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Category Archives: Energy

The Economist – The state of the climate in 2016

“A UN climate talks in Marrakesh enter their final few days, leaders have a lot on their minds. Political support for a green agenda will wane in America next year. Barack Obama has led international environmental-protection efforts; Donald Trump plans to oppose them. The switch comes just as a new report from the World Meteorological… Continue Reading

GAO Reports – Drug Compounding, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Hazardous Materials Rail Shipments, Youth with Autism

Certificated Expenditures: Executive Office of the President Fiscal Year 2015 Certificated Expenditures Were Spent for Authorized Purposes, GAO-17-116R: Published: Nov 17, 2016. Publicly Released: Nov 17, 2016. Drug Compounding: FDA Has Taken Steps to Implement Compounding Law, but Some States and Stakeholders Reported Challenges, GAO-17-64: Published: Nov 17, 2016. Publicly Released: Nov 17, 2016. Federal… Continue Reading

“one-stop-shop” of data sources useful to anyone wishing to analyze fracking data

Fracking Data – Fracking data, chemicals, toxicities, source code [searchable] Khepry Quixote  – “This site will grow, especially in the domain of “blended” data, for example, the blending of fracking chemical disclosure data with each chemical’s recognized or suspected toxicity.  It is my intent to evolve the various fracking datasets into spatially-oriented datasets and blend… Continue Reading

Paper – Young People’s Burden: Requirement of Negative CO2 Emissions

Dahr Jamail, Truthout – Report: “…September of this year saw Earth pass a dramatic threshold — one that signifies our entrance into a new era of anthropogenic climate disruption (ACD). September 2016 will now be remembered as the month that Earth passed the threshold of 400 ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere permanently, according to… Continue Reading

Federal government owns lots of planes!

Reported Inventory, Use, and Cost of Federally Owned Aircraft, GAO-17-73R: Published: Oct 31, 2016. Publicly Released: Oct 31, 2016: “Federally owned aircraft are operated by agencies to fulfill their diverse missions. As of July 2016, 11 federal agencies owned 924 aircraft, excluding those that are loaned/leased/provided to other entities. This inventory included: 495 airplanes, 414… Continue Reading

Fracking Linked to Cancer-Causing Chemicals, New YSPH Study Funds

News release: “An expansive new analysis by Yale School of Public Health researchers confirms that numerous carcinogens involved in the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing have the potential to contaminate air and water in nearby communities. Fracking is now common in the United States, currently occurring in 30 states, and with millions of people living… Continue Reading

The Stanford Ocean Acidification Experience

Virtual Human Interaction Lab: “This experience is free to download and can be viewed on the HTC Vive. There are two ways to download: Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/409020; Viveport: https://www.viveport.com/apps/01fc6ba4-e24e-476b-9682-b40839614213 “Most people have never heard of ocean acidification—the process by which the ocean becomes more acidic as it absorbs carbon dioxide (CO2) that has been emitted into the… Continue Reading

EPA IG Reports Drinking Water Contamination in Flint

Follow up to previous postings on water contamination in Flint, Michigan – see the EPA IG report, Management Alert: Drinking Water Contamination in Flint, Michigan, Demonstrates a Need to Clarify EPA Authority to Issue Emergency Orders to Protect the Public – and accompanying pocast and video, posted on October 201, 2016: “This report is an… Continue Reading

GAO – EPA estimates over $650 billion in expenditures for cities to upgrade water infrastructure

Water Infrastructure: Information on Selected Midsize and Large Cities with Declining Populations, GAO-16-785: Published: Sep 15, 2016. Publicly Released: Oct 17, 2016 “EPA estimates water and sewer utilities will need to spend $655 billion over the next 20 years to maintain, upgrade, or replace water infrastructure. Many midsize and large cities that lost a large… Continue Reading