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Environment

This Is What Big Oil Is Actually Doing

August 7, 2023 by sergneri Leave a Comment

Behind All the Talk, This Is What Big Oil Is Actually Doing Aug. 7, 2023 New York Times In reading a few arguments about the pace of the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, some are saying that “we can’t afford this” and, as in the article above, people won’t buy it.  I’m getting … [Read more…]

Posted in: Climate Change, Environment, Ethical and green living, Faits Divers, Finanace, Obituaries, Politics, Science, the Anthropocene, Thinking about Tagged: Big Oil, BP, clean energy, climate crisis, Earth Day, energy companies, Exxon Mobil, fossil fuel, I.E.A., International Energy Agency, net-zero emissions, Shell, supermajors, transition

Antarctica’s heatwaves are a warning to humanity

August 5, 2023 by sergneri Leave a Comment

Antarctica’s heatwaves are a warning to humanity – and we have only a narrow window to save the planet Climate scientists The Guardian Opinion Antarctica Fri 4 Aug 2023 Antarctica’s sea ice levels are plummeting as extreme weather events happen faster than scientists predicted

Posted in: Climate Change, Environment, Ethical and green living, Politics, Science, Sea Stories, the Anthropocene Tagged: air and sea surface temperatures, Antarctic, Antarctic Research, Antarctica, assistant Prof Cassandra Brooks, disease, Dr Charles Lee, floods, heatwaves, Monash University, Ocean, Prof S Craig Cary, Prof Sharon Robinson, Prof Steven Chown, Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, sea ice, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Waikato, University of Wollongong, wildfires

SunRay Kelley, Master Builder of the Counterculture, Dies at 71

July 31, 2023 by sergneri Leave a Comment

SunRay Kelley, Master Builder of the Counterculture, Dies at 71 The go-to guru for those seeking their dream yurt, spiritual retreat or treehouse, he brought forth his handmade structures like a wizard with a chain saw. By Penelope Green Published July 30, 2023 Updated July 31, 2023, 7:00 a.m. ET SunRay Kelley, the barefoot maverick … [Read more…]

Posted in: Climate Change, Content, Environment, Ethical and green living, Faits Divers, Future of Work, History, Obituaries, Thinking about Tagged: anti-consumerists, back-to-the-landers, barefoot, builder, fringe, handmade castles, maverick, pavilions, Sedro-Woolley, spirit lodges, SunRay Kelley, temples, tree houses, yurts

The Art of Hamad Butt

June 12, 2023 by sergneri Leave a Comment

In The Guardian is an obituary of artist Hamad Butt and a review of his work. Fascinating and dangerous, Butt was one of the Young Brits who, having died in 1994 of AIDS, didn’t receive as much exposure as his peers.   So why haven’t we heard of Butt before? His lack of visibility is … [Read more…]

Posted in: Arts, Environment, Ethical and green living, Faits Divers, Obituaries, Politics, Science, Thinking about Tagged: AIDS, contemporary British art, emotion and intellect, genius, Gilane Tawadros, Hamad Butt, high art and gothic horror, homophobia, London, racism, science and the supernatural, Tate, the sacred and profane, viruses, YBAs, Young British Artists

A ‘Big Night’ for Newts

January 25, 2023 by sergneri Leave a Comment

A ‘Big Night’ for Newts, and for a California Newt Brigade

Posted in: California History, Environment, Ethical and green living, Science Tagged: California, Chileno Valley, Chileno Valley Newt Brigade, Laguna Lake, newts, Petaluma, Sally Gale

Synhelion – Swiss Synfuel Project

January 25, 2023 by sergneri Leave a Comment

Synhelion uses solar heat to convert CO2 into synthetic fuels – so-called solar fuels. Solar radiation is reflected by the mirror field, concentrated onto the receiver, and converted into high-temperature process heat. The generated heat is fed to the thermochemical reactor that produces syngas, a mixture of H2 and CO. The syngas is then processed … [Read more…]

Posted in: Climate Change, Environment, Ethical and green living, Science, the Anthropocene Tagged: carbon emissions, CO, diesel, gas-to-liquids, gasoline, H2, heat, high-temperature, jet fuel, reactor, solar CO2, syngas, Synhelion, synthetic fuels, technology.fuels, thermochemical

Books in 2023

January 10, 2023 by sergneri 2 Comments

Last half of “Bleeding Edge” by Thomas Pynchon 01/06/2023 – Done – enjoyable. Checked out “Rising : dispatches from the new American shore” by Elizabeth Rush from the library – good account the present impact of rising seas on a few areas in the world and a cautionary tale about the future. She’s an excellent … [Read more…]

Posted in: Arts, Climate Change, Content, Environment, Ethical and green living, Faits Divers, Feminism, History, Politics, Racism, Science, Sea Stories, Slavery, the Anthropocene, Thinking about, This Day in History, What I Read Tagged: A Canticle for Leibowitz, Against the day, Albert and the Whale, American Midnight, Bleeding Edge, Coal wars : the future of energy and the fate of the planet, Don DeLillo, Elizabeth Rush, Herbert Gold, How Markets Fail, John Cassidy, Ka, Philip Hoare, Richard Martin, Roberto Colasso, Slow Learner, The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony, Thomas Pynchon, Walter M. Miller Jr, White Noise

Big Oil talks ‘transition’

December 9, 2022 by sergneri Leave a Comment

Big Oil talks ‘transition’ but perpetuates petroleum, House documents say A House committee, accusing oil companies of deception, releases a trove of internal documents revealing how these firms view the ‘energy transition’ By Steven Mufson and Timothy Puko December 9, 2022 Some of the world’s major oil companies remain internally skeptical about the “energy transition” … [Read more…]

Posted in: Environment, Ethical and green living, Finanace, Future of Work, Politics, the Anthropocene Tagged: 2022, BP, Canadian oil sands, carbon, carbon capture, carbon footprints, climate science, economy, energy transition, ExxonMobil, House Committee, House Committee on Oversight and Reform, low-carbon, low-carbon economy, oil company, oversight, Politico, Reform, Shell, the American Petroleum Institute, TotalEnergies, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Jaron Lanier on Poisoning

November 27, 2022 by sergneri 1 Comment

Trump, Musk and Kanye Are Twitter Poisoned The New York Times, Opinion Guest Essay, Jaron Lanier, Nov. 11, 2022 ‘Extinction is on the table’: Jaron Lanier warns of tech’s existential threat to humanity, The Guardian, Edward Helmore, Sun 27 Nov 2022. Jaron Lanier is a computer scientist who pioneered research in virtual reality and whose … [Read more…]

Posted in: Climate Change, Environment, Ethical and green living, Faits Divers, Feminism, IT Failures, Politics, Racism, Science, Slavery, the Anthropocene, Thinking about, Trump Tagged: addiction, antisemitism, behavior-modification, cancel culture, Elon Musk, engagement, fandom, Jaron Lanier, Kanye West, online bullying, operant conditioning, public behavior, slavery denialism, Twitter Poisoned

The Crime Spike Is No Mystery

November 23, 2022 by sergneri Leave a Comment

In The Atlantic, Patrick Sharkey writes about the causes of crime; “By zooming out and looking at the big picture, the question of what causes violence becomes quite answerable.” November 23, 2022 Patrick Sharkey is the William S. Tod Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. He … [Read more…]

Posted in: Environment, Ethical and green living, Faits Divers, Finanace, History, Politics, Racism, Science, Thinking about Tagged: Chicago, crime, geography of violence, Patrick Sharkey, Segregation, The Atlantic, Urban Crime, violence
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