Chris Wright, the fracking magnate and likely next U.S. energy secretary, makes a moral case for fossil fuels.
His position, laid out in speeches and podcasts, is that the world’s poorest people need oil, gas and coal to realize the benefits of modern life that Americans and others in rich nations take for granted. Only fossil fuels, he says, can bring prosperity to millions who still burn wood, dung or charcoal for basic needs like cooking food and heating homes.
“It’s just, I think, naïve or evil, or some combination of the two, to believe they should never have washing machines, they should never have access to electricity, they should never have modern medicine,” Mr. Wright said on the “Mission Zero” podcast last year. “We don’t want that to happen. And we simply don’t have meaningful substitutes for oil, gas and coal today.”
The argument offered by Mr. Wright, who has been chosen by President-elect Donald J. Trump to run the Energy Department, ignores the fact that wind, solar and other renewable energy are cleaner and increasingly cheaper than fossil fuels. The International Energy Agency says clean energy is coming online globally at an “unprecedented rate” and will play a significant role in the future. In some places, renewable energy has been able to displace fossil fuels.
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Mr. Wright also skates past the climate impacts from burning more fossil fuels. Climate change is already having a disproportionate impact on poor nations, which are less able than rich countries to handle the rising seas, extreme weather, drought and other consequences of global warming.
“It’s pretty self-serving by the fossil fuel industry to assume the future is going to look exactly like the past,” said Joseph Curtin, a managing director on the power and climate team at the Rockefeller Foundation, which is working on expanding clean energy access in poor countries.
“That’s not based on any analytical rigor,” Mr. Curtin said. “It’s perhaps based in the need to sell fossil fuels and shroud it in a moral framework.”
Jody Freeman, the director of the Harvard Law School Environmental and Energy Law, called Mr. Wright’s position “misleading, warped and selective.”
“It is not an intellectually serious argument,” she said. “It’s about creating a permission structure for not pursuing a more responsible energy policy.”

​

But by sheathing fossil fuels in humanitarian language as a solution to global poverty, Mr. Wright has emerged as one of the right’s most savvy salesmen for oil and gas.
“His is the newest and freshest point of view I’ve seen,” Jeff Peeples, the host of “Mission Zero.” He said the oil and gas industry has been on the defensive when it comes to climate change.
“If a lot more executives in the oil and gas industry would make this argument, and make this intellectual case for the use of fossil fuels, I think the energy industry as a whole would have a lot better PR success,” Mr. Peeples said.
A self-described “nerd turned entrepreneur” and outdoor enthusiast who is often photographed in a fleece vest, Mr. Wright runs a fracking services company and frequently talks about his travels through Africa as informing his desire to tackle poverty.
“People that are burning wooden dung in their huts and want to have a propane stove, they want to get off their feet, ride on a bus or a motor scooter,” Mr. Wright said on the podcast “PetroNerds” last year.
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The Trump transition team did not make Mr. Wright available for a telephone interview.
Mr. Wright’s views on developing nations are important; as energy secretary, he would not only oversee oil and gas exports from the United States but also partnerships with poor countries to create renewable energy.
The share of people gaining access to electricity has steadily grown globally, and fossil fuels are largely responsible. About 800 million people now lack access to electricity, down from more than 1.5 billion in 1998.
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But Ian Muir, head of insights at Catalyst Energy Advisors, a consulting firm, pointed out that renewables were now cheaper than fossil fuels in most countries where people lack electricity. Moreover, a solar array can start producing electricity in months, while it can take more than two years to build a gas-powered plant, he said.
The World Bank has found that solar mini grids could provide basic electricity to 380 million people in Africa by 2030 who do not currently have access to power. A Rockefeller Foundation study in 2021 found that investing in distributed renewable energy like rooftop solar panels, small-scale wind turbines and home battery storage systems could create 25 million jobs by the end of the decade in Asia and Africa. That is about 30 times the number of jobs that would be created by investments in oil, gas or coal in that period, the study found.

If you want a one-stop location for all of Iowa's activity in the portal, check out our transfer portal tracker post.

We'll be tracking all of the Iowa players who enter the portal there, as well as the players that Iowa adds from the portal, once those additions are confirmed.

In the meantime, we'll be updating this post regularly over the next three weeks.

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I tried to subscribe when prompted to the new btn plus changes and pricing recently. I received a msg that the bank would hit my account on Dec 5. On Dec 6 it had not. I eventually unsubscribed and received confirmation and the msg said they retained my info to make it easy to re subscribe. So, I tried to subscribe putting in my email, name, etc and get a msg that my email is already in use, and I thus I can not proceed. I've contacted btn plus and cleeng and of course cannot talk to a person, but just messaging and they do not understand my problem. I would like to have them remove all of my info, email address, name and bank info so that I can start over, but I've exhausted everything I can think of. Any ideas?

Clowns 81 Hawks 74


This will be a good progress check

Burger King and Sonic now have real breaded fried chicken sandwiches. Popeyes started the wars but which is the best?

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A multibillion-dollar program to buy electric vehicles for the U.S. Postal Service is far behind its original schedule, plagued by manufacturing mishaps and supplier infighting that threaten a cornerstone of outgoing President Joe Biden’s fight against climate change.

The Postal Service is slated to purchase 60,000 “Next Generation Delivery Vehicles,” or NGDVs — mostly electric — from defense contractor Oshkosh, which has a long history of producing military and heavy industrial vehicles, but not postal trucks. Congress provided $3 billion for the nearly $10 billion project in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, one of Biden’s chief legislative accomplishments.

But as of November, the Postal Service had received only 93 of the Oshkosh trucks, the agency told The Washington Post — far fewer than the 3,000 originally expected by now. Significant manufacturing difficulties that were not disclosed to the Postal Service for more than a year have stymied production, according to internal company records and four people with knowledge of the events, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid professional reprisals.

Among the problems: Engineers struggle to calibrate the vehicles’ air bags, according to two people familiar with the manufacturing process. When workers ran leak tests on the vehicles’ bodies and internal components, water poured out as if their oversize windows had been left open in a storm, three people said.

Currently, Oshkosh can produce just one truck per day at its South Carolina factory, according to internal company records and five people with knowledge of the production process. Company records, including emails among executives and internal progress reports, show Oshkosh originally planned to be manufacturing more than 80 vehicles per day by now.

The wide-ranging production problems have not been previously reported and were not mentioned in an inspector general audit published in October. A senior company executive tried to alert the mail agency to the problems in 2022, but was blocked by superiors, four of the people said.

“This is the bottom line: We don’t know how to make a damn truck,” said one person involved in production.

The massive delay means a project once hailed as a hallmark of Biden’s industrial and climate agenda may not take shape until long after he leaves office on Jan. 20 — or could never materialize. Republicans in Congress have pledged to repeal key funding sources for Biden’s climate investments with the GOP in power next year on Capitol Hill and at the White House, and Trump-aligned officials with designs on cutting government spending have circled the Postal Service as an area of interest.

“The days of a bailouts and handouts are over. The American people spoke loud and clear. I worry about that EV money sitting around, that it may be clawed back. I think there are lots of areas where there’s going to be significant reform over the next four years,” House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Kentucky) told Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in a hearing this week.

This report is based on nearly 21,000 pages of government and internal Oshkosh records obtained by The Post through the Freedom of Information Act and other sources. It is also based on interviews with 20 people familiar with every phase of the truck project, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss proprietary information.

In June, the Biden administration honored the mail service’s EV commitment with a “federal sustainability award.”

In a statement, an Oshkosh spokesperson said the company was “fully committed to being a strong and reliable partner” for the Postal Service and “we remain on track to meet all delivery deadlines.”

“Since we were selected to fulfill the NGDV contract in 2021, Oshkosh and the USPS have worked closely together to design and deliver a modernized fleet with a flexible mix of American-made electric- and gas-powered vehicles that will connect every home and business across the country. New vehicles are in service today, which have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from postal carriers,” the spokesperson said.

The company did not respond to a list of detailed questions.

John Pfeifer, Oshkosh’s chief executive, told investors on Oct. 30 that the company was “really happy with where we are” and called the NGDV a “revolutionary vehicle.”


“We’re today ramping up production,” Pfeifer said. “When you go through — you take a brand-new vehicle to market, we believe, together with the Postal Service, that a prudent production schedule is better than trying to start by sprinting. So we’re ramping up today. We’ll be at full production throughout 2025.”

A Postal Service spokesperson said several issues with the NGDV program were detailed in the inspector general audit and “resolved directly with our supplier.” But the agency declined to comment on specific questions or identify which issues the report helped resolve. The spokesperson called the truck procurement “a large, successful program that for a variety of reasons had many moving parts.”

It said that any major production of a purpose-built vehicle has unique engineering requirements, and its contract with Oshkosh allows for robust performance monitoring. The Postal Service said it expects to receive 6,484 NDGVs in the current fiscal year.


“Our relationship with Oshkosh is defined by our contract, and we intend to hold Oshkosh to its contractual obligations, while recognizing the normal interplay that will need to take place in the execution and performance of an agreement of this magnitude,” the spokesperson said.

“We’re moving forward in modernizing our vehicle fleet — which will bring tremendous benefits to our organization. Under our plan, letter carriers in every state will be able to deliver mail and packages using new and modern vehicles within the next five years,” DeJoy said in a statement. “The work being done on this program demonstrates electrification and sustainability efforts can coexist — not conflict — with cost savings, efficiency gains and operational transformation priorities.”

The agency is also purchasing tens of thousands of other vehicles, including EVs, from mainstream automakers.

Biden administration officials declined to comment.

But watching women's basketball without Caitlin Clark is like watching women's basketball.

For all the hate she gets she sure can recruit!

Tid bit of intel regarding bowl prep I thought I'd share.

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People wonder why so many get divorced. This is a real text exchange with my wife today.

Wife - can you stop at the store and pick up milk after work
Me - Sure
Wife - and grab me a bottle of wine
Me - Sure
Wife - I don't have anything planned for dinner do you want to grab something while your there
Me - Sure
Wife - Do you know what, I'll be done at 3:30 I'll just run to the store.
Me - Ok
Wife - Do you need anything.
Me - No
Wife - What should I get for dinner.
Me - IDK
Wife - Well I don't know what to get
Me - Just grab a pizza
Wife - I don't want pizza
Me - ok grab something you want
Wife - Not sure what I want I'm not hungry right now
Me - ok
Wife - Will you just stop at the store.
Me -- I hate you
Wife 😘

almost forgot csb/

I want you guys to guess the possibility of me getting selected.

She wrote on X, "Woodrow Wilson pardoned his brother-in-law, Hunter deButts. Bill Clinton pardoned his brother, Roger. Donald Trump pardoned his daughter’s father-in-law, Charlie Kushner. And just appointed him Ambassador to France. But tell me again how Joe Biden ‘is setting precedent’?"

Navarro's bizarre claim about Woodrow Wilson's pardon of a fictional brother-in-law named "Hunter deButts" instantly raised eyebrows. Social media users and news outlets quickly fact-checked Navarro before she owned up to her mistake the next day.

This isn't some Lib attack, this is Hegseth being tossed out by his co-workers, and people ideologically aligned with his positions. The man Trump wants to put in charge of 2.8 million people has a history of public drunkeness, using organization funds to fuel his lifestyle, and sexually targeting co-workers.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5017946-pentagon-pick-hegseth-misconduct/

Interesting, and a bit shocking (to me), piece from the BBC this morning. Nearly 5% of deaths in Canada are associated with legalized euthanasia, with the highest numbers among the Quebecois. Worse yet, they are considering expanding the program to those with mental illness. (Who gets to give that consent?)

The article does have its other semi-hilarious points, such as when they say that 96% of cases involved persons for whom natural death was foreseeable. Or when they note that the 'mental illness' expansion is getting pushback from provincial NHS administrators due to bandwidth concerns that the expansion might lead to (wait for it) access delays.

I can confirm parts of this story. There are other details that I could add. I watched the attackers getting blown up while manning my position. I didn't hesitate in moment and nearly was in a problematic position.

I was in that dining hall with BTN commander when shit went sideways.

We have to act now, before someone dies.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Made from solid brass, finished in 24-karat gold, and screen printed with exquisite color, the Official 2024 White House Christmas Ornament honors President Jimmy Carter.

The ornament’s anchor shape, an iconic symbol of hope, represents Carter’s service in the United States Navy. The design also highlights historic moments from his life and presidency.

Every ornament ships in a keepsake box with a ribbon for hanging and an illustrated booklet on the Carter presidency.

Buy yours NOW here:

college FB is ruined. who can afford this? who is buying tix at face value? such a sad state of CFB

Elton John Says Legalizing Marijuana in America and Canada Is "One of the Greatest Mistakes of All Time"​

Elton John has thoughts on the legalization of marijuana in America and Canada.

The singer-songwriter was chosen as Time magazine's Icon of the Year for 2024. While speaking with the publication, he spoke about his struggles with drug addiction and why he thinks weed isn't as blasé as people treat it.

"I maintain that it's addictive. It leads to other drugs. And when you're stoned - and I've been stoned - you don't think normally," he said. "Legalizing marijuana in America and Canada is one of the greatest mistakes of all time."

He explained that his thoughts on legal marijuana stem from his experiences with other drugs. Since overcoming his addiction, he has helped people others overcome addiction and offered to help many more. According to the magazine, he is Eminem's sponsor, orchestrated Robbie Williams' first sting in rehab and tried to help George Michael (without success).

"It's tough to tell someone that they're being an asshole, and it's tough to hear," John continued. "Eventually I made the choice to admit that I'm being an asshole."

Elsewhere in the profile, he recalled being introduced to cocaine by his ex-lover and then-manager, John Reid. At first, he found it was freeing for him and helped him overcome his crippling shyness, but eventually, it took over.

"You make terrible decisions on drugs," the "Hold Me Closer" artist said. "I wanted love so badly, I'd just take hostages. I'd see someone I liked and spend three or four months together, and then they would resent me because they had nothing in their life apart from me. It really upsets me, thinking back on how many people I probably hurt."

Looking back on his life, John cited three things that helped him decide to get sober: Watford FC, a local soccer club near where he grew up; Alcoholics Anonymous; and a teenager named Ryan White, who died in 1990, after contracting HIV from a tainted blood transfusion at the start of the AIDS crisis.

"It all came to a climax, really, at the Ryan White funeral in Indianapolis - a really sad and emotional week - and I came back to the hotel thinking I'm just so out of line," he said. "It was a shock to see how far down the scale of humanity I'd fallen."

• Background checks through federal firearms licensed dealers for every firearms purchase
• Licenses and permits for individuals who want to buy guns
• Raising the minimum age for all firearm purchases to 21
• Strong child access prevention laws
• Brief waiting periods
• Domestic violence restraining orders that require the relinquishing of existing firearms.
• Background checks through federal firearms licensed dealers for every firearms purchase
• Licenses and permits for individuals who want to buy guns
• Raising the minimum age for all firearm purchases to 21
• Strong child access prevention laws
• Brief waiting periods
• Domestic violence restraining orders that require the relinquishing of existing firearms.

Iowa -7.5 o/u 146.5