Yearly Archives: 2016

Corrosion eats $552 billion of infrastructure a year (6% of GDP)

Preface. United States infrastructure was built when the EROI of oil was very high and minerals and metals were cheap due to high ore concentrations. This study was done in 2002, since then, things have gotten much worse (see ASCE … Continue reading

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Coal plants are causing water shortages in China

Wong, E. March 22, 2016. Report Ties Coal Plants to Water Shortage in Northern China. New York Times. China’s consumption of coal, a major contributor to climate change and the country’s horrific air pollution, is worsening a severe water shortage … Continue reading

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Don’t export LNG to Europe, they have their own natural gas

Preface. The congressional record is full of senators, representatives, and witnesses trying to sell U.S. shale “fracked” gas as LNG to Europe so that they aren’t beholden to Russia.  Well uh-oh, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the chickens have … Continue reading

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Why we need a diverse electricity generation portfolio: House hearing 2013

House 113-12. March 5, 2013. American Energy security and innovation. The role of a diverse electricity generation portfolio. House of Representatives. 135 pages. June 5, 2015. Proposed Clean Power Plan would accelerate renewable additions and coal plant retirements. U.S. Energy … Continue reading

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Nature: All women in the world should have the right to birth control

Source: Masri L (2019) “Two is enough” Egypt tells poor families as population booms. The Star. Preface. Nature is one of the top science journals, so it is a big deal that Nature finally acknowledged a growing population will wreak … Continue reading

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67% of USA counties still in recession — lower incomes than 2009

[ Time magazine points out that most of the green counties are oil drilling locations, which in 2016 are quickly losing jobs ] Wilson, C. December 15, 2015. See How Well Your Neighbors Have Recovered From the Recession. Time Magazine. … Continue reading

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Nearly a third of cacti threatened with extinction

Illegal trade contributes to placing cacti among world’s most threatened species – IUCN Red List 05 October 2015 | International news release Gland, Switzerland, 5 October 2015 (IUCN) – Thirty-one percent of cactus species are threatened with extinction, according to … Continue reading

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Chemicals banned in cosmetics

The environmental working group has this to say about cosmetics: “American families assume personal care products on the market today have been tested by the federal government. Unfortunately, the personal care products industry remains largely unregulated. The FDA does not … Continue reading

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Why the Grid is getting less reliable. House Hearing 2013.

House 113-40. May 9, 2013. Grid reliability challenges in a shifting energy resource landscape. U.S. House of Representatives. 176 pages. Mr. Jonathan A. Lesser, President Continental Economics, Inc. [This is a really good introduction to how the grid works and … Continue reading

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Alternative fuels to replace transportation oil. U.S. House hearing 2012

House 112–159. July 10, 2012. The American energy initiative part 23: A focus on Alternative Fuels and vehicles. House of Representatives. [ Excerpts from this 210 page transcript follow ] MIKE BREEN, Vice President of the Truman National Security Project.   … Continue reading

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