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- Canadian Oil Sands Flyover
An aerial/telephoto exploration of the Canadian Oil Sands operations. Two trillion barrels of oil in the ground. Pyramids of sulfur and coke. Lakes of oil stretching to the horizon. At $200k/yr, it's easy to understand how one might get roped in, gold rush style. - Clean energy will unfortunately be political
Conservative thinktanks step up attacks against Obama's clean energy strategy, as revealed by ALEC bills and other PR documents. This morning at the World Renewable Energy Forum, in response to a (long winded) question about how we might re-frame the energy discussion in light of the unfortunate hay which was made from Solyndra's failure, US Energy Secretary Stephen Chu re-iterated that clean energy should not be a political issue -- that it's just common sense. That may be true, but it doesn't mean it will remain apolitical. As Pericles once said... "Just because you do not take an interest in - The Dangerous World of Underground Chemistry
A look at the increasingly outsourced world of underground pharma. Domestic black-market chemists handle R&D and distribution, and the actual manufacturing is done in China. Seems that way with everything. - Google Street View for building energy efficiency
Essess is doing drive-by thermal imaging in high density urban areas across the US, hoping to target possible building energy efficiency opportunities. Another company is using urban satellite imagery to choose the best rooftops for solar energy siting. Big Brother may be watching you... but at least occasionally he's got the right idea. - The Neapolitan Mob’s Most Dangerous Family
A character sketch of Paolo di Lauro, one of the Neapolitan Camorra's former leaders. Southern Italy it seems, like some parts of Mexico, operates with more than one quasi-state organization governing in parallel. A tacit negotiation between the official and unofficial systems, which sometimes erupts into violence -- ironically, at those times when the so-called "criminal" organizations have become weak.
- Canadian Oil Sands Flyover
Twitterfeed
- Incredible photo essay on the Athabasca Tar Sands operations: businessinsider.com/canadian-oil-s… 4 days ago
- At a great talk about individual cities as the right scale for renewable energy systems innovation at #wref2012 1 week ago
- Heard rural Wyoming folk talking local Chinese coal/gas investments, hacking of their SCADA water system. I live in a @GreatDismal future. 1 week ago
- The tar sands have to stay in the ground. Stop the pipeline… again. And again. And again, if necessary. act.350.org/sign/kxl/ 3 months ago
- Roughly 2/3 of all the humans who have ever reached the age of 65 are alive today. 4 months ago
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Tag Archives: oil
Canadian Oil Sands Flyover
An aerial/telephoto exploration of the Canadian Oil Sands operations. Two trillion barrels of oil in the ground. Pyramids of sulfur and coke. Lakes of oil stretching to the horizon. At $200k/yr, it’s easy to understand how one might get roped … Continue reading
Colorado to preempt local regulation of oil and gas industries
(Fracking site close to Platteville, Colorado by Senator Mark Udall on Flickr) With the introduction of the Halliburton Loophole in 2005 the Federal government largely abdicated its role in regulating the water quality impacts of oil and gas extraction. Local … Continue reading
Coal Exports a Bigger Threat Than Tar Sands
Eric de Place does some simple calculations, which demonstrate that the planned coal export terminals in the Pacific Northwest will be a larger climate catastrophe than the temporarily delayed Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry Alberta tar sands bitumen to … Continue reading
Obama Delays Keystone XL Pipeline
The Obama Administration has delayed its decision on the Keystone XL Pipeline. I think this is a qualified victory for climate activists, and I think it’s incredible. A few months ago we hosted a cross-country caravan of Tar Sands Action … Continue reading
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Tagged canada, climate, keystone xl, kxl, obama, oil, pipeline, tarsands
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Is Keystone XL Really Game over? | RealClimate
RealClimate looks at Hansen and McKibben’s statements that the Keystone XL is essentially “game over” for the climate. All that really matters in the big picture is the absolute amount of carbon we release. How fast or slow we do … Continue reading
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Tagged bill mckibben, canada, climate, coal, gas, james hansen, kxl, oil, pipeline, tar sands
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Tar Sands Coming to America
The first US tar sands mine is set to open in northeastern Utah as soon as January 2013, with plans to expand aggressively thereafter. The leasing area straddles the Green River, between US-40 and US-50. Maps available here. It’s not … Continue reading
Location Efficiency More Important than Home Energy Efficiency
How important is Location Efficiency? Median US home price: $175k. With a traditional 20% down 30 year mortgage, total loan payments amount to about $350k. Utilities over the same timeframe are around $75k. And the cost of commuting from suburbia? … Continue reading
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Tagged cars, cities, energy, finance, oil, planning, suburbia, transportation
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Canada’s Tar Sands And Brazil’s Rainforest
An interesting moral/ethical comparison of Brazil and Canada’s environmental records. If we see fit to hold Brazil accountable for the state of the Amazon rainforest, then shouldn’t we also demand Canada leave the tar sands in the ground?
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Tagged amazon, brazil, canada, climate, oil, politics, rainforest
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Secret memos expose link between oil firms and invasion of Iraq
Secret memos expose link between oil firms and invasion of Iraq. I don’t know who could possibly be surprised by this, but it’s both nice and horrible to have unequivocal confirmation. Goes a long way toward normalizing Donald Trump’s plan … Continue reading
Corporate Climate Adaptation
The Carbon Disclosure Project is helping industry adapt to climate change. It’s almost painfully ironic that some of their biggest customers are electrical utilities, mining, and, of course, oil and gas. 75% of the Alaska Pipeline is built on permafrost. … Continue reading