Energy developers "hosed" by Utah activist

This story just brings a smile to your face.

Utah Activist Disrupts Sale of Leases for Drilling

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- An environmental activist disrupted an auction of oil and gas drilling leases Friday by bidding up parcels of land by hundreds of thousands of dollars with no intention of paying for them, a federal official said....

The activist, Tim DeChristopher, 27, a University of Utah economics student, said he had accomplished his goal of disrupting the auction. Mr. DeChristopher won the bidding on 13 parcels, auction records show, and drove up the price of several others.

"We were hosed," said Jason Blake of Park City, a consulting geologist who was outbid on a 320-acre parcel. (AP via NYT)

News flash: new Friedman meme introduced

I like Tom Friedman. But sometimes he tries a bit too hard to coin new little Friedmanisms. Some of them succeed and some flop. You know what I mean. "The world is flat" was a winner; "the First Law of Petropolitics" got buzz for a few days; and "geo-green" never really took off.

The latest, on Meet the Press yesterday:

"...what I call ET, energy technology, is going to be the next IT, the next great industrial revolution."

OK, first of all, "ET" is taken. Secondly, you could have just said "energy technology is going to be the next great industrial revolution." There's no need to coin new terminology for this. No need at all.

To quote one of my favorite movies, "Gretchen, stop trying to make 'fetch' happen! It's not going to happen!"

We are all totally screwed, as usual--especially you mollusks

Along with polar bear cannibalism and the giant heap of dying walruses, ocean acidification and warming have got to be some of the most viscerally icky consequences of climate change for critters.

According to a new UNEP report released today, half the world's corals may die by 2050 due to rising ocean temperatures. By 2100, mollusks will likely have trouble forming their shells because of ocean acidification from carbon dioxide emissions.

"I'll take 'Unfortunate Surnames' for $1000, Alex"

Do you remember that one episode of Seinfeld?

Unable to remember the name of the woman he is dating, Jerry tries to pick up clues to solve the mystery. Given the clue that her name rhymes with a part of the female anatomy, Jerry and George try to come up with possible candidates: Aretha (for urethra), Celeste (for breast), Bovary (for ovary), and Mulva (for vulva). The pay-off of the joke comes at the end of the episode when she presses him to say her name. Jerry guesses Mulva, causing her to storm out of Jerry's apartment. In a flash of insight, Jerry runs to the window and yells out, "Dolores!" (for clitoris). (Wikipedia)

Funny. But--truth is always funnier than fiction.

James J. Mulva Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer James J. (Jim) Mulva is chairman, president and chief executive officer of ConocoPhillips.

(ConocoPhillips website)

Just call me coppertop

This is excellent.


A Canadian scientist has designed a knee-brace-like generator that can produce 5 watts of electric power by harnessing the energy of a person's stride. (NYT)

So could I strap on a couple of these 3.3-pound devices (whoa, kinda heavy) and power my iPod as I run? Sweet! Actually, the article mentions several more serious possible uses, including helping soldiers in the field keep their equipment powered, and powering prosthetic limbs.

Not to mention the following creepy fact: "The energy stored in body fat is the equivalent of a battery that weighs more than a ton."

Not what we wanted to hear

"Nations must fight climate change like terrorism, Rice says" (CNN)

Oy. You mean, by blaming some country we don't happen to like for climate change, and then invading that country based on trumped up allegations? And then there's the opportunistic expansion of presidential power and curtailment of civil liberties. Is that in the voluntary climate change plan, too?

Industry lobbyist sweat

Phil Cooney, American Petroleum Institute lobbyist-cum-Bush CEQ appointee-cum-Exxon lobbyist, got grilled this morning by the House Oversight Committee. Mr. Cooney, of course, is the guy who edited and deleted global warming references in scientific government documents to downplay scientists' findings on the reality and likely consequences of global warming. You can see a few examples here in the Sierra Club magazine. During the hearing, Cooney was asked to read aloud some of the passages he had altered, compared to the final version.

The pursuit of truth and good public policy is what it's all about, but I gotta say, half the fun is the squirming.

Go Pepco Go!

The metro area set a new record for daily winter electricity use yesterday, a reporter declared on our local Fox News broadcast last night. But it's another cold one and I think--no, I know--we can do better than that.

Here are few simple things you can do to help take us over the top!

• Keep your thermostat set at at least 75 degrees. If you become uncomfortable, simply remove extra layers of clothing.
• If you must blow-dry your hair, be sure to do so during peak hours.
• Two words: incandescent bulbs.
  
• The hotter the water, the better. And baths are better than showers.
• Your electric oven will do a much better job than your microwave at burning energy. So preheat away and then throw in that chicken pot pie.

Gas prices: appeal to the ultimate decision maker

When "the decider" fails you, I guess you gotta go a little higher up.

Pray Live
Event to pray for lower gas prices.
Location: Pennsylvania Ave., between North Carolina Ave. and Fourth St., SE, Washington, D.C.. 12 noon (April 27, 2006)
Contact: Tina Nicole, 877-XXX-XXXX