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If you've been keeping up with such things, then you know that there is currently a move to shut down many coal and nuclear plants, much of which is due to the

If you've been keeping up with such things, then you know that there is currently a move to shut down many coal and nuclear plants, much of which is due to the economics of natural gas, but also due to environmental concerns. However, in parts of the U.S. there is also a movement to prevent the building of natural gas plants and the pipelines that feed them, again due to environmental concerns. If this path continues, then parts of U.S. may soon find themselves unable to provide adequate heat and power during the cold of winter, which will no doubt lead to many deaths. The Trump administration is currently working to prevent something like this from happening, yet is taking significant heat for that.

specialist 9y ago
Reality is having a chilling effect on the fossil fuel industry?
- southern_cross 9y ago
  I would suggest that anyone here who trashes the fossil fuel industry read "The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels" before they continue such trashing. They don't necessarily have to agree with it, but they should at least read it. I've read it, and do you know why? Because I saw an article somewhere which was just vehemently hating on the book (or more specifically its author, IIRC), and since I'd never heard of it before - and since much of that hate didn't seem to be terribly coherent to me - I went ahead and read the book for myself. I'm weird that way.
  - specialist 9y ago
    Wikipedia says author Alex Epstein is buddies with the Koch Brothers and other denialists. Hard pass. Nice try, though.
    - southern_cross 9y ago
      Nice cop out - now you don't have to actually read the book, I guess? After all, it might challenge some of your pre-conceived notions ... I will reiterate that I read the book myself because someone was trashing it so badly. And a lot of what I read there actually made sense, in spite of what the trashing claimed! A lesson we all should have learned from "The Wizard of Oz" - when someone insists that we "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!", it's probably a good idea to go have a chat with that man behind the curtain!
nikdaheratik 9y ago
I think the problems the fossil fuel industry are having, such as they are, have little to do with climate change and more to do with either economics being against them, in the case of coal, or fraking in the case of natural gas. The "environment concerns" around fraking include increased earthquakes and contamination of groundwater and are a pretty big deal. The tradeoff is that by allowing fraking, the US is no longer dependent on the middle east for oil and doesn't need to worry about having to import natural gas for the foreseeable future, so it's not as clear cut as it would otherwise be. I don't think anything that the Trump administration has done has changed any of the core issues. All of the changes they have made have been pretty blatent givaways to their donors, which also happen to be alot of fossil fuel companies, but they're still rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic as far as actual effects on coal. As far as Oil and Natural Gas, there's still the problem of regulatory uncertainty and the dropping cost of alternative energy, which means companies are still more likely to keep fraking going on existing wells until they're dry rather than try to actually drill in the new areas that have been opened up. They still want the option to drill later on if conditions change, but they're moving very slowly in most cases.

specialist 9y ago

Reality is having a chilling effect on the fossil fuel industry?

southern_cross 9y ago
I would suggest that anyone here who trashes the fossil fuel industry read "The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels" before they continue such trashing. They don't necessarily have to agree with it, but they should at least read it. I've read it, and do you know why? Because I saw an article somewhere which was just vehemently hating on the book (or more specifically its author, IIRC), and since I'd never heard of it before - and since much of that hate didn't seem to be terribly coherent to me - I went ahead and read the book for myself. I'm weird that way.
- specialist 9y ago
  Wikipedia says author Alex Epstein is buddies with the Koch Brothers and other denialists. Hard pass. Nice try, though.
  - southern_cross 9y ago
    Nice cop out - now you don't have to actually read the book, I guess? After all, it might challenge some of your pre-conceived notions ... I will reiterate that I read the book myself because someone was trashing it so badly. And a lot of what I read there actually made sense, in spite of what the trashing claimed! A lesson we all should have learned from "The Wizard of Oz" - when someone insists that we "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!", it's probably a good idea to go have a chat with that man behind the curtain!

nikdaheratik 9y ago

I think the problems the fossil fuel industry are having, such as they are, have little to do with climate change and more to do with either economics being against them, in the case of coal, or fraking in the case of natural gas. The "environment concerns" around fraking include increased earthquakes and contamination of groundwater and are a pretty big deal. The tradeoff is that by allowing fraking, the US is no longer dependent on the middle east for oil and doesn't need to worry about having to import natural gas for the foreseeable future, so it's not as clear cut as it would otherwise be. I don't think anything that the Trump administration has done has changed any of the core issues. All of the changes they have made have been pretty blatent givaways to their donors, which also happen to be alot of fossil fuel companies, but they're still rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic as far as actual effects on coal. As far as Oil and Natural Gas, there's still the problem of regulatory uncertainty and the dropping cost of alternative energy, which means companies are still more likely to keep fraking going on existing wells until they're dry rather than try to actually drill in the new areas that have been opened up. They still want the option to drill later on if conditions change, but they're moving very slowly in most cases.