Confessions of a statistician
What do we really know about oil market fundamentals? This discussion of the avoidable and unavoidable pitfalls in oil statistics will probably change your opinion.
Consumption & Demand
Technofix bubbles of hydrogen and biofuels at Pentagon’s energy conversation
Energy in the form of hydrogen, as well as biofuels, is one of the few mainstays of hope for clinging to global economic growth. What of lifestyle change and truly sustainable, local economics? That’s not what’s being planned for you.
Bush energy plan whacks conservation
More than a dozen efficiency efforts are set for trims or elimination as the administration pushes long-term projects.
Energy use – May 31
Energy-hungry nations also most wasteful / Forget gas; we meed a plan to keep passenger trains rolling / Railroading Amtrak / Car culture in BC: Our toxic love affair /
High-rise residents big energy guzzlers / Computer server efficiency hot topic
Solutions & sustainability – May 29
“Freegans” forage for food in bins / Sustainability conference June 10-11 in Seattle / Richard Register’s proposal for a global rebuilding program / Micropatronage – a new way to finance innovation /
UK: Eco villages springing up all over / Evangelical Virginia farmer sees a revolution against industrial agriculture / Growing hope (gardening in Guantanamo) /
An evening in Peter Harper’s garden / Building with hemp
Solutions & sustainability – May 27
Why people are so bad at predicting what will make them feel good / Bicycle round-up / The next greed revolution (satire of green capitalism)
Other energy – May 25
Ecstasy and paralysis: Getting used to life without electricity in Africa / Energy demand may impact feed industry /
Money key driver in changing consumer attitudes to energy / Australia: Petrol prices hit car sales /
Consumer Reports: Gas prices having big impact
Can you still hate Wal-Mart?
It’s a shockingly eco-friendly plan from the world’s most toxic retailer. Did hell just freeze over?
Nova Scotia’s energy future: addiction vs. security
To many people, Canada is awash in energy, blindly shipping its “excess” to the United States. This is a misleading image in that almost all of Canada’s easternmost provinces rely on imported oil products. Nova Scotia is a case in point.
Other energy – May 24
London mayor opposes Thames salt water plant (fix leaks first) /
Squeezing oil out of stones in the Rockies (oil shale) /
A skeptic’s view of nuclear energy (what are we arguing about?) / Still bullish on oil
Former McDonald’s cook confesses
McDonald’s got me to college. I don’t just mean that I saved money by consuming tons of their cheap hamburgers and fries and gallons of milkshakes, which I did. I also worked there for three years, beginning at about $1 an hour.
After the prosthetic society
Prophecies of the future made on the basis of conventional wisdom just don’t wear very well. When I was growing up in the suburban America of the 1960s, everyone knew that by 2000 we’d have manned bases on the Moon and a Hilton hotel in orbit.
