Big Oil Is Fighting For Clean Fossil Fuels

By Felicity Bradstock - Dec 02, 2021

• It may seem counterintuitive, but a majority of oil majors believe a successful energy transition will require an increase in fossil fuel production 
• While each oil major differs in its strategy, nearly all majors are attempting to lower the emissions associated with their oil production so they can take advantage of the profit
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• While some banks are supporting oil majors in this goal, environmentalists are pushing for a complete end to oil and gas production

Several international oil supermajors are planning to boost production while also promising to decrease their greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade and beyond. This seemingly counterintuitive strategy is the result of pressure from international organizations to decarbonize and the continued climb of energy demand around the world.  Royal Dutch Shell, Eni, TotalEnergies, and Repsol are among the supermajors pledging net-zero carbon emissions targets by 2050. However, oil and gas firms have varied approaches to achieving this objective, with some embracing low-carbon oil and others shifting operations towards renewable energy. 

Repsol, for example, has increased its investment allocation for low-carbon projects by around $1.13 billion, aiming for 60 percent renewable electricity generation by 2025. Other companies plan to increase their natural gas production as an ‘obvious bridge’ to the energy transition. To this end, Shell is expanding its LNG and petrochemicals market as well as investing in biofuel and green hydrogen developments. 

Exxon is extremely optimistic about the changes it’s making, hoping to double its earnings by 2027 while also reducing emissions. The American oil firm outlined a new spending plan this week, increasing annual spending from $16 billion to $19 billion to $20 billion and $25 billion, following more favorable market conditions coming out of the pandemic. Exxon has stated it will be investing $15 billion on emissions-reducing technologies, aimed at cleaning up existing operations through carbon capture and storage technology and other innovations. 

Despite pressure from the heads of state governments, many countries’ oil and gas firms are rebelling as the global energy demand continues to rise. In Canada, companies, such as Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, Suncor Energy, and Imperial Oil, are planning to cut emissions but not production. Several players hope to do this by incorporating innovative new techniques into existing operations, such as the use of geothermal energy in oil sands crude production. 

Supermajors around the globe are embracing low-carbon oil instead of making the outright transition to renewable alternatives. With Big Oil arguing that renewable energy operations cannot meet the growing global demand for energy at present, several are fighting to keep oil operations running in a more environmentally friendly way. Almost all of the world’s supermajors have announced investments in CCS technology, a move that, Brad Page, CEO of the Global CCS Institute, believes could provide the funding needed to scale up operations and “limit the impacts of global warming.”

Other oil companies are improving methods of refining oil into petrochemical products, which are expected to remain in high demand as the need for crude wanes. China’s Sinopec, for example, has developed a steam-cracking technology to convert oil directly into petrochemical products such as ethylene and propylene. This could not only reduce the costs and production times associated with refining but, if successful, would dramatically reduce carbon emissions from the process. 

Norway’s Equinor, alongside several other multinationals, has now moved its oil production away from carbon-intensive areas of operation to spots where it can pump low-carbon oil more easily. Focusing on upstream production, Equinor is partnering with international players, such as Russia’s Rosneft, to develop low-carbon solutions for their joint projects going forward. 

Moves like these could allow oil majors to continue pumping oil at a high rate while keeping their pledges to lower emissions. However, some energy experts are accusing Big Oil, once again, of greenwashing, suggesting they cannot have their cake and eat it. 

Environmental organizations recently accused investment bank JPMorgan of supporting Big Oil in reducing its carbon intensity, but not necessarily its production levels, rather than backing the international communities’ aim to act on climate change. Several banks are backing oil firms’ aims to reduce the ‘carbon intensity’ of their oil, rather than the quantity of crude they produce, which environmentalists say still has a negative impact on the planet.

Some oil companies, particularly in Europe, are trying to strike the balance between transitioning towards renewable alternatives and maintaining their low-carbon oil production while demand remains. BP, in particular, is welcoming the transition with plans to increase its investments in low-emission businesses tenfold, around $5 billion annually.

However, U.S. giants Chevron and Exxon appear to have no intention of moving away from oil, as they continue to expand their oil operations around the world. This is perhaps due to stricter regulations coming into place on oil and gas across Europe, making the outlook for a future in fossil fuel more uncertain.

But if oil supermajors manage to achieve low-carbon production while demand is still high and when renewable operations are not yet ready to provide the world’s power, can this be considered greenwashing? Big Oil will have to convince the world over the next decade, as they continue to pump massive amounts of crude, that low-carbon oil does what it says on the tin, reducing greenhouse gas emissions while not causing excessive harm to the environment, as the rest of the world transitions to green alternatives. 

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

European Oil Majors Doubled Spending On Low-Carbon Energy Sources

By Tsvetana Paraskova - Dec 02, 2021

In just two years, Europe’s oil and gas majors have doubled their planned spending on low-carbon energy—from 10 percent of capex in 2019 to 25 percent of overall spending per current expenditure plans, Wood Mackenzie said on Thursday.

In 2019, the European majors were targeting on average $2 billion each per year invested in alternative energy sources, or 10 percent of capex. In 2021, those companies now shoot for $4 billion annual investment on average in clean energy, or 25 percent of capex on average.  

Spain’s Repsol has the most aggressive target of investment in low-carbon energy—at 35 percent of its total annual spending, Tom Ellacott and Greig Aitken of WoodMac’s Corporate Research team said.

Most European majors target renewables, especially solar, onshore and offshore wind, as those technologies are already commercial and scalable and can give Big Oil the exposure to low-carbon energy they seek, according to WoodMac’s experts.

Apart from the doubled investments in clean energy, a major difference from 2019 is that U.S. supermajors, ExxonMobil and Chevron, have also pledged investments in low-carbon energy, WoodMac notes.

The U.S. giants are betting on renewable fuels and carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, but they are steering clear of solar and wind. 

In Europe, BP, Shell, Eni, Equinor, and TotalEnergies boost investments in renewable energy generation, EV charging networks, hydrogen, and CCS. In the offshore wind sector, oil and gas majors say they have the capabilities and skills of their legacy business to develop offshore wind. All of those companies have submitted bids for the major ScotWind offshore wind tender in Scotland.

Equinor and Eni, together with SSE Renewables, are developing the Dogger Bank Wind Farm off northeast England, the world’s largest offshore wind farm, which will be capable of powering 6 million homes.

“The Majors are on a mission to reshape and futureproof the business. The commitment to new energy and low carbon is a long-term bet on an irreversible shift in the energy mix. And they need to do it now to stay investible,” Wood Mackenzie says.  

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

Republican States Could Pull $600B From Anti-Fossil Fuel Banks

By Tsvetana Paraskova - Dec 02, 2021,

A coalition of 15 Republican State Treasurers, Auditors, and Comptrollers of states representing over $600 billion in public assets – have recently said their states could potentially reduce future business with banks that cut off financing for oil, gas, and coal, West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore says.

The coalition “will begin considering whether financial institutions are engaged in boycotts of America’s traditional energy industries when awarding state banking contracts,” Moore said, announcing that the state treasurers had sent an open letter to the banking industry.

In the letter, the state officials say, “We are writing to notify you that we will be taking collective action in response to the ongoing and growing economic boycott of traditional energy production industries by U.S. financial institutions.”

“We cannot allow companies that have a stated goal of harming key industries or the economies of our states to then turn around and try to profit from our states’ finances,” Moore said in a statement.

“Woke capitalists and globalist actors have been using the guise of climate change to press for anti-American reforms that reduce our country’s competitiveness against hostile nations like Russia and China,” Moore added.

“While we understand that you may be under tremendous undue pressure from the Biden Administration, we are simply asking financial institutions to award financing based on an unbiased, non-political basis,” the officials say in their letter to the banking industry.

The Republican officials overseeing state finances are pushing back against the growing ESG trend in the banking industry to shun funding for the fossil fuel industry.

Banks worldwide and in the United States have announced in recent years restrictions to their financing not only for coal projects but also for some forms of oil and gas extraction amid heightened investor pressure to shun fossil fuels. In the United States, Goldman Sachs said in December 2019 that it would decline to finance new Arctic oil exploration and production and new thermal coal mine development or strip mining. Wells Fargo and JPMorgan have also said they will stop financing new oil and gas projects in the Arctic.  

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

Utah joins 14 other states in letter blasting bank boycott of coal, oil and gas

By Carter Williams, KSL.com | Posted - Dec. 1, 2021 

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's treasurer says his office will conduct an "enhanced due diligence assessment" of any energy contract issued by a financial institution that has pledged to "boycott" funding for boycott traditional energy industries, such as coal, oil and gas.

Utah Treasurer Marlo Oaks' announcement Wednesday comes a little more than a week after he and Utah Auditor John Dougall were among leaders in 15 states who signed an open letter to the U.S. banking industry, ripping "the ongoing and growing economic boycott" of traditional energy production industries.

"Traditional energy plays an important role in Utah's economy, particularly in rural Utah. Cutting off financing for businesses engaged in economically essential activities to advance a radical social agenda destroys livelihoods, increases costs and does little to advance the desire we all have to breathe cleaner air and improve the environment," Oaks said in a statement Wednesday. "Punishing these entities is antithetical to our nation's capitalist system that has developed some of the greatest innovations in human history."

The letter, dated Nov. 22, came from West Virginia treasurer Riley Moore but was signed by over a dozen other elected leaders, including Oaks and Dougall. In it, the elected officials wrote that any policies against the industry would attack "well-paying jobs, health insurance, basic infrastructure and quality of life" and would harm states' revenues.

The letter goes on to say that states would take measures to support banks and lenders that don't participate in traditional energy boycotts. For some states, that will include a certification process that an energy boycott wasn't considered in a project proposal or, as in Utah's case, it may come in the form of an assessment.

"We will each take concrete steps within our respective authority to select financial institutions that support a free market and are not engaged in harmful fossil fuel industry boycotts for our states' financial services contracts," the group wrote. "Although these measures will vary in nature and scope from state to state, they will all be narrowly tailored to meet the compelling interests of our respective citizens."

The letter concludes that they aren't asking for "special treatment" for traditional energy sources; rather, they are seeking that financial institutions assess fossil fuel businesses "without prejudice or preference" like any other business. Treasurers, auditors and comptrollers from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming also signed.

The letter was in response to the U.S. Department of Treasury's "Fossil Fuel Energy Guidance" issued to Multilateral Development Banks back in August. The federal department explained that it would begin "advocating for MDB investments that prioritize clean energy, innovation and energy efficiency, to achieve a clean and sustainable future that is consistent with their development goals and the goals of the Paris Agreement."

The department said it was enacted in response to an executive order signed by President Joe Biden one week after he took office. The message to switch to alternative fuels was also further hammered during the United Nations Climate Change Conference that wrapped up last month.

The debate between fuel sources pins current and future business with current and future climate concerns.

Scientists say reducing global greenhouse gases associated with fossil fuels and climate change, such as carbon dioxide and methane, is one of the top measures to slowing down Earth's warming rate. A United Nations report released in August found the earth was warming faster than originally believed, resulting in more heat waves and droughts, among other harmful effects.

Biden agreed during the summit to work with other countries in an effort to reduce global methane emissions by 30% over the next decade, the Associated Press reported. Stopping leaks from oil wells and gas pipelines is considered one of the simpler solutions to reduce methane emissions. But other tougher solutions call for easing off fossil fuels and switching to renewable sources, such as solar, wind, hydro and geothermal energy.

Utah energy has already started to shift well before any new policies were put in place, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration analysis of Utah's energy consumption updated in March. For instance, the report states that Utah's reliance on coal for energy dropped 14 percentage points between 2015 and 2020, while solar energy accounted for 97% of Utah's "electric generating capacity" added since 2015.

Still, fossil fuels account for most of the state's energy. Coal accounted for about 61% of Utah's total electricity net generation in 2020, while natural gas accounted for another 25%. Only about 14% came from renewable energy sources, according to the report.

The administration report also pointed out that Utah is a net supplier of power for neighboring states because it produces more energy than it consumes. It didn't include any employment figures.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in 2018, released a report that noted a rapid switch away from coal, oil and gas would be costly but would help slow down the warming of the planet and reduce harmful impacts associated with that.

But Dougall views the debate differently, in that he doesn't want to pick sides. In a statement Wednesday, Dougall called Utah "an all-of-the-above energy state" in that residents "expect reliable, low-cost energy with a continual push for cleaner air."

That's why he said he signed the letter to the country's financial industry.

"Government should not be picking market winners and losers. Banks and investors should focus on the potential of companies to provide increased shareholder value, rather than favoring certain partisan agendas, particularly at the expense of shareholders," his statement continues. "Energy companies of all types should have unfettered access to capital and lending markets."

MOSSAD'S HANDYWORK
Sabotage at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility 3.0? - Analysis

Was Iran's Natanz nuclear facility just attacked for the third time in two years?

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
Published: DECEMBER 4, 2021 

VIEW OF a damaged building after a fire broke out at Iran’s Natanz Nuclear Facility, in Isfahan on July 2.
(photo credit: ATOMIC ENERGY ORGANIZATION OF IRAN/WANA VIA REUTERS)

Did Israel's Mossad or someone just try to sabotage Iran's nuclear facilities at Natanz for the third time since July 2020?

Reports were still hazy, but as of Saturday night the narratives varied from: Iran undertook a preplanned air defense drill unrelated to sabotage, it shot down an attack drone thwarting a sabotage attempt, electricity and internet were down for some unspecified part of Natanz - which could mean a sabotage attempt succeeded, but the Islamic Republic is still trying to cover it up.

Natanz was hit by physical explosive sabotage in July 2020 and again in April of this past year.

The July 2020 attack was more successful and destroyed the vast majority of an above ground nuclear site.

An April attack destroyed centrifuges and a variety of utilities of a newer underground site, but only fully delayed Iran's advanced centrifuge progress for about four months, while causing some longer-term slow downs.

Curiously, the April attack took place near the start of Vienna nuclear negotiations.

If this event was an attack it will have taken place at the end of a new first week of nuclear negotiations.

Both in July 2020 and this April, Iran initially tried to deny there was an attack or deny its success until the Jerusalem Post reported that the attacks were successful and had caused severe damage.

Following the Post's and other media reports, Tehran was forced to acknowledge that its nuclear sites had been hit, and badly.

It later accused the Mossad of both hits, so Tehran's initial denials should be taken with a grain of salt.

Another nuclear site, Karaj was hit this past June days after Ebrahim Raisi was elected Iran's new president.

This could be a second message to Raisi that his attempt to push the envelope with increasing nuclear violations as well as taking maximalist positions in Vienna could leave him vulnerable, even if much of the West is intimidated by him.

Or maybe this time Iran's air defenses improved and thwarted an attack.

Then again, for the first time in four such similar events, maybe it was just a pre-planned air defense drill.

Satellite footage made it impossible for Tehran to cover up the damage in both Natanz attacks, but strangely satellite footage was slower in coming with Karaj, when Raisi had taken power and the Biden administration was seeking a return to talks.

What really just happened in Barbados? A generational shift.

Richard Reddick 

 NBC News

12/3/21

More than five decades after declaring its independence from Britain, Barbados severed its colonial ties with the removal of Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state and swore in Sandra Mason as its president.

 Celebrations take place as Barbados becomes a republic, in Bridgetown (Toby Melville / Pool via Reuters)© Provided by NBC News

In the same week, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced that the country’s Constitution — which ascribes central, but largely indirect roles to the queen and her representative, the governor general — would be reviewed in 2022. Though Holness said the review is tied to wanting to address gaps that have been exposed during the Covid-19 pandemic, many speculated that this was Jamaica signaling, as it has done in the past, that it too is ready to cut ties with the British monarchy. As I watched the historic moment and spectacular ceremony in Barbados, I thought about how my late 93-year-old great-aunt, Kathleen, from Jamaica would not be in favor of what just happened in Barbados happening in Jamaica.

That may seem like a random thought to some, but the push by Barbados to distance itself from the royal family should be seen as a symbol of a generational shift. Younger leaders of color, especially given the struggles that Black people have endured in 2020 — which echoes all the way back for 400 years — will continue to push their countries out of the shadows of colonial rule, possibly against the wishes of an older West Indian generation.

Aunt Kathleen was proud of her identity as a Jamaican and equally proud to be a citizen of the British Commonwealth. Such feelings are common among older generations. For them, the historic and contemporary links to the British Isles provided educational and career opportunities, and the occasional moments of besting Britain in the Commonwealth Games, or in test match cricket (where the West Indies teams of the 1970s and 1980s were among the best in the world).

But perhaps what happened in Barbados this week — and what it might portend for other formerly colonized nations in the Caribbean and beyond — can serve as a template for how we progress as a society in the 21st century

Like Jamaica, Barbados was part of the British Commonwealth, with an English settlement starting in the 1620s. Prince Charles, who attended the ceremony in Barbados, noted that “From the darkest days of our past and the appalling atrocity of slavery which forever stains our history, people of this island forged their path with extraordinary fortitude.”

But many Americans, and I suspect people around the world, know little about the conditions of slavery in the Caribbean. The sugar and rum trade created some of the most brutal and inhumane conditions of chattel slavery — as well as the massive resistance on the part of enslaved Africans. In 1791, self-emancipated Africans started an insurrection in the island of Saint-Domingue (present day Haiti), which ended in 1804 with the declaration of independence in Haiti, the first successful rebellion of enslaved people in the Western Hemisphere.

In the Barbados town of Bridgetown, there is a statue of the Igbo enslaved hero Bussa who led the largest rebellion in Barbadian history in 1816. Subsequent rebellions in Guyana in 1823 and Jamaica from 1831-1832 (from December to the following January) were landmark events that swayed public opinion about slavery in the British Empire. Slavery was abolished in 1833, with the Abolition of Slavery Act (though it didn’t take effect until 1834). From this point in history, colonial power in the Caribbean among the British, Dutch, French, Spanish and the United States has cast a long and indelible shadow among the nations in the region.

Colonial power led to exploitation of the land, natural resources and people of the Caribbean. An odd symbiosis has developed between the inhabitants of these nations and the European colonial states. Many legal and constitutional influences are evident in the infrastructures of Caribbean nations; but it is also significant to note the intellectual, artistic and athletic influences on Europe. Yet these connections are fraught with complexities - racism, xenophobia, jingoism, colorism and classism.

The Caribbean contributions to the economies, defense, and cultures of Europe are frequently overlooked, which has led to moments of reckoning. For this generation of Caribbean citizens, there is an open question about how to reconcile these underappreciated and undervalued investments that have been made — and whether or not to continue contributing.

This speaks to the complex and confounding nature of these relationships. The example of Barbados presents one way of going forward. It was particularly powerful to have Charles, the heir to the British throne, discuss and acknowledge the systems of oppression subjected by his nation upon Barbadian people. Interestingly, at the same ceremony the Barbadian government awarded Charles the Order of Freedom, one of its highest national honors.

However in a nation that had protests in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and in memory of George Floyd, and which removed a statue of British Admiral Horatio Nelson, there are some who feel that independence was marred by the presence of royalty.

Barbados is navigating an interesting path — retaining membership in the Commonwealth (a trade partnership with over 50 former British colonies), honoring the British royal family and ending its colonial relationship. These actions might seem contradictory and confusing, but it speaks to the intricacies of this relationship, one that has become even more complicated in the post-Brexit era. Some scholars question if a commonwealth’s relationship with post-Brexit Britain is even necessary when strengthening a relationship with the European Union, a top world economic power, would be more beneficial.

Indeed, after the celebratory feelings subside, the new generation of leaders in Barbados (and other nations that are contemplating becoming a republic), will have several things to consider.

And while Charles acknowledged the brutality of slavery, he did not apologize for it. It’s additionally unclear if his comments are an acknowledgment of governmental recognition of responsibility about Britain’s role in killing, maiming and otherwise thwarting the lives of Barbadians. So what comes next is an open question, and of great interest to those of us with familial ties to subjugated nations — but interestingly, those from the former colonial powers, also.

Will the Barbadian government, along with nations such as Trinidad and Tobago and Mauritius, the previous two nations to proclaim themselves as republics independent of Britain, in 1976 and 1992, respectively, force this moment of reckoning?

And what does Barbados’ decision portend for the other nations in the Commonwealth realm? If a 2020 poll in Jamaica revealing that 55 percent of respondents supported removing Elizabeth as head of state is any indication, we could see more republics.

Aunt Kathleen wouldn’t be pleased, but it appears the newer generations see their relationship with Europe differently. And that’s not a bad thing. In fact, perhaps this is not only a moment for the people of the Caribbean to rewrite their own story, but also a moment for a new generation of white Britons to learn from their country’s past atrocities.

Fact check: Climate change theory compatible with laws of thermodynamics

Kate S. Petersen, USA TODAY

Thermodynamics say CO2 can’t contribute to climate change

Significant and immediate worldwide carbon dioxide emissions reductions are necessary to avoid the worst effects of global climate change, scientists say.

However, a claim has been circulating online that CO2 can’t contribute to climate change because of the laws of thermodynamics.

“As the attached diagram shows CO2 plays no role in generating the heat that warms the earth,” states a version of the claim in an Oct. 23 Facebook post. “No one ever mentions this fact when discussing climate change because they don’t understand what they are talking about.”

The attached diagram does not illustrate the behavior of CO2 molecules in the Earth's atmosphere, however. It depicts a nuclear fusion reaction that takes place on the sun.

The Facebook post, which garnered dozens of shares in a month, misrepresents climate change science in multiple ways. Climate theory is compatible with the laws of thermodynamics, according to experts. Further, climate change scientists do not claim that carbon dioxide generates heat.

The existence of climate change driven by human greenhouse gas emissions, including CO2, is supported by multiple lines of evidence.

Special access for subscribers! Click here to sign up for our fact-check text chat
Post misinterprets climate change theory

Researchers say the post misstates a basic principle of climate change theory.

"No one's claimed, ever, that CO2 generates heat," Josh Willis, a climate scientist at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told USA TODAY. "CO2 traps heat, it doesn't generate heat."

The heat that causes climate change is actually coming from the Earth, in the form of radiation or energy. The Earth emits radiation because it is heated by radiation from the sun.

However, the sun and the Earth emit most of their radiation at different wavelengths.

A wavelength is a measure of the distance between the crests of an energy wave. This measurement is important because different wavelengths of radiation behave differently.

For instance, much of the sun's radiation does not interact with CO2 molecules as it passes through Earth's atmosphere.

However, the outgoing radiation from Earth is "just the right wavelength to interact with the CO2," said Willis. "And that's the whole problem.”

When the Earth's radiation strikes CO2 molecules, it causes them to release radiation.

Some of this radiation is directed back down toward the Earth again, heating the planet.

“The ultimate thing that happens is more heat stays on the Earth and less gets out to space,” said Willis.

The Facebook page, Climate Truth, did not offer evidence that the laws of thermodynamics are incompatible with climate change theory. However, they challenged the idea that CO2 could drive climate change.

"No empirical CO2/Temperature data set showing CO2 driving the climate on any statistically significant historical time scale even exists," they told USA TODAY in a direct message.

But Willis said this principle can be verified by a simple lab experiment in which one tank is filled with CO2 and another is filled with oxygen. The tanks are then exposed to radiation.

"The one with the CO2 traps more heat," said Willis. That experiment has "been done for hundreds of years."

The post also references an attached diagram, saying it “shows CO2 plays no role in generating the heat that warms the earth.”

The diagram, which includes images of hydrogen and helium atoms, depicts a nuclear fusion reaction, according to Willis.

"There’s no CO2 in the entire diagram," said Willis. It "has nothing to do with climate change."

Climate theory compatible with laws of thermodynamics

The post misuses the first law of thermodynamics, which states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, to support its claims.

The post states that this basic principle of physics doesn't allow for heat to get "trapped in Carbon Dioxide."

This is true.

But climate scientists aren't saying energy is being trapped in CO2 or spontaneously created by CO2. They are saying CO2 is slowing the escape of energy into space by directing some of it back to the Earth, Becky Alexander, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington, told USA TODAY.

The post later mentions the second law of thermodynamics, but the particular passage is nonsensical, and researchers USA TODAY spoke with couldn't tell what point the author was intending to make.

However, the theory of the greenhouse effect and climate change are “completely compatible” with the laws of thermodynamics, Sukrit Ranjan, a planetary photochemist and postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University, told USA TODAY.

The post is "not actually addressing the core argument or the core mechanism by which the greenhouse effect or climate change is being proposed to proceed,” said Ranjan. “The mechanism (that creates) the greenhouse effect is being misunderstood to some degree.”

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that the laws of thermodynamics say CO2 can’t contribute to climate change. Climate change theory isn't related to CO2 trapping heat itself, it's asserting that CO2 directs radiation to earth that would otherwise escape into space. The laws of thermodynamics are completely compatible with climate change theory, according to experts.
Our fact-check sources:
Sukrit Ranjan, Nov. 27, phone interview with USA TODAY
Josh Willis, Nov. 23, phone interview with USA TODAY
NASA, accessed Nov. 29, Climate Change: How Do We Know?
Skeptical Science, accessed Nov. 29, The greenhouse effect and the 2nd law of thermodynamics
Grist, Sept. 13, 2008, Is the IPCC so wrong their theories contradict a basic laws (sic) of physics?
Becky Alexander, Nov. 30, phone interview with USA TODAY
IPCC, Oct. 8, 2018, Summary for Policymakers of IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C approved by governments
USA TODAY, Nov. 13, COP26 climate deal boosts global emissions pledges but falls short on 1.5 degrees Celsius target

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.








 Young protestors march with a sign reading 'We will go to school if you keep the climate cool!' during a climate strike of school students as part of the Fridays for Future movement in the city center of Duisburg, Friday, April 5, 2019.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Climate change theory compatible with laws of thermodynamics

Meet Justin Hall, Estate Winemaker at Nk’Mip – North America’s first Indigenous Winery

Dragana Kovacevic 
Food Network Canada

12/3/21

The world of wine and winemaking can sometimes feel exclusionary and inaccessible, even as at its core, the dinner table staple has been connecting people to each other and the land as far back as 9000 BCE.

 

© Food Network Canada Meet Justin Hall, Estate Winemaker at Nk’Mip – North America’s first Indigenous Winery

Justin Hall and his Band’s Nk’Mip Cellars are leading a new era in winemaking while also reconnecting wine lovers to these roots. As North America’s first Indigenous winery, Nk’Mip (pronounced In-Ka-meep) is owned and operated by the Osoyoos Band and the Osoyoos culture is woven throughout. 

Justin Hall himself is the first Indigenous winemaker in North America, and oversees Nk’Mip’s entire wine making process, from grape harvesting through bottling. His own trajectory to his present role is closely intertwined with the winery’s history, and the Osoyoos Band, of which he is an Elder.

While the winery has been operating for some 50 years, and is part owned by Arterra Wines Canada today, the Band maintains majority ownership, and ensures its members are involved throughout.

They, and winery operators, have also invested in Hall and his growth, from cellar hand in 2004 when he first joined Nk’Mip, to where he is today, overseeing the cellar’s entire wine production.

Related: How to Order Wine at a Restaurant Like a Pro

© Food Network Canada Nk'Mip vinyard grapes on a vine

From cellar hand to estate winemaker

From those very first days, Hall knew winemaking was something he wanted to pursue more seriously. “By day four [at that first job], I had signed up at the local college in Penticton… I met some friends. We started doing wine tastings on our own, studying wine, and that was it,” he laughs.

Hall went on to hone his craft further in Australia and New Zealand’s Lincoln University. And while he did not have the traditional academic background of his classmates, he had years of hands-on experience that allowed him to bridge what he learned out in the vineyards with theory.

Related: Meet the Youngest Self-Funded Winery Owner in Ontario’s History

© Food Network Canada Nk'Mip vineyards with rolling hills in the background

Osoyoos, the sweet-smelling place

Today, Hall has brought back that understanding to Nk’Mip. Sitting on 300 acres of the hottest and driest part of Canada, in the south end of the Okanagan valley (Oliver, BC, specifically), the winery is nestled amidst the Osoyoos Desert – the northernmost tip of the Sonoran Desert.

The cellar produces an average of 18,000 cases annually (that’s 216,000 bottles, if you’re wondering). And while only available in western Canada, Nk’Mip has won awards internationally. “People from Germany ask about our little intimate cellar, and then they start to realize, ‘Oh, what does it mean? And what is it about?’”

Translating to “bottomland” in English, Nk’Mip’s climate and soil (known as terroir in sommelier-speak) are nestled amid time-weathered mountains, sage and other desert flora, mirrored lakes and an otherwise-arid landscape, giving Nk’Mip wines their unique characteristics.

© Food Network Canada Nk'Mip vineyards, facing a lake against a setting sun

“Have you ever lifted up a big pile of leaves and you smell the black earth underneath? It smells almost sweet,” says Hall. Herbaceous sage, too, is another note permeating the air.

When Hall was asked to describe how these characteristics influence Nk’Mip wines, he consulted with his Elders on what word in the Okanagan language might best capture that local essence (wine connoisseurs refer to this quality with the French word “garrigue”).

The answer was Sín iʔ tmxʷulaxʷ (pronounced sin eet tim whoo lough), which means “sweet smelling place,” referring to the natural aromas that various cycles of the earth produce. “And I thought it was a perfect example of what we’re trying to get across.” It’s a nod to the fertile land the vineyards sit on, and the grapes they yield.

© Food Network Canada Nk'Mip's select wines

From wine names to viticulture

The Band’s culture seeps into Nk’Mip in other ways too – starting with the names on the bottles.

It’s premium table wines are named Qwam Qwmt (pronounced kw-em kw-empt), translating to “achieving excellence.”

Hall explains that the winery was asked to come up with a name that reflects perfection. “Well, there is no such word [in the Okanagan language]. Nothing in nature is perfect. It’s always flawed, ever so slightly. So Qwam Qwmt is achieving excellence. It’s getting to the best that you can, but not actually being perfect.” This wine is produced in very limited quantities and is deemed worthy of this title. “I’m not afraid to show that against any wine in the world,” says Hall.

Mer’r’iym, on the other hand is the word for “marriage” and the perfect name for a wine that represents the union of Nk’Mip’s Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec.

© Food Network Canada Nk'Mip vineyards

These traditions dig deeper too. Some 500 Osoyoos Band members watch over this region, ensuring their practices remain as sustainable as possible. “We are protectors of the land, if you will, and I’ve always believed that it should be left in a better place than when we arrived,” says Hall.

“The last thing I want to do is go out and nuke all the bugs that are out there and just create a sterile, stagnant environment where there’s nothing alive other than the grapes, but that doesn’t make good wine. What makes good wine is good microflora. You want the bacteria in the soil to thrive. You want the spiders,” he adds. “So when you find spiders, you know you’re doing something fairly right.”

© Food Network Canada Nk'Mip with the resort in the background

What an estate winemaker looks for in a wine

When it comes to what’s in the bottle, Hall has a few considerations before reaching for that perfect one.

“Depends on the day, and it depends who I am with,” he says. “What I am looking for in a great wine is texture. Balance is super key. You always want to have a wine with balance [acidity, sweetness and viscosity]. There’s nothing worse than having something that’s sticking out – it’s what they would call ‘rough edges.’ Especially with tannins or acidity, you get these rough edges where the wine isn’t quite silky or it doesn’t roll in your mouth quite like rolling in a glass. Now, having that said, I can almost go the opposite direction,” adding, “Sometimes you’re just looking for a little bit more complexity.”

But at the core of it, for Hall, wine is also about community. “You know, enjoying wine with friends and food and sitting down and talking. It’s not just ‘how’s the weather outside?’ It’s not small chat. Getting out and actually understanding somebody… like the older ways where we actually sat down and you met friends face-to-face, enjoying a bottle of wine. That makes all the difference in the world.”

Visitors can also experience Nk’Mip themselves in-person and can stay at the Band’s Spirit Ridge Resort (though be forewarned, the lodge books up to a year in advance).

In the meantime, you can find Nk’Mip wines through Great Estates Okanagan and through specialty retailers in BC and Alberta.

Related: Metis Herbalist and Educator Lori Snyder on Urban Foraging and Food Sovereignty