Recent Posts


Bang! 11 US states sue BlackRock, StateStreet and Vanguard for working as a cartel to reduce coal and increase electricity prices

By Jo Nova

Finally, a strike at the heart of the Blob

Texas and 10 other US States have pressed the radioactive Antitrust legal button and filed against BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street. The states claim the money managers bought up large stakes in coal companies and then colluded to promote ESG and DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) goals that reduced coal output. The decreased supply of coal, in turn increased the cost of electricity to consumers. It was fundamentally anti-competitive behaviour. These three companies together have $26 Trillion dollars of assets under management. That’s only one trillion smaller than the entire US GDP.

In this case, some of the collusion hidden in clear view. The three money managers said they were trying to save the world and to protect the people, and they joined groups like the GFANZ and Net Zero alliances like Climate Action 100+. But in the end, these three financial giants had collectively acquired close to 30% of most US Coal companies, and even though they claimed to have good intentions, the 11 State Attorney Generals argue that any extraneous claims of social benefits are irrelevant. These three companies have profited immensely […]

Saturday

10 out of 10 based on 10 ratings

Pull down the blinds. We’re in a Transition to the Third World

by Jo Nova

Australia is too poor to use air-conditioning and dishwashers on a warm day

Welcome to Bananaustralia.

The Premier of NSW issued death threats about electricity bills to get attention:

“If you use electricity this afternoon, you’re going to get killed in terms of how much you pay, the amount of money (to run appliances) this afternoon will be through the roof,” he said.

The NSW Minister, Penny Sharpe told eight million people to avoid using the dishwashers and pool pumps between 3 and 8pm, close the doors and blinds, and turn the air conditioner up to a higher temperature. “Stay hydrated and avoid going outside in the hotter parts of the day where possible” she said, like she was talking to four year olds.

All around New South Wales and in Canberra people spent the day wandering around turning off lights and appliances, and rearranging their plans. Public servants were asked to pull the blinds and turn off appliances at work. The four water utilities, the dams, and water management, were also asked to help. And the Reliability and Emergency Reserve Trader (RERT) condition was instigated, which means some businesses were paid to stop […]

Friday

9.4 out of 10 based on 11 ratings

UN Cop delegates promise to take your money and do another junket

By Jo Nova

Just to be clear, yet again, the 29th United Nations Conference of Parties was a smashing success, 70,000 people got a free trip to Azerbaijan, millions of dollars were siphoned from taxpayers, nobody was asked any hard questions, and everyone gets to schmooze it all again next year.

In a big win, nothing at all was achieved in solving “The CrisisTM” which means The Gravy Train rides again.

Last year the UN was excited because of the “historic” move to use the phrase “transition away from fossil fuels” for the absolute, first time ever in a global document. It marked the “beginning of the end of fossil fuels” according to the UN. But one year later, and the phrase was quietly dropped. Nevermind. This time, Saudi Arabia and the petrostate allies were able to nix that promise — possibly because the world still needs their oil. Where were the honest headlines: “UN backslides from key historic transition away from fossil fuels?”

The new $300 billion “goal” replaces the last $100 billion target, which achieved almost nothing, and wasn’t reached, except with accounting games, like relabeling foreign aid and rebadging loans. Seven years after the […]

Thursday

10 out of 10 based on 8 ratings

Why Mars? Because the first trillionaires might be mining $100 Quadrillion dollar asteroids

By Jo Nova

Thanks to Elon, many people are wondering “Why Mars?” and the answer might be “mining the asteroids”

Devon Eriksen has the best answer I’ve seen. He compares the race to space with the industrial revolution. Just as wood, coal and oil set us free of lives of manual labor, a whole new set of materials beckon… if minerals that are rare and expensive on Earth can be mined in the asteroid belt, and processed on Mars, all kinds of new tools and toys may follow the boom.

The Earth, Eriksen says, is like a jar that’s been shaken until most of the heavy stuff settles to the bottom. The heavy metals mostly end up in the Earths core, with the lighter stuff on top. But apart from the distance, asteroids have easy access goods, and are split already into handy size chunks, conveniently parked out in the open, far from gravity wells and not hidden under crustal plates, oceans and magma. The rocks under our feet are so much closer but there is a whole planet in the way. It might be a lot cheaper to get the rare metals we need on asteroids than out […]

Wednesday

9.3 out of 10 based on 17 ratings

Not even summer, with one warm week, and the Australian grid is on the verge of blackouts

By Jo Nova

Following the footsteps of Cuba

It’s not even summer and the Australian grid is having heart palpitations.

The Blob are in concert — blackouts might be at hand, and they want us to blame the heat (it’s code for climate change). Let’s get a grip, we’re only talking about a Sydney forecast of 33°C (all of 91F).

The ABC calls this “sweltering” and files it under “extreme weather events”. Channel Nine call it a “major heatwave”, which it might be if it were London.

For most of the last week, the AEMO (Australia Energy Market Operator) has been flashing red lights and ringing the LOR3 bell. That means they’ve been forecasting a full Level 3 Lack of Reserve, which means they can see blackouts coming. A level 3 is the most serious warning alarm. Not only is there no reserve power available if something goes wrong, there’s not even enough power for normal operations.

A week ago the AEMO saw blackouts coming for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday — but by hook or by crook with finagling, they’ve got enough promised power now to turn off the sirens, though the lights are still flashing. Think of […]

Tuesday

9.6 out of 10 based on 17 ratings

Monday

9.2 out of 10 based on 23 ratings

Sunday

8.3 out of 10 based on 23 ratings

Australia’s only wind tower manufacturer goes out of business

Image: Keppel Prince

By Jo Nova

More proof that wind power can’t be used to make wind turbines

The one and only Australian manufacturer of wind turbine towers is going out of business, despite Australian electricity reaching 35% glorious renewable, and the Prime Ministers big plan to have the $22 billion dollar Future Made in Australia, as well as our galloping Net Zero fantasy to reach 82% renewable by 2030. We are, in theory, supposed to install 40 new wind towers a month somewhere in Australia, but none of the towers, it turns out, will be Australian made.

Imagine what we could do if Australia were the largest exporter of iron ore and coal in the world? The government could still screw it up.

Right now, we ship the iron and coal 7,000 kilometers away with heavy fuel oil, to be made into windmills to save the world, only to ship them right back, rather than make them here.

Renewables are the cheapest source of electricity on Earth, they say, and Australia has twice as much as China (proportionately). But China makes 65% of all wind turbines globally, and soon Australia will make 0%.

OWID

[…]

Saturday

9.3 out of 10 based on 14 ratings

Friday

8.4 out of 10 based on 20 ratings

One day to make submissions about the Under-16 social media ban (excuse to force Digital ID on us!)

Image by Thomas Breher from Pixabay

By Jo Nova

What looks, smells, and works like a Trojan horse to force all adults to use a digital ID?

Incredibly, we have only until today (Friday) to put in submissions on this major, world first, social media ban for under 16s. Feel the panic. It’s as if our PM is running out of time to ram through complex legislation before the Donald Trump inauguration? Perhaps he’s hoping Elon is distracted.

The Good News is The Australian Misinformation Bill appears to be dead. Congratulations! The Bad News is the Internet ID bill (posing as a ban on Under 16s using social media) has support from both major parties, even though it is wildly ambitious, vague, dangerous, and the first in the world. The government can’t answer questions on how this will be managed. Instead, the people who have screwed everything up, say “Trust us” we will work out the details later. (Thanks @Craig Kelly)

The laws, supposedly, will pass next week, but then there will be a 12 month “consultation” to work out what will be banned. Since when do we pass the laws and consult later?

Everyone knows this […]

Former CDC head says Covid virus origin was biodefense research, maybe in North Carolina

By Jo Nova

It’s just another day in an endless round of blockbuster stories that once would have occupied a news cycle and foreign affairs panels for days…

Robert Redfield in 2020

Robert Redfield, the former head of the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), now says COVID-19 was ‘intentionally engineered as a part of a biodefense program. More radically, it may well have been a US program. He thinks there is a real possibility Covid-19 originated in a lab in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

So the virus that may have killed 20 million people, cost trillions, changed history and wreaked havoc across the world, might have grown from a US experiment. This won’t be a shock to people following this topic on blogs and on X. But to have the former head of the CDC during the pandemic talking about it, takes these claims to a whole new level.

Isn’t it time we talked about bioweapon research?

Right now around the world, some 36,000 scientists are working on bioweapons, and those are the scientists we know about. One year ago, a warehouse in California was discovered by chance to be a clandestine biolab that housed frozen samples of […]

Thursday

9.9 out of 10 based on 13 ratings

BIG News — The Climate Blob finally goes Nuclear “to save the world”: US and UK offer nuclear secrets (and Australia says NO)

Photo by Spiritrespect.

By Jo Nova

Everything just changed. For the first time in Climate Bureaucracy, Nuclear power can save the world too.

Until today, only renewables had the Holy Sacred Power against Climate Change. But last night the UK and US signed a new agreement at COP29 to share “billions of pounds worth of nuclear research” in order to “decarbonize” the world.

They did this backflip in such a tearing rush, they didn’t even have time to phone the Prime Ministers they were offering this bonanza to. They accidentally listed all the countries they expected to sign up, only to find the Australian government is going to an election waving the anti-nuclear flag, while the opposition demons carry the pro-nuclear pennant. Oopsie indeed. The press release was reissued, but the Labor government in Australia are now trying to explain why nuclear power is great in submarines, but too expensive and slow for sites that don’t move and aren’t underwater. It’s entertaining.

Apparently, Australia has too much sunshine, and thus we’re stuck with solar power. We also have the largest uranium reserves in the world, but shh. This is like energy lessons on Sesame Street.

 

Wednesday

9.7 out of 10 based on 14 ratings