In the beginning – there was light. Many creation myths have a special moment when the light enters the realm of the living. Light is life. If we look at current theories about the creation of the universe, we are…
In 1783, the Russian ruler Catherine the Great toured her new provinces in Crimea. The entire tour had been organized and accompanied by a former lover of hers. The Russian nobleman Grigiory Potyomkin. Potyomkin was keen to rise again in…
My hometown Vienna currently experiences the coldest time of the year. That’s normal as January represents the cold peak of the year here. Predictably, July is the hot peak. But how big is the spread between those two peaks? Let’s…
Late in 2008, the foundational agreements for the GATE terminal were in final negotiation. For the first time, a multiuser regasification terminal strictly separated the owner/operator from the capacity customers. We often met in small teams haggling until the early…
In early summer 2019, the scientific world was elated. They thought that they had found an unmistakable sign of life on Mars. The Mars rover Curiosity detected significant concentrations of methane in the atmosphere of the planet. Methane has always…
To all those reading my articles for the first time, a word of warning. I am a self-described luke warmer. This means that: Are you sure you want to read on? You have been warned. Climate Change is real. It…
So, what will the new breed of methanopreneurs be hatching under their wings? Short answer – I don’t know. Yes folks, even I don’t know the future. Not even one second into the future. But even if we cannot predict…
Another year comes to a close. We all have a good hard look back at our past sins. Let’s not quite do that right now as it’s the now and the immediate tomorrow we should be concerned with. Because things…
During the 1950ies, the energy world started to understand that something useful had to be done with Natural Gas. It was a by-product of nearly every oil well and as it could not be put to good use most of…
In part 2 of this series, I have described the events that have led to the situation we are in now. Oversupply. Oh no, I am really downplaying things now. It’s not way more than simple oversupply. This is the…
Anyone studying the history of humankind from its beginnings to this very day will reach a point where he wonders what makes humans tick. Many times, a collectivity, a state, a people reaches a point of relative wealth and well-being.…
Every business person – secretly – dreams of controlling a monopoly. They want everyone to beat a path to their respective doors to buy whatever is on offer. For the price and on the conditions they decide. It’s a natural…
The greatest enemy that any human ever faces lies within oneself. It seems to be the most fundamental of all human natures. Our shallowness. Our love for the simplified. Our fear of our true selves. Few persons ever face their…
Who invented railways? Easy, you say. It was the Brits when the Industrial Revolution started to get into high gear. And it revolutionized land transport. For the first time, moving big and heavy objects was possible as a part of…
The year is 2019 A.D. The energy world is entirely occupied by bureaucratic representative bodies doing the lobbying work on their behalf. Well, not entirely. One small organization of indomitable energy professionals still holds out against the incumbents. And life…
In April 2009, the History Channel aired the Pilot for the series “Life After People”. The basic plot of this non-fiction speculation is that humans somehow disappeared. They went away in one second, never to return. The gist of the…
In 1873, Jules Verne published his most acclaimed novel. “Around the World in 80 Days”. An English gentleman, Phileas Fogg, and his valet Passepartout attempt to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days. The entire journey results from a wager that…
Imagine you had demanded world leaders 10 years ago to stop using fossil fuels in 11 years. You would have been laughed out of the room. Everyone was aware that life without fossils would not be possible or conceivable. They…
Heribert Hoover is one of the most misunderstood presidents of the US ever. His presidential term was overshadowed by the fallout of the world economic crisis as he took the reigns of the country right after the fateful year 1928.…
About 24% of the world’s population are children. This means that we have a little less than 2 billion of them on this planet. Not all grow up and live under the same circumstances though. The UN says that 820…
In October 1973, the member countries of the Organisation of Arab Oil Exporting Countries proclaimed an oil embargo. A coalition of Arab countries had attacked the state of Israel. After first advances were beaten back by the much smaller Israeli…