Diesel Powered Decoupling?
Decouple1 Marras 2022

Diesel Powered Decoupling?

BF Randall, an environmental lawyer who has made a rapid rise on #energytwitter for his detailed threads on mining and energy, explains why we may be pursuing the wrong strategy to decouple human well being from emissions. Namely, by focusing on decarbonizing electricity, we are ignoring and even increasing the 85% of global primary energy that comes from fossil fuels for non-electricity uses. Randall argues that, more than almost anyone appreciates, crude oil heavy distillates are the lifeblood of modern civilization, and the heart that pumps it is the diesel engine. From mining to trucking to trains to marine transportation, the low RPM, high torque diesel engine is indispensable. The dramatic increase in global mining, ore processing, and transportation associated with stated goals for renewable energy would only cement the diesel engine's role as the machine behind the machine. To Randall, the diesel engine is not something we should get rid of but protect as "the most efficient engine ever created by humans." He argues that the low-hanging fruits of decarbonization, and the only option likely to make inroads into the fossil energy black box that makes up 85% of global energy use, are high-temperature nuclear heat and the synthesis of synfuels using non-crude-oil feedstocks to provide the heavy distillates required to sustain the engines of our civilization.

Read BF Randall's viral Twitter thread on copper.

Consider supporting Decouple on Patreon.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(329)

The State of Fusion Energy w/ Gerrit Bruhaug

The State of Fusion Energy w/ Gerrit Bruhaug

Fusion has spent nearly a century as the energy source of the future. In this episode, I’m joined by fusion scientist Gerrit Bruhaug to ask what has actually been achieved, what remains unsolved, and ...

13 Elo 1h 24min

Sunk Costs & Diminishing Returns of Iran's Nuclear Program w/ Farzan Sabet

Sunk Costs & Diminishing Returns of Iran's Nuclear Program w/ Farzan Sabet

Iran’s nuclear program is now more than seven decades old, stretching from the Shah’s ambitious Atoms for Peace-era plans to the Islamic Republic’s pursuit of enrichment, missile capability and nuclea...

6 Elo 1h 25min

Biomass Masterclass w/ Mark Nelson

Biomass Masterclass w/ Mark Nelson

For almost the whole of human history, wood was the main act. It was the fuel that cooked food and smelted iron, the material that framed every house and hull, and the first bulk commodity ever moved ...

31 Heinä 1h 10min

Ernie Moniz: Reflections on the JCPOA

Ernie Moniz: Reflections on the JCPOA

Former U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz joins Decouple to examine the history of Iran’s nuclear program and the negotiations that produced the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. As the agre...

23 Heinä 43min

Fission Impossible? Financing New Nuclear w/ Michael Seely

Fission Impossible? Financing New Nuclear w/ Michael Seely

Why are nuclear power plants so difficult to finance, and who ultimately pays when megaprojects run late or over budget? Chris Keefer is joined by returning guest Michael Seely, The Atomic Blender, fo...

16 Heinä 1h 29min

CANDU: The Truly Modular Reactor w/ Navid Badie

CANDU: The Truly Modular Reactor w/ Navid Badie

In this reactor deep dive, Chris Keefer is joined by Navid Badie, Chief Nuclear Engineer at Candu Energy Inc, to explain the inner workings of the distinctive CANDU reactor. They trace how Canada’s de...

24 Kesä 1h 9min

The Birth of America’s Nuclear Power Industry

The Birth of America’s Nuclear Power Industry

James Krellenstein returns to take apart one of the most persistent myths in energy discourse: the idea that there was a golden age when nuclear power was cheaper than coal. The plants people point to...

17 Kesä 1h 2min

Limits to Growth of LLMs w/ David Helmer

Limits to Growth of LLMs w/ David Helmer

AI hype has bled deep into the nuclear sector, and in this episode, Chris Keefer sits down with returning guest David Helmer, an engineer and AI advisory consultant with a decade advising the US gover...

4 Kesä 1h 32min

Suosittua kategoriassa Tiede

rss-poliisin-mieli
tiedekulma-podcast
rss-mita-tulisi-tietaa
docemilia
utelias-mieli
rss-tiedetta-vai-tarinaa
rss-hereilla
rss-bios-podcast
hippokrateen-vastaanotolla
rss-lapsuuden-rakentajat-podcast
radio-antro
rss-duodecim-lehti
rss-totuuden-liepeilla