Yesterday the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled that China breached international trade law by limiting the export of 17 rare earth elements and two metals used in steel alloys (molybdenum and tungsten). The case was originally brought before the WTO by the United States in March 2012; the European Union and Japan later joined in…
Ukraine Crisis Fueling Natural Gas Exports Debate
The Ukraine crisis is adding fuel to the natural gas export debate that’s been brewing in Congress. Sen. John Barrasso, R-WY, is proposing that an amendment to lift restrictions on U.S. natural-gas exports be added to the Senate aid package for Ukraine. On March 5, Sen. Mark Udall, D-CO, a senior member of the U.S….
New ACEEE Analysis – Why Is Electricity Use No Longer Growing?
The dynamics of electricity use are complicated. But with the ongoing muddlings regarding U.S. energy policy and the looming specter of climate change, it becomes critical that we do understand electricity usage. A new ACEEE (American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy) analysis by Steven Nadel and Rachel Young proposes that energy efficiency has become an…
Wildlands Fire in the American West – The New Fire Realities
It comes as no surprise to anyone living in the American West that wildlands fire is a major issue. Sally Mauk, of Montana Public Radio, recently interviewed wildlands fire expert Tom Zimmerman about the new realities of wildlands firefighting. As Ms. Mauk noted in her introduction to Mr. Zimmerman: In over three decades of fighting fire,…
The U.S. Energy-Climate World Upheaval: 2008-2014
If the recent U.S. energy-climate world seems like it’s in upheaval, that’s because it is. Amy Harder of the National Journal, just posted a good synopsis of the monumental changes in the U.S. energy-climate world with her article – The Five Biggest Energy Changes in the Past Six Years. Harder notes: In 2008, Washington was…
Greenland’s Fastest Glacier Now Flowing At Record Speeds
Jakobshavn Isbræ, Greenland’s fastest flowing glacier, has been moving even faster over the past several years. The Jakobshavn Glacier, or Jakobshavn Isbræ, is located on the west coast of Greenland and drains a major part of the Greenland ice sheet into a deep ocean fjord. Accordingly, the Jakobshavn Glacier could add significantly to sea level…
A Year of Weather for 2013 Via an 8-minute Video
Watch this video to see the day by day weather of 2913 compressed into 8 minutes. The video content comes from American, European, and Japanese satellite imagery. EUMETSAT, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, compiled the video, complete with audio commentary. NASA’s Blue Marble project is the source for the video background….
Natural Gas and Climate Change
The rise in natural gas production, particularly in the U.S., has unquestionably impacted the global energy equation. Fueled by the unconventional-natural-gas revolution, natural gas is now a significant factor in the U.S. and global energy mix. As Sonal Patel summarized from the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) 2013 World Energy Outlook (WEO-2013): By 2035, natural gas…
2014 AWG Canadian Rockies Geology Field Trip – Registration Now Open
Registration is now open for the Association for Women (AWG) Geoscientists 2014 Canadian Rockies Geology Field Trip. All registration information and associated forms are posted on the AWG website at: AWG 2014 Field Trip. The AWG 2014 Canadian Rockies field trip is scheduled for August 28 to September 7, 2014, and will be the field trip…
Rising Seas and Carbon Footprint Visualizations
New sets of interactive maps help to visualize both the impact of rising seas on the world’s coastlines and U.S household carbon footprints.National Geographic has posted a set of world-wide interactive maps that show new coastal outlines resulting from the premise of all ice melting and thus raising sea level approximately 216 feet. As noted…
Top Five 2014 Energy/Environmental Priorities of the EU
I thought that it’s instructive for anyone interested in US energy/environmental policy to look at what the EU has on its 2014 agenda. Environmental journalist Sonja van Renssen outlines the top 5 EU energy/environmental issues. The issue priorities are: The biggest issue on the agenda will be the climate and energy package to be unveiled by the European…
Dead Mud Encroaches On To Maine’s Shellfish Flats
“Dead mud” is not a geologic term that I had heard before. But it well describes a geologic event that may have catastrophic implications for coastal areas as oceans continue to acidify. The Maine coastal areas are being particularly hard hit with dead mud: The spread of “dead mud” among Maine’s shellfish flats could have…
Montana Energy News Roundup
During the last week, several significant energy-related events that peaked my interest occurred. Here’s a brief summary of those that I think are worth noting: – Northwestern Energy (NWE) formally requested a withdrawal of the Mountain States Transmission Intertie (MSTI) Right-of-Way application from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. NWE submitted the request for right-of-way…
Sagan 2013 Lecture: Terra Sapiens -The Role of Science in Fostering a Wisely Managed Earth
So you couldn’t go to the 2013 American Geophysical Union’s Fall meeting in San Francisco? Now at least we can listen to the Carl Sagan Lecture by Dr. David Grinspoon, entitled “Terra Sapiens: The Role of Science in Fostering a Wisely Managed Earth” that is now posted on YouTube. It’s well worth the hour’s time: [embedplusvideo…
SenseFly Drone aerobatics and oblique aerial photos
In all the bad press about drones, there are some good and exciting applications of this technology with the smaller, civilian-type drones. One application of interest to earth scientists is the ability to acquire high-resolution oblique aerial photos. One company, SenseFly, just released technology for this kind of drone application: SenseFly, a Parrot company, releases…