I’ve always heard that Iran was home to some brilliant filmmakers. Somebody on that end understands American culture in more depth than most Americans, and is wielding that understanding to communicate more effectively, and sadly, with more credibility, than much of the American media or, certainly, the administration.
Iran is emerging from this war an order of magnitude stronger, both economically and culturally.
William Brangham discusses the near term future in the Gulf of Hormuz’ shaky cease fire with Jason Bordoff, the founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.
As of right now, the Straits of Hormuz are again closed. No matter how this conflict turns out, it has already changed the world.
The very uncertainty of how this conflict is progressing is underlining, day by day, the urgency of a pivot for nations in Asia and the developing world.
President Lee Jae Myung said on the 30th, “Right now, there is chaos worldwide due to energy issues. Frankly, the situation is so serious that I cannot sleep,” and added, “South Korea must swiftly transition to renewable energy.” The president made these remarks during a town hall meeting held at Jeju Halla University that day, stating, “The current situation is concerning, but I fear it will become even more unstable in the future,” and emphasized, “The reality is worse than one might think.” He noted that the instability in energy supply due to the Middle East crisis is more severe than anticipated.
President Lee warned, “Relying on fossil energy is extremely dangerous for the future,” and explained, “We do not produce these resources ourselves, and chasing imports has led to the current crisis.” He continued, “All energy sources must be rapidly shifted to renewables,” and gave examples: “For instance, we should quickly transition to electric vehicles, switch heating to heat pumps, and accelerate the use of abundant wind energy.” Regarding the government’s policy to convert all new vehicles in Jeju to electric cars by 2035, he criticized, “This is too slow for an emergency,” and urged, “Rental vehicles should also be replaced more aggressively.”
There were few signs on Wednesday of a large-scale return of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran promised the “safe passage” of vessels in the crucial waterway as part of its cease-fire with the United States.
That could change, experts said, if shipping operators concluded that the terms of making the passage were clear and the risks of attacks were reduced. Global shipping traffic and energy flows could yet take months to return to prewar levels, they added.
Iran has blocked the strait, which carries a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil and one-fifth of its gas, throughout the war by laying mines and launching sporadic attacks on ships.
El Niño is a phenomenon in the Pacific, but it affects everyone on every continent, and the last big ones ratcheted up global temperatures dramatically. “Super” El Niño on the way.
A rare “super El Niño” is more likely to develop by the fall of 2026, according to a leading European weather forecast model that points to a 75% chance that tropical waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean will become much warmer than normal by October.
Model guidance now suggests El Niño is likely to form — and could become unusually strong. The naturally occurring, cyclical event, marked by above-average ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, can shift weather patterns around the world.
Ocean temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific could climb 4 to 5 degrees above average, approaching levels seen in the strongest events on record.
Always worthwhile, this YouTuber, Inside China Business, today focusing on China’s emerging generational leadership in offshore wind, compliments of the Trump administration.
The price of gasoline has spiked amid a U.S.-led war with Iran. It’s not uncommon for the fossil fuel economy to be disrupted by geopolitical conflicts, but now consumers have more options than ever to protect themselves from price hikes.
EVs are already putting a dent into oil consumption worldwide, and as gas prices climb higher, the simple efficiency of an EV could become all the more appealing. In all 50 states, the cost of home-charging an EV is considerably cheaper than fueling a car with gasoline.
The map above shows the cost of charging an EV at home. The price is expressed in “eGallons,” which is the cost of charging an EV by an amount equivalent to one gallon of gasoline.
I wrote about the math behind the eGallon and plotted a similar map of prices in early 2024, when gas was relatively cheap. And even then, EVs were much more economical to drive. But now, consumers have even more incentive to make the switch.
Above, an editor from The Economist relates his experience at the recent CERAWeek conference in Houston – basically Burning Man for energy tycoons.
Participants, especially in the Gas industry, were “joyous” in their belief that they were big winners in the current war in the Middle East. Meanwhile…
Below, if Alex Jones thinks it’s time for the 25th Amendment, it might be time.
Along with another strike on one of Iran’s key natural gas processing areas, the Israelis are exacerbating the energy crunch that is pushing the global economy to the brink, and, by the way, pushing the global economic trajectory in a way that will not favor Donald Trump’s fossil fuel donors in coming years.
For the second time, Israel has attacked Iran’s South Pars natural gas and its associated petrochemical complex – an energy lifeline for Iran that both helps keep the lights on for civilians and provides a key source of export earnings.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday that Israel attacked a key petrochemical plant at Asaluyeh, the onshore industrial aspect of the gas field, which lies under the Persian Gulf.
Katz said the “powerful strike” hit what he called “the largest petrochemical facility in Iran … responsible for about 50% of the country’s petrochemical production.” Combined with an earlier attack, two facilities responsible for 85% of Iran’s petrochemical exports have been taken out of service, he said.
Attacks on South Pars are sufficiently provocative to Iran that an earlier Israeli attack on March 18 prompted Iran to target energy infrastructure in other Middle East countries in response, an escalation of the war that sent new shockwaves across the region and beyond.
Just weeks ago, the US electric car market looked moribund. Amid plummeting EV sales, dealers were offering discounts as Detroit automakers scrapped electric lineups to make more gas-guzzling SUVs.Then oil prices surged after the US and Israel attacked Iran.
Now, a used electric car showroom in San Francisco suggests the tide is turning again. As gasoline prices climb — hitting $6.81 a gallon at a nearby station on Wednesday — a flurry of drivers are making appointments to check out Ever’s lightly used EVs, many priced under $30,000.
“Gas prices are coming up in almost every customer conversation,” said Maximilian Quertermous, Ever’s co-founder and chief operating officer. “The momentum of the last few weeks is among the strongest we’ve seen.”
Ever is just one dealership, but signs of a shift are playing out across the world. In Southeast Asia, buyers are flocking to Chinese EV giant BYD Co.’s stores, while electric rickshaws are selling out in Pakistan. A shortage of cooking oil in India is driving a run on electric stoves. From Germany to Nigeria, interest in rooftop solar is surging. And in the UK, some homeowners are taking the plunge on expensive heat pumps.
If you are reading this, you are using a data center somewhere. Likewise if you are a user of YouTube, Netflix, Google, Facebook, email, Slack, or if you share pictures of your pets on your iPhone – you’re a Data center user – so consider before you join that Zoom meeting to ban Data Centers – Zoom operates 17 of them.
The workings of markets have not been repealed. If the graphs of power consumption projection look incredible and preposterous, well, they might be just that. For those projects that assume unlimited ability to build “behind the meter” gas generation, there are barriers to the availability of gas. As one of Jigar Shah’s podcast guests explains, below, building your own generation is easier said than done. Other reporting cautions on the availability of sufficient key components to meet requirements.
For those that do not know Jigar Shah, he is an engineer, an early pioneer in founding a solar company, SunEdison, in 2003. He’s been an investor and leader in the clean energy space, a tireless advocate of climate action, and for 4 years, Director of the (then) powerful Loan Programs Office at the Department of Energy under Joe Biden. So he knows the space. I’ve posted a couple of his important takes on the the popular concept of Data center development that we are hearing so much about, the projections that Hyperscalers are going to build endless “behind the meter” gas generation that will blow up climate initiatives and ruin communities around the country. I’m still working my way up the learning curve on these issues, but everything I’m seeing suggests panic is unwarranted, and opportunities for clean energy wins exist.
As the global AI race heats up, there is a huge rush to build data centers fast. There’s no lack of money chasing these projects, with tech giants Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com, Meta Platforms Inc. and Microsoft Corp. committed to spending more than $650 billion this year alone. Yet neither ambition nor capital is enough to materialize all the necessary components.
Almost half of the US data centers planned for this year are expected to be delayed or canceled. One big reason is the shortage of electrical equipment, such as transformers, switchgear and batteries. They are needed not just for powering AI, but also for building out the grid that is seeing increased consumption from electric cars and heat pumps. US manufacturing capacity for these devices cannot keep up with demand, and the scarcity has caused data center builders to rely on imports.
