BP is trying to have its cake and eat it too. And it is being criticized on all sides: the greens for greenwashing its major activity (oil and natural gas production) and mineral energy advocates for engaging in the uneconomic as a contra-capitalist company. BP head Bernard Looney tries to square the circle with both.

Looney just reported on LinkedIn:

Some brilliant news to share today… bp has just signed a $4 billion deal to buy Archaea Energy – a leading US biogas company that produces renewable natural gas. As I’ve said recently – “putting our money where our mouth is.”  

I realise renewable natural gas might not mean much to people outside the industry so let me explain…  It’s gas from organic waste – homes, cities and farms – that is captured instead of vented into the atmosphere or flared.

James Hansen is a mixed bag. In important areas, he speaks truth to power and is a thorn in the side of “magical thinking” wind-and-solar “environmentalists.”

But the blinders are on when it comes to climate sensitivity to greenhouse gases; market entrepreneurship for adaptation/resiliency; the benefits of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions for Global Greening; and the positive effect of moderate warming for many people in many places of the world for most of the year.

Here are some examples of Hansen at his best:

• “Suggesting that renewables will let us phase rapidly off fossil fuels in the United States, China, India, or the world as a whole is almost the equivalent of believing in the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy.” (here)
• “Let’s be clear: the frequent comparison of the fossil fuel and tobacco industries is nonsense. Fossil

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

Greed Energy Economics:
*** Adverse Energy Taxes in the Inflation Reduction Act
Electric Prices Skyrocket with Gruesome Green Energy Policy

Renewables (General):
Renewable Energy Obsession Leading to Energy Rationing!
NY Governor Announces New Solicitation Calling for 2,000+ Megawatts of New Large-Scale Renewable Energy Projects

Wind Energy:
*** Experts question environmental and economic value of wind power
Dominion Hides Off Shore Wind Threat to Whales
Wishes and secrets fill Dominion’s offshore wind Plan
15 years ago, wind turbines came to a Maine town, and hit turbulence along the way
Gone with the wind: Lesotho’s $15-billion wind farm project vanishes without a trace

Solar Energy:
*** Pennsylvania hearing shines light on solar concerns
Why solar ‘tripping’ is a grid threat for renewables

Nuclear Energy:
*** Efforts to Transform US Nuclear Industry Entering Full Bloom
*** Battery Deaths Put Nuclear Safety In Context
*** Poll Shows Widespread Support for Nuclear Energy
US study assesses potential for coal-to-nuclear conversion
Nuclear power is the future

Fossil Fuel Energy:
*** Environmentalists, Emboldened, Ask EPA to Ban Natural Gas
*** Short video: That would be the road to hell
America is Successfully Pursuing ESG = Extreme Shortages Guaranteed
The Importance of Fossil Fuels
China announces it has enough coal reserves to last another five decades
California Bans Natural Gas Furnaces, Water Heaters
How African coal is saving Green Europe from freezing this winter

Electric Vehicles (EVs):
States to Ban Gas-Powered Cars Despite EVs’ Human, Environmental Costs
California EV Dream A Nightmare for Freedom to Travel

Miscellaneous Energy News:
*** 12 arguments supporting the terrible “Inflation Reduction Act,” refuted
*** The “Inflation Reduction Act” is a 4-step recipe for destroying American energy
*** Climate Panic Behind Energy Crisis
*** Obama Led Germany Into Putin’s Energy Trap
UK abandons net-zero energy policies for energy security
Denying Access to Energy: The New Normal?…

“In its Ahab-like focus on harpooning ExxonMobil, the BBC missed an opportunity to explore the enormous challenges involved in replacing fossil fuels. The costs of ignoring those challenges may well be tragically put on display this winter when Europeans face freezing temperatures with nothing but BBC-approved power systems to keep them warm.”

In Episodes 1 and 2 of its three-part documentary, Big Oil vs The World, the BBC succeeded only in demonstrating its own bias. Time and again, viewers were presented with only one side of a many-sided issue. Episode 3 is no exception. This episode’s main narrative is that, for years, oil companies have touted natural gas as a clean alternative to coal, but poor execution has largely offset the benefits.

Per unit of energy generated, natural gas produces about half the carbon dioxide of coal.…