AMERICANS RIDING PUBLIC TRANSIT IN RECORD NUMBERS
Yahoo News, 10 March 2014
Americans are boarding public buses,
trains and subways in greater numbers than any time since the suburbs began
booming.
Archive for
Mar 11
Mar 11
Ukraine, Russia and the nonexistent U.S. oil and natural gas “weapon”
Resurgence, 9 March 2014
Commentators were falling all over themselves last week to announce that far from being impotent in the Ukraine crisis, the United States had a very important weapon: growing oil and natural gas production which could compete on the world market and challenge Russian dominance over Ukrainian and European energy supplies–if only the U.S. government would change the laws and allow this bounty to be exported.
Mar 10
Boeing to Inspect Wings of Undelivered Dreamliners for Cracks
Wall St Journal, 7 March 2014
Boeing Co. and a key supplier are inspecting the wings on 43 yet-to-be-delivered 787 Dreamliner jets after discovering hairline cracks caused during manufacture and prompting the aerospace giant to delay deliveries to some airlines.
Mar 10
Braving the Deep, Deadly South on a Bicycle
The Atlantic, 7 March 2014
Cyclists are 10 times likelier to be killed in South Carolina than in Oregon. What makes southern roads so treacherous?
Mar 7
Generation Gap: Wind Opens Big Lead over Nuclear in China
Earth Policy Institute, 4 March 2014
In China, wind power is leaving nuclear behind. Electricity output from China’s wind farms exceeded that from its nuclear plants for the first time in 2012, by a narrow margin. Then in 2013, wind pulled away—outdoing nuclear by 22 percent.
Mar 7
Qantas carbon tax bill has been covered by ticket surcharge
The Guardian, 6 March 2014
Political debate has focused on whether Qantas has changed its tune about the impact of an “unrecovered” $106m carbon tax bill on its current financial difficulties – a tax bill the government insists is a direct “hit” on Qantas and its workers. But on closer questioning it turns out Qantas does not have a $106m “unrecovered” carbon tax bill at all.
Mar 5
Support for oil hints at crude awakening
WA Today, 5 March 2014
The oil market seems set for some action, according to this week's chart, produced by Mark Umansky, a certified financial technician and a councillor with the Australian Technical Analysts Association.
Mar 4
Why Sweden has so few road deaths
The Economist, 26 February 2014
LAST
year 264 people died in road crashes in Sweden, a record low. Although the
number of cars in circulation and the number of miles driven have both doubled
since 1970, the number of road deaths has fallen by four-fifths during the same
period.
Mar 4
The carbon price should be closing down these industries
Aus opinion, 4 March 2014
As big companies have been announcing plant closures and jobs cuts over the past few months – from QANTAS’ slashes to Holden, Toyota and Alcoa’s closures – progressive and environmental activists have been quick to try and ensure the carbon tax is not given any of the blame. Whilst the Coalition has regularly pointed their fingers at the policy (check out their views on QANTAS and Alcoa for example) many on the left have argued that it isn’t the cause of this destruction, and certainly isn’t the cause of any job losses.
Mar 4
Natural Gas Inventories are Headed Toward Zero
Energy Trends Insider, 26 February 2014
This winter has been one of the coldest on record. It’s been the coldest winter in at least 30 years, and I saw a report today that there is a chance that this will be Chicago’s coldest winter on record. Presently it is the 3rd coldest on record for Chicago, but another blast of cold air is just moving into the Midwest and East Coast. Natural gas is a major energy source for heating homes, and prices have been spiking periodically in recent weeks as the weekly draws on natural gas inventories are higher than normal.
