AI boom means US is now ‘investing more’ in fossil-fuel power than China
The “data-centre boom” is driving a surge in gas investment in the US, pushing its fossil-power spending ahead of China, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Fossil fuel
What Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations can teach us about today’s failed energy transitions
Despite three decades of COP climate talks and a boom in renewables, global emissions continue to rise, rooted in capitalism’s relentless drive to expand energy use. Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations helps explain why renewable energy has grown without pushing fossil fuels out.
The emerging coalition challenging fossil fuel politics outside COP
Nearly 60 countries launch coalition to accelerate the energy transition against the backdrop of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Inside the plot to cover Europe with gas-powered AI data centres
Gas turbine manufacturers are confident they will win the battle over whether Europe’s AI boom will be powered by fossil fuels.
Wide boundary news: Sacrificing wilderness, oil data propaganda, and feeding the superorganism’s brain
Nate invites listeners to view the constant churn of headlines through a wider-boundary lens. He begins with the misleading framing of recent oil production statistics by the United States, which blurs distinctions between crude oil and broader petroleum products.
Q&A: Why does gas set the price of electricity – and is there an alternative?
Electricity prices could be decoupled from gas prices by changing how the market works, but ideas for doing so either have not been tested or have problems of their own. In an age of cheap renewables, cutting fossil fuel use, not scrapping market rules, is key to breaking the link.
Wars destroy lives and the climate. Why aren’t we counting military emissions?
War is a major driver of greenhouse gas emissions, yet most conflict-related emissions remain excluded from official climate accounting. Governments and international climate bodies must begin treating military emissions and the climate costs of war as central issues of accountability and justice.
Iran war analysis: How 60 nations have responded to the global energy crisis
One month into the US and Israel’s war on Iran, at least 60 countries have taken emergency measures in response to the subsequent global energy crisis, according to analysis by Carbon Brief.
Why we’re still marching toward collapse—and how to break the “consensus trance”
We continue down a path of collective destruction, in part because of a belief system so pervasive it feels like reality itself. Recognizing our deep interconnectedness is essential to building a more just and sustainable future.
Fossil fuels vs climate action: A not-so-hidden dilemma
We waited too long to begin the inevitable transition away from fossil fuels.
Energy at any cost?
If all else is uncertain, how can growing demand for energy be guaranteed? A review of Vaclav Smil’s Natural Gas.
Timetables of power
Fossil fuels are polluting and in limited supply, but they give us copious amounts of energy from small areas of land. Doing without these concentrated fuels won’t be a simple matter of trading a gas tank for a plug-in. A look at Vaclav Smil’s Power Density.
