Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Driven by fossil fuels, powering new technologies, society (and the global climate) has been completely changed. But like all celebrations, that process is arguably coming to an end; and like all the best parties, those who have had a really good time don’t want it to stop!
Energy prices in the UK have soared thanks to a big rise in the price cap for domestic customers set by regulator Ofgem. This follows a smaller increase in the price cap in October 2021.
Tens of thousands of Britain’s poorest energy customers could miss out on a chance to bring their bills down before winter – because the government allowed its flagship insulation scheme to run out.
Vladimir Putin’s ugly war of annihilation in Ukraine has probably ended globalization as we know it, along with our culture’s ignorance of the reality of depleting finite resources.
Moreover, some degree of decentralisation of our energy system would contribute to local and regional energy resilience, thus providing a necessary buffer against the many storms of a changing global climate that are likely to prevail upon us.
Europe finds itself in a bind; horrified by Russia’s action in Ukraine, yet, at least in part, funding Moscow’s war chest through the billions spent on Russian gas imports.
Somehow, we need to build a consensus of willingness to face hard trade-offs even as our leaders delay or outright refuse to take responsible action.
The UK government has already missed the opportunity to insulate millions of additional homes and prevent an eye-watering price cap rise in April. It can avoid repeating the same mistake by making home energy efficiency its number one priority.
As Europeans suffer surging energy prices, the EU is renewing its commitment to costly natural gas instead of investing in cheap renewables, it has been revealed.
The city of Pueblo wants to go all-in on renewables. Low-income residents want affordable rates. Can they work together? The first things you see driving down from the Rocky Mountains into Pueblo, Colorado, are smoke stacks. Three big ones sprout from the Comanche coal plant at the edge of town, and then a stubble of shorter towers rises from the steel mill, which once provided good paying jobs to anyone who wanted one.
Oil prices, which have been climbing steadily for the last two months, dropped sharply on Wednesday to close down some 3 percent for the day at $40.47 in London and $39.79 in New York.
Why are commodity prices, including oil prices, lagging? Ultimately, the question comes back to, “Why isn’t the world economy making very many of the end products that use these commodities?”
