April 29th, 2013 
Eric Wilson 
Although written in 2008, Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent feels like something that could’ve been written yesterday. Extremely biased and one-sided, at times bordering on vitriolic, Andrew Nikiforuk, Tar Sands’ author, makes a strong argument against the development of the Athabaskan tar sands. While this is a losing battle if [...]
Posted in Eric Wilson, Policy, Reviews, Sustainable Development 
Tags: Book Review, Carbon Sequestration, Fracking, Natural Gas, Tar Sands 
No Comments » April 17th, 2013 Eric Wilson 
The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports today that despite the impressive increase in renewable energy – energy produced by wind is up 42% and solar 19% from 2011 to 2012 alone – carbon emissions have not abated worldwide. As relayed on Marketplace Morning Report today, rapidly industrializing economies, as well as Europe which has resorted [...]
Posted in Behavior, Economics, Eric Wilson, News, Policy, Renewable Energy, Sustainability Tags: Alternative Energy, Carbon Dioxide, Clean Energy, Coal, Environment, IEA, Natural Gas No Comments » March 31st, 2013 Eric Wilson 
I recently read Alan Weisman’s Gaviotas on the bus. Numerous tweets resulted from the first few chapters and now this post. Weisman relates the story of how the 1973 oil embargo and ensuing energy crisis played a crucial role in the attention heaped upon Gaviotas, a settlement in the llanos (savannah) of Colombia. The town [...]
March 28th, 2013 Chris DeArmond 
American shale gas will heat 1.8 million homes in the United Kingdom by 2018, according to a deal between Cheniere Energy and U.K.-based Centrica PLC. The development marks the first time the Department of Energy (DOE) has permitted the export of shale gas to a country not under a free trade agreement. Thus far, Cheniere [...]
Posted in Business, Economics, Policy Tags: Carbon Dioxide, Chris DeArmond, Department of Energy, Energy Policy, Natural Gas No Comments » March 2nd, 2013 Justin Manger 
This week’s Five Friday Facts is a short and sweet set of numbers from a recent NPR article. The natural gas revolution is exactly that. Until recently, half of U.S. power plants burned coal to make electricity. Now, that’s down to about one-third. Since 2010, about 150 coal plants either have been retired or it’s been [...]
Posted in 2nd Green, Economics, Five Friday Facts, Justin Manger, News Tags: Natural Gas No Comments » February 16th, 2013 Eric Wilson 
As part of the annual State of the Union, President Obama touched on energy as he has in past addresses to the nation. In 2011 he highlighted clean energy, while in 2012 he laid out his goal of 80% of electricity generation from “clean” sources. Below is the excerpt from his speech that dealt with [...]
Posted in China, Energy Efficiency, Eric Wilson, Featured Posts, News, Policy, President Obama Tags: Clean Energy, Climate Change, Congress, Energy, Grid, Holy Grail, Jobs, Natural Gas, Pollution, Science, Solar Energy, Wind Power No Comments » January 28th, 2013 Justin Manger 
The Bakken oil fields in North Dakota are releasing so much gas that, according to The Financial Times, oil companies at the heart of the US shale oil boom are burning off enough gas to power all the homes in Chicago and Washington combined. In the photo from space at the bottom of this post, [...]
January 14th, 2013 Eric Wilson 
A report from the Energy Information Agency has laid out the future diminution of coal fired electricity. Once the stalwart of electricity generation, coal has begun to cede its crown to natural gas. In fact, overall electricity generation has flattened out. Many anticipated this day would come, but envisioned carbon pricing playing a significant role [...]
Posted in Agriculture, Behavior, Clean Technology, Conservation, Energy Efficiency, Eric Wilson, Green Economy, Local Energy/Food, News, Renewable Energy, Sustainability Tags: Biogas, Coal, Electricity Generation, Energy Information Administration, Natural Gas, New Belgium Brewery, Solar Energy, Waste, Wind Power No Comments » December 16th, 2012 Eric Wilson 
While my wife and I looked for temporary housing to fill the gap between our current situation (living with family) and a long term solution, whatever that might be, we toured an apartment/condo building. Having lived in a 30 unit building for more than 4 years, the idea of shared walls is nice from the [...]
Posted in Eric Wilson, Op-Ed Tags: Cloth Diapers, Colorado, Minnesota, Natural Capitalism, Natural Gas No Comments » December 15th, 2012 Justin Manger 
As expected, the natural gas revolution in the U.S. is having a large positive economic impact. According to the Financial Times, “manufacturers have announced more than $90bn worth of investments in the US to take advantage of its cheap natural gas.” This is leading to an industrial renaissance as numerous companies in various sectors such [...]
Posted in Behavior, Business, Justin Manger, Local Energy/Food, News, Policy Tags: Carbon Dioxide, Environment, Natural Gas, Washington DC No Comments »
