A Shrinking U.S. Trade Deficit—Brought to You by Fracking – Businessweek: US trade deficit is shrinking. Rapidly. The reason is the import of oil is a very expensive commodity. By the end of this decade, North America should be trade neutral on energy and then move to a surplus thereafter. At peak, the US trade deficit was about 6% of GDP. That is, our GDP would be reduced by the oil that is not produced…
Next generation of biofuels is still years away | Hattiesburg American | hattiesburgamerican.com: Biofuel is a byline in the energy mix. So biofuel is mandated. And because it is ordered to be true, it must be. And because it is ordered to be true, the mandate must meet the expectations. Thus is the problem with government subsidies… Burning food for fuel (corn to ethanol) is still a rather dumb idea, even though it is finally…
Ceres Monthly Newsletter: Ceres Monthly Newsletter – Flaring of Gas/NatGas This report starts to document the amount of gas (nat gas) that is flared in the production of oil/gas. In the US we can’t get the nat gas to market, so it is imply flared in many cases. The oil (wet particulates) are much more valuable so that is shipped by pipe if possible, but by truck or train if not. One statement from a…
It Keeps Getting Cheaper To Install Solar Panels In The U.S. | ThinkProgress: The cost of solar is dropping and the install capacity is quietly on the rise. Prices are down to $.30 to $.90 per watt. Plus the market is starting to be healthier. China is no longer allowed to dump their (artificially cheap) over capacity on the US and EU. Even the White House is jumping onto sun power. Very cool. ‘via Blog…
US energy use dropped in 2012 as renewables, natural gas rose | Ars Technica: Yes, the US has backed off a little with energy use during the recession, especially. That would be a good thing if not for the emissions from China and India. This is an AMAZING chart of the energy in and the energy out within the USofA. This has been an interesting chart to watch over the years. ~95.1 Quads That is…
Companies Search For Ways To Mine Uranium Outside Grand Canyon National Park | KRWG: Uranium and Nuclear power. So very much cleaner than coal. But, we have no plan, even to make a plan, to deal with the radioactive waste. Right now it is all being stored on site like the Fukushima reactor in Japan. They had an entire reactor devoted to waste storage. The best plan that I have ever seen is to take the nuclear…
