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Category Archives: Energy

The Human Transportation System – Is Fundamental Change Coming?

Beyond the Automobile – The Human Transportation System: “…The auto-centric transportation system clearly stipulates the inferior place of people travelling on foot (“pedestrians”), but leaves those riding bicycles in an awkward and ambiguous position – is a person riding a bicycle a vehicle, or a pedestrian? Compared to motor vehicles, cyclists are vulnerable and slow,… Continue Reading

World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice

World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice. WILLIAM J. RIPPLE, CHRISTOPHER WOLF, THOMAS M. NEWSOME, MAURO GALETTI, MOHAMMED ALAMGIR, EILEEN CRIST, MAHMOUD I. MAHMOUD, WILLIAM F. LAURANCE, and 15,364 scientist signatories from 184 countries. November 13, 2017. Vol. XX, No. X BioScience. [Alliance of World Scientists] “Twenty-five years ago, the Union of Concerned Scientists… Continue Reading

How National Governments Can Help Smart Cities Succeed

How National Governments Can Help Smart Cities Succeed By Joshua New, Daniel Castro, and Matt Beckwith, Center for Data Innovation. October 30, 2017. “Cities around the world are undergoing two important transformations. First, they are growing. For the first time in history, a majority of the world’s population lives in urban areas. Second, they are… Continue Reading

Global Traffic Scorecard – A Guide to Congestion in the US

“The INRIX 2016 Traffic Scorecard analyzed congestion in 1,064 cities — 240 in the U.S. — across 38 countries. The visualization below shows the ranking of the top 100 U.S. cities by the number of peak hours the average commuter spent in congestion. It also includes the economic cost of congestion per driver and the… Continue Reading

Enigma Public – Helps Connect You To Free Public Data

The world’s broadest collection of public data. By India Kerle, Associate Product Manager, Enigma “Data released by federal departments, state agencies and the like can reveal trends or anomalies that are in the public’s interest for data journalists to cover. From housing and pricing to hiring and the environment, public data can be critical to piecing… Continue Reading

Electric Utility Generating Units: Repealing the Clean Power Plan

EPA: Electric Utility Generating Units: Repealing the Clean Power Plan Rule Summary Rule History Additional Resources Rule Summary – The Clean Power Plan established emission guidelines for states to follow in limiting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from existing power plants.  EPA is proposing to repeal the CPP and rescind the accompanying legal memorandum. Rule History… Continue Reading

The Human-Induced Earthquake Database

“The Human-Induced Earthquake Database (HiQuake) is the largest and most up-to-date database of earthquake sequences proposed to have been induced or triggered by human activity. The data are freely available to download in Microsoft Excel format for your own analysis. We endeavour to keep the database up-to-date and accurate…” See related article via the National… Continue Reading

BLM moves forward with plan for oil and gas leases on southern Utah lands rich in ancient Puebloan ruins

Salt Lake Tribune – Study of acreage spanning Recapture and Jenny canyons goes to public comment as the Bureau of Land Management pushes Trump’s ‘America First’ energy strategy: “The Bureau of Land Management plans to move forward on nearly 52,000 acres of proposed oil and gas leases in archaeologically sensitive parts of southeastern Utah. Among… Continue Reading

Congressional Research Service Reports on Disaster Response

Via FAS [many thanks as always to Steven Aftergood] – a complement of new and recent applicable critical CRS resources on subject matter pertinent to Hurricane Harvey, including flood response and recovery, oils and chemical spills, flood insurance, disaster assistance and housing, and dam safety. These documents are especially important in light of this report… Continue Reading

Words ‘climate change’ removed from NIH website removes

Update via the Observer, August 25, 2017 – Energy Department Tells Scientist to Remove ‘Climate Change’ From Study – “On August 24, the Trump administration’s Department of Energy censored a Facilities Integrating Collaborations for User Science proposal from Dr. Jennifer Bowen, an associate professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. She posted a screenshot of the email on Facebook,… Continue Reading

Dept of Energy Report to Secretary on Electricity Markets and Reliability

“Secretary Rick Perry directed his staff to develop a report including an assessment of the reliability and resilience of the electric grid and an overview of the evolution of electricity markets. The study contains a comprehensive analysis and series of recommendations from the Department of Energy staff meant to inform and guide policy makers, regulators, and… Continue Reading