America's dependence on oil is one of the most serious threats that our nation has faced. It bankrolls dictators, pays for nuclear proliferation and funds both sides of our struggle against terrorism. It puts the American people at the mercy…
Monthly Archives: January 2009
Drugs in the Water
by oliveridley • January 26, 2009
When researchers analyzed vials of treated wastewater taken from a plant where about 90 Indian drug factories dump their residues, they were shocked. Enough of a single, powerful antibiotic was being spewed into one stream each day to treat every…
Climate Change – Killing Trees in Our Neighbourhood
by oliveridley • January 22, 2009
Well, anyone who says that temperate countries could do with a little warming ought to read this study. Trees are dying at double the usual rate in the last 17 years. Warmer temperatures have dramatically increased the rate at which…
Tar sands smog seen worsening
by oliveridley • January 21, 2009
Pollution will continue to plague Alberta’s oil sands despite plans to pipe harmful greenhouse gases deep underground, according to documents obtained by the Toronto Star. Part of the task of cleaning up the oil sands involves capturing carbon dioxide emissions…
A Chartchooser for excel/powerpoint
by oliveridley • January 19, 2009
Having trouble selecting the right kind of graph/table for your data? Think that excel’s default colour options are, for the lack of a better term, sucky? Then you might like this site that lets you choose the right kind of…
Tim Dechristopher and Oil Leases in Utah Update
by oliveridley • January 18, 2009
I had blogged recently about how one guy gamed an auction of Utah public lands to prevent the sale of sensitive land to oil and gas companies. It looks like he may be off the hook, at least temporarily. A…
Gulf States spending more on Clean Energy than Canada
by oliveridley • January 13, 2009
Gasoline sells for 45 cents a gallon. There is little public transportation and no recycling. Residents drive between air-conditioned apartments and air-conditioned malls, which are lighted 24/7 Still, the region’s leaders know energy and money, having built their wealth on…
Bibliographies for the 21st century, why Zotero rules!
by oliveridley • January 9, 2009
Many scientists now manage the bulk of their bibliographic information electronically, thereby organizing their publications and citation material from digital libraries. However, a library has been described as “thought in cold storage,” and unfortunately many digital libraries can be cold,…
Autism epidemic not caused by shifts in diagnoses; environmental factors likely
by oliveridley • January 9, 2009
California’s sevenfold increase in autism cannot be explained by changes in doctors’ diagnoses and most likely is due to environmental exposures, University of California scientists reported. The scientists who authored the new study advocate a nationwide shift in autism research…
Tim Dechristopher, Environmental Hero
by oliveridley • January 7, 2009
An act of quite some chutzpah, “outbidding” oil and gas companies in a public land auction. The land was going over for even more oil and gas exploration at a time when we should really be ramping down gas and…