The Last Optimist

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is 50 years old this year, created because of the 1973/4 “oil shock” that triggered a global recession. Today’s energy markets and geopolitics are just as vulnerable to similar disruptions, but the IEA has since shifted its mission to advocate for abandoning hydrocarbons, erasing its ability to serve as a credible, unbiased source of the kind of energy information vital for risk analysis and planning. It’s time to reform the IEA.

At the end of 2023, Congress had four different pieces of proposed legislation directed at creating a carbon tax; three had bipartisan support. Thus, bookmakers see a rising prospect for some form of carbon tax. We return to unbundling why that’s such a bad idea, and the flaws in claiming that it would unleash “market forces” to create alternatives. * For a summary of the state of the bad idea see The Carbon Tax Cliff [https://www.city-journal.org/article/the-carbon-tax-cliff], City Journal, Mark P. Mills, January 3, 2024.

Joining this episode, Peter Huntsman - CEO of a multi-billion-dollar US-based multinational with operations in 30 countries - for a far ranging-conversation about the role and nature of chemicals (used in everything from batteries to Boeings), workplace culture, regulations, energy issues, and the challenges of global competition. * Biography [https://www.huntsman.com/about/executive-team] of Peter Huntsman, Chairman, CEO, Huntsman Corporation * The Wall Street Journal [https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-ceo-who-doesnt-equivocate-about-climate-global-warming-net-zero-emissions-ceo-corporate-e21a5d40] interview with Peter Huntsman.

We revisit, with new research, the astonishing energy appetite of artificial intelligence (A.I.), a reality completely absent from the just-released 18,000 word Executive Order on A.I. Yet the Administration's “whole-of-government” pursuit of climate policies is seen everywhere else. Meanwhile, fueling A.I. will propel the world beyond today’s zettabyte of digital traffic into the yottabyte era. Links: * A coalition of digital and cloud experts comes together at the newly announced Yotta [https://www.yotta.vegas/event/0579a338-8230-4fd3-a868-09d30fd61b34/summary] organization. * The White House Executive Order [https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/10/30/executive-order-on-the-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-development-and-use-of-artificial-intelligence/] on Artificial Intelligence.

If one feels compelled, and by that, I mean if Congress and state policymakers feel compelled to subsidize ways to reduce the amount of oil used by vehicles on the roads, the facts point to hybrids making far more sense. Sales figures in recent months suggest that consumers think so too. * Related to this episode’s topic, to watch or listen to the October 2023 “great debate” over EVs between Mark Mills and Rosario Fortugno, click here for that SOHO Forum Debate [https://www.thesohoforum.org/past-events] recording.