Proof of the Fact That We Really No Longer Give a Shit

“Proponents of setting up enormous fans to gulp in huge amounts of air and remove planet-heating carbon from it, a process called direct air capture (DAC), are basking in their greatest breakthroughs yet in the US,” so says Oliver Milman of the Guardian UK newspaper.

Look at that thing. Someone actually proposed that as a solution.

We have indeed lost our way, celebrating the irrational as the planet burns, floods, quakes, hurricanes and fritters its chances away in hyperbolic nonsense

Just who are these ‘proponents’ one might ask, as if one gave a shit.

It turns out the force behind the nonsense is an organization called Carbon Engineering and, glancing down into the deep, dark secrets of fine print, that organization happens to be owned by Occidental Petroleum, an American oil company that bought it for $1.1bn last month and views carbon removal as a sort of future-proofing for its industry.

Really?

Seems so. “We believe that our direct capture technology is going to be the technology that helps to preserve our industry over time,” so says Vicki Hollub, Occidental’s chief executive. “This gives our industry a license to continue to operate for the 60, 70, 80 years that I think it’s going to be very much needed.” Needed by Occidental, no doubt, but eighty years is a very long time to keep a scam alive.

But then Vicki won’t be around by then, so no worries.

(Side note) Occidental Petroleum gross profit for the year ending June 30, 2023 was $20+ billion, so the billion it spent to buy Carbon Engineering was both chump-change and a tax write-off to boot.

It gets better—not for us, but for Occidental. Biden’s energy department is kicking in $1.2bn to help jumpstart this carbon-removal pipe dream in the US and a further $3.5bn down the line. Big Oil gets the green headlines and (when was it ever different?) Big Cost gets picked up by the taxpayer.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet…

…in a far-away, mysterious place called Australia, Spring is happening. And, along with spring-flowers and new-born kangaroo pups, coal mines are sprouting here and there.

Coal? I thought we were over coal, weren’t we?

Seems not. That was just a wild and unfounded rumor.

(Adam Morton, the Guardian UK) “Fifteen months into the life of the Albanese government, a pattern has emerged in how it deals with new and expanding coalmine developments.

“Decisions to block mines are publicly announced. That was the case when Tanya Plibersek stopped the development of a central Queensland mine proposed by Clive Palmer, and cancelled two long-stalled proposals that were behind on their paperwork.

“Decisions that mine developments can go ahead get a different treatment. The approval notice is posted on the federal environment department website and goes unnoticed until some keen-eyed observer posts it on social media.”

Heads I win, Tails you lose

Which is why life on this planet—at least for the human species—is a constancy of comedy and tragedy. We’re enjoying the comedy portion at the moment and saving tragedy for later, sometime after the children have all been sent off to bed.

(Adam Morton again) “It’s worth a quick look at what has been approved so we know what we’re talking about.

“Last week the government approved an expansion of the Gregory Crinum mine in central Queensland. According to analysis by the Australia Institute’s Rod Campbell, it allows mining of an additional 11m tons of metallurgical coal, used in steelmaking. Campbell estimates that would add about 30m tons of CO2 to the atmosphere when burned – about 6% of what Australia pumps out each year. It means the mine is likely to operate until the mid-2030s and the owner, Sojitz Blue, has until 2073 to decommission it.

“The decision followed two other mine approvals, also both in Queensland. The Isaac River development approved in May is a completely new metallurgical coalmine that can run for up to seven years and lead to about 7m tons of emissions. The Ensham mine expansion approved in July is much bigger and harder to justify. It gives an extra nine years of life to a thermal coalmine – creating fuel for coal power, an industry in decline – and could cause 106m tons of additional CO2.

“Plibersek’s response to criticisms of the approvals has been to point to what the government is doing to support renewable energy, and argue it has to make decisions in accordance with national environment law. This is true. Climate change and greenhouse gas emissions have never been listed in the legislation as matters of national environmental significance, and therefore can’t be easily used to block a development.”

And America decides to prevent wood-burning fireplaces up at your cabin in the mountains

What was that about the heads-tails coin toss?

Sometimes you just gotta have a good laugh and head to the fridge for a beer.