Month: July 2020

The Dangerous ones from Kasey Anderson.

Lyrics:

let the television burn, baby, there’s a riot in the street
they said the wolf was at the front door but he was lying at their feet
we felt a change, a change, but ain’t it a shame how it all turned out
back then it was a long time coming but it’s a little late now
they’re gonna stack up the dead ‘til they block out the sun
these white boys with money make the whole world run
so let the wall hit your back, the blood hit your tongue
’cause you and me, baby, we’re the dangerous ones

if there’s a word for last winter, it’s something worse than “discontent”
i’m 37 years old, staying out of trouble ain’t enough to make my rent
so let it burn, let it burn, let the motherfucker burn it’s election day
they shut the water off last week, i guess it’s gonna burn anyway
they’ll ship the bodies back down with the cocaine and guns
those white boys with money make the whole world run
so let the wall hit your back, the blood hit your tongue
’cause you and me, brother, we’re the dangerous ones

you can curse and you can cry
you can scream yourself to sleep every night
or you can open up your eyes and take a look outside

every wall is gonna crumble every tower’s gonna fall
the earth is gonna rumble the siren’s gonna call
so you better look alive, alive, read the black not the white, forget the reds and blues
so quit looking for a way out start looking for a way through
a shot’s been fired but the war ain’t won
these white boys with money better learn how to run
the wall hit your back, the blood’s on your tongue
and you and me, baby, we’re the dangerous ones

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The song is used in the political ad below.

Continue reading “Music Break: Kasey Anderson – The Dangerous Ones”

Fraunhofer Institute:

The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE just presented the data on the net electricity generation for the public power supply for the first half of 2020, which is based on data available on the Energy Charts platform. At 55.8 percent, the share of renewables set a new record. In February, their share even reached a new high of 61.8 percent.

In the first six months of 2020, solar and wind fed a total of 102.9 terawatt hours (TWh) into the public grid, compared with 92.3 TWh in the first half of 2019. By contrast, coal-fired power generation declined sharply, with the share from lignite falling to 13.7 percent and hard coal to just 6 percent. Wind power was again the strongest contributor, accounting for 30.6 percent.

Beginning in the second quarter of 2020, there was a noticeably lower demand for electricity due to the decline in industrial production caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, electricity consumption dropped to 35.3 TWh in June (June 2019: 37.6 TWh), and electricity production fell from 47.9 TWh in January to 36.0 TWh in June. In the first half of this year, electricity consumption was 234.2 TWh, a significant drop from 245.7 TWh in the first half of 2019. Similarly electricity production fell by 21.7 TWh to 243.8 TWh compared with the first half of 2019. Part of this decline is due to reduced exports which sank from 20.1 TWh to 7.5 TWh. 

Continue reading “Corona Crisis Craters Coal, Rapidly Ramping Renewables Romp”

Sydney Morning Herald:

A year-long NSW parliamentary inquiry has found koalas are on track to become extinct in the wild in NSW well before 2050 without urgent intervention to stop the destruction of their habitat.

The inquiry’s report, released on Tuesday, found previous estimates of 36,000 of the marsupials in the state were most likely outdated not least because they omitted the effects of the 2019-20 bushfires.

The fires destroyed almost a quarter of the koala habitat on public land, with some areas reporting “a devastating loss of up to 81 per cent”.

“The committee agrees with evidence that koalas were tracking to become extinct by 2050 before the bushfires,” the inquiry concluded. “The committee expresses its sadness and concern for the once-thriving Pilliga population, which has become extinct over the last decade.”

The committee, made up of MPs from the Greens, Animal Justice, Labor and Liberal parties, said the loss or fragmentation of forests that host the animals were driving the much-loved species’ decline.

“[To their] detriment, koalas like many of the same things that humans do, such as fertile soils, moderate temperatures and forests,” the report noted.

Among its 16 findings was that the Berejiklian government needed to take stronger action to guarantee koalas’ survival in the wild. Climate change was already “having a severe impact on koala populations”, in part by affecting the nutritional quality of the eucalyptus leaves they feed on.

Shell follows BP in massive write down of fossil fuel assets.
The Wall Street Journal’s assessment, below, is stunning.

“Large amounts of oil and gas are likely to be left in the ground.“

AP:

LONDON (AP) — Energy producer Royal Dutch Shell warned Tuesday it will slash the value of its assets by $22 billion to account for lower oil and gas prices amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company predicted the write-down for the quarter and said it continues “to adapt to ensure the business remains resilient” in challenging times. Earlier this month, its competitor BP, also cut the value of its own assets by up to $17.5 billion.

Shell predicted prices for Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, would be at $50 dollars a barrel in 2022. Earlier it had predicted a price of $60 a barrel. On Tuesday, it was trading near $41 a barrel.

Wall Street Journal:

The write-down follows one by BP PLC on a similar scale earlier this month. Lower oil and gas prices brought on by the pandemic and uncertainty over the pace of the transition to lower-carbon energy have caused major oil companies to question the value of their reserves. Exxon Mobil Corp. has resisted pressurefrom accountants to write down its assets. 

The reassessment of asset values by two of the energy sector’s biggest companies is about more than a response to the pandemic and its impact on oil and gas prices, said Luke Parker, vice president, corporate analysis at consulting firm Wood Mackenzie. The actions signal that large amounts of oil and gas are likely to be left in the ground.

“It’s about fundamental change hitting the entire oil and gas sector,” Mr. Parker said. “Within this write down, Shell is giving us a message about stranded assets, just like BP did a few weeks ago.”

Energy companies’ earnings are under pressure with oil prices having fallen by a third since the start of the year. Shell’s write-down comes as the industry cuts costs and reins in investments in the face of the health crisis, which has curbed global demand for crude oil by nearly a third in April, according to International Energy Agency estimates. 

In addition, companies including Shell, BP and Chevron Corp. are reducing their workforces. 

In April, Shell cut its dividend for the first time since World War II, upending investors’ expectations that major oil companies would provide reliable dividends.

On Tuesday, Shell’s shares traded down 3.2%. Shell’s largest write-downs come from its gas business, where it faces a charge of up to $9 billion, including reductions to the value of the Prelude and Queensland Curtis liquefied natural gas projects in Australia.

“With the low oil price and low LNG price I think Shell is choosing to take its time to get that project right,” said Mr. Toleman.

The write-down of the Prelude LNG project—the world’s largest floating LNG facility—is driven by factors including cost overruns and a slower startup than what was planned, said Daniel Toleman, analyst at consulting firm Wood Mackenzie. The project shipped its first LNG cargo a year ago following delays and Shell said production has been halted since February. 

Shell said Tuesday that its gearing level—net debt as a percentage of total capital—is expected to rise by up to 3% because of lower asset values. In April, Shell’s gearing was 29%, above the company’s target of 25%.

Continue reading ““Left in the Ground”. Another Major Oil Write-Down”