Heating Oil Prices Will Likely Cause Economic Hardships in the Oil-Dependent U.S. Northeast: Heating Assistance is Up and Has Been Expedited After Bipartisan Push

      Many of us have long argued that the U.S. Northeast was too dependent on heating oil. Compared to natural gas and LP Gas, heating oil is more expensive, much worse for air quality, and has higher carbon emissions. Prices for the petroleum distillate fuels are likely to remain high into the winter as disruptions in the Middle East and Russia strain global refined products markets. Petroleum distillates are refined products that are produced from crude oil delivered to refineries. It takes time for such products to be made available to buyers. With functional refinery capacity way down in Russia, a major oil products exporter, due to Ukrainian attacks, and with deliveries of refined products limited in the Middle East, another major exporter, it is unlikely that supply will rise and prices will lower in time for winter.   

     People facing a potential doubling of their winter fuel bills are understandably concerned, even if they should have been aware of the possibility. They will likely pay far more than double what a natural gas user pays. They would be better off installing a heat pump or an LP gas tank, lines, and appliances, or getting a natural gas hookup. I bought a house in the late 90s that had a fireplace, a wood burner in the basement, and an oil furnace. We installed a propane/LPG system, including outdoor and indoor piping, converted the stove to LPG, and installed unvented LPG heaters. It was more expensive than hooking up to natural gas, but there were no gas lines available for hookup. We sold the oil furnace.

     As the article in The Cool Down notes, people in Eastern Pennsylvania are facing a near doubling of fuel oil prices from $3 to $5.50 per gallon. This is on top of rising electricity and food prices. One person noted:

"The spike in utilities and heating oil and gas is outrageous, along with the food prices. It's just unsustainable for people. People are going to have to choose between eating and heating their home."

     As a result, people are weatherizing more, and more people are enrolling for government heating cost assistance.

     The price in Maine was $5.77/gal. prompting GOP Senator Susan Collins to lead a bipartisan effort to expedite the release of federal heating assistance. Maine has over 300,000 heating oil customers. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, provides for many seniors and low-income residents around the country. According to The Maine Wire:

“In April, Collins announced that HHS had released another $421.5 million nationally in fiscal year 2026 LIHEAP funding after Collins, Reed and Murkowski led another bipartisan request for the remaining money to be distributed.”

“LIHEAP provides vital relief to thousands of Mainers, helping them avoid the constant worry of choosing between heating their homes and covering other basic necessities,” Collins said following that release.”

     The Maine Wire article also points out that heating assistance dollars are not going as far if they don’t adjust to pricing. The National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) is calling for a funding increase for LIHEAP.

     In New York, heating oil prices have reached $6.14/gal, up from $3.70 a year earlier.

“The National Energy Assistance Directors Association projected this week that U.S. households relying on heating oil will pay 31.3% more to stay warm this winter, with average seasonal bills reaching approximately $2,300 — a direct result of surging crude oil prices driven by the war in Iran.”

“NEADA is urging Congress to raise funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP, from $4 billion to $7 billion. Roughly one in six American households has fallen behind on utility payments, and the total amount owed to energy providers has climbed toward $23 billion, NEADA said.

     They also note that virtually all hydrocarbon fuels are facing price increases this winter, including a projected 8.7% increase for propane, which is produced in the U.S. and thus insulated from the Iran and Ukraine wars.

         Fuel oil is both produced domestically by U.S. refineries and is also imported. Like propane, it is largely produced domestically. However, since the international crude oil price has risen much more than the U.S. natural gas price, propane, which is a natural gas derivative (mostly), has not risen in cost as much as fuel oil distillate. Heating oil is often imported in the winter months to supplement stocks. However, if the El Niño weather pattern proves true, it may not be necessary to import any or much fuel oil.

 

References:

 

Pennsylvania homeowners fear ‘eating or heating’ as oil climbs from $3 to $5.50. Aaron Goldstein. The Cool Down, September 21, 2026. Pennsylvania homeowners fear 'eating or heating' as oil climbs from under $3 to $5.50

Heating oil costs rising 31% this winter due to Iran war. Cris Tolomia. Quartz. September 18, 2026. Heating oil costs rising 31% this winter due to Iran war

Maine Heating Oil Hits $5.77 a Gallon as Collins Pushes for Early Release of Federal Heating Aid. Jon Fetherston. The Maine Wire. September 20, 2026. Maine Heating Oil Hits $5.77 a Gallon as Collins Pushes for Early Release of Federal Heating Aid - The Maine Wire

Heating oil explained: Where our heating oil comes from. EIA. Late updated October 2023. Where our heating oil comes from - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

 

China’s ENN Group Hopes to Produce Electricity Via Hydrogen-Boron Nuclear Fusion by 2030

      China’s ENN Group just broke ground on its ENN Fusion Spherical Ring Hydrogen-Boron Plasma Platform, or Helong-2, from which it hopes to generate its first electricity by 2030. The groundbreaking happened on September 15 at ENN's fusion R&D center in Hebei's Langfang Economic and Technological Development Zone.

     I have not written much about nuclear fusion on this blog mainly because the technology is not ready. I have my doubts about China’s timeline here as well, but the more concrete plans for electricity production in three years are the best I have seen. There are several other interesting fusion projects and pilots happening as well. I will likely write about them if and when they get closer to reality. TAE Technologies in the United States and Marvel Fusion in Germany are companies pursuing hydrogen-boron fusion technology.

     According to The Cool Down:

“ENN says the project is meant to create a "world-leading" hydrogen-boron fusion experimental platform built around more than 10 core systems; the Helong-2 complex will span about 120 acres.”

“If the schedule holds, experiments would start by the end of 2027 after construction and commissioning are finished, and the site should be ready for equipment installation by the end of June 2027.”

“Also called proton-boron fusion, the reaction pairs a hydrogen proton with boron-11 to produce helium nuclei and energy. ENN is targeting 2030 for the project's first electricity from hydrogen-boron fusion.”

     According to World Nuclear News:

“Hydrogen-boron fusion is an advanced nuclear fusion reaction that combines a hydrogen proton with a boron-11 nucleus to produce harmless helium nuclei (alpha particles) and energy without releasing high-energy neutrons.”

     ENN maintains a three-step commercialization strategy for hydrogen-boron fusion, beginning with Xuanlong-50 and Xuanlong-50U, its first two hydrogen-boron fusion devices. Step 1 is for Xuanlong-50U to achieve a hydrogen-boron fusion reaction in 2026. Step 2 is finishing Helong-2 in 2027 and producing fusion power by 2030. Step 3 is having a demonstration reactor producing low-cost electricity by 2035.

"Helong-2, as the third-generation fusion device built by ENN, is a key engineering platform for moving towards a fusion smart power plant," said Yu Jianchao, Chairman of ENN Group. "It carries the important mission of breaking through key technologies of hydrogen-boron fusion and exploring new paths for future energy. It is an important milestone in the commercialisation of hydrogen-boron fusion by ENN and an important step on the road to commercialisation of fusion energy in China."

 

References:

 

China breaks ground on Helong-2 fusion platform, set to produce first hydrogen-boron electricity by 2030.Leigh Cook. The Cool Down. September 21, 2026. China breaks ground on Helong-2 fusion platform, set to produce first hydrogen-boron electricity by 2030

China begins building hydrogen-boron fusion device. World Nuclear News. September 16, 2026. China begins building hydrogen-boron fusion device - World Nuclear News

Deep Fission Drills a Test Well in Kansas for Its 15 MWe Deep Subsurface Pressurized Water Nuclear Reactor Design

   

     Company Deep Fission, founded by father and daughter Richard and Liz Muller, thinks they can design a way to produce nuclear power from deeply buried micro-reactors, and they think their method can reduce timelines for nuclear deployment. They are aiming for a deployment timeline of two to three years vs. ten years for conventional nuclear. One reason for this is that safety is more easily ensured underground. The method involves drilling a large-diameter hole, 50 cm (about 10 inches) in diameter, at depth for the reactor. Oil and gas companies typically drill holes this large and larger, but usually for closer-to-surface applications. A hole of this size is required to house the reactor-canister, which is expected to be lowered down into the hole. That is what the company did in a recent test well in Kansas, presumably drilled into Precambrian granite. They drilled the well about 1.8 km (about 5900ft) deep, lowered the canister in and retrieved it.

     Henk Kombrink of GeoExPro recently wrote about the project:

“The idea is for the small pressurised water reactor to be placed in a canister, lowered down the hole, which is subsequently filled with water. One reactor is supposed to generate around 15 MWe, which is not that much, and compares to what a prolific geothermal well can produce. But in this case, there is no scaling nor a temperature decline.”

     Below, he illustrates the company’s ambitious hopes for broad and fast deployment:

“The company has now started to drill the second well in their campaign, and also announced that they already have signed Letters of Intent with various data centres and other industrial entities for the delivery of a total of 18.5 Gw of generation capacity. That would require more than 1,000 wells, meaning that the technology needs to upscale fast. Since the company aims to use known technology, with the only difference being the new setting, the teething issues may hopefully be limited.”

     A Deep Fission press release from September 10, 2026, gives more detail into the recent test and design principles. The company’s CEO points out that all of the components and contractors for the system are commercially available, which should also accelerate deployment capability.

“On Thursday, September 3, 2026, the crew lowered the 20-foot canister to 100 feet depth inside a 34-inch-wide borehole, aligned it, and brought it back to the surface. This is the emplacement and retrieval sequence that Deep Fission's deployment model depends on. The equipment used is available today from commercial drilling contractors.”

     The 34-inch hole is likely a surface casing, where larger diameter holes are required. These are required to protect groundwater drinking sources.

"The most important thing about this demonstration is what we did not have to do," said Liz Muller, CEO and Co-Founder of Deep Fission. "We did not have to develop new technology. We used a rig and rigging that is commercially available in the field today, and our reactor uses pressurized water technology that has been operating in the nuclear industry for decades. Our innovation is in how we put proven pieces together, not in inventing something that has never been built. That is the difference between a science project and something you can deploy."

     The company can bank its 15MW micro-reactors by drilling additional wells for projects, where 10 wells = 150 MW and 100 wells = 1,500 MW. 

     The company also recently published its DOE-approved Nuclear Safety Design Agreement.

References:

 

Drilling a well to produce nuclear energy: How a US company brings together technology from the oil and gas and nuclear sectors to build small nuclear reactors one mile below the ground. Henk Kombrink. September 10, 2026. Drilling a well to produce nuclear energy - GeoExpro

Deep Fission. Website. Advanced nuclear energy deployment :: Deep Fission, Inc. (FISN)

Deep Fission Installs and Retrieves Full-Scale Reactor Canister Using Off-the-Shelf Drilling Equipment. Press Release. September 10, 2026. Deep Fission Installs and Retrieves Full-Scale Reactor Canister Using Off-the-Shelf Drilling Equipment :: Deep Fission, Inc. (FISN)

Deep Fission Publishes DOE-Approved Nuclear Safety Design Agreement for Gravity™ Pilot Reactor, Demonstrating Commitment to Transparency. Press Release. September 15, 2026. Deep Fission Publishes DOE-Approved Nuclear Safety Design Agreement for Gravity™ Pilot Reactor, Demonstrating Commitment to Transparency :: Deep Fission, Inc. (FISN)

Deep Fission Gravity Reactor Nuclear Safety Design Agreement (NSDA) Document ID: RPP-LIC-NSDA-NP Revision: 0. July 17, 2026. RPP-LIC-NSDA-NP+-+Rev+0.pdf

 

Groundwater Flow Pathways Influence Tracer-Based Age Estimates: Different Recharge Characteristics Affect Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) Estimates in Study of Matsumoto Intermountain Basin, Japan

      Groundwater tracers are used to age groundwater, and the age of groundwater is determined by how fast water reaches the aquifer from the recharge areas at the surface. Groundwater flow characteristics can be estimated by knowing the permeability of the rocks through the grain matrix porosity and fracture networks. Chemical tracers offer a more precise way to age groundwater. Knowing the age of groundwater is important for determining the level of natural remediation of contaminants that come from surface water. For example, alluvial aquifers in unconsolidated sand, often found under modern river systems, host younger groundwater since it can flow faster from the surface through unconsolidated sand.

     Types of groundwater tracers include fluorescent dyes, environmental isotopes, radioactive isotopes, chlorofluorocarbons, and sodium hexafluoride (SF₆). Tracer studies are used to identify recharge areas and flow paths, assess contamination risks, and assess recharge characteristics. The two general categories of groundwater tracers are: 1) environmental tracers, which include naturally occurring components such as isotopes and atmospheric gases, and 2) artificial tracers, which are deliberately injected into the subsurface for a specific investigation, such as fluorescent dyes. I have used fluorescent dyes in septic system investigations. Industrial gases such as chlorofluorocarbons and sodium hexafluoride entered the atmosphere in more recent years, but their atmospheric presence allows them to be used as tracers and thus, they are classified as environmental tracers.

     EVS Institute has an informative section on groundwater tracers:

“Tracers help quantify groundwater recharge, discharge, flow velocity, and mixing – information that underpins nearly every decision in groundwater management.”

     Dye tracers are often used early in aquifer studies. They are used extensively to determine hydraulic connectivity in karstic carbonate terrains, where groundwater can move fast and far. Oxygen and hydrogen isotopes are typically used to define aquifer recharge areas by comparing groundwater isotopes to rainwater and surface water isotopes. Tritium, a hydrogen isotope, is used to age very young groundwater. These isotopes can be vital for contamination studies. Radioactive isotopes include Carbon-14, which is used to date groundwater that is between 1,000 and 30,000 years old. Other radioactive isotopes are used to date groundwater older than that.

     Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) are industrial gases that entered the atmosphere from the 1930s and 1950s onward.

“CFCs can also trace seepage from rivers, provide early warning of landfill and septic tank leakage, and assess the vulnerability of water supply wells to near-surface contamination. Their usefulness is limited in heavily anaerobic environments where microbial degradation can alter concentrations, which is why they are typically used alongside other tracers.”

     Older groundwater is much less likely to be contaminated since it takes time for surface water to arrive there. Using multiple tracers is often a useful strategy, especially since groundwater may be recharged differently in different recharge areas, mixing older and younger groundwater. Managed aquifer recharge programs utilize tracers in their assessments.

“Best practice in hydrogeology is to combine multiple complementary tracers – a short-range dye test to confirm flow paths, tritium to establish whether water is modern or premodern, and radiocarbon or noble gases to resolve deeper age structure. Using multiple residence time tracers is strongly recommended to reduce uncertainty, particularly in complex systems with fractured or dual-porosity aquifers where a single tracer may misrepresent the full age distribution.”

“The growing integration of tracer data with numerical groundwater models is also strengthening both disciplines: tracers validate model predictions, and models help interpret tracer signals in complex multi-layered aquifer systems. As water scarcity intensifies globally, the role of groundwater tracers in guiding sustainable management decisions will only become more critical.”

     A 2017 summary on chemical tracers by the U.S.G.S. notes:

“Tracers have a wide variety of uses in hydrologic studies: providing quantitative or qualitative estimates of recharge, identifying sources of recharge, providing information on velocities and travel times of water movement, assessing the importance of preferential flow paths, providing information on hydrodynamic dispersion, and providing data for calibration of water flow and solute-transport models (Walker, 1998; Cook and Herczeg, 2000; Scanlon et al., 2002b). Tracers generally are ions, isotopes, or gases that move with water and that can be detected in the atmosphere, in surface waters, and in the subsurface. Heat also is transported by water; therefore, temperatures can be used to trace water movement.”

 

 

Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6)-Based Groundwater Age Estimates Identify Groundwater Flow Pathways in Study of Matsumoto Intermountain Basin, Japan

     A study published in the journal Hydrologic Processes shows that tracer-based age estimates of groundwater in mountainous regions depend on groundwater flow pathways in different recharge areas. Researchers studying the Matsumoto Intermountain Basin in Japan were able to integrate SF6 tracers and isotopic tracers to identify two major groundwater flow pathways. One flow pathway originates from mountain catchments. The water trickles into the aquifer over time. The water was found to be older and more chemically evolved and reduced than the other pathway, which originates in the lowlands with recharge via surface water flowing from the mountains. This water is more oxygenated. 

     According to the abstract:

“Intermediate hydrochemical signatures indicate hydraulic connectivity and mixing between these flow systems, reflecting differences in groundwater residence time, flow dynamics and water–rock interaction histories.”

     The authors note that knowing these flow pathways and how they connect will be vital for developing the best aquifer recharge strategies for the basin.

References:

 

Identifying Groundwater Flow Paths in Mountainous Systems Using Environmental Tracers: Insights From the Matsumoto Intermountain Basin, Japan. Shinji Nakaya and Ryogo Takada. Hydrological Processes 40(9), September 2026. Identifying Groundwater Flow Paths in Mountainous... : Hydrological Processes

Chemical tracer methods. U.S. Geological Survey. January 1, 2017. Chemical tracer methods | U.S. Geological Survey

How Groundwater Tracers Reveal Water Movement and Age. EVS Institute. Last updated: December 21, 2025. How Groundwater Tracers Reveal Water Movement and Age • Environmental Studies (EVS) Institute

 

Siliciclastic vs. Carbonate Systems: Modified Graphic Shows That Relative Sea-Level Fluctuations Control Each, but Carbonate Systems Undergo More Complex Post-Depositional Alteration Processes

      Siliciclastic sedimentation derives from exposed continental regions delivering terrigenous sediment via rivers and deposition along a submerged siliciclastic shelf. This is termed a non-marine or terrigenous siliciclastic system. Sea level fluctuations typically control sedimentation through time. Thus. Relative sea level curves are typically constructed to explain sedimentation in the context of what is known as sequence stratigraphy. High-stand Systems Tract (HST) refers to the maximum high sea level for the period under analysis. Transgressive Systems Tract (TST) refers to a sea level that is transgressive or moving to inundate more shoreline. Low-stand Systems Tract (LST) refers to the sea level minimum where subaerial exposure is the most extensive. Falling Regressive Systems Tract (FRST) refers to a sea level that is falling.

     Carbonate shelves are inundated long enough to develop an accumulation of shell material in an open sea or, in some cases, a freshwater lake. They are exposed when sea level drops and undergo different alteration processes, or diagenetic processes, than siliciclastic shelves. Diagenesis can significantly overprint the original depositional fabric through dolomitization, dissolution, karstification, and cementation. Some diagenetic processes also occur on exposed siliciclastic shelves, but they are more extensive and more complex on carbonate shelves. This has implications for oil & gas exploration, including seismic interpretation. Siliciclastic shelves are generally more predictable, although configurations can be complicated by overlapping channels and delta lobes.

     The following graphic was posted by Ibrahim Nasser, Geoscientist at Capricorn Energy, in a LinkedIn post. It was sourced and modified as noted at the bottom right of the graphic.

 

References:

 

LinkedIn post by Ibrahim Nasser, Geoscientist at Capricorn Energy. August 2026.  (25) Post | Feed | LinkedIn

Landfill Operators in New York State Push Back Against DEC Proposal for Leachate Treatment: They See Reaching Proposed Contaminant Levels as Unrealistic and Too Expensive

     Jacob Wallace has covered this story for Waste Dive. He wrote in August that environmental groups, including New York River Watch, were pushing for stronger leachate rules for landfills. They want to see more advanced pretreatment of leachate.

“DEC is proposing to require active landfills to pretreat leachate for PFOA, PFOS and 1,4-dioxane. But the group would like to see more advanced pretreatment, as well as a broader reconsideration of the approval process for manufacturing chemicals.”

     Liners keep leachate from accessing groundwater. Collection systems and processing are the next step in the leachate management process. Minimally processed leachate is then typically sent to wastewater treatment plants where it is diluted with stream and lake water, followed by treatment to manage pH, oxygen levels, and total suspended solids (TSS). New York State has been granted primacy by the EPA to make and enforce its own leachate management rules.

     The groups argued that too much of the burden falls on wastewater treatment plants, which may not be equipped to handle many contaminants as well as high organic content. Pat Byrne, an analyst at Bluefield Research, noted:

“The problem is, if you try and treat really high organic material water with that stuff, it’s going to mess up that adsorptive capacity, and your costs go through the roof.”

     Wallace notes that updated EPA rules for PFAS contaminants and Effluent Limitation Guidelines for landfills are expected soon. The environmental groups also want to see inactive landfills, which still produce toxic leachate, included under the new DEC rules. They are currently exempted. They also, rather impractically, want to limit the use of chemicals in manufacturing that enhance leachate toxicity. It is a “precautionary” approach which is unlikely to be implementable.

“We need to be taking a precautionary approach to this problem, and we need to be making sure that as much as possible we’re getting this contamination out of the leachate,” said Martin.

     The DEC rules want to see a 99.9% limit on up to 250 contaminants. Wallace notes:

“Industry voices, including those from WM, Casella Waste Systems and the National Waste & Recycling Association, say additional controls could be implemented on leachate, but criticized the proposal as overly broad and expensive.”

     If approved, the New York DEC rule would be the first rule in the country to specifically require landfill operators to treat leachate for contaminants.

“As written, the proposal would require landfill operators to develop a leachate treatment plan within one year of when the rule becomes effective and gives wastewater facilities four years to continue receiving leachate from landfills as they transition to more advanced treatment systems.”

     The proposal would require landfills to build specialized leachate treatment facilities for on-site leachate treatment. 

     The industry groups said that the 99.9% rule was impractical and that different contaminants need to be treated differently in terms of detection limits.

“The industry group laid out seven recommendations in its public comments. It specifically called out the 99.9% limit, joining with individual companies that claimed a universal limit could approach the limits of detection. They said any rules on contaminants should be based on research for each contaminant that includes detection methods and available treatment technology.”

     The DEC estimated that treatment facilities could cost anywhere from $3 million to $50 million with annual operating costs of about $1.5 million to $8 million.

     Sam Nicolai, Casella’s vice president of engineering and compliance, countered:

“This is an extraordinarily expensive and wasteful approach to leachate management and a missed opportunity to develop a well-coordinated approach to PFAS.”

     Company Waste Management cited previous studies that showed PFOS, PFOA and 1,4-dioxane ranged from 0.3% to 10.2% of total contaminant presence, with an average of 3.3%.

     Christine Fetten, who leads Brookhaven’s Department of Recycling and Sustainable Materials Management, noted that the 99.9% limit:

 “…is not consistent with past rules and regulations” regarding water. She also said the proposal would make designing new systems for treatment facilities “very, very difficult.”

     Wallace notes that other public comments stressed a regional approach, proposing centralized facilities treating leachate from multiple landfills:

“Several local officials said a regional approach, in which centrally located facilities handled leachate from multiple landfills, would be the easiest way to keep treatment costs low and avoid unnecessarily duplicating efforts.”

     The public comment period just ended, and those comments are now being reviewed.

 

 

References:

 

Landfill operators push back on New York state leachate proposal. Jacob Wallace. Waste Dive. September 14, 2026. Landfill operators push back on New York state leachate proposal | Waste Dive

Environmental groups push for strengthened leachate rules in New York: New York River Watch, a group formed by riverkeeper advocates, seeks to expand a proposed state rule to require landfill leachate pretreatment. Jacob Wallace. Waste Dive. August 17, 2026. Environmental groups push for strengthened leachate rules in New York | Waste Dive

National Academy of Sciences Removes Climate Chapter of ‘Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence’ After Credible Allegations of Advocacy and Biased Science

     

       Science should not be co-opted by climate activism. It should be maintained as unbiased as possible. That issue has been front and center lately as the National Academy of Sciences decides to remove a climate chapter after credible allegations of advocacy and biased science. Neil Shubin is the President of the National Academy of Sciences. He is an evolutionary biologist and veteran of many paleontology expeditions. I got to see him speak in the 2010s when he was on a speaking tour touting his discovery of transition fossils between fish and amphibians on a remote Arctic island. He was then known as “Darwin’s bulldog” for being a fierce advocate for evolutionary science. Being an advocate for science is not a political position, but being an advocate for policy may be a political position. Shubin suggested it was in a recent interview and, of course, with the decision to pull the chapter, a month before that.

     In an interview with Science Magazine Editor-in-Chief Holden Thorp, Shubin noted:

“You can’t remove partisanship from things entirely and you can’t remove policy from things entirely. These aren’t clean lines.”

“The perception surrounding the climate chapter warranted a new examination and that the Academy needed to take a "new fresh look" at the process behind it, Shubin said during the interview.”

     The idea was to pull it, review the process, and look at biases and whether the chapter constitutes advocacy. The climate report chapter was entitled “Attribution of Extreme Weather and Climate Events and Their Impacts 2026.” American Energy Institute CEO and founder Jason Isaac and others see it as vindication that science is compromised by activists, but that is a bit extreme in my view. I will also include Roger Pielke Jr.’s analysis of the situation as well.

"Neil Shubin just admitted that the National Academies' climate chapter in the 'Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, Fourth Edition,' was never impartial science," American Energy Institute CEO and founder Jason Isaac, told The Daily Caller News Foundation.”

"It was litigation strategy dressed up in a lab coat. In his own words, the authors were 'associated more with the plaintiffs' side than with the defense side,' and the chapter skipped the conflict-of-interest review NASEM [National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine] claims makes its work credible in the first place," Isaac continued.

     The issue was brought to light by the conservative watchdog organization, The Oversight Project. They noted that sections closely resembled a 2020 climate attribution paper co-authored by Columbia Law professor Michael Burger. Burger serves as executive director of Columbia University's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and as counsel at Sher Edling, a law firm representing state and local governments in climate litigation against major energy companies. He is acknowledged as a source for the report. So, this lawyer is suing energy companies and writing chapters for NAS? Is that advocacy? I would say it depends on how they are connected, what is written, and the details of the lawsuits. At the very least, it seems to be a clear conflict of interest. Burger is not the only one being put in the spotlight, as Daily Caller notes:

“Notably, Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan had written the foreward to the fourth edition of the manual, prompting calls to recuse from hearing the Suncor Energy v. Boulder County climate litigation with the rest of the high court. The Judicial Crisis Network called on Kagan in July to recuse herself from the case, arguing that her foreword to the manual raised questions about her impartiality.”

     The main issue is so-called attribution science, which is laden with uncertainties and more easily manipulated into policy positions. The ubiquitous attributions of everything to climate change we often see in the media illustrate this. Robert Pielke Jr. offers expert analysis of the topics here: attribution science, climate change economics and impacts, and science integrity.

     The manual was developed by NASEM. NASEM is a private, nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization operating under the congressionally chartered National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Pielke Jr. defends issue advocacy among scientists, saying that it is fundamental to a healthy democracy. However, in this case he argues that NASEM was designed to not be affected by issue advocacy. He cites NASEM’s own policy on advocacy:

 “We will NOT undertake work that is inconsistent with scientific evidence, for which an evidence base is insufficient, or that appears to be advocacy or have a foregone conclusion. We will avoid projects that would require us to make value judgments or that would be viewed as advocacy for specific policy or social outcomes, and we will avoid sponsors that may be viewed as advocates for such outcomes. Partaking in such work would serve to undermine our credibility.”

     Pielke Jr. also cites a “smoking gun” in the form of letters from former NAS president Marcia McNutt to and from a prominent funding donor. McNutt’s term ended June 30, 2026, and Shubin’s began. They had a fairly clear stated goal of attempting to impede the ability of the Trump administration to rescind the Endangerment Finding for regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant. Toward that end, the climate report was fast-tracked. Pielke Jr. and I also agree that rescinding the finding is not necessary. However, that is no excuse to “cook the books,” as it were. House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer summarized the implications:

“Read together, this evidence suggests NAS’ intent to salt the scientific battlefield against EPA’s proposed action for purposes of both litigation challenging any EPA rescission of the Endangerment Finding and other policy efforts aimed at undoing a rescission.”

     Pielke Jr. notes that NAS is relying less on government funding and more on funding from private donors and organizations. This includes philanthropic organizations and organizations with political aims. Below, he shows that federal funding for NAS has dropped from 85.1% in 2011 to 59.8% or 69.1% in 2023, depending on whether Gulf Research funding is included. Total government funding dropped from a peak of $277.1 million in 2011 to $200.6 million in 2023, before inflation.

     This, he says, has resulted in NAS seeking more private funding, which potentially opens it up to funding by biased groups and has led to what he calls “mission creep.” He suggests that NAS is getting closer to advocacy groups like the Union of Concerned Scientists on the left and the Heartland Institute on the right. Below, he notes that the fast-tracked report may have led to the EPA’s announcement that rescinding the Endangerment Finding would not rely on scientific claims (as the climate report attempted to supply), but on statutory interpretation.

“As I have argued, justifying the rescission of the Endangerment Finding on scientific claims would have been deeply flawed — if the NASEM fast-track study did contribute in some way to the elimination of scientific claims from the rescission rule, it just may have made the arguments more likely to survive judicial review.”

     Pielke Jr. closes with some recommendations for NAS:

“The National Academy of Sciences should function as a very special organization — one of the very few that can truly serve as an honest broker. Much reform is needed, but an important and straightforward first step would be for Congress to amend the Federal Charter for the NAS to prohibit funding from non-governmental organizations and require that all studies be requested by federal agencies or Congressional committees.”

     On August 27, 25 state attorneys general penned a letter to “Cabinet Secretaries, Administrators, and Directors” at the Federal level, asking them to stop funding the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (“NASEM”). 

     Fierce fossil fuel advocate Thomas Shepstone stated that climate-litigation supporters funded, led, and provided input on the Report, which is true. Regarding attribution science, he cites the IPCC:

“[s]cientists cannot answer directly whether a particular event was caused by climate change.”

     Shepstone goes on to show that the attribution science in the chapter was definitely designed to aid litigation cases against fossil fuel companies and that the chapter’s review process lacked transparency and was not up to standards.

     Shepstone also gives the following quote:

“Organizations that abuse taxpayer money to prop up political causes for the benefit of donors should not receive federal agency grants…”    

     I can agree with that statement in general, but we need the NAS, which was established by Abraham Lincoln’s administration, and which actually needs to be funded federally to keep advocacy groups from funding it with their own agendas of policy influence. Thus, defunding NASEM is not a good idea. Pielke Jr.’s idea of prohibiting funding from NGOs and requiring reports to be requested by government agencies is a much better and more practical idea than pulling government funding.

 

 

References:

 

National Academy of Sciences president acknowledges climate guide authors' ties to plaintiffs. Paris Apodaca. Daily Caller. September 6, 2026. National Academy of Sciences president acknowledges climate guide authors' ties to plaintiffs

The National Academy of Advocacy: A growing climate scandal at the US National Academy of Sciences. Roger Pielke Jr. September 1, 2026. The National Academy of Advocacy - by Roger Pielke Jr.

Half of the State Attorneys General in America Have Called Out the National Academies As A Sham That Shouldn’t Be Funded! Thomas J Shepstone. September 10, 2026. Half of the State Attorneys General in America Have Called Out the National Academies As A Sham That Shouldn’t Be Funded!

The challenges and plans ahead for a major scientific institution. Science Magazine Podcast. Interview with Neil Shubin. September 3, 2026. The challenges and plans ahead for a major scientific institution

Principles and Practices That Guide Our Work: The following statements reaffirm the principles and practices that guide our work to support our vision, values, and mission. National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, & Medicine. Principles and Practices That Guide Our Work

Handheld Spectrometer Can Provide Lab-Quality Chemical Composition Analysis Via Infrared Light

     A new handheld spectrometer has been developed that can easily and quickly scan for chemical composition. It utilizes infrared light. It can produce high-resolution chemical maps of a sample without using stains or labels. As described below, the spectrometer can have medical applications:

"Ultimately, this technology could make it possible to assess tissue during cancer surgery," said research team leader Rohith Reddy of the University of Houston. "After removing a suspected tumor, a surgeon could scan the freshly excised tissue to help determine whether it is malignant or whether cancer cells remain at the surgical margin. This complementary information would be available while the patient is still in the operating room instead of having to wait for results from laboratory testing."

     Its compactness and portability lend it to many uses when fully developed.

"Although the current platform is still a research prototype, it establishes a technical foundation for field-deployable, label-free chemical imaging," said Reddy. "A handheld MIRSI device could be useful for clinical diagnosis, polymer manufacturing, pharmaceutical quality control, forensic analysis or any application where chemical composition must be measured outside a specialized laboratory."

     It is essentially a photothermal mid-infrared spectroscopic imaging system, or, in more detail, a miniaturized photothermal mid-infrared spectroscopic imaging system (MIRSI). It can distinguish proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and other components.

"Our initial goal was to determine whether a compact design could preserve the laboratory system's essential capabilities," said Reddy. "The resulting platform was even closer in size and form to a clinically deployable device than we initially expected, providing a strong foundation for future clinical translation."

     The design uses mirrors instead of lenses, which enable it to reflect mid-infrared light.

"Careful optical design and alignment helped to minimize the image distortions that mirrors can cause," said Reddy. "We also designed the handheld scanner to connect to the light source through a fiber-optic cable, allowing it to be maneuvered easily around a sample."

     Further developments of the scanner are being pursued.

“The researchers are now working to broaden the system's mid-infrared spectral bandwidth—currently 1150 to 1400 cm−1—to provide more complete molecular signatures and improve the system's ability to distinguish different biochemical constituents. They also plan to increase the imaging speed, which would help reduce motion artifacts and make true freehand operation more practical for clinicians and technicians. They note that before clinical use, the system's repeatability, safety, and diagnostic performance must also be thoroughly evaluated under realistic clinical conditions.”

     The research was published in the journal Optica.

     As a scientific and medical instrument, such a device can become very practical. It reminds me a bit of the handheld medical scanners used on Star Trek.

  

 

References:

 

Handheld scanner delivers lab-quality chemical composition maps using infrared light. Optica. edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Robert Egan. Phys.org. Handheld scanner delivers lab-quality chemical composition maps using infrared light

Compact fiber-optic platform for label-free, chemically sensitive imaging. Ragib Ishrak, Xinyu Wu, Chalapathi-Charan Gajjela, Cheng Cameron Yin, and Rohith Reddy. Optica. Vol. 13, Issue 9, pp. 1934-1942 (2026). Compact fiber-optic platform for label-free, chemically sensitive imaging

New Zinc-Air Battery Design Increases Capacity and Power by 80%, According to Spanish Researchers

      Researchers at the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC) in Spain have redesigned the architecture for zinc-air batteries that can boost their power output by up to 80% without altering their core chemistry. The new design employs wireless bipolar electrodes, which facilitate charge transport and lower internal resistance. The Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) and the National University of La Plata in Argentina were also involved in the study, which was published in the journal Energy Storage Materials.

     The new study challenges the principle that the electrolyte must block the passage of electrons to avoid any risk of a short circuit. Euronews explains:

“The key lies in the electric field generated between the two electrodes when the battery is operating. The researchers have found that inserting one or more isolated conductive elements between them does not cause a short circuit and can help to improve charge transport.”

“The electric field polarises the conductive pieces, which accumulate opposite charges at their ends and create new pathways for charge transport. This reduces internal resistance and makes it possible to deliver energy more quickly. "What is remarkable is that these conductors are not wired to anything: they are simply inserted into the system and they produce beneficial effects," Casañ-Pastor explains.

     Oxygen remains a challenge in zinc-air batteries due to its slow reaction time.

“The new design incorporates wireless bipolar electrodes that reduce internal resistance and speed up energy delivery, allowing power to be increased by up to 80%.”

     The researchers think that this opens up the potential of wireless bipolar electrodes in other battery systems as well.

     The research shows that inducing polarization in wireless bipolar electrodes can lead to increased power density. According to the abstract:

“In all cases, ohmic resistance is massively lowered (up 64%), while charge transfer resistance is decreased even more. Power density increases up to 80% (volumetric) for specific configurations, while the limit current density increased > 50%.”

     The following section from the paper’s conclusions touches on the potential implications of the Zinc-air battery redesign, when further developed:

“Overall, the use of reactive Zn induced anodes, allows to improve the lifetime of the battery as well as the current density used, and the power output, offering a new design for Zn/Air batteries. Despite the drop in performance upon Zn dissolution during cycling in BipPtZnU, the results are very promising and encourage further research into mixed bipolar electrodes with greater longevity and reversibility. Alternative conducting materials, like carbons of green origin (e.g. biocarbons) could offer a significant alternative to the metals tested here, if they are able to undergo redox reactions as shown in Zn induced anode and cathode. Thus, this work serves as a starting point for designing new configurations with potential applications in commercial Zn/Air batteries.”

    

 

    

References:

 

New Spanish-made zinc-air battery design boosts capacity and power by 80%. Escarlata Sánchez. Euronews. September 10, 2026. New Spanish-made zinc-air battery design boosts capacity and power by 80%

Unlocking high power in membraneless Zn–air batteries: A paradigm shift via wireless bipolar electrochemistry. M. Mosqueda, L.N. Bengoa, S. Goñi, and N. Casañ-Pastor. Energy Storage Materials. Article: 105418. Volume 90. August 2026. Unlocking high power in membraneless Zn–air batteries: A paradigm shift via wireless bipolar electrochemistry - ScienceDirect