Articles by
Michael Barnard
Canada Used To Provide A Lot Of World’s Lithium, But Can It Revive That?
By
Michael Barnard
There’s a lot of lithium in the world. There’s no particular worries about running short, and many innovators such as E3 are working to make places where it isn’t dirt cheap and easy at least competitive. Canada’s oil and gas region might have a secondary product as demand for their primary output dries up.
Latest “Hydrogen Economy” Round Is Hype, But There Is A Place For Hydrogen
By
Michael Barnard
There’s a $120 billion global hydrogen industry that we have to kick the fossil fuel companies out of. 3-4% of global petroleum use is for long-haul shipping and aviation. About 8% of CO2e emissions globally are from steelmaking. That’s more than enough for CleanTechnica to report on. Boosterism for hydrogen outside of those spaces is just perpetuating the wrong industry.
US Nuclear Site Cleanup Underfunded By Up To $70 Billion
By
Michael Barnard
Headlines out of the UK are pointing out the horrible state of affairs for nuclear generation decommissioning after a committee of Members of Parliament that the UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority really doesn’t have a handle on the 17 sites, their costs, or the vendors they selected for cleanup. They are currently projecting $177 billion and 120 years for the full decommissioning, over $1 billion per site. Some of this is due to botched procurement, with two different cleanup vendors stripped of their contracts.
What Does Bill Gates’ Favorite Energy Guru, Vaclav Smil, Get Wrong?
By
Michael Barnard
And as a result, people like Bill Gates throw away their money on the wrong investments: small nuclear, air carbon capture, and solar geoengineering. Gates and others should listen to Mark Z. Jacobson more, and Smil less.
RIP Google Makani: Perhaps The Entire Airborne Wind Energy Space Will Finally Disappear
By
Michael Barnard
Makani was still being touted as the leader in the space for the 2019 Airborne Wind Energy Conference, held in Scotland in August. And now, it’s dead. Alphabet pulled the plug a couple of days ago. This isn’t really surprising.
Wind energy and health court cases found for wind energy
By
Michael Barnard
Wind energy was found not guilty of health impacts 48 times in 5 countries
Canada Subsidizes Fossil Fuels, Can’t Talk Climate Change In Election Year
By
Michael Barnard
During election year information sessions for charities in June, Elections Canada told them that any ads by environmental charities mentioning climate change during the election period could be consider partisan and hence subject to significant changes in charity status. This is because the formal position of one of the registered parties, the People’s Party of Canada (PPC), has a stated position of global warming denial.
No, Virginia, There Is No Nuclear Santa Claus
By
Michael Barnard
Virginia is about to receive approval for the most expensive nuclear reactor ever built in the USA. It’s been a 10-year hunt with reactor technologies changing at least twice to add a third unit to the North Anna nuclear generation plant. But they are closing in on regulatory approval.
What instances of attempted murder or significant violence have occurred against wind industry personnel?
By
Michael Barnard
Recently a Dutch wind farm developer’s home was firebombed. Dutch Wind Developer Fire Bombed What other instances of violence against wind industry staff have occurred?
What Do Electric Car Drivers Regret About Leaving Gas Behind? (Humour)
By
Michael Barnard
But what do electric car drivers miss about owning and driving gasoline cars? That’s an empty space, a void, a yawning chasm. This article tries to add some words to that side of the scale.
