Here’s is an interesting article which points out reasons why the Keystone pipeline was a bad deal all along. Of course this is contrary to Bob’s article and point of view expressed in his blog earlier today, but in an effort to be fair and balanced I thought it was worth posting. This decision was [...]
Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category
Two Sides to Every Dispute
Posted in Environment, tagged Energy, Environment, Heineman, Keystone Pipeline, Obama Administration, Oil, TransCanada on January 18, 2012 | 1 Comment »
The Keystone Pipeline And Lilliput
Posted in America, Entertainment, Environment, Politics, Reflections, tagged America, Democrats, Energy, Environment, Environmentalists, Gulliver, Jobs, Keystone Pipeline, Labor Unions, Lilliput, Middle East, Oil, President Obama, Republicans on January 18, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Today President Obama rejected a proposal to build the Keystone Pipeline. It is one of those decisions, I think, that carries a deeper message about our country, its leaders, and where we are headed. The proposed pipeline would run 1,700 miles, carrying oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. It was opposed by environmentalists, [...]
Lawn Service
Posted in Environment, Growing Up, Reflections, Uncategorized, Work on December 17, 2011 | 2 Comments »
I’ve just come in from doing my weekly “lawn service” chores. At this time of year that is reduced to “raking” leaves and pine straw off the yard and driveway. I say “raking.” That’s what it used to be. Now it’s blowing. No one rakes much of anything anymore, everyone blows their leaves, grass clippings [...]
Looking To Frack Up The Utica Shale
Posted in Environment, Ohio, Technology on October 13, 2011 | 1 Comment »
In Ohio, the efforts to tap into the oil and natural gas buried deep in the Utica Shale formation are moving ahead rapidly, notwithstanding concerns on the part of environmentalists and some legislators about the potential impact. Today the Columbus Dispatch ran an article noting that permits to drill and use hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” [...]
Upbeat About The Utica Shale
Posted in Environment, Ohio, Politics, Technology, tagged Chesapeake Energy Corp., Eastern Ohio, Environment, Ohio, Oil and Gas, Politics, Technology, Utica Shale Formation on September 28, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Eastern Ohio — home to many depressed communities and unemployed residents — is becoming a boom area thanks to a rock formation called the Utica Shale. The Utica Shale lies far below the surface under parts of eight states. Geologists believe that it may contain huge reserves of natural gas and oil and that one [...]
‘Shroom Season
Posted in Columbus, Environment, Food, Ohio, weather, tagged Columbus, Environment, Food, Meadow Mushrooms, Mushrooms, Ohio, weather on September 19, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
It’s been a wet and humid few weeks in central Ohio, and we now have some unexpected fungal visitors in our front yard. It’s the first time I can remember finding mushrooms in the lawn itself, as opposed to in the shady and damp areas underneath trees and shrubs in our flower beds. These are [...]
The Shores Of Lake Erie, As They Once Were
Posted in Environment, Ohio, tagged Bird-watching, birds, Environment, Herons, Huron, Lake Erie, Ohio, Sheldon Marsh Nature Preserve, Wetlands on September 18, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
When we were up at Lake Erie over the summer, Russell and I took a long walk through the beautiful Sheldon Marsh Nature Preserve. Located in Erie County, the 465-acre Preserve contains some of the last undisturbed stretches of natural Lake Erie shoreline. Strolling through the Preserve gives you a good sense of the sprawling [...]
Quakin’ All Over
Posted in Columbus, Environment, Ohio, tagged Columbus, earthquakes, East Coast Earthquake, Environment, Ohio on August 23, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I was sitting at my desk this afternoon when suddenly everything started shaking. It was a weird sensation. I suddenly felt the building swaying, and the air pressure changed and affected my inner ears. It felt like a wall of air was moving through the room, and I wondered if I was just imagining things. [...]
Giving Taxpayers The Bird
Posted in America, Environment, Politics, tagged America, Budget Deficit, Environment, Federal Spending, Politics, Sage Grouse, United States Department of Agriculture, USDA on August 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The United States Department of Agriculture — the same entity that proved unable to answer the question a farmer posed to President Obama recently — is paying western farmers and ranchers millions of dollars to protect a bird that is not on the endangered species list because there are too many of them. The bird [...]
Green, But No Green
Posted in America, Environment, Politics, Technology, tagged America, Environment, green technology, New York Times, Politics, Solar Power, Technology, Wind power on August 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday the New York Times published an interesting story about “green jobs.” It found that, despite being the focus of government subsidies and targeted jobs creation efforts, “green” businesses really haven’t produced much green — in the form of cash payments to new workers and employees. The article found that “clean technology” jobs account for [...]
“Cloud Whitening” And The Hubris Of Science
Posted in Environment, Science, weather, tagged climate change, Climate science, Cloud Whitening, Environment, Environmental engineering, global warming, Science, weather on April 6, 2011 | 3 Comments »
I know that people disagree about the science and causes of “global warming,” but can we all agree that having scientists engage in large-scale environmental science experiments is not a great idea? Consider the proposal to engage in “cloud whitening.” Humans would spray fine droplets of sea water into the air. The theory is that [...]
The Horrors Of Recycled Paper Napkins
Posted in Environment, Humor, Work, tagged Coffee Cups, Environment, green technology, Humor, Office workers, Recycled products, recycling, Work on March 4, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Our office has long tried to be “green.” We recycle paper products and aluminum cans. We don’t use styrofoam coffee cups. And, recently, we started using recycled paper napkins at our coffee stations. The napkins are brown and are proudly stamped with the green recycle stamp and the messages “Made with 100% recycled material” and [...]
Big Yellow Diamond
Posted in Environment, Reflections, Work, World, tagged Africa, Child Labor, Diamond Mining, Diamonds, Environment, gems, jewelry, News, Reflections, Sun Drop Diamond, Work, World on February 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The BBC has a story about an exceptionally large, and therefore exceptionally rare, yellow diamond. The tear drop-cut stone weighs more than 110 carats and is called the Sun Drop. The BBC story explains that its yellow color is caused by traces of nitrogen in the carbon for the stone. (Other colored stones are caused [...]
The Road Kill Blues
Posted in Environment, Ohio, tagged Car-Deer Accidents, Deer, Driving, Environment, New Albany, Ohio, Road Kill on January 14, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
New Albany is one of those suburbs that sprang up quickly in the 1990s, taking the area from rural to developed in a few short years. The town planners left many wooded areas that separate the various developments and give the area a semi-rural feel that ties in well with New Albany’s signature white fences. [...]
The Sounds Of A Summer Night
Posted in Columbus, Environment, Ohio, tagged Columbus, Environment, Family, house and grounds, insects, Ohio, summer on July 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Cousin Jeff is in town, and last night after dinner he, Kish and I sat out on our patio in the darkness, talking. As we chatted, I was struck by how loud the background sounds of a summer evening can be. There was a steady, discernible buzz of different insect noises, led by the high-pitched, [...]
