Our lifestyle, our wildlife, our land and our water remain critical to our definition of Wyoming and to our economic future.
Dave Freudenthal, former Governor of Wyoming/
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Fifty oil companies representing nearly half of global production pledged to reach near-zero methane emissions and end routine flaring in their operations by 2030, the president of this year’s United Nations climate talks said Saturday, a move environmental groups called a “smokescreen.”
Smokescreen it doesn't seem to be. That's a major commitment. But not as big as this one:
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- The United States committed Saturday to the idea of phasing out coal power plants, joining 56 other nations in kicking the coal habit that's a huge factor in global warming.U.S. Special Envoy John Kerry announced that America was joining the Powering Past Coal Alliance, which means the Biden Administration commits to building no new coal plants and phasing out existing plants. No date was given for when the existing plants would have to go, but other Biden regulatory actions and international commitments already in the works had meant no coal by 2035.
None of this should be a surprise. This is where we've been heading for some time, and it's inevitable. Indeed, I touched on this back in 2017 here:
Coal: Understanding the time line of an industry
And I cautiously dipped my toe in the water, wondering if Wyoming should ponder a fossil fuel free future here:
Lex Anteinternet: Issues In the Wyoming Election. A Series. Issue No. 1 (a). The Economy again. . . the extractive industries
Dear future generations: Please accept our apologies. We were rolling drunk on petroleum.
transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science."
accelerating efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power" and for "tripling renewable energy capacity globally and doubling the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030.
This is a major action, if the committing countries are able to stick to it. Environmentalist will complain that it is too little, too late, but as economists have shown in the past once efforts are made to really commit to a goal, it tends to be reached much more rapidly than anticipated.
In Wyoming, where the Governor has been taking flak by noting that Wyoming will have to transition away from a carbon based economy, this is going to result in howls of derision, including claims that its part of a "radical green agenda" and "impossible". It's neither.
December 14, 2023
We can’t reverse market trends, but we can be prepared. Blaming OSMRE — or, more ridiculously, President Biden — only provides another distraction as Wyoming politicians continue to whistle past the graveyard, averting our attention from planning for our future — a new lower-carbon economy that is coming whether we like it or not.
Bob LeResche former Alaska Commissioner, former Executive Director of the Alaska Energy Authority, in the Casper Star Tribune, December 14, 2023.
I used the same phrase, "whistling past the graveyard" here recently at least twice.
But some, it would appear, are not:
This will likely spark outrage in certain quarters of Wyoming, particularly in the GOP far right. There were howls of derision concerning Governor Gordon's statements that Wyoming needs to plan for a carbon neutral future. But that future is coming. Moreover, what this demonstrates is that there are quarters of Wyoming, and Wyomingites, who see things much differently.
Fremont County does have an interesting mix of residents, people who have retired there, people who have moved there (which includes everywhere else in Wyoming now), people who work in oil and gas (and live mostly in Riverton), people involved in outdoor industries, and residents of the Reservation. Lander is the county seat, and borders the Reservation, but it is not an oil town. The same resolution would likely pass easily in Jackson, maybe Pinedale, and Laramie. Cheyenne? It might.
What about Evanston?
Well, probably, maybe, not, but Evanston is mad at the Wyoming Department of Transportation's plan to put in a semi tractor/trailer parking lot that will hold over 350 trucks and trailers during emergencies. They don't like it, even though not all that long ago, almost any Wyoming Interstate highway town would have just shrugged their shoulders and figured that some of those truckers would at least order pizzas while stranded.
December 15, 2023
Global coal demand, on the other hand, was at an all-time high last year, due to use in developing countries.
General Motors is closing two plants and laying off 1,300 workers.
Closer to home, it's clear that Governor Gordon, who will not be running for office again (too bad) feels himself free to speak what he really believes.
Gov. Gordon Agrees Climate Change is Real, Says Decarbonizing the West is Possible
On national TV and in Idaho workshop, Gordon promotes his ‘all of the above’ energy strategy
This is of course going to get him a lot of criticism, including the class "he's a RINO" by people not realizing that they're the ones who are departing from the traditional Republican mindset.
December 18, 2023
All new cars in Canada must be zero emissions starting in 2035.
December 27, 2023
10,000,000 Americans will receive raises with boosted state minimum wages on January 1. The new rates apply in 22 states.
December 28, 2023
From the AP:
MEXICO CITY — Mexico launched its army-run airline Tuesday when the first Mexicana airlines flight took off from Mexico City bound for the Caribbean resort of Tulum.
Also, from the AP:
So far in 2023, Americans have bought a record 1 million-plus hybrids — up 76% from the same period last year, according to Edmunds.com. As recently as last year, purchases had fallen below 2021’s total. This year’s figures don’t even include sales of 148,000 plug-in hybrids, which drive a short distance on battery power before a gas-electric system kicks in.
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