oil and gas
Reality check: The oil and gas sector won't build pipelines north of the Great Lakes to ensure fossil fuel security for eastern Canada, and certainly not within 4 years. However, eastern Canada could build renewable energy that could be online within a year if provincial governments would stop subsidizing foreign fossil fuel companies and let local renewable energy businesses create jobs in Canada. This will be sea-change for Ontario, which continues to give sweet-heart deals to Enbridge to import U.S. natural gas, and cancelled over 750 renewable energy projects when it took office, and cancelled the EV incentive that would have led Ontario to having a real EV industry in place by now. Nova Scotia is still burning imported coal to produce electricity. Even the prospect of 4 more years of Trump won't shift the grift in Ontario or NS on power production.

I'm serious about making EVs that actually work well in the Canadian winter. Avoidable errors are a bad look.
Frankly, our 2017 Nissan Leaf has worked well and reliably, and it is sure-footed on snow, guaranteed to start on cold mornings, and the fuel and maintenance costs are miniscule. Cabin heating takes seconds. Acceleration is a treat. We did our first brake work after more than 7 years of ownership and almost 90,000 km of driving due to brake pads wear on only one side of the discs. That's the ONLY major service done in over 8 years of regular use including trips to the cottage on dirt roads, and this car goes in for regular dealer inspections every 10-12 thousand kms.
However, the idea that a brake booster could freeze if the car is parked in cold temperatures, well, Nissan sold it to us in Ottawa, so what did they expect? Regenerative braking might still be novel, but conventional brakes are industry bread and butter.
Nissan Leaf Recall Letter for freezing brake booster

2025.02.28 As an EV owner since 1979, only ever using Level 1 charging at home, I can attest it can accomplish a lot.

Why Level 1 EV Wall Charging Is More Useful Than You Think (Inside EVs)
Having Level 2 and Level 3 (DCFC) options for intercity travel and long-mission days in town is icing on the low-cost charging cake.

2025.02.28 Despite disappearing incentives, Canadians are still shiting to EVs

Canada ZEV adoption rate hit 18.9 per cent in Q4 2024: S&P - above predictions (Electric Autonomy)
Imagine if anyone built an EV actually designed for use in Canadian winter conditions - that would be a blast to drive!

2025.02.27 Renewables (zero fuel cost) and storage cost less than fossil fuels or nuclear electricity generation.

Prices fall as first pumped hydro and two eight hour battery projects win landmark storage tender (Renew Economy)

2025.02.27 Somebody knows a dumb move when they see it, and it's not Trump. We know from TMX, fossil fuel industry leaves that bill for taxpayers.

Canada wants new oil pipelines to avoid Trump tariffs; nobody wants to build them (Reuters)
So, Canadian taxpayers, instead of gifting the very profitable and foreign-owned oil and gas industry more future stranded assets we'll have to clean up, how about we do the right thing for us for a change, and use that money to make renewable energy projects and create jobs and profits in Canada?
You don't have to clean up a sunlight spill.

2025.02.27 Coal's still cheaper than natural gas, so if we drop 'carbon taxes', coal wins on cost and natural gas loses market share.

Asia's Coal Boom is Bad News For Natural Gas (Oilprice.com)
Funny thing is renewables like photovoltaics and wind power are cheaper than either coal or natural gas, because the fuel is free.

2025.02.26 As the planet warms, plants are absorbing less carbon dioxide

Plants losing appetite for carbon dioxide amid effects of warming climate (The Guardian)

2025.02.25 Do the math. Lower cost to build, no fuel costs, no pretend carbon capture, very low operating labour costs.

Oh, and better for health and the environment.
Solar & Battery Storage to Lead New U.S. Generating Capacity Additions in 2025 (CleanTechnica)

2025.02.25 Pity Canada, and especially Ontario, are locking into the bad bet on natural gas

Prediction: Solar Energy Beats Natural Gas By A Mile In 2025 (CleanTechnica)

2025.02.25 President Musk and Putin-Poodle Trump saving the U.S. taxpayer money - that went a bit off the rails, didn't it?

Trump's EV Charger Purge Could Cost Taxpayers Over $1 Billion (InsideEVs)
Don't worry about Musk losing any money; he's focused on markets other than the U.S. for EV sales.
Canada, Pro Tip: don't put a tariff on used working EV charging equipment being purchased from the U.S. - bargains to be had shortly.

2025.02.25 Climate change is only a problem if you need to eat.

Japanese salmon catches plummet in losing battle to climate change (JapanToday)

2025.02.25 Is it time to buy some Arctic island property for your future winter residence? Tip: buy high ground.

Arctic faces irreversible change as global warming nears 2.7°C (Muser Press)
The original paper is paywalled other than for the abstract.

2025.02.24 Doug Ford has tied Ontario's hands to dependence on U.S. natural gas; so much for strengthening economic independence from the U.S.

'We are going in the wrong direction' (PressReader)

2025.02.24 Key values of hydro reservoirs is they are implicitly a form of storage, and they ramp up and down almost instantly.

Now, if BC is smart enough not to use this taxpayer-funded green electricity to power smart things like heat pumps, smart lighting and EVs, and not crypto-mining or LNG pipelines and shipping within BC, and sell some to AB and SK to displace coal and gas generation, BC can make some real coin selling green electricity (take note Saskatchewan) and reduce climate change impacts.
Site C dam's electric generation capacity grows to 50% (DH Urbanized)

2025.02.24 The proof is in (again): deregulated energy markets don't lead to lower energy costs, they lead to consumers getting Enron'ed, again and again.

(Fossil) Energy Costs Surge Across the United States (Oilprice.com)

2025.02.24 In some places, Sea Level Rise brings a partner: land subsidence. Coming to the Canadian Arctic, too.

The rise in sea levels around the Mediterranean could be three times worse than expected (WECB Radio)

2025.02.23 Another carbon credits scam, this time from the government of Saskatchewan.

Pro Tip for Saskatchewanians: If you want green electricity, it's a DIY project, not coming from a grid powered 75% by fossil fuels. Which is weird in a province with scads of free wind and sunlight.
SaskPower now offers greenwashing program (Pipeline Online)

2025.02.22 It's called Sea Level Rise (SLR). It's part of the climate change package.

Rising seas are already toppling coastal cities (earth.com)

2025.02.22 Yes, an EV battery will die some day. Probably after the car did, and it has served in a 'second-life' role.

New study addresses popular myth about electric vehicle batteries: 'Extremely unlikely' (Yahoo)

2025.02.17 Uh-oh, has Europe figured out that nuclear fission is not actually a green energy solution? Another greenspin meme gone?

Nuclear sidelined in leaked rules on state aid for clean tech (euronews)

2025.02.17 The catch is, you need a LOT of green electricity to make green hydrogen. India doesn't have that.

US-based Plug Power eyes 'multi-gigawatt' green hydrogen electrolyser plants in India by 2030 end (EnergyWorld)

2025.02.15 Air pollution, not just bad for the environment and climate change.

Lung Cancer Is Rising in Non-Smokers, And This Could Be Why (sciencealert)

2025.02.14 This IS the golden age of the Alberta oil sands; tax-payer subsidized production has never been higher.

Why Canada's Oil Sands Aren't Coming Back (Maclean's)

2025.02.14 I wonder if we'll ever take climate change seriously. I mean, it's not like it's an existential issue, right?

World's sea-ice falls to record low (BBC)

2025.02.14 Let's see, wind and solar are less expensive than fossil fuels, faster to deploy, and can be coupled with storage to ensure steady supply.

But somehow, we're supposed to believe the grand orange idiot has a better plan. So far, there's no sign he has ANY plan, for ANYTHING.
Donald Trump can't slow down the energy transitionw (National Observer)

2025.02.12 What if Canada had a lot of steel (pylons) and aluminum (high voltage power cable) it couldn't sell to the U.S.?

An east-west oil pipeline is a trap - Canada needs an east-west electricity grid (Policy Alternatives)

2025.02.12 It's curious that climate change isn't a top concern for most Canadians, but it is for those that feed us.

Poll: Climate change a top concern for Canadian farmers (chek News)

2025.02.07 The oil and gas industry seeks a cloak of legitimacy for DAC and CCUS, which they know aren't a viable solution to climate change (but good 'green' PR).

Why oil and gas companies want state oversight for carbon dioxide injection (Houston Public Media)
The state of Texas can signal their confidence by putting the first underground repositories under the Governor's residence and offices, and the State Legislature, and offices of the researchers and industry regulators.

2025.02.07 Uh-oh, UK Public Accounts Committee did a science on CCUS, with predictable results.

PAC 'unconvinced' by 'risky' CCUS technology and questions government investment (New Civil Engineer)

2025.02.06 EVs should come with a warning sticker: caution, EV driving experience may be additctive.

EV driver shares startling experience after going back to gas car: 'The instant power ... is just unmatched' (TCD)
The gas automakers know that driving electric is a superior experience, and once you have experienced the EV Grin, you won't want to go back to noise, vibration, lagging pedal response smelling like gasoline and exhaust. That's why the anti-EV mwssaging is so pervasive and persistent. They know there is no customer winback after you realize you feel relaxed instead of enraged after driving in traffic, are not doing oil changes, spending way less on fuel, maintenance and insurance. I know, having driven EVs since 1979.

2025.02.05 Climate change (sea level rise, shoreline erosion, storm surges, bigger and more frequent hurricanes) doesn't care

Wind and water are slowly taking this luxury house overlooking Cape Cod Bay (AP)

2025.02.04 I remember when our 'leaders' said we could stay within 1.5 degrees - way back in 2024

Climate change target of 2C is 'dead', says renowned climate scientist (The Guardian)

2025.02.04 These should not be lumped together, hydrogen here isn't cleantech, and while energy storage has legs, core tech is in flux.

B.C. cleantech hits speed bump as battery, hydrogen investments stall (BIV)

2025.02.04 UK EV sales up 34% despite 18% Tesla sales nosedive (Jan 2025 vs Jan 2024)

Electric car sales 'smash expectations' in record January as new petrol and diesel vehicles slump (GBN)

2025.02.04 Climate change impacts on humans are NOT linear with global temperature rise in degrees C or F.

Half a degree rise in global warming will triple area of Earth too hot for humans, scientists warn (Phys.org)

2025.02.03 European GHG tracking satellite (Tropomi) 4 years results

Satellite data analysis uncovers top 10 persistent methane sources (Phys.org)

Past blog pages:
2019: May    June    July    August    September    October    November    December   
2020: January    February    March    April    May    June    July [COVID gap]
2021: [COVID gap] October-December
2022: January-February    March    April    May-August    September    October    November-December
2023: January    February    March-April    May-July    August-September    October-November    December
2024: January    February    March    April    May    June    July    August    September    October    November    December   
2025: January    February   

You can find many earlier postings (going back to year 2000) related to climate change at:
Keith's List Archive and
the Sustainable Biofuel List Mail Archive.

I present a lot of information in this blog and on this website. If you need some help sorting through the noise level and getting a forward-looking, proactive approach to climate change for your business, I can do that work for you via my consulting business. Contact