“If social justice were the outcome COP26 attendees desired, they would do well to articulate how they meant to replicate the reliable, economical, and land-sparing fossil-fuel-based power generation and transportation now within reach of most of humanity.”

The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, (COP26), concluded last week in Glasgow, Scotland. As usual, activists traveled to the event using carbon-fueled vehicles to demand that carbon-based fuels be left in the ground (including those in the developing world) in the name of social justice.

As many readers of this blog and some local climate change activists know, James Watt (1736–1819) was born and performed his first experiments to improve the steam engine not far from where the UN meeting took place. Watt ended up doing his most important work and is buried in Birmingham, where a series of events were organized two years ago to celebrate the bicentenary of his death.…

Ed. note: This fortnightly Master Resource post excerpts energy and climate material from the Media Balance Newsletter, published every other week by physicist John Droz Jr., founder of the Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions. The complete MBN for this post can be found here.

Of special interest in this issue is Michael Shellenberger’s article on Europe’s return to nuclear power: “Nations Go Nuclear as Prices Spike and Renewables Fail.”

Wind Energy:
French couple wins legal fight about turbines affecting their health
Will Wind & Solar confront its 10 challenges? If not, we need Nuclear, CCS, and more
Norway in legal quandary after wind turbines ruled a threat to reindeer herder rights
Maine Voters Reject Transmission Line, Blocking Renewable Energy Expansion
“Sad” News from Denmark about Industrial Wind Turbines
Wind Manufacturers Blown Off Course
Offshore wind builder tries to calm worries

Solar Energy:
Kerry’s non-response re China using slave labor producing solar panels
Maine towns start to halt solar panel construction
Wind & Solar to Provide 30% of New England’s Consumption by 2050
Short video: Threat of Industrial Solar – Gerrit Cain

Nuclear Energy:
The nuclear industry just got a significant boon from Congress
Nuclear Is Hot, for the Moment
Rolls-Royce To Develop Mini Nuke Reactors To Decarbonize Power Grid
Nations Go Nuclear As Prices Spike & Renewables Fail
Paper on gas and nuclear’s inclusion in EU green finance rules
Nuclear May Be the Ticket to a Carbon-Free Future.…

“… by Exxon’s calculations, a barrel of algal oil could be worth as much as $350, when factoring in existing low-carbon fuel standards and tax credits that add as much $260 in value to each barrel. Traditional crude oil currently sells for less than $80 a barrel.”

“The process requires vast amounts of energy so much so that algal biofuel production might consume more energy than it produces, some researchers concluded.”

Biofuels and biomass are energy technologies that are uneconomic and a mirage for the environmental gains that are desired by Left environmentalists. It is a loss-loss-loss for energy, stockholders, and the environment.

The article by Christopher Matthews, “Exxon Sees Green Gold In Algae-Based Fuels. Skeptics See Greenwashing” (Wall Street Journal, October 4, 2021) speaks for itself.…

NJ Ayuk, executive chair of the African Energy Chamber, wants first-class energies for first-class people, not wind and solar blight. His recent post on LinkedIn speaks to Africa’s priorities.

“Ultimately, Africans deserve the same level of energy access and security that the rest of the world takes for granted. The number of people left behind is simply too large to allow foreign agendas to take viable options off the table.”

After three days in Glasgow for COP26, you can’t help but ask yourself where do we go from here as an African energy sector. I maintain my disappointment with the global elites for failing to invite the oil and gas industry. Oh well, they invited me.

With dire warnings about the impending dangers of climate change clouding the headlines on a daily basis, energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables is a hot topic.…