Ed. Note: A Hall of Shame business memo turns 28 years old today. Dated December 12, 1997, it was written by Enron lobbyist John Palmisano in the afterglow of the Kyoto Protocol agreement.

“This agreement will be good for Enron stock!!” (-John Palmisano, Enron lobbyist)

Global green planners back in the 1990s were euphoric that somehow, someway, the world had embarked on an irreversible course of climate control (and thus industrial and land-use control). But the Kyoto Protocol predictably failed, and with the Paris climate accord of 2015 teetering (COP30), the momentum has shifted toward climate and energy realism.

Palmisano’s on-the-ground 1997 memo cites the benefits for first-mover ‘green’ Enron. Enron, in fact, had no less than six profit centers tied to pricing carbon dioxide (CO2)–and seven if CO2 were capped and traded.…

“… has the entire ‘Climate Change’ and Net Zero agendas now moved far away from true environmentalism? And has it forgotten the true sustainability principles of ‘People, Planet and Profit’ to become primarily focussed on one ‘P’ (profit)?” ( – Adrian Hayes, below)

The transparent failure last month of COP30 has been acknowledged by the realists and downplayed by the hangers-on and funding-needy NGOs. Despite the futile, wasteful cause, plans for COP31 have begun.

But realism has become mainstream. And hard questions are being asked. Consider this from Adrian Hayes:

Trigger warning! I’ve spoken at a COP conference two years ago (COP28) and know there’s a lot of good stuff, and developing technology, that takes place on the fringes. But as COP30 finished last week in Brazil, it yet again caused an accusation of hypocrisy.…

This post excerpts energy and climate material from the Media Balance Newsletter, a free fortnightly published by physicist John Droz Jr., founder of the Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions. Droz is also the author of the popular Substack Critically Thinking About Select Societal Issues.

Wind Energy — Offshore:

2.4 GW New Jersey Offshore Wind Project Axed by Developers

Study: Net Zero Wind and Solar Buildout Needs Huge Amount of Land

Nuclear Energy:

*** Energy secretary says DOE loan office will largely finance nuclear power plants, reflecting Trump priorities

California Public Utilities Commission: We don’t need no Stinkin’ Physics or Engineering

Nuclear Energy Revival: A Tribute to Gene Nelson, Ph.D.

Data Centers, Trump Spark U.S. Nuclear Revival

Fossil Fuel Energy:

*** Oil and gas demand could grow until 2050, IEA says

Miscellaneous  Energy News:

*** The True Source of Civilization’s Future is Energy Wisdom

The new “enemy within”

Rare Earth Minerals, etc From China … or the USA?…

A nuclear energy resurgence is underway, driven by the artificial intelligence revolution and the Trump administration. Nuclear plants that were shut down are being restarted. Dozens of small reactors are being deployed. But nuclear power still faces major cost, startup time, and regulatory obstacles.

The first commercial nuclear plant started operation at Calder Hall in England in 1956. By 1970, reactors were in construction around the world. Many predicted that atomic energy would generate most of the world’s power by 2000. In 1973, President Richard Nixon stated, “It is estimated that nuclear power will provide more than one-quarter of the country’s electrical production by 1985, and over half by the year 2000.”

However, operational problems and environmental opposition would sway public opinion against atomic energy. Reactor failures at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979, in Chernobyl, Ukraine in 1986, and at Fukushima, Japan in 2011 raised safety concerns.…