A Colossal Fracking Mess Fracking is an energy- and resource-intensive process. Every shale-gas well that is fracked requires between three and eight million gallons of water. Fleets of trucks have to make hundreds of trips to carry the fracking fluid to and from each well site. Due in part to spotty state laws and an absence of federal regulation, the safety record that hydraulic fracturing has amassed to date is deeply disturbing. As use of the technique has spread, it has been followed by incidents of water contamination and environmental degradation, and even devastating health problems.
China's Upcoming Nuclear Power Boom The triple meltdown in march at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant cast a long shadow on nuclear power in Western countries. At least 25 reactors have been shuttered or canceled in Europe since the disaster, and public support in the United States is once again plummeting. But in China, where energy demand is skyrocketing, the appetite for nuclear power is undiminished. In January the nation announced a 20-year plan to pursue an experimental reactor design called a molten salt reactor (MSR). Instead of running on solid uranium—the industry’s mainstay for more than 50 years—it would rely on liquid fuel suffused with thorium, which is three times as abundant as uranium. The reactor concept calls for heated salts that act as both a coolant and a medium for fission reactions.
How to Talk to a Follower of the Zeitgeist Cult (If You Must) Posted on | January 14, 2011 | 41 Comments In response to my descriptions of Zeitgeist — the conspiracy-cult movie that Jared Loughner’s friend says had a “profound impact” on the Tucson massacre gunman — I today received an e-mail from a British follower of the Zeitgeist Movement. He repeated the cult’s own mantras about substituting an egalitarian global redistributionist “resource-based economy” for the “monetary-based economy.”
Fracking: The Great Shale Gas Rush The Pennsylvania homes of Karl Wasner and Arline LaTourette both sit atop the Marcellus Shale, a geologic formation that stretches from Tennessee to New York and holds vast deposits of natural gas. They also sit on opposite sides of a national debate over hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. That's the process that makes it economical for energy companies to tunnel 5,000 feet below ground and remove the gas—but also poses environmental risks. Finland's Nuclear Waste Solution World's Youngest Uranium Mine Click on image to see illustration. Finland might seem like an odd place to find cutting-edge nuclear waste technology. The country isn’t accumulating waste on a scale anywhere near that of other nuclear nations, such as France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Nonetheless, Finland’s four reactors account for one-quarter of the country’s electricity production, making them the single largest contributor to Finland’s energy mix. The origins of the Finnish nuclear program, in the 1970s, help to explain the country’s interest in disposal. In 1979, a reactor at the Three Mile Island plant, in Pennsylvania, experienced a partial core meltdown, forcing Finnish officials to take a harder look at their own fledgling nuclear effort.
Quantum Leap In Transportation! YOUR PARTICIPATION IS REQUIRED! (Please) :) You're all familiar with this technology from Zeitgeist Addendum! Fracking Fracking (also often referred to as hydraulic fracturing or hydrofracking) is a process stimulation procedure first used by the oil and gas industry in 1947 at a well in the Hugoton gas field located in Kansas. Hydraulic fracturing was first used commercially in 1949. The premise is simple, fluids are forced under pressure into the formation surrounding the wellbore. Once those fluids reach the fracture gradient of the surrounding rock the rock parts and fluid continues to flow further from the wellbore.
Greenwashing after the Phase-Out: German 'Energy Revolution' Depends on Nuclear Imports - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International The nuclear power plant in the Czech village of Temelin, barely 100 kilometers (62 miles) as the crow flies from the Bavarian city of Passau, has a reputation for being particularly prone to malfunctions. Over the years, there have been 130 reported incidents here. Sometimes it's a generator that fails; at others, a few thousand liters of radioactive liquid leak out of the plant. "The entire facility needs to be shut down immediately," says Rebecca Harms, a member of the European Parliament representing Germany's Green Party.
The value of the individual within The Zeitgeist Movement (Text from the speech at the Townhall Meeting in Amsterdam. August, 2011.) Hello everybody. It’s great to see so many people gathered here with interest in the ideas of the Zeitgeist movement. It’s great to see such awareness of a need for fundamental change. The need for an economy that is sustainable, provides in abundance and actually takes care of us. ‘Natural’ gas fails the sniff test Top decisionmakers in Washington seem to have forgotten that “natural” gas is a fossil fuel, with some of the same damning negatives as coal and oil. For instance, unlike renewables, “natural” gas is an energy source we will exhaust — possibly sooner than previously thought. Let’s not forget that the recent rise of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) couldn’t have happened if we hadn’t nearly exhausted easily extracted gas supplies already. And now it turns out that this fracking boon may be partly a matter of industry hype. The extraction of natural gas — especially via fracking — is incredibly harmful to the environment and people’s health. If you aren’t alarmed by increasing instances of flammable tapwater from methane leaks caused by drillers messing with geology, then maybe diesel and cancerous chemicals in the water will sound a few bells.
How Can We Get There? Often, when engaging the public on the subject of TZM and a post-scarcity society, I am asked a question like "How do we get there?" in the sense of what methods can we use to gain support and move society into a new zeitgeist, or how can we collect the resources necessary to build a new infrastructure? Some people may tell you that an option, such as engaging in the political party system, or forming sustainable communities "is the way to go," as if there were only one method or sufficient condition for us to bring about a resource-based economy. In reality, there are many factors affecting a transition to a new society, and many methods we can use to steer it toward the change we want to see.
World’s first fracking bans come through in France and New Jersey While we were all distracted by the possibility that New York State will allow fracking for natural gas, two big milestones in the battle to restrict the notoriously environmentally destructive process arrived on successive days: New Jersey bans fracking On June 29, New Jersey became the first state in the Union whose legislature passed a ban on fracking. The vote was overwhelming: After the New Jersey House passed the measure back in March, the state Senate passed it Wednesday with an overwhelming 33-1 vote. Predictably, fossil fuel industry front group Energy in Depth is urging governor Christie to veto the bill. But unlike his recent veto of the state's "millionaire's tax," the fracking ban appears to have more than enough support in both houses to survive even if Christie is true to form and decides to be a dick.
Nuclear pull-out to cost Germany 250 billion euros: study Germany's decision to switch from nuclear to renewable sources of energy will require investment of 250 billion euros ($340 billion) over the next decade, a new study found Monday. According to the study by the state-owned investment bank KfW, the planned realignment of Germany's power supply from nuclear to renewables will require "additional investment needs of around 250 billion euros by 2020." KfW describes itself as one of the leading sources of finance in the energy sector, estimating that it financed 80 percent of new wind turbines installed in Germany last year, plus 40 percent of solar panels. The bank also financed the insulation of buildings. In the wake of the nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima, Japan, the German government has decided to shut down all of its nuclear reactors by the end of 2022. At the same time, renewables are to account for 80 percent of total electricity generation by 2050, compared with 17 percent last year, the KfW study said.
50 Creative Ways to Repurpose, Reuse and Upcycle Old Things If you’re like me, you probably have a lot of old stuff just lying around your house. It’s not doing anything but taking up space, but you’re either too busy (or lazy), sentimental or just have more important things to deal with. Well if you’re looking for a little inspiration or a new DIY project, here are 50 creative ways to repurpose, reues and upcycle old things. There’s a pretty broad range in this list but hopefully a handful jump out and spark an idea for you and your home!