Happy Thanksgiving!
And a note from Homer Simpson
There’s a holiday this week, so please forgive the tardiness of this week’s newsletter. I’m grateful that there’s almost 200 of you that find my work worth reading. Thank you!
I’m republishing a lighthearted piece I wrote for Center of the American Experiment today, but if you’re in the mood for more substantive reading while you work through your turkey-induced coma, check out my guest post for Energy Bad Boys this Saturday. It’s always a pleasure to work with
and , and I appreciate their help in exposing the follies of net-zero from a mineral adequacy perspective.
A quick note from Homer Simpson
I recently watched some early episodes of The Simpsons and came across a gem.
In "Bart vs Thanksgiving," Season 2, episode 7, Bart runs away from home after ruining Lisa's Thanksgiving centerpiece. (My apologies if that was a spoiler). As the family sits down for the holiday meal, Homer begins grace with gratitude for nuclear power:
“And, Lord, we're especially thankful for nuclear power, the cleanest, safest energy source there is. . . except for solar, which is just a pipe dream.”
This episode aired on November 22, 1990. It may have been tongue-in-cheek in 1990 (and it's especially funny considering Mr. Burns' abysmal safety record in running Springfield's nuclear plant).
But 34 years later, nuclear power remains the cleanest and safest energy source around. It also happens to be the most reliable, with a capacity factor of 93 percent in 2023. Solar is still weather-dependent, intermittent, and construction remains expensive, despite ample subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act. Solar photovoltaic capacity factor in 2023 was 23.2 percent.
I think I may start my dinner tomorrow with gratitude for nuclear energy, too. Happy Thanksgiving!
In Other News
Debra Struhsacker and I published an op-ed in the New York Post about the mineral demands that net-zero would bring and the Trump administration’s opportunities. That was an exciting first for me! Read it here: https://nypost.com/2024/11/20/opinion/trump-must-unwind-bidens-throttling-of-americas-resources/
Watch my interview yesterday with Ladies of Another View on BekTV about mining and American Experiment’s energy work. https://www.bektv.plus/series/ladiesofanotherview
I also had the pleasure of talking with Gary Emineth on Open Range about mining and an opinion piece by WSJ columnist Holman Jenkins on the “Irresistible March of Energy Realism.” Watch it here: https://www.bektv.plus/series/openrange
Happy Thanksgiving backatcha. ;-)
I was beginning to think you'd retired, but thankfully Monday happened on a Wednesday this week.
First, a Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, loved ones, and all those whom you hold dear.
The minerals we use in a lifetime was interesting and instructive. But I'm curious about that, in a different context. Vaclav Smil writes of his "four pillars of civilization, cement, steel, plastics, and ammonia. Are you aware of any charts showing an individual's life in terms of those four substances?
Another question. There are many discussions about the mineral needs of nut-zero, but why has no one looked at the basic need for steel to convert 80 percent of our fossil energy to renewables? Many have done land (and it's incredible), but few have tallied the impact to the steel industry. Why not?
Again, happy Thanksgiving and thank you for your good work.