19 Comments
May 11Liked by Emily Atkin

There is another disturbing trend, which concerns hydrogen. The IRA legislation allocates large amounts of money for the creation of "hydrogen hubs." This pile of cash available from the Feds is having bad effects. In New Mexico, Governor MIchelle Luhan Grisham (D) has twice introduced legislation to help create hydrogen hubs within the State. The hydrogen produced by these hubs would be "blue hydrogen." Blue hydrogen is generated by catalytic "reforming" of methane to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Environmentalists in New Mexico have successfully blocked this legislation twice, pointing out that blue hydrogen is not a renewable fuel since it is produced from methane which is a fossil fuel.

Expand full comment
May 11Liked by Emily Atkin

Thank you for your reporting on this, and it is disconcerting and serious, but I did laugh at this:

"The Ohio bill’s own sponsor doesn’t even seem to know what it does; he told Energy News Network he hoped the law would help companies in the gas business meet Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) investing standards. But he added: “I don’t know if it will work.”"

Expand full comment
May 11Liked by Emily Atkin

Thank You AGAIN for your great work! This story is devastating! Legalizing lies???? Oh Brave New World....................

Expand full comment

Well, like I wasn't depressed enough after that farce of a "CNN Town Hall" last night, I woke up to read this.

Expand full comment

Emily

As you are all aware, I don’t agree (based on facts) that we have a climate change emergency. In fact most of the climate change is good news…. Warmer is better than cold, plus increased CO2 is greening the planet….

The planet is doing just fine and CO2 is a zero problem...our only need is to reduce air borne pollution and certainly look at pollution in our oceans .. no argument on that..

But….. If I did agree we had a problem I would still want to migrate over time to the so called cleaner energy sources with less pollution as line of supply and technology becomes available.

My roadmap is as follows..

First… forget wind and solar.. they are dead ends… they will not support an industrial society.. they have a place for remote off grid generation only….. many reasons… I can explain more if you need..

The midterm for the US is natural gas as its available now and far better than coal or oil for most applications..

Early transportation is best handled with a hybrid technology and that should be immediate with full electric transportation many years away.. we may look at green hydrogen, but we need to have a nuclear capability to make it effectively.

The big final solution to not only feed the grid but support green hydrogen is nuclear that offers the best future solution hands down…

More on all this at these links.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciStnd9Y2ak

(785) The Contradictions of Battery Operated Vehicles | Graham Conway | TEDxSanAntonio - YouTube

Our national goal should be a stealthier approach that continues to improve any pollution we create, but not at the expense of the stability of our existing energy supply until a viable replacement such as nuclear is in place.

Further it must not be a distraction in undertaking our future re-industrialization, and it must never hinder our ability to recover our ailing prosperity.

Also, we must stay well within the pace that technology and our economics can support.

Again….….. don’t worry about the planet ..it’s doing just fine.

More at www.nigesouthwayauthor.com & Take Back Manufacturing | Substack

Nigel

Expand full comment

A friend shared a photo of a Waste Management garbage truck in San Diego that brags "We run on clean burning natural gas". That might be legal now in Tennessee, but it sure seems like deceptive advertising!

Anyone want to file a lawsuit? California has some of the strongest and most wide-reaching consumer protection laws in the entire country. Under state law (California Business and Professions Code § 17500), false and deceptive advertising is strictly prohibited. A company that violates the state’s false advertising regulations could be held both civilly and criminally liable.

Expand full comment

"Natural" gas. "Clean" coal. I never tire of the euphemistic language of the fossil fuels industry.

Expand full comment

Can someone explain the relation between methane and CO2? "Methane gas has 'contributed to the largest increase in global fossil CO2 emissions in recent years.'" Genuinely asking. Thanks!

Expand full comment

As long as its teaching you better climate mitigation manners :-)

Expand full comment