Photo via the New Republic It's a widely held notion that politicians have long been in the pocket of Big Oil. And there's good reason for that perception: oil companies' huge campaign donations, vast lobbying power, and close ties to politicians have ensured that their taxes remain low , that hidden subsidies are around to provide extra funding, and that they receive preferential treatment in US energy policy. But there could be a new, ... View original post here: The Next Big Oil: Big Smart Grid?
So there really isn't anything that deep to this image. It's just a (more or less) life-sized blue whale eye. And on the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society site you can educate yourself/be mesmerized/ waste some time for a while staring at it while the entire life-sized animal scrolls across your browser window. Believe me, it's way cooler than you might think:... Read more from the original source: Ever See a Blue Whale Life-Sized on Your Computer? Now You Can
published July 19, 2010 and has No Comments
Watch out for curry-laden ricochets! Image credit: Kalebeul. This is one of those classic good news / bad news stories which makes you wonder if the scientists working on it have all their marbles. The 'good news' discovery is this: coriander and tumeric (the yellowing agent in curry) has been show to cut cow- and sheep-fart methane content by ...
Read more...published July 16, 2010 and has No Comments
Drought's expression. Image credit: Wired In Russia, half this year's crops are lost to drought - "Winter wheat crops are 50% of the yield, and spring crops, in some cases, are going to be virtually none." - and hundreds of vodka pickled swimmers have drowned while seeking respite from the extreme heat. BBC has covered the impacts of extreme ...
Read more...published July 10, 2010 and has No Comments
Double-crested cormorants typical of the sort that frequent eastern Lake Ontario. Image credit: Wikipedia Locals are weighing in early against plans to install hundreds of wind turbines in the shallows of Eastern Lake Ontario. The NY Power Authority-proposed project is purported to be ' not in the economic interest of the community ' as reported in the Tonanwanda News ...
Read more...published July 9, 2010 and has No Comments
Image from flocks Dutch designer Christien Meindertsma is a bit of an obsessive personality. She is very very interested in "the products we consume and the materials they are made of". To that end she spends years researching every aspect of the material that she is working with. These large and comfy looking poufs would be perfect for watching ...
Read more...published June 28, 2010 and has No Comments
Blue Rocks Glacial Deposit, Berks Co. PA. Image credit: Bridge & Tunnel Club This headline from Patriot News (PennLive.com) tells the tale succinctly: "Republican state lawmaker calls for party to 'lead on environmental issues'" A headline like that has the feel of a political gusher tipped open by the BP debacle . It's reminiscent of when Republican President Richard ...
Read more...published June 25, 2010 and has No Comments
Old Buick drivers lobby 'till the wheels are off. Image credit: Jennifer Zimmerman, Pbase The codger lobby is frantically arguing that smart metering will bring added expense to the low income retiree. It's paranoid, unsubstantiated thinking and it's working. The Maryland Public Service Commission has sunk a flagship smart grid initiative of the Obama Administration, As reported in the ...
Read more...published June 22, 2010 and has No Comments
Image credit: mobileslaughter.com When I was kid in Wisconsin every self-respecting city had it's own brewery, and a "soda pop" bottler, and an actual butcher. At the largest scale, slaughtery achieved regional prominence - Green Bay Packers got their name from meat packing for example - and farm markets were how you got truly fresh produce. So began the ...
Read more...published June 21, 2010 and has No Comments
This image from 2008 shows deep crevasses in Pine Island Glacier (in the square), indications of its rapid movement. Photo: NASA . Some new research on the rapidly melting Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica offers some more detail on why it is losing ice so precipitously. Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey and the Lamon... Read the full story ...
Read more...published June 17, 2010 and has No Comments
Image credit: FloodDamage.Data.org I probably could have listed other things that will increase commensurate with climate change: like doomsday cults, prohibitionist movements and radical political groups, for example. But I wanted to focus on investment and budget control opportunities people are overlooking. Let's start by analyzing the latter. In their 2002 paper, The Political Economy of FEMA Disaster Payments, ...
Read more...published June 17, 2010 and has No Comments
Image credit: FloodDamage.Data.org I probably could have listed other things that will increase commensurate with climate change: like doomsday cults, prohibitionist movements and radical political groups, for example. But I wanted to focus on investment and budget control opportunities people are overlooking. Let's start by analyzing the latter. In their 2002 paper, The Political Economy of FEMA Disaster Payments, ...
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The office building, going for LEED Platinum, is built on top of a brick factory from another era. It rises to the challenge. Go here to read the rest: The Centre For Green Cities At Evergreen Brickworks Demonstrates How To ...
"The stakes are very high and scientists are not the best people to deal with the social, ethical or political issues that geoengineering raises." View original here: Geoengineering is a Technical Fix for a Political Problem
