Graphical Whiplash
Apologies for the graphical whiplash. I had some issues (*cough*hackedagain*cough*) that were most easily dealt with by changing themes. I promise to get the Easy-Do Parties lady back in her proper place at some point soon.
Archive of entries posted by jfleck
Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere
On whether advocates of reducing greenhouse emissions should be celebrating the compromise energy bill announced over the weekend.
In Search of the Climate-Energy Solution Space
I ran across two interesting comments in the blogworld yesterday in response to the new McKinsey report on U.S. greenhouse emissions opportunities. The report lays out a lot of enticing cost-benefit analyses of various greenhouse gas emissions options throughout the U.S. economy. The first came from Grist commenter Sean Casten: I agree – great message, …
Continue reading ‘In Search of the Climate-Energy Solution Space’ »
The Christmas Tree Thing
I’m unclear on antipodal Christmas rituals, but apparently this is another area the Australian drought is being felt: With the Christmas tree season beginning this weekend, growers reported their crops would be up to 75 per cent smaller than previous years because of dry conditions last year. But decent rains this year have been good …
Dude, How Did I Miss The Most Important Drought Story Of The Year?
From ABC News: A severe drought that has parched corn and soybean fields across the Southeast has also scorched marijuana crops, leaving plants that should be 10 feet tall so puny that Roberts and his deputies simply pull them up. (Hat tip waterblogged.b)
Biofuels Troubles
According to an Ernst and Young analysis, things are getting a little gnarly out on the biofuels frontier. From Platts: The global biofuels industry has seen a slowdown in growth over the third quarter of 2007, caused by rising feedstock prices and a rapid expansion in capacity that may outstrip demand, according to an Ernst …
This Week in Petroleum
TWIP this week explains the disconnect between the rise in the price of oil and the rise in the price of gasoline: The main reason for the surge in gasoline prices over crude oil seems to have been unusually extensive U.S. refinery outages, which also pushed the limits of gasoline import availability. In the face …
Measles Drop
This is happy news: Improved routine immunization programs and huge national drives to give children a second dose of the inexpensive measles vaccine have contributed to a stunning 91 percent reduction in measles mortality across Africa, with deaths plunging to 36,000 last year from 396,000 in 2000, the World Health Organization and Unicef reported.
U.S. Greenhouse Emissions Drop
A shift from coal to natural gas for generating electricity contributed to a 1.5 percent drop in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2006 as compared to 2005, according to an EIA report out today. We’re 15 percent above 1990. Platts story (which I have read) Full report (which I haven’t read) update: from the comments, …
Wiring the Desert
Nature has a story on a massive Sahara-based solar energy proposal to be presented to the European Parliament in Brussels tomorrow (Thursday Nov. 28). The price tag mentioned in the story sounds enormous: US$595 billion. The political complications sound vexing. But hey, couldn’t be any harder than retrofitting coal plants for carbon capture, could it? …