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Kevin Ward announces his resignation as president of Aspen Science Center
Posted on September 1, 2011
Kevin Ward recently announced his resignation as president and member of the board of directors of the Aspen Science Center in order to devote his full attention to energy-related policy initiatives. Ward is a co-founder of the Aspen Science Center, and has overseen its growth into a successful, multi-dimensional education and outreach organization, delivering rich science-based programs and resources to students and the community, from Physics BBQs and Cafes to the Western Slope College Fair from district-wide Science Fairs and an inquiry-based science curriculum to the (HS)2 gifted minority program. He observed: “As we have grown, we have been innovative and opportunistic, expanding into areas where we saw a need that we could fill”.
Physics-Is-For-Kids BBQ takes a dive into—the Brain!
Posted on August 27, 2011
Vijay Balasubramanian
July 12 2011
Have you ever thought about the massive computing power of the brain? Or its ability to comprehend and use concepts that are counterintuitive (like Heisenberg's uncertainty Principle)? Or using "fuzzy logic" (the ability to see connections between completely unrelated concepts--something that even the most powerful computers have trouble with)? Or the savant who memorized pi to 22,514 decimals?
Conciousness has perplexed philosophers and scientists for millenia, and we aren't going to tackle that (although we could!). We are examining, in depth, the amazing neurological machine that is the human brain---a wondrously powerful machine that can construct theories that accurately describe the universe, or be focused entirely on playing "Angry Birds". (The purpose of our BBQs are to ensure that your kid's brains are focused on the former, not the latter!)
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Natural Gas Panel
Posted on July 16, 2011
A panel with representatives from government, industry, and environmental groups would make recommendations on how best to proceed with permitting and regulating fracking in the Marcellus Shale. Those named to the panel so far are former lieutenant governor Stan Lundine; Kathleen McGinty, former chair of Bill Clinton’s White House Council on Environmental Quality; Eric A. Goldstein and Kate Sinding, senior attorneys for the Natural Resources Defense Council; Robert Hallman, chair of the New York League of Conservation Voters; Robert F. Kennedy Jr., president of the Waterkeeper Alliance; Robert Moore, executive director of Environmental Advocates of New York;Mark Brownstein, chief counsel to the Environmental Defense Fund’s Energy Program; Heather Briccetti, acting president and CEO of the Business Council of New York State, Inc.; Robert B. Catell, chairman of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center at SUNY Stony Brook; Mark K. Boling, executive vice president, general counsel, and secretary to Southwestern Energy; State Senator Tom Libous; and Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo.
Ally Renewables with Natural Gas
Posted on June 24, 2011
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At first, some environmentalists saw the natural gas boom as a way to promote a relatively carbon-light “bridge fuel” that would take us from dirty coal to clean renewables. Then concerns surfaced that natural gas extraction was contaminating water and soil. And natural gas, it turns out, has its own greenhouse gas issues. Is increasing domestic natural gas production a smart way to transition from coal to renewables? Richard Ward of the Aspen Science Center says, Yes – with the proper oversight.
Critics Find Gaps in State Laws to Disclose Hydrofracking Chemicals
Posted on June 21, 2011
Over the past year, five states have begun requiring energy companies to disclose some of the chemicals they pump into the ground to extract oil and gas using the process of hydraulic fracturing.Critics Find Gaps in State Laws to Disclose Hydrofracking Chemicals.While state regulators and the drilling industry say the rules should help resolve concerns about the safety ofdrilling, critics and some toxicologists say the requirements fall short of what’s needed to fully understand the risks to public health and the environment.The regulations allow companies to keep proprietary chemicals secret from the public and, in some states, from
regulators. Though most of the states require companies to report the volume and concentration of different drillingproducts, no state asks for the amounts of all the ingredients, a gap that some say is disturbing.
White House hears last-minute pleas on power plant
Posted on June 18, 2011
Gabriel Nelson, E&E reporter
As the Obama administration prepares a final rule ordering coal plants to help clean up soot and smog in the East, all sides have converged on the White House in a last-ditch effort to sway the rule, meeting records that were made public by the White House late this week show.
Fracking rules for diesel likely to spread nationally(06/14/2011)
Posted on June 15, 2011
Mike Soraghan, E&E reporter
U.S. EPA's guidelines for hydraulic fracturing of gas wells with diesel fuel could become a de facto nationwide standard for drilling, environmental and industry experts say.
The agency has floated a wide-ranging proposal that suggests well-construction standards, site review and baseline water sampling. There are currently no national rules in those areas, only state regulations and standards recommended by industry groups. And their suggestion in EPA documents does not mean that they would appear in the final guidance, due sometime after autumn.
But creating any kind of standard for drilling and fracturing -- even a specific, rare practice -- sets a marker against which other standards can be measured.
Secretary of Energy Advisory Board Natural Gas Subcommittee PUBLIC MEETING
Posted on June 10, 2011
Purpose of the Meeting: The purpose of this meeting is to allow Subcommittee
members to hear directly from natural gas stakeholders.
Tentative Agenda: The meeting will start at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, June 13, 2011.
The tentative meeting agenda includes a technical presentation on long-lateral hydraulic fracturing. From approximately 7:15 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., the Subcommittee will hear comments from members of the public. The meeting will conclude at 9:00 p.m.
Washington Jefferson College
60 South Lincoln Street
Washington PA
The March on Blair Mountain: A Protest to Protect Our Jobs and Our Mountains
Posted on June 10, 2011
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
President, Waterkeeper Alliance; Professor, Pace University
This week an important protest is taking place in the coalfields of West Virginia. The March on Blair Mountain began on Monday as several hundred people embarked on a five-day journey retracing the steps of over 10,000 miners who 90 years ago staged the largest armed insurrection after the American Civil War. Today's march is a protest against both the attack of the union movement in America and the demolition of the Appalachian mountains.
For over 50 years, American unions have served to counterbalance the ascendancy of unsheathed corporate power that threatens now to overwhelm American Democracy. In the past year, the union movement's final redoubt -- the public service unions -- have been vilified and emasculated in traditional union states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Iowa.
MIT on Natural Gas, Coal, and Climate
Posted on June 10, 2011
Henry Jacoby, Professor of Management MIT
Ronald Prinn, Professor of Atmospheric Science MIT
Richard Schmalensee, Johnson Professor of Economics & Management MIT
Recent research has shown that over the next few decades an effective U.S. climate policy to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions would rely on extensive reductions in energy use and substitution of natural gas for coal in power generation. The second pathway -- gas-for-coal -- is premised on the fact that natural gas, when combusted, produces 50 percent lower CO2 emission than coal.
This animation was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson
Posted on June 9, 2011
This animation was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA's Benjamin Franklin award.
Ray Anderson on sustainability
Posted on June 9, 2011
http://www.ted.com At his carpet company, Ray Anderson has increased sales and doubled profits while turning the traditional "take / make / waste" industrial system on its head. In a gentle, understated way, he shares a powerful vision for sustainable commerce.
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- HS2 Students visit the University of CO in Boulder
- This animation was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson
- Secretary of Energy Advisory Board Natural Gas Subcommittee PUBLIC MEETING
- Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Natural Gas Panel
- Former General Counsel Martella on EPA’s decision to delay boiler rules
- Energy: The Pros and Cons of Shale Gas Drilling By CBSNews
- Fracking rules for diesel likely to spread nationally(06/14/2011)
- Ray Anderson on sustainability
- Ally Renewables with Natural Gas
- The March on Blair Mountain: A Protest to Protect Our Jobs and Our Mountains
- Physics-Is-For-Kids BBQ takes a dive into—the Brain!
- Utility groups trade blows on new EPA emissions rules
- Enviros call on DOE fracking chairman to step down
- Britons shine a light on energy use at home By Elisabeth Rosenthal
- MIT on Natural Gas, Coal, and Climate