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Justin Mikulka

Justin Mikulka is a research fellow at New Consensus. Prior to joining New Consensus in October 2021, Justin reported for DeSmog, where he began in 2014. Justin has a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University.

Articles by Justin Mikulka

Opinion
us/New Bigger Risks Await Poorly Regulated Rail Industry
ByJustin Mikulka
on
The Biden administration must act to protect the public from the rail industry’s dangerous plans for the energy transition.
Two investigators standing in front of damaged rail tank cars emitting smoke.
Opinion
Corporate Greed Is a Root Cause of Rail Disasters Around the World
ByJustin Mikulka
on
Greece’s worst rail disaster ever is the result of the same corporate cost-cutting and deregulation that led to East Palestine and Lac-Mégantic disasters.
Aerial view of head-on collision of two freight trains across center of green fields. Black smoke clouds rise to the upper right.
Opinion
us/Norfolk Southern CEO Makes Obligatory Congressional Appearance But Doesn’t Commit to Rail Safety Changes
ByJustin Mikulka
on
Senators recently interrogated Alan Shaw, head of the rail company, about Norfolk Southern’s record after last month’s rail disaster in East Palestine, Ohio.
​​​An aerial view of the wreckage from the Norfolk Southern freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
Analysis
us/The Railroad Industry Loved Modern Brakes and Safety, Until They Didn’t
ByJustin Mikulka
on
Science and data shows that ECP brakes help prevent rail accidents like the recent one in Ohio. So why won't the industry embrace them?
Series: Oil Bomb Trains
An aerial view of the 2013 train disaster in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. Credit: Bureau de la sécurité des transports du Canada (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Analysis
us/Peak US Oil Production Looms as the Domestic Shale Boom Ends
ByJustin Mikulka
on
After a decade of losing hundreds of billions of dollars, the shale oil industry is finally making money — and running out of oil.
Series: Fracking Finances
A lone pumpjack in Loving County, Texas, in the Permian Basin. Credit: Justin Hamel
Analysis
us/The Economic Case for ‘Blue Hydrogen’ Is Getting Worse. Cue the Lobbyists.
ByJustin Mikulka
on
DeSmog has mapped the fossil fuel interests lobbying for gas-derived hydrogen and threatening to derail the momentum of green hydrogen.
Series: The Hydrogen Lobby
Graphic of professional men and a woman with the logos of fossil fuel companies on their jackets standing in front of an American flag with a model of a hydrogen molecule.
Opinion
us/The Infrastructure Bill’s Hydrogen Funding Is a Big Win for the Oil and Gas Industry
ByJustin Mikulka
on
But even Sen. Joe Manchin admits a major flaw in the industry spin underpinning blue hydrogen’s supposed climate credentials.
Series: The Hydrogen Lobby
Maritime Hydrogen Fuel Cell unit. Credit: Sandia Labs. CC BY 2.0
Opinion
Analysis
Green Hydrogen’s Rapidly Falling Costs Undermine the Gas Industry’s Argument for Blue Hydrogen
ByJustin Mikulka
on
A new study finds that hydrogen fuel produced from water using renewable energy will be cheaper than natural gas-based hydrogen with carbon capture by 2030.
Series: The Hydrogen Lobby
Hydrogen storage tank, Credit: Walmart, CC BY 2.0, Cropped original
Opinion
Analysis
The ‘Big Lie’ of Blue Hydrogen Starts With Ignoring Basic Economics
ByJustin Mikulka
on
Blue hydrogen isn’t a clean energy source and the economics don’t work, but that does not appear to be slowing its rapid adoption being driven by the oil and gas industry.
Series: The Hydrogen Lobby
Image: Air Product carbon capture in Port Arthur, screenshot. Credit: Air Products
Analysis
As Subsidies Roll in, the Fossil Fuel Industry Is Winning Efforts to Cast Blue Hydrogen as a ‘Clean’ Fuel
ByJustin Mikulka
on
From the U.S. to Japan, governments are quickly putting money behind oil and gas industry efforts selling blue hydrogen produced by natural gas with carbon capture as a clean fuel for the energy transition. But new research finds blue hydrogen may be no cleaner than burning natural gas.
Series: The Hydrogen Lobby
Large blue rectangular container with the words 'clean power hydrogen fuel cell' in white text on it