Peak oil – June 26
Our future(s) #2: scenario coaster / PO group near Cleveland / U.S. and PO production: does it matter? / Labor MP: our only hope lies in a new energy world order / David Howell: End of the oil age in sight? / Kunstler: alt.brains
Staff
Environment – June 26
Geoscientists discover Earth’s carbon sink switch / Cement makers seen as a key global-warming culprit / Lloyds of London: ‘Adapt or bust’ on climate change / Hints on climate change from Maori traditions
Renewables – June 26
Hey kids! It’s a DIY solar thermal panel! / SF mayor: Catch a wave to make power / UK homeowners get green light for ‘eyesore’ wind turbines / Large-scale, cheap solar electricity
Solutions & sustainability – June 26
‘Green chemistry’ pays off / Think globally? Act domestically. / ‘How green Is my conscience?’ / Vancouver to Halifax on a gallon of gas – 3,145 mpg / A slow-road movement? / A waste of energy (NYT on Congress inaction)
CPULs – Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes – Andre Viljoen (2006)
Great book, terrible title. Andre Viljoen has put together a book of the most profound importance at this point in history. How will we feed our cities beyond the age of cheap oil?
Feds deflate Midwestern wind farms
The federal government has stopped work on more than a dozen wind farms planned across the Midwest, saying research is needed on whether the giant turbines could interfere with military radar. But backers of wind power say the action has little to do with national security. The real issue, they say, is a group of wealthy vacationers who think a proposed wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod would spoil the view at their summer homes. (Several articles)
A realtor’s view from Hubbert’s Peak
How will peak oil play out in real estate? … Shortly before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit our Gulf and southeast coasts last August, we reached, I feel, a peak in real estate values that we will probably not see again in our lifetimes.
Environment – June 25
Greenland’s ice sheet is slip-sliding away / Study finds strong warming tie to hurricanes /
Humans ‘destroying coastal life’ since Roman times
Ethanol questioned – Jun 25
Ethanol Boom Reshapes Economy of Heartland /
A Range of Estimates on Ethanol’s Benefits (EROEI) /
Grain drain /
Fill ‘er Up — With Food /
Add Biobutanol To Your Vocab Of Alternative Fuels
Fuel tax magic
A heavy carbon tax means enormous revenues, enough to eliminate not just workers’ social security payments but, most likely, all federal income taxes on everyone’s first $100,000 of income, and state sales taxes to boot. Most important, the carbon tax could revitalize our society.
Being the change
I was so stimulated to be among people who had chosen to take a course in environmental leadership that I found myself being outraged and confrontational when they ran contrary to my expectations. I succumbed to being “greener than thou”.
Russia’s plight: A cautionary tale about the need to relocalize
What kind of mess would we find ourselves in, should a sudden reduction in the scope of trade relations visit the entire globe – a reduction precipitated by extremely high oil prices?
