In the Energy Industry and Elsewhere, We’re Surrounded by BS
I get a real charge out of obviously disingenuous remarks. Yesterday we had Donald Trump’s thanking Vladimir Putin for expelling 755 members of the U.S. state department from Russia, on the basis that this will reduce the U.S. federal government’s payroll. Apparently, Trump is depending on his supporters’ ignorance (fancy that), i.e., that they can’t figure out that these emissaries have not been fired, and that they’re still receiving paychecks. He’s also talking to people who don’t understand that these people added a great deal of value to our national security. (more…)
Common discourse about reducing society’s impact on the environment usually centers what we can do in our own lives to change the world for the better. While choosing 
A commenter asked for my viewpoints on the coal industry, while claiming, incorrectly, that it’s supported by everyone except environmentalists who are “extremist and idealist.” Here goes:
Per yesterday’s Writer’s Almanac:
Question: Who said the following, and when did he/she say it?
From 
I know it’s improper to be amused at catastrophe, but the excesses of the current administration are making that a little tough. Here’s what we’re getting with Trump’s nominee for the Department of Agriculture’s top scientist, Sam Clovis: 
I try not to miss the annual 
We can learn a great deal from the 
Would-be entrepreneurs sometimes fall into the trap of being too close to their idea to see it objectively, and wrongly assume that everyone’s as enthusiastic about it as they are themselves. This seems to be a wonderful case in point: “
