We’ve all seen comparisons of the virtues of electric vehicles to their internal combustion counterparts, and noticed that they seem to exclude the many different externalities of oil: lung disease, environmental damage, national security, etc. Most people believe that we …
Category: Fossil Fuels
Thanksgiving – An Appropriate Time to Appreciate Mankind’s Benefactors
Albert Einstein left us a number of gifts, most obviously his landmark breakthroughs in theoretical physics. The other, in my estimation, is the utter truckload of pithy philosophic quotes about mankind’s role in the universe. If you’re looking for something …
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New Environmental Review for Tar Sands Pipeline
By any standards, the folks at the Sierra Club have been terrifically effective at leaning on government with respect to environmental policy. On November 10, the Obama administration announced that it would order a new environmental review for the Keystone …
Tagged with: alternative energy, clean energy, fossil fuels, green energy, Obama, Renewable Energy, tar sands pipeline
World Energy Outlook Roars Out a Warning
Here’s the latest report of the International Energy Agency, which is run by many of the world’s largest oil-consuming nations. It’s an annual piece called “World Energy Outlook,” and warns that without radical changes in the world’s energy infrastructure in …
U.S. Carbon Emissions Have Fallen Sharply
Earth Policy Institute’s Lester R. Brown credits the Sierra Club and other activist groups for creating the conditions under which U.S. carbon emissions have fallen precipitously over the last couple of years – largely due to our new-found distaste for …
Bellingham, WA Not Happy Being Waystation for Coal Bound for China
Here’s an NPR spot on Bellingham, WA and their new rail terminal that will facilitate the shipment of enormous quantities of coal from Montana and Wyoming to China. Understandably, locals are not happy. Though some folks are salivating over the …
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The Movie “Fuel” — Terrific Flick on the Oil Industry
To my shame, it was just now that I watched the movie “Fuel”; here’s a link to the film on YouTube. I only wish I had the talent to make media so wonderfully accessible, so beautifully immediate in its impact. …
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Don’t Miss This Article on Natural Gas Fracking
For those interested in keeping up with the debate on natural gas fracking, here’s a terrific article by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Perhaps most disturbing is the underlying message: it’s impossible to know whom and what to believe.
How Subsidies Can Drive Energy Innovation
The other day, a friend referred to the $70 billion provided annually to the fossil fuel industries as a “mosquito bite,” i.e., a negligible bit in the scheme of things. That is certainly one way of looking at it. But …
Daniel Yergin’s Talk on Energy Policy
To make good on my promise to write something about Daniel Yergin’s talk the other night at UCSB, he’s obviously a very bright guy whose travels and studies are quite impressive, and the talk was interesting to a point. But …
