MenuPresident Biden is expected to announce a moratorium on future oil and gas drilling permits today, Wednesday January 27, fulfilling in part his campaign pledge to end drilling on federal lands and the continental shelf. The move, which has long been anticipated by the O&G industry, comes on the heels of a January 20th order signed by Acting Secretary of the
Monthly Archives: January 2021
Slow Vaccine Rollouts Damage Energy Demand
The success of vaccine rollouts in the US and other energy hungry economies will have considerable implications for energy demand in 2021. The Trump Administration dropped the ball on the vaccine roll-out, and distribution now becomes the first crucial test of the Joe Biden presidency. Unfortunately, current vaccination trends suggest a bleak recovery. Continued
What Can Democrats Achieve On Climate In The U.S. Congress?
While largely forgotten in today’s news cycle of the attack on the Capitol and the impeachment, last Tuesday’s Democrat victories in Georgia secured the first Democratic Party trifecta — control over the presidency, the House, and the Senate — since the 2010 midterms, enabling President-elect Biden’s ability to enact his climate agenda. The news is
Bill Gates-Backed Climate Solution Gains Traction, But Concerns Linger
Microsoft’s billionaire founder Bill Gates is financially backing the development of sun-dimming technology that would potentially reflect sunlight out of Earth’s atmosphere, triggering a global cooling effect. The Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (SCoPEx), launched by Harvard University scientists, aims to examine this solution by spraying non-toxic calcium carbonate (CaCO3) dust into the atmosphere — a sun-reflecting aerosol that may offset
The Qatar—Saudi Agreement at First Glance: Everybody Wins
Middle East watchers have long expected the Qatari-Saudi normalization agreement, as Washington wanted its allies to reconcile, even as Doha stonewalled the attempts by Ar-Ryyyadh to accept the Thirteen Demands the coalition of four Arab states presented the gas-rich emirate in 2017. Then, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain demanded that Qatar curb diplomatic relations