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Mormans, Nuclear Waste and the NBA – What do they all have in common?

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Energy Solutions that’s what.

http://www.energysolutionsarena.com/

Construction of the EnergySolutions Arena began June 11, 1990 after several months of conceptual design meetings and negotiations with potential lenders. Sumitomo Trust and the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City saw the vision of Larry H. Miller and agreed to fund this new multi-purpose home for the Utah Jazz.
While the “normal” construction period for a project of this type is usually 24 to 30 months, only 15 months and 24 days were available for the completion of the EnergySolutions Arena before the Utah Jazz 1991/92 season opener. This ambitious endeavor was achieved through the cooperation and teamwork of hundreds of individual subcontractors and suppliers and literally thousands of workers both on and off the job site.

Sahara Construction of Bountiful, Utah established a joint venture, O.C./Sahara, with Ohbayashi Corporation for the construction of the 743,000 square foot base building. Sahara also acted as General Contractor for the 7.6 acre pedestrian plaza and the interior tenant improvements within the building. Time constraints required that “fast-track design/build” construction techniques be employed. This method dictates that design is completed as construction is on-going. Responsibility for the structural, mechanical, electrical and civil engineering design was undertaken by the General Contractor. Mechanical and electrical systems were designed and constructed by CCI Mechanical and Western States Electric respectively.
FFKR Architecture/Planning/Interior Design of Salt Lake City worked closely with the construction team to provide design drawings and resolve design issues during the construction process. Based on FFKR’s conceptual design drawings, the General Contractor, with help from its major subcontractors, prepared a guaranteed maximum price contract for the Owner.

Excavation of the 170,000 cubic yards of soil began on an around-the-clock basis as design team members worked feverishly to complete the first design package for the footings and foundations. This process was typical throughout the course of the project as 61 separate bid packages were ultimately prepared.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EnergySolutions

EnergySolutions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

EnergySolutions is one of the world’s largest processors of low level waste (LLW), and is the largest nuclear waste company in the United States. EnergySolutions is a publicly traded company NYSE: ES) based in Salt Lake City, Utah, although it has operations in 40 states. Steve Creamer is the founder and current CEO of the company, which formed from the merger of four waste disposal companies: Envirocare, Scientech D&D, BNG America, and Duratek. The company took over several Magnox atomic plants from British Nuclear Fuels plc in United Kingdom on June 7, 2007.[1]

EnergySolutions owns and operates a licensed landfill to dispose of radioactive waste in Tooele County, Utah and operates another in Barnwell County, South Carolina. The company also possesses technology to convert waste into environmentally safe forms, such as durable glass, and is contracted by the United States Department of Energy to assist in waste conversion efforts.

The company holds the naming rights to EnergySolutions Arena.

Creation of EnergySolutions

Envirocare of Utah purchased the Connecticut-based Scientech D&D division in October 2005.[2] On February 2, 2006, Envirocare announced the $90 million purchase of BNG America a subsidiary of British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) based in Virginia.[3] The merged company would change its name to EnergySolutions, with corporate headquarters based in Salt Lake City, Utah. On February 7, 2006, EnergySolutions announced it would buy Maryland-based Duratek, a publicly-traded company, for $396 million in an all-cash deal.[4] The leveraged buyout was financed by banks led by Citigroup, effectively taking the company private.

After the acquisitions, EnergySolutions has 2,500 employees in 40 states with an annual revenue of $280 million.[5] Additionally, EnergySolutions owns two of the nation’s three commercial low-level nuclear-waste repositories, although its primary competitor, Waste Control Specialists, hopes to build a fourth repository in Texas.

Envirocare

Envirocare was founded by Iranian immigrant Khosrow Semnani in 1988. Semnani served as president of the company until May 1997, when Envirocare’s largest customer—the Department of Energy—requested that he step down in the wake of a bribery scandal.[6] Semnani allegedly bribed Utah’s Division of Radiation Control director, Larry B. Anderson, with $600,000 in cash, gifts, and gold coins over several years. Semnani alleged that he was extorted by Anderson, and the two sued each other in civil court. Semnani agreed to testify against Anderson in a plea bargain forcing him to pay a $100,000 fine for aiding in the preparation of a false tax return.[7] Anderson was convicted to serve 30 months in federal prison on tax charges.

In mid-December 2004, Semnani sold Envirocare for an undisclosed sum. Steve Creamer became the company’s new CEO. The deal was financed by private equity firms, led by Lindsay Goldberg & Bessemer of New York, Creamer Investments, and Peterson Partners both of Salt Lake City. Envirocare management promised to drop plans to bury hotter class B and C nuclear waste in Utah in deference to developing political opposition to the company, which was poised to ban the waste anyway.[8] Envirocare’s management and ownership was retained as it made the acquisitions to become EnergySolutions.

Duratek

Based in Columbia, Maryland, Duratek was founded in 1983. In 1990, the company merged with General Technical Services (GTS); the resulting company was known as GTS Duratek[9]. That year, the company formed a joint venture with another firm — Chem-Nuclear Systems, Inc. — to build a commercial vitrification system.

In 1997, GTS Duratek acquired the Scientific Ecology Group (SEG). In 2000, the company purchased the nuclear services business arm of Waste Management Inc.[10] One year later, the company announced that it was dropping GTS from its name, and was once again known as Duratek.

Duratek was purchased by EnergySolutions at 25.7% premium over the February 7, 2006 stock price when the merger was announced.[4]

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Aww they are soooo green. Watching the basketball team from New Orleans play in the desert got them to think about the environment. The one thing that the Morman’s believe that God will never allow men to harm.

http://www.energysolutions.com/

OUR COMPANY

EnergySolutions, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, is an international nuclear services company with operations throughout the United States and around the world. With over 5,500 world-class professionals, EnergySolutions is a world leader in the safe recycling, processing and disposal of nuclear material. EnergySolutions provides integrated services and solutions to the nuclear industry, the United States Government, the Government of the United Kingdom, hospitals and research facilities.

With an unparalleled safety record, EnergySolutions has implemented a comprehensive “Safety First” approach that provides safety for our workers, the environment and the communities in which we operate.

EnergySolutions offers a full range of services for the decommissioning and remediation of nuclear sites and facilities, management of spent nuclear fuel, the transportation of nuclear material and the environmental cleanup of nuclear legacy sites such as the uranium mill tailings site in Moab, Utah. We own and operate several state-of-the-art facilities including a metal melt facility in Tennessee and a low-level waste disposal facility in Utah.

EnergySolutions is committed to reasserting America’s leadership in the global nuclear industry and to helping the United States achieve energy security, reduce carbon emissions and protect the environment. As a clean, safe and affordable source of energy, nuclear power plays a vital role in solving the world’s energy crisis and meeting the nation’s growing energy demand.

EnergySolutions, we’re part of the solution.

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Wonder if they have been hiring the MAFIA to bury their waste…oh I mean sink boats loaded with their waste at sea? hmmmm

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Geoengineering – Love it or hate it, here are 2 views

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Hate it:

http://www.alternet.org/environment/142784/james_lovelock%3A_schemes_to_%27reverse%27_global_warming_could_lead_to_disaster

James Lovelock: Schemes to ‘Reverse’ Global Warming Could Lead to Disaster

By James Lovelock, The Guardian. Posted September 21, 2009.

Better, perhaps, to let the earth look after itself than try to regulate its system through mirrors, clouds and artificial trees.

The idea of serious scientists and engineers gathering to discuss schemes for controlling the world’s climate would a mere 10 years ago have seemed bizarre, or something from science fiction. But now, well into the 21st century, we are slowly and reluctantly starting to realise that global heating is real. We may have cool, wet summers in the UK, but we are fortunate compared with the Inuit, who see their habitat melting, and Australians and Africans who suffer intensifying heat and drought. We should not be surprised that public policy is edging ever nearer to geoengineering, the therapy our scientists are considering for a fevered planet.

Our senior scientific society, the Royal Society, met at the start of the month to launch the report “Geoengineering the Climate” and to hear from its representative scientists. The meeting was hosted by the president, Lord Rees, and the chairman was Professor John Shepherd, who chaired the study group. The goal, as Prof Shepherd explained in the Guardian in April, was to investigate theories of “intervening directly to engineer the climate system, so as to moderate the rise of temperature” and to “separate the real science from the science fiction”.

Geoengineering is about deliberately changing the air, oceans or land surface of the world to offset global heating with the hope of restoring the cooler world we enjoyed in the last century. We are now fairly sure that the Earth has grown hotter by about one degree Celsius as a consequence of our own action in taking away as farmland the forests and other ecosystems that previously acted to keep the Earth cool. We also have increased by 6% the flow of CO2 into the air by burning coal, oil and natural gas. If we started global heating, can we reverse it by engineering?

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Or Love it:

http://www.alternet.org/environment/142687/geo-engineering_could_save_the_planet_%C3%A2€%C2%A6_and_in_the_process_sacrifice_the_world_/

Geo-Engineering Could Save the Planet … and in the Process Sacrifice the World

By Jason Mark, Earth Island Journal. Posted September 24, 2009.

Having unintentionally warmed the planet, we may have little choice but to intentionally cool it back down. But at what cost?

Earth is busted. Like a supercomputer whose elaborate code has developed a few bugs, the core operating systems of the planet are frayed: Ocean populations are collapsing, forests are disappearing, soils have become thin. Perhaps most worrisome, the globe’s atmosphere, the ecosystem on which all other ecosystems depend, is overheating. The machinery of life appears to have malfunctioned.

Since the scale of the climate crisis became clear, the strategy for fixing this glitch has focused on remediation. To maintain the atmosphere’s equilibrium, we need to reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases. Our chief goal should be to return the climate to something approximating the pre-industrial status quo.

But what if such a return isn’t possible? What if the planet has gone permanently haywire? As the effects of climate change become obvious and global leaders remain unable to halt emissions, a growing number of scientists say we need to begin researching what’s called “geo-engineering” — ways to artificially reduce global temperatures and/or manipulate plants or the oceans to absorb huge amounts of CO2. Having unintentionally warmed the planet, we may have little choice but to intentionally cool it back down.

Even those most interested in geo-engineering say that the idea of deliberately deforming the planet in order to save it from ourselves is, as Stanford University‘s Ken Caldeira told NPR this summer, “scary.” Yet if we shy away from manipulating the whole globe and continue on our present course, we could be left with a burnt Earth unlike anything ever seen. The scientists who are encouraging government-funded research into geo-engineering are driven by a powerful motive: fear. All too aware of the implications of unchecked CO2 emissions — and worried that political systems aren’t moving quickly enough to respond to changes in the planet’s physical systems — these scientists say we may have no other option than to tinker with the sky.

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As the atmospheric pressure mounts so will the clamor to DO SOMETHING.

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James Howard Kunsler – Say what you like but his writing is pretty good

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OK OK so he got Y@K (oh Y2K) wrong, he is an apoplectic apocalypse dude where everything turns out badly, and he is probably anti-arabic. Nonetheles he writes with a cogent powerful logic. I wish that he had a little bit better appreciation for the power of the Sun however.

This just hot off the presses and then more about him:

http://www.energybulletin.net/node/50173

Energy Bulletin now includes multimedia and other new features

Published Sep 21 2009 by kunstler.com blog, Archived Sep 21 2009

Original Sin

by James Howard Kunstler

In our history, the American nation committed obvious sins against select groups of people, and we’ve paid bitterly for some of that. But now it’s our sins against the land itself that threaten to sink the USA as a viable enterprise.

It’s odd, that in his otherwise excellent blow-by-blow account (“Eight Days,” in the Sept 21 New Yorker Magazine) of the September 2008 Wall Street meltdown that left Lehman dead, and AIG croaking in a ditch, and the banking system in general functionally crippled, reporter James B. Stewart never got around to really describing the cause of it all — namely, the on-the-ground material catastrophe of American suburbia.

It was the worthlessness of the tradable securitized debt associated with all those overpriced (and overvalued) chipboard and vinyl houses, smeared recklessly over the American landscape, that started all the trouble in the first place. And it is our inability to come to grips with that underlying catastrophe that prolongs the resolution of the still-florid banking crisis — since the federal government is doing everything possible to prop up the failed capital equation of terminal suburbia, and to deny the obsolescence of that version of the American Dream and all the mechanisms for delivering it.

The suburban project was not a conspiracy by the likes of Robert Moses, Walt Disney, Frank Lloyd Wright, and President Eisenhower to produce a living arrangement with no future. It was the emergent, self-organizing result of special circumstances in a particular time and place: post World War Two America, with an immense supply of cheap oil, cheap land, and the industrial capacity to churn out all the necessary components for a car-dependent development pattern. Suburbia was spawned out of a couple of persistent themes in American cultural history: 1.) that cities and city life were no good; 2.) and that the romance of settling the wilderness could be reenacted, at great profit, in all that space beyond the towns and cities. It would be silly to deny the appeal of this arrangement at its inception. By the end of WW II, city life in the popular imagination was reduced to one potently awful image: Ralph Kramden’s apartment in “The Honeymooners” TV show.

blog_honeymooners.jpg

There had to be something better than that. Suburbia was engineered as the antidote to the Kramden’s apartment: country-living-for-everybody. The evacuation of the cities to the new outlands proceeded as relentlessly as the landings at Normandy. It wasn’t until the program was well underway that the self-destructive essence of it became obvious — that every new housing subdivision killed the original rural character of the land, with the result that suburban life quickly became a cartoon of country living in a cartoon of a country house in a cartoon of the country. With additional layer-on-layer of, first, the shopping in the form of highway strips, then malls, along with the office “parks,” these places elaborated themselves into a kind of cancer-of-the-landscape, a chronic and expensive condition that Americans had no choice but to live with, because of the monumental investments they had already made in it. The discontents it produced lent it to psychological depression and dark humor, just as chronic illness does. But we were stuck with it.

Meanwhile, all the machinery of culture and politics made it impossible to construct anything differently. The exquisitely fine-tuned planning-and-zoning codes generated by the thousands of town boards mandated a suburban outcome everywhere — with plenty of help from the DOT traffic engineers, the fire marshals, and the even the mandarins of academia who trained all these professionals. As a natural consequence of all this, the disinvestment in cities — especially the older cities of the industrial heartland — continued remorsely until it seemed as if the Second World War had taken place in St. Louis and Cleveland.

This mode of behavior persisted through the first, short-lived oil scarcity tremors of the 1970s. It was so completely embedded in the popular imagination that it had become the baseline American identity. The suburban project caught a second wind in the 1990s, when the last great non-OPEC oil fields of the North Sea, Alaska, and Siberia nullified the grip of the Islamic cartel for while, and sent the price of oil down to $11-a-barrel. Ironically, it was during those years that the warnings of “peak oil” first circulated beyond the geology offices, and it was clear to anyone who reflected on the connections that the project of suburbia was doomed.

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He goes on to point out that there is no economy LEFT in the US anymore. Besides food, which has been corporatized there is nothing left in the US to make money with. The manufacturing  jobs were sent overseas.

For more about Kunsler:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Howard_Kunstler

Background

Kunstler was born in New York City to Jewish parents,[1] who divorced when he was eight.[2] His father was a middleman in the diamond trade.[1] Kunstler spent most of his childhood with his mother and stepfather, a publicist for Broadway shows.[1] While spending summers at a boys’ camp in New Hampshire, he became acquainted with the small town ethos that would later permeate many of his works. In 1966 he graduated from New York City’s High School of Music & Art, and then attended the State University of New York at Brockport where he majored in Theater.

After college Kunstler worked as a reporter and feature writer for a number of newspapers, and finally as a staff writer for Rolling Stone. In 1975, he began writing books and lecturing full-time. He lives in Saratoga Springs, New York and was formerly married to the children’s author Jennifer Armstrong.

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You can find out more than you ever really cared to at:

http://kunstler.com/blog/

Interestingly here is the part that Energy Bulletins left out…I wonder why?

Clusterfuck Nation
Comment on Current Events by the Author of “The Long Emergency”

By James Howard Kunstler
on September 21, 2009 6:34 AM


In our history, the American nation committed obvious sins against select groups of people, and we’ve paid bitterly for some of that. But now it’s our sins against the land itself that threaten to sink the USA as a viable enterprise.
 It’s odd, that in his otherwise excellent blow-by-blow account (“Eight Days,” in the Sept 21 New Yorker Magazine) of the September 2008 Wall Street meltdown that left Lehman dead, and AIG croaking in a ditch, and the banking system in general functionally crippled, reporter James B. Stewart never got around to really describing the cause of it all — namely, the on-the-ground material catastrophe of American suburbia.
It was the worthlessness of the tradable securitized debt associated with all those overpriced (and overvalued) chipboard and vinyl houses, smeared recklessly over the American landscape, that started all the trouble in the first place. And it is our inability to come to grips with that underlying catastrophe that prolongs the resolution of the still-florid banking crisis — since the federal government is doing everything possible to prop up the failed capital equation of terminal suburbia, and to deny the obsolescence of that version of the American Dream and all the mechanisms for delivering it.
The suburban project was not a conspiracy

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Levittown will have killed us..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levittown,_New_York

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When A Cold Wind Blows – It’s too late yah shoulda started months ago

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It’s Jam Band Friday – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GasFKkVkgSI

Weatherize and improvise, renters have very little choice:

http://ask.metafilter.com/25694/Help-us-weatherproof-our-house

Help us weatherproof our house.
October 17, 2005 6:25 PM

I need suggestions for inexpensive weatherproofing on our home.

My husband and I rent a townhome (in Denver) and it is horribly drafty. We can feel cold air coming in through most of our windows. We love our little house–it’s a lot of space for the money–but we have a very uhm, “hands-off” landlord and there’s little to no chance to get them to invest any money in weatherproofing. With energy prices the way they are, I’d love some low-cost suggestions for how to weatherproof our windows along with any other tips for keeping warm while keeping our energy costs down. We’re living on a one-income graduate student budget, so I have to stress the low-cost part. Thank you!1. cheap: Plastic for your windows! You can get it at hardware stores pretty cheaply [whole house of wondows for maybe $20-30 if you shop in bulk at Home Depot or someplace. It’s a bit ugly but basically you tape this plastic over your windows, use a blow dryer on it to shrink the plastic, and voila, you can see out but wind can’t get in. Hair dryers cost a few bucks at a thrift store if you don’t have one. If you have friends, borrow a heat gun if possible.

2. nearly free: make little outlet and light switch gaskets. [instructions]

3. make from common household items: draft stoppers for underneath doors. Get an old pair of nylons and stuff them with rags, old socks, other fabric and some sand/rocks/something heavy. Lay on floors by doors to the outside or colder rooms.

4. worth the $: curtains and rugs and a hassock for your feet so you don’t notice the cold as much. Close curtains at night, open in the morning. An electric mattress pad warmer can heat up the bed before you get in it without you having to sleep under a plugged in appliance all night.

5. also: if it’s a big house shut off a room or two that you don’t use much and cut off the heat to those rooms [if you can] and focus on the parts of the house you actually live in. Cook more meals that take longer to heat up the kitchen. Keeping moving helps you stay warmer.
posted by jessamyn at 6:46 PM on October 17, 2005

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD7GjrlFOPs&feature=PlayList&p=C0DC6B13F2AAAA74&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=10

Check your local utility company’s website. They likely have a list of energy saver tips, household energy guzzlers (so you can prioritize), programs that provide weatherization and/or discounts to low-income households. Call them too. Some util companies are willing to schedule a free onsite energy audit to help you find the worst offenders.

The plastic over the windows trick is good. Just make sure you’re using the right tape. Some can leave a gummy residue or else pull off the paint/wallpaper underneath. Painter’s tape is not transparent, but it’s designed to remove cleanly.

If the landlord is willing to greenlight DIY improvements, $20-30 in materials can buy enough weatherstrip, outlet/switch seals, and door gaskets for a 1 bd apt. All you need is a screwdriver, a pair of scissors, and several hours time. Since weatherstrip just fills in the gaps between door/window and frame, you’ll be able to open & close year-round. Plus in the summer it’ll help keep out whatever bugs normally come in through those same gaps.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh-sXCTiuXA&feature=PlayList&p=C0DC6B13F2AAAA74&index=8

Here is what I did a couple of years ago (in my case it was mainly to reduce my cooling bills, but they’re still applicable):

  • Install curtains or other air barriers on all windows and sliding-glass doors.
  • If your existing HVAC thermostat is not a programmable “set back” thermostat, replace it with one that is.
  • Replace or install weatherstripping on windows.
  • Replace or install weatherstripping and door sweeps on exterior doors or a door to a garage. Also consider installing weatherstripping and door sweeps on interior doors to less-often used rooms.
  • If you have a little-used room, such as a laundry room, close the heating vent to the room, install a vent cover, and keep the door closed.
  • Caulk cracks (use a good UV & weather-resistant caulk for the exterior and a cheaper paintable caulk for the interior). In particular, check around the roof-line or anywhere something penetrates a wall (such as ceiling beams, vents or pipes). Make sure to seal around any exterior outlets (and consider installing exterior outlet covers).
  • Seal air leaks and other larger gaps with expanding foam. Good places to check are around switch and outlet boxes, places where ceiling beams penetrate interior walls, etc.
  • If your HVAC ducts are accessible, seal any leaks with metal-backed tape or mastic. Also consider applying insulation, if they are uninsulated.
  • Install outlet cover plates on interior outlets in exterior walls.
  • Install foam gaskets inside all interior electric outlet and switch boxes behind the outlet and switch plate covers.
  • If you have a hot water tank, consider installing an exterior tank wrap (make sure it doesn’t warn against using a tank wrap).

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SPogGqCgeM&feature=PlayList&p=C0DC6B13F2AAAA74&index=9

And you can get it all at ACE The Friendly Hardware Place –  A socialist cooperative:

http://www.acehardware.com/info/index.jsp?categoryId=1282811

Weatherproofing Your Home

The average house-even when well-insulated-contains cracks and gaps between building materials that add up to a hole about 14 inches square (see image below). In the winter, those gaps may make the house drafty and chilly. All year long, a leaky house not only wastes energy but can lead to water damage and provide a path for insects.

Inside this document you will find information about:

  • Weatherproofing Basics
  • Types of Caulking
  • Using Caulking
  • Types of Weatherstripping
  • Installing Weatherstripping

WEATHERPROOFING BASICS

  • In all the discussion of insulation and R-values, don’t forget that poor weatherproofing is often a more important source of discomfort, as well as high heating and cooling bills.
  • Some air leakage can be prevented during construction by using housewrap or getting a tight fit between framing members, for example. Once the house is built, however, the remaining gaps must be sealed. Gaps around doors and window sashes should be weatherstripped, and gaps between permanent building materials sealed with caulking.

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Tight is nice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfArO24gSNw&feature=PlayList&p=C0DC6B13F2AAAA74&index=15

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Weatherstripping – Having a leaking house does not make sense

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It is an obvious point…the trouble really is in the temperate zones of the world. In theory where it is really hot most of the time you want either a totally open house or a totally closed house. In a predominately cold climate you definitely want a totally closed house. However where you have nice Springs and Falls humans like to “open up the house and air things out”. Thus weather stripping.

http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/repair/how-to-apply-weatherstripping.htm

How to Install Weatherstripping

If you had a 6-inch-square hole in the middle of your front door, you would certainly do something in order to plug it up. Yet there are thousands of homes in which a 1/8-inch-wide crack exists all the way around the door, and this gap is just about the equivalent air loss of that 6-inch-square hole. Letting these cracks exist is like throwing dollars out the door or window. Fortunately, weatherstripping can reduce your heating/cooling bills by as much as 30 percent while reducing drafts that can cause discomfort.

Your home may or may not need weatherstripping. Luckily, there are some very simple ways to find out. If you can feel cold air coming in around doors and windows on a windy day, you know the answer. If you are uncertain, you can create your own windstorm at the precise spot where you suspect air might be leaking. Go outside with a handheld hair dryer and have a helper inside move his or her hands around the door and/or window frame as you move the hair dryer.

Learn More

­ You may discover that all your doors and windows are airtight. Or you may find a door or window that is airtight around three edges but needs help along the fourth edge. What you will probably conclude, however, is that your home has several drafty areas that would benefit from weatherstripping.
In this article, we’ll show you how to install weatherstripping on all parts of your house. We’ll also examine the various types of weatherstripping, which is our first order of business

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weatherstripping

Weatherstripping

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Weatherstripping is the process of sealing openings such as doors, windows, and trunks from the elements. The goal of weatherstripping is to prevent rain and water from entering by either blocking it outright or by blocking most of it and returning or rerouting it. A secondary goal of weatherstripping is to keep interior air in, thus saving energy with heating and air conditioning.

The materials used in weatherstripping are thresholds, a piece of material, either a sweep or a J-hook, to match the door to the threshold, and the actual weathstripping itself.

Every exterior door, or door to an uninsulated room such as an attic, must be weatherstripped as required by code enforcement in various states of U.S.:}

There is so much of it out there:

http://www.randysurleymfg.com/

Randy Surley Manufacturing Company has a wide variety of commercial and residential weather stripping materials suitable for any circumstance. Our product line consists of perimeter weather stripping for doors and windows such as cushion and spring bronze, kerf, brush, and pile. We also have a wide variety of thresholds including interlocking, saddles, aluminum, and brass. We also carry many different door bottoms, sweeps, and seals. We are continually expanding our product line to meet your needs. Contact us if you do not see what you are looking for.
Manufacturer and supplier of premium weather stripping and door thresholds for interior and exterior applications for both commercial and residential jobs.

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http://www.foamtapes.net/?gclid=CKGI456G-ZwCFQMNDQod4Uwqbw

Now You Can Buy Tapes Online From The Industry’s Leading Manufacturers at Competitive Prices!

 

Choose a category from below, use the toolbar on your left to select by material or go directly to our FAQ’s  

Gasket Tape
Adhesive-Backed, closed cell foam and sponge tapes designed to prevent the escape of gas or liquid.

Weatherstripping Tape
Adhesive-Backed, open or closed cell foam and sponge tapes designed to protect an interior from external extremes in temperature.

Mounting Tape
Closed cell foam tapes with adhesive on both sides, designed to bond irregular surfaces together, primarily for mounting lightweight objects to surfaces.

Glazing Tape
Specially engineered double-coated mounting tapes designed specifically for mounting glass into window sashes.

Flashing Tape
Uncured Butyl Rubber tape designed to provide long-term, watertight window and door installations.

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http://www.technologylk.com/products.aspx?category_dept=301&category_ID=1209&source_ID=google&keyword=Door_Weatherstripping&gclid=COGxyMqG-ZwCFSXyDAod0EjKbw
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http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=Improve/Weatherstripping.html

Weatherstripping Windows and Doors

Skill Level: Beginner
 
   

You may not think that those small cracks and crevices around your doors and windows are a very big deal. But, did you know that a 1/8″ space between a standard exterior door and its threshold is equivalent to a two square inch hole in the wall? Closing those gaps can save you up to 15 percent in heating and cooling costs and also can reduce the demand on your heating and cooling system. Best of all, you can probably weatherstrip your entire home in a single day. Lowe’s is happy to provide this information as a service to you.

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WHoooof

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Mafia Sinks Nuclear Waste – Some stories defy catergorization

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So I was preparing another post on weatherization and I was searching through Digg and Peak Oil for such stories…probably on window replacement or maybe weather stripping and I came across this WTF story that I just had to post.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8257912.stm

Mafia ‘sank ships of toxic waste’

By Duncan Kennedy
BBC News, Italy


A shipwreck apparently containing toxic waste is being investigated by authorities in Italy amid claims that it was deliberately sunk by the mafia.

An informant from the Calabrian mafia said the ship was one of a number he blew up as part of an illegal operation to bypass laws on toxic waste disposal.

The sunken vessel has been found 30km (18 miles) off the south-west of Italy.

The informant said it contained “nuclear” material. Officials said it would be tested for radioactivity.

Murky pictures taken by a robot camera show the vessel intact and alongside it are a number of yellow barrels.

Labels on them say the contents are toxic.

The informant said the mafia had muscled in on the lucrative business of radioactive waste disposal.

But he said that instead of getting rid of the material safely, he blew up the vessel out at sea, off the Calabrian coast.

He also says he was responsible for sinking two other ships containing toxic waste.

Experts are now examining samples taken from the wreck.

Other vessels

An official said that if the samples proved to be radioactive then a search for up to 30 other sunken vessels believed scuttled by the mafia would begin immediately.

:}

Tree Hugger and the New York Times adds this:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/09/toxic-waste-ship-sunk-mafia-found-italy.php

!

calabria coast photo
Somewhere out there are more toxic waste ships waiting to be found. Photo: Peter Rohleder via flickr.

This may sound like a pretty good TV crime show plot, but this is non-fiction: Reuters reports that Italian authorities have discovered a ship containing 180 barrels of toxic waste (some of which may be radioactive), which was purposely sunk by the Mafia, off Italy’s southern coast. What’s more, it’s suspected there are 32 more vessels waiting to be found:

The ship was discovered after a former member of the ‘Ndrangheta organized crime organization tipped off police — the informant was personally responsible for sinking this ship and two others.

The 360′-long vessel is about 18 miles off the coast of Calabria, in 1600′ of water. Based on TV images, at least one barrel has fallen off the ship and it now empty on the sea floor.

Since tighter environmental regulations in the 1980s, illegal dumping of toxic waste has been embraced by the Mafia as another lucrative income stream.

Mafia Has Used Somalia As Dumping Ground for 20 Years
Here’s the broader connection here: Since the 1990s the Mafia have been known to dump toxic waste in the waters off Somalia — where the utter lack of government means it costs one-tenth that of dumping in Europe. In 2004, toxic and radioactive waste washed up on Somali beaches, causing illness in local people. This toxic waste dumping is also cited by local fisherman as contributing to declining fish stocks in the region, thereby pushing people to piracy.

:}

The New York Times and the Associated Press adds this:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/09/15/world/AP-EU-Italy-Toxic-Mafia.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=mafia%20sink%20ships&st=cse

Giordano said the former mobster, Francesco Fonti, from the Calabria-based ‘ndrangheta crime syndicate, has claimed the mob sank ”hundreds” of barrels of illegally disposed of waste.

The prosecutor, based in Paola, Calabria, has promised that if analyses do turn up toxic substances, the hunt would be on for more sunken ships.

Fonti claims mobsters made millions of dollars illegally dumping radioactive and other toxic wastes for northern Italian businesses. Fonti has said he himself has been involved in the alleged sinking of three vessels, including the ship the robotic diver is now filming.

In recent interviews, Fonti’s face was blackened out to protect his identity, since he is under state protection.

Fonti claims the ship being filmed was carrying 120 barrels of radioactive waste when he alleged he used explosives to sink it some 20 miles (32 kilombers) off the Calabrian coast in 1992.

Investigators have long looked into claims that Italy’s southern-based crime syndicates, including the Naples-area Camorra and the ‘ndrangheta ran illegal rackets disposing of toxic wastes, including in clandestine land dumps.

The plot of the Italian hit movie ”Gomorrah” revolved around a Camorra racket that dumped toxic refuse in farmland near Naples.

Greenpeace and the Italian environmental group Lega Ambiente have been compiling lists over the last few decades of ships that have disappeared off Italy and Greece as they pursue reports of boats laden with toxic substances being sunk.

A Greenpeace official, Alessandro Gianni, told Associated Press Television News in an interview Tuesday that in the ’90s, his organization tried to learn the fate of ships that might have been involved in toxic dumping.

:}

So that is the story of Somalian Piracy…Since the various organized crime families are world wide now how much of this has been going on. The Russians sank a Chinese Ship in January. Another Russian Ship went “astray” in July. Has the Mafia turned the high seas into their personal toxic dumping ground? Better question to ask is, did Big Businesses like the Nuclear Power Plants of the world turn to the Mafia to dump their toxic waste…hmmmmm?

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R 60 In The Attic – When I first started talking about this everyone thought I was crazy

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I will be the first one to admit, our attic is finished. I had no control over that. The build out and remodel all took place 50 years ago. Does it make it better that we have a metal roof? When I first started saying PACK YOUR ATTIC with all the insulation you can get your hands on. Everyone said, “How can you say that. There is no payback. There is no room. What if you change your mind” That was of course in an R10 or an R13 world. Then everything changed. Guess what it will change again.

That is because we have all been raised in a “pay as you go” energy system. Have been for generations. But if you think of a world where you pay your energy costs “UP FRONT”. Then you quit worrying about Paybacks and “is it worth it”? You start thinking in terms of how much do I need.

Again for the entire class: You can never lose money by CONSERVING energy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superinsulation

Superinsulation is an approach to building design, construction, and retrofitting. A superinsulated house is intended to be heated predominantly by intrinsic heat sources (waste heat generated by appliances and the body heat of the occupants) with very small amounts of backup heat. This has been demonstrated to work in very cold climates but requires close attention to construction details in addition to the insulation.

Superinsulation is one of the ancestors of the passive house approach. A related approach to efficient building design is zero energy building.

There is no set definition of superinsulation, but superinsulated buildings typically include:

  • Very thick insulation (typically R40 walls and R60 roof)
  • Detailed insulation where walls meet roofs, foundations, and other walls
  • Airtight construction, especially around doors and windows
  • a heat recovery ventilator to provide fresh air
  • No large windows facing any particular direction
  • No conventional heating system, just a small backup heater

Nisson & Dutt (1985) suggest that a house might be described as “superinsulated” if the cost of space heating is lower than the cost of water heating.

:}

That last is important because what if you are using free solar. Then your costs are both zero. So one of them has to be a negative number…haha

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/SolarHomes/constructionps.htm

:}

On a more serious note, everyone agrees that the standard currently is good for NEW Construction…I say it is good enough for old as well:

http://www.residentialarchitect.com/industry-news.asp?sectionID=275&articleID=886806

massachusetts pilot project explores super insulation for old houses

new construction could also benefit from techniques.
Publication date: February 24, 2009

By Nigel F. Maynard

Alex Cheimets and Cynthia Page live in a duplex that used to consume about 1,400 gallons of heating oil a year. But now their building is one of the most energy-efficient in its Arlington, Mass., neighborhood, thanks to a pilot project that retrofitted the structure with almost $100,000 worth of insulation and other products to increase energy efficiency and lower utility costs.

The so-called Massachusetts Super Insulation Project seeks to determine the benefits and cost-effectiveness of retrofitting old energy-wasting houses with insulation upgrades in key areas. Though the cost for the upgrades in the home were substantial, some of the techniques used—among them proper air-sealing and adequate moisture barriers—are easily applied to new construction at a relatively low cost.

Massachusetts officials are keenly interested in the results of the project, because it dovetails nicely with the state’s efforts to become more energy-efficient. “Our governor, the state House and Senate, and the executive branch are aware that the nation’s energy strategy is not acceptable, and a big part of it is the existing housing stock,” says Philip Giudice, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DER).

“Nationally, buildings account for 40 percent of all energy consumption, and one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions,” says Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles, who chairs Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s Zero Net Energy Buildings Task Force. “This superinsulation project in Arlington promises to be a model for the type of innovation in the building industry that the Patrick Administration hopes will soon be widespread across Massachusetts.”

Read more articles related to:

More articles from the headlines section

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DARPA And The Military Seek Farout Energy Sources – But then farout is what DARPA does best

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(fittingly – today is Jam Band Friday and Carlos is up – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ml3NUIDpFg  )

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is a black agency in the sense that much of what it does is shrouded in some secrecy. Its a Think Tank at one level. It is a contractor at another. It is a black site in the sense that it has no budget. But heh, they got a webpage and a Facebook Page too. How Hip and Modern.

http://www.darpa.mil/

http://www.facebook.com/DARPA

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( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rRlBmJiz5k&feature=related )

 http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/09/darpa-seeks-to-tap-waters-power-potential/

Danger Room What’s Next in National Security

Darpa Seeks to Tap Water’s Power Potential

 

baltic_sea_wave_cien_water

The quest for limitless energy has preoccupied military researchers for years, and Darpa, the Pentagon’s far-out science arm, has often led the way. Now the agency is looking for yet another method to harness cheap and environmentally friendly energy that would be as simple as turning on the tap.

Well, sort of. Darpa is soliciting proposals for using seawater to create liquid fuel. Their hope is to harvest the abundance of carbon and hydrogen in ocean water, and somehow convert the molecules, via chemical reaction, into usable energy. Since fuel is mostly made up of hydrocarbons, the right interplay between water molecules and the carbon dioxide lurking among them would — in theory — yield fuel compounds.

Sounds good, right? Except Darpa’s not entirely sure what reaction needs to take place, or how to make it happen. That’s the first step for researchers: coming up with an efficient, effective catalyst, and one that won’t be affected by water pollutants, pH levels or the carbon dioxide concentrations of different water samples.

Of course, this isn’t the only out-there energy proposal the military’s got researchers working on. In July, the Air Force started investigating purple bacteria whose pigment could power flying drones. And Darpa’s already throwing money at another water-based energy source: last year, they spent $20 million dollars on converting algae into jet fuel. No word yet on how that worked out.

:}

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAf3gqdCrDs&feature=related )

They even have a Wikipedia Page now. You used to have to turn over rocks and stuff to find out anything about them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARPA

DARPA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Formed 1958
Headquarters Arlington, Virginia
Employees 240
Annual budget $3.2 billion
Agency executive Regina Dugan[1], Director
Website
www.darpa.mil

 

 

DARPA headquarters in the Virginia Square neighborhood of Arlington.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of new technology for use by the military. DARPA has been responsible for funding the development of many technologies which have had a major effect on the world, including computer networking, as well as NLS, which was both the first hypertext system, and an important precursor to the contemporary ubiquitous graphical user interface.

Its original name was simply Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), but it was renamed DARPA (for Defense) during March 1972, then renamed ARPA again during February 1993, and then renamed DARPA again during March 1996.

DARPA was established during 1958 (as ARPA) in response to the Soviet launching of Sputnik during 1957, with the mission of keeping U.S. military technology more sophisticated than that of the nation’s potential enemies. From DARPA’s own introduction:[2]

DARPA’s original mission, established in 1958, was to prevent technological surprise like the launch of Sputnik, which signaled that the Soviets had beaten the U.S. into space. The mission statement has evolved over time. Today, DARPA’s mission is still to prevent technological surprise to the US, but also to create technological surprise for our enemies.

DARPA is independent from other more conventional military R&D and reports directly to senior Department of Defense management. DARPA has around 240 personnel (about 140 technical) directly managing a $3.2 billion budget. These figures are “on average” since DARPA focuses on short-term (two to four-year) projects run by small, purpose-built teams.

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( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yoGTVzgow8&feature=related )

Here is a little bit of the things they are working on that we know of:

http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Technology-Article.asp?ArtNum=59

Here’s a listing of the DARPA-related projects presented on the Technovelgy site:

  • Silent Talk ‘Telepathy’ For Soldiers
    ‘…allow user-to-user communication on the battlefield without the use of vocalized speech through analysis of neural signals.’
  • TASC – DARPA’s Psychohistory
    The agency is seeking whitepapers to fuel the development of a scientific approach to predicting the actions of large masses of people.
  • Guided Bullets By Exacto From DARPA
    How is it possible that a bullet could redirect its own course in mid-flight?
  • DARPA Seeks Self-Repairing Hunter-Killers?
    Tests to date have seen small aerial robots lose large chunks of themselves to hostile fire, yet carry on with their mission.
  • DARPA Gandalf Project And Philip K. Dick
    A new defense department project to locate enemies precisely, and target them, by phone.
  • EATR – DARPA’s Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot
    Project to develop a robotic platform able to perform long missions while refueling itself by foraging.
  • You Can’t Hide From DARPA
    Harnessing Infrastructure for Building Reconnaissance (HIBR).
  • Squishy SquishBot ChemBots Desired By DARPA
    ChemBots are soft, flexible robots that are able to alter their shape to squeeze through small openings and then regain their full size.
  • Fracture Putty For Compound Fractures – DARPA
    An alternative to today’s standard treatments, which often lead to further complications, and are not fully load-bearing,
  • Submersible Aircraft – DARPA’s Flying Sub?
    The minimal required airborne tactical radius of the sub-plane is 1000 nautical miles (nm).
  • MAHEM Metal Jets Like Clarke’s Stiletto Beam
    Create compressed magnetic flux generator (CMFG)-driven magneto hydrodynamically formed metal jets and self-forging penetrators (SFP).
  • Precision Urban Hopper Robot Must ‘Stick’ Landings
    Intended to give wheeled robots an additional edge; the ability to jump up onto or over obstacles up to nine meters high.
  • Katana Mono-Wing Rotorcraft Nano Air Vehicle
    The Katana Mono-Wing Rotorcraft is a coin-sized one-bladed helicopter.
  • Micro Imagers For Sensing On Nano Air Vehicles
    With the impetus toward micro-air and -ground vehicles for military applications, there is a compelling need for imaging micro-sensors compatible with these small platforms.
  • RESURRECT High-Fidelity Computer Battlefield Simulations
    Create high-fidelity computer simulations of in-theatre events for tactical, operational and strategic review
  • Aqua Sciences Water From Atmospheric Moisture
    The program focused on creating water from the atmosphere using low-energy systems.
  • Shape-Shifting Bomber In Need Of Plowsharing
    Shape-shifting supersonic bomber fans are feeling bereft this weekend.

    • :}

    for the old school

    ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnamP4-M9ko&feature=related )
    Oh and for another high tech energy firm across the pond try:

    http://www.entity-group.com/About-Us.aspx

    :}

    Ameren Illinois – A Utilitiy That Just Keeps Takin And A Takin

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    After Tim Landis, Adriana Colindres is my favorite write for the SJ-R. But here is her story from another paper. I personally find these stories revolting because we in Riverton were without power for 4 hours. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. No car crashes. No catastrophic incident like a shut down plant or a coal strike. When our local grocer (who has huge coolers thus a huge stake in the issue) asked what had happen he was told that there was squirrel damage at the local substation. These guys can’t beat squirrels but they want our money.

    http://www.galesburg.com/news/x837456249/Ameren-seeks-fee-to-make-up-for-uncollectible-bills

    Ameren seeks fee to make up for uncollectible bills

    advertisement

    By ADRIANA COLINDRES

    GateHouse News Service

    Posted Sep 09, 2009 @ 06:37 AM

    SPRINGFIELD —

    AmerenCIPS, AmerenCILCO and AmerenIP are asking the state’s utility regulator for permission to impose a fee on customers that would cover unpaid bills left behind by other customers.

    The three companies, jointly called the Ameren Illinois Utilities, filed paperwork last week with the Illinois Commerce Commission. It’s not clear yet when the ICC will decide on the matter, or how much the fee might be.

    The fee, which would appear on monthly bills, would make up for what are known as “uncollectibles” — the unpaid bills that remain after a customer’s utilities are shut off due to non-payment…..

    …….

    Ameren also has other business still pending before the Illinois Commerce Commission: a proposed $226 million delivery rate hike for electricity and natural gas customers. The ICC is expected to decide on that next spring.

    On Tuesday, the ICC announced three public hearings in connection with the rate case.

    The hearings are scheduled for Sept. 29 in hearing room A of the ICC offices, 527 E. Capitol Ave., Springfield; Oct. 5 in the Kenneth Hall Regional Office Building, 1100 Eastport Plaza, Collinsville; and Oct. 27 in the Pekin City Council Chambers, 111 S. Capitol St., Pekin.

    The Ameren Illinois Utilities provide electricity to about 1.2 million customers throughout the southern two-thirds of the state. They serve more than 800,000 natural gas customers in the same areas.

    :’}

    http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2009/08/03/daily50.html

    Ameren seeks $185 million in stimulus

    St. Louis Business Journal – by Kelsey Volkmann

    Ameren’s Missouri and Illinois utilities applied this week for $185 million in stimulus money for infrastructure upgrades, smart grid projects and electric vehicles.

    AmerenUE applied for $140 million in stimulus funding, and Ameren Illinois Utilities applied for $45 million.

    AmerenUE’s application includes the following funding requests for a 50 percent federal match:

    • $125 million in projects for modernizing the company’s Missouri delivery system.

    • $15 million for an operating system that would synthesize and provide data to help better manage AmerenUE’s response to service disruptions.

    • Matching funds to purchase two plug-in electric trouble trucks.

    Of the total $787 billion federal stimulus package, about $43 billion is targeted for energy projects and energy efficiency. About $4.5 billion of that is targeted to support research and development of the nation’s smart grid, which delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology.

    Ameren Illinois Utilities seeks $45 million in stimulus to fund smart grid projects to improve electric service reliability. Its smart grid project will cost $83 million, of which $75 million is eligible for a 50 percent federal match of $37.5 million, the utility said.

    Ameren Illinois Utilities also said it is requesting $7.5 million for a $15 million advanced distribution management system, a foundation for the smart grid project that will provide a common interface to monitor, control and manage the electrical distribution system and electrical devices.

    Ameren Illinois Utilities said it plans to ask the Illinois Commerce Commission to allow the utility to add a charge to customer bills to recover AIU’s portion of the project costs.

    St. Louis-based Ameren Corp. (NYSE: AEE) serves 2.4 million electric customers and 1 million natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area of Missouri and Illinois

    :}

    http://www.themaneater.com/stories/2009/8/25/ameren-seeks-gas-price-hike-cities-around-columbia/

    Ameren seeks electricity price hike in cities around Columbia

    Communities around Columbia might see an increase next year.

    By Wes Duplantier

    Published Aug. 25, 2009

    Correction appended

    AmerenUE, the state’s largest utility company, has asked regulators for permission to raise its electric rates by as much as 18 percent, but the increase will not affect Columbia.

    Ameren spokesman Mike Cleary said the increase would not directly affect MU students because the company does not provide electrical services to Columbia, only natural gas. Rates might go up in surrounding communities such as Ashland, Rocheport, Boonville and Moberly.

    The company estimated the $402 million proposal would amount to an increase of about 50 cents per day for the average family. Its request comes as it is also asking for $185 million from the federal stimulus package to modernize its delivery systems. This is the company’s third request for a rate increase since 2007.

    Cleary said the increase, if approved, would mostly be used to pay for reliability improvements such as reinforcing pipelines and electrical poles, and to make up for increasing delivery costs of fuel.

    “We’ve just got to put everything into perspective,” Cleary said. “The reason for this increase is reliability. That’s our No. 1 priority because it’s the thing our customers have been asking us to improve the most.”

    Cleary said raising rates in a down economy might affect consumers. He said Ameren has a number of programs for customers to get assistance paying bills so they will not lose service. Those programs include the ability to make minimum payments and budget billing to help eliminate sudden seasonal spikes in a family’s utility bills.

    “The message we’re trying to get across is: If you’re having trouble paying the bills, call us early and don’t wait until you get a cut-off notice,” he said.

    Ruth Ehresman, director of Health and Budgetary Policy for the Missouri Budget Project, said even with such programs, low-income families hit hardest by the economic crisis would face even more difficulties.

    “We do know that many low-income families struggle to pay their utility bills already and a rate increase will always be problematic,” Ehresman said. “We’re always concerned when low-income families’ ability to provide basic resources is made more difficult.”

    :}

    I wish there something more to add, but considering their level of service and customer satisfaction ratings…what more is there to say?

    :}

    Oil Celebrates 150 Years Of Commercial Production – But it doesn’t look older than when it was 10

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    ( It’s Jam Band Friday – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyDie_4dOdU -)

    Why is Oil so old and yet it acts like a little child…We start this post with video from the Energy Citizens protest against Cap and Trade…I have a sense of humor but this is just childishly bad.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMhNZB3Vndw

    Courtesy of Wes King

    :}

    ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4s0nzsU1Wg&feature=related )

    But I digress here are some really useful Stats about OIL I bet you never knew:

    http://www.yelp.com/topic/los-angeles-10-facts-about-oil-and-gas-not-the-kind-that-comes-out-of-your-arse

    10 Facts About Oil and Gas… not the kind that comes out of your arse….

    Photo of ART L.

    08/02/2008 ART “The Permaculturalist” L. says:

    http://www.edf.org/art…

    With gas prices skyrocketing, public transit ridership is at an all time high. Instead of cutting back on public transportation services, we should be reforming our national transportation system to create more affordable travel options for the whole country.

    Check out our 10 Facts About Oil and Gas to learn more.

    96 Percent of the world’s transportation energy currently supplied by oil.
    $75
    Cost of barrel of oil on July 18th, 2007.

    $131
    Cost of barrel of oil on July 18th, 2008.

    9.6 billion
    Number of fewer miles Americans drove in May 2008 compared to May 2007.

    10.3 billion
    Number of trips taken via the U.S. public transportation system in 2007, the highest in 50 years.

    44
    Percent increase in price of diesel fuel paid by public transit agencies.

    20
    Percent of America’s public transit agencies that are cutting services due to budget constraints.

    46
    Percent of population that has no access to public transit.

    $6,251
    Amount the average two-worker household saves annually by taking public transportation instead of driving a car.

    2030
    Year by which lifting the ban on offshore drilling may start to impact the price of gas

    :}

    ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm63_M_4BF0&feature=related )

    But if you want to see how Oil both behaves childishly and causes trouble all over the world, here is Greg Palasts take on it…

    http://www.gregpalast.com/the-best-thing-in-the-world-for-big-oil/

    The Best Thing in The World for Big Oil”

    …Bobby Kennedy Jr. and Palast on why Saddam had to go.

    “This war in Iraq has been the best thing in the world for Big Oil and OPEC. They’ve made the largest profits in the history of the world. The interesting thing about your book is you show how it was all planned from the beginning. The story is like a spy thriller.” — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

    Listen to RFK and Greg Palast on Iraq, a 20-minute conversation about blood and oil for ‘Ring of Fire’ from Air America.

    The following is part of the story referenced in their discussion:

    THE JERK: WHY SADDAM HAD TO GO

    by Greg Palast
    Excerpt from ‘Armed Madhouse‘

    The 323-page multi-volume “Options for Iraqi Oil” begins with the expected dungeons-and-dragons warning:

    The report is submitted on the understanding that [the State Department] will maintain the contents confidential.

    For two years, the State Department (and Defense and the White House) denied there were secret plans for Iraq’s oil. They told us so in writing. That was the first indication the plan existed. Proving that, and getting a copy, became the near-to-pathologic obsession of our team.

    :}

    ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqCtbEGcBBA&feature=related )
    Cutting to the Chase several paragraph’s down the page and much intrigue and much spilled ink:

    In the sanitary words of the Council on Foreign Relations’ report (written up by Jaffe herself), Saddam’s problem was that he was a “swinger”:

    Tight markets have increased U.S. and global vulnerability
    to disruption and provided adversaries undue potential in-
    fluence over the price of oil. Iraq has become a key
    “swing” producer, posing a difficult situation for the U.S.
    government.

    Now hold on a minute: Why is our government in a “difficult” position if Iraq is a “swing producer” of oil?

    The answer was that Saddam was jerking the oil market up and down. One week, without notice, the man in the moustache suddenly announces he’s going to “support the Palestinian intifada” and cuts off all oil shipments. The result: Worldwide oil prices jump up. The next week, Saddam forgets about the Palestinians and pumps to the maximum allowed under the Oil-for-Food Program. The result: Oil prices suddenly dive-bomb. Up, down, up, down. Saddam was out of control.

    “Control is what it’s all about,” one oilman told me. “It’s not about getting the oil, it’s about controlling oil’s price.”

    So, within days of Bush’s election in November 2000, the James Baker Institute issued this warning:

    In a market with so little cushion to cover unexpected
    events, oil prices become extremely sensitive to perceived
    supply risks. Such a market increases the potential lever-
    age of an otherwise lesser producer such as Iraq…

    I met with Falah Aljibury, an advisor to Goldman Sachs, the Baker/CFR group and, I discovered, host to the State Department’s invasion planning meetings in February 2001. The Iraqi-born industry man put it this way: “Iraq is not stable, a wild card.” Saddam cuts production, or suddenly boosts it, playing games with the U.N. over the Oil-for-Food Program. The tinpot despot was, almost alone, setting the weekly world price of oil and Big Oil did not care for that. In the CFR’s sober language:

    Saddam is a “destabilizing influence… to the flow of oil
    to international markets from the Middle East.”

    With Saddam out of control, jerking markets up and down, the price of controlling the price was getting just too high. Saddam drove the oil boys bonkers. For example, Saddam’s games pushed the State Department, disastrously, to launch, in April 2002, a coup d’etat in Venezuela.

    This could not stand. Saddam delighted in playing cat-and-mouse with the USA and our oil majors. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t playing with mice, but a much bigger and unforgiving breed of roden

    :}

    The original is not so bad either

    ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbsHOQmKhps )
    I mean if you really want to set the world on fire:

    http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/discovery-news-2009-cool-jobs-burn-boss.html

    :}