Diesel Powered Decoupling?

BF Randall, an environmental lawyer who has made a rapid rise on
#energytwitter for his detailed threads on mining and energy,
explains why we may be pursuing the wrong strategy to decouple
human well being from emissions. Namely, by focusing on
decarbonizing electricity, we are ignoring and even increasing
the 85% of global primary energy that comes from fossil fuels for
non-electricity uses. Randall argues that, more than almost
anyone appreciates, crude oil heavy distillates are the lifeblood
of modern civilization, and the heart that pumps it is the diesel
engine. From mining to trucking to trains to marine
transportation, the low RPM, high torque diesel engine is
indispensable. The dramatic increase in global mining, ore
processing, and transportation associated with stated goals for
renewable energy would only cement the diesel engine's role as
the machine behind the machine. To Randall, the diesel engine is
not something we should get rid of but protect as "the most
efficient engine ever created by humans." He argues that the
low-hanging fruits of decarbonization, and the only option likely
to make inroads into the fossil energy black box that makes up
85% of global energy use, are high-temperature nuclear heat and
the synthesis of synfuels using non-crude-oil feedstocks to
provide the heavy distillates required to sustain the engines of
our civilization.


Read BF Randall's viral Twitter thread on copper.


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