The DOE move to prop up the nuclear big iron also prompts a recollection of the words of the great American philosopher Lawrence “Yogi” Berra: “It’s déjà vu all over again.” Alternatively, “Been there. Done that. Didn’t work.” Some 20 years ago, facing a 30-year decline in the U.S. nuclear power business (no reactor ordered after 1974 got built), the George W. Bush administration threw $8 billion in 2005 dollars each to two, two-unit AP-1000 reactor projects.
The Trump administration and its Department of Energy have made Canada–who many Americans other than Donald Trump consider our closest ally and good friend–happy. Recently (June 23, 2026), DOE’s loan office (grandiosity renamed the Office of Energy Dominance Financing) announced a $17.5 billion dollar loan program to subsidize building five as yet unidentified, two-unit 1,000-MW, nuclear power plant stations.…
Continue ReadingThis post excerpts energy and climate material from the Media Balance Newsletter, a free fortnightly published by physicist John Droz Jr., founder of the Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions. Droz is also the author of the popular Substack Critically Thinking About Select Societal Issues.
Unreliables (General):
*** Renewable Energy Will Impoverish Humanity
*** Renewables still provided only 6% of global primary energy in 2025
Wind Energy — Offshore:
Duke axes North Carolina offshore wind lease
Massachusetts Wants Ratepayers to Rescue Offshore Wind
Wind Energy — Other:
Asbestos discovered in 1,000 Chinese made wind turbines
Nuclear Energy:
Department of Energy Celebrates Second Advanced Reactor Achieving Criticality
Fossil Fuel Energy:
Elon Musk Is Buying Up America’s Gas Turbines
Japan cuts LNG imports in favour of coal
Miscellaneous Energy News:
*** Secretary Chris Wright’s arrival at the Department of Energy
A Tribute to Chris Wright as Private Citizen: Powerful Architect of Energy Humanism
Manmade Global Warming — Some Deceptions:
*** The Most Morally Inverted Movement Ever
*** NET ZERO has become a religion
*** Bjorn Lomborg blasts implausible scenarios used to scare public
*** Europe’s Deadly Aversion to Air Conditioning
Climate change” was politicized early on – thanks to Al Gore
Another Pillar of Climate Advocacy Collapses
Vatican Newspaper Taints ‘Encounter of Faith and Reason’ with Climate Falsehood
Louisiana Did the Right Thing by Blocking Climate Lawfare
Manmade Global Warming — The Science:
Dr.…
The July Fourth week will be energetic coming and going. The celebration is another reminder that modern life involves activities that naturally emit the “gas of life”—carbon dioxide.
Peak hydrocarbon supply? Not at all, although political events cause temporary reductions. Peak demand? No, just the opposite. Record driving, flying, and cruising; record grilling; record fireworks.
Driving
Another record will be broken this week, according to the American Automobile Association. Here is the full story:
… Continue ReadingAAA projects 72.2 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home for Independence Day between Saturday, June 27 and Sunday, July 5. This year’s domestic travel forecast surpasses last year’s record of 71.8 million travelers, but the increase is smaller than recent year-over-year gains.
The number of travelers driving and flying to their destinations is relatively flat compared to last year, while travel by other modes, including cruises, is the category seeing the biggest increase.