We have a 'tremendously chaotic' climate on the way, climate expert warns Fresh off his resignation from NASA, leading climate scientist James Hansen is making the rounds this week, warning media and lawmakers that not only are we heading for a "tremendously chaotic" climate, but if we dig up and burn Canadian tar sands, the climate crisis will be rendered … [Read more...]
Why it’s imperative that we conserve energy now
As everyone is aware by now, the US is headed towards energy independence 2030, thanks to unconventional sources of oil and gas. If you believe the mainstream media, that is. However, if you know anything about energy, the happy talk that energy from tar sands, fracking and deepwater oil will replace all of America's imports today and in the future is clearly too good to … [Read more...]
Peak oil gets pepper sprayed
How many Saudi Arabias did you say that was? It's hard to keep up these days with claims by oil and gas drillers about how many Saudi Arabia-sized reserves of tar sands oil/shale oil/deepwater oil/hydrofracked gas that North America is now allegedly able to access due to the smarts of petroleum geologists and the tenacity of oilmen. "Because of better technology, notably … [Read more...]
Even the electric chair probably created jobs
While attending a conference for solar energy companies from the Mid-Atlantic states held last week in Washington, DC, I picked up a copy of The Hill, a newspaper for Washington insiders that comes out daily when Congress is in session. And I marveled at the full page ads taken out by big government contractors and industry lobby groups and directed at members of Congress and … [Read more...]
The White House and tar sands
Let us return for a moment to election night 2008. As I sat in our farm house in Pennsylvania, watching Barack Obama's victory speech, I turned my head aside so my wife would not see the tears in my eyes. I suspect that millions cried. It was a great day for America. We had great hopes for Barack Obama - perhaps our dreams were unrealistic - he is only human. But it is … [Read more...]