Geopolitics on EARTH Magazine

Three Cheers for Peak Oil!

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:51:09 -0500

After decades of back-and-forth, the debate about peak oil boils down to two points of contention: Is peak oil real, and is it cause for concern? But instead of arguing tired positions that don’t seem to be converging on consensus, maybe it’s time we shift our tack and instead see what we can do to bring about the peak as soon as possible.

Voices: What does "The Nation's Report Card" tell us about science education?

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:51:09 -0500

In President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech in January, he emphasized the need for more scientists, mathematicians and engineers in the U.S. workforce. But the latest national assessment of science education in the U.S. appears to offer little hope for our next generation of scientists. Still, the results provide some insight on the state of science education in this country — information that we can use to improve our schools.

Bolivia turns iron mountain into gold

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

In the heart of Bolivia’s tropics lies a mountain known as El Mutún. The mountain doesn’t look exceptional, but beneath its lush cover of vegetation lie 40 billion tons of iron ore — the world’s largest deposit. Although El Mutún’s riches have been known for more than 150 years, its remoteness and inaccessibility kept it safe from development — until now.

Breaking the Energy Barrier

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Refueling Air Force planes in midair increases fuel costs to about $42 per gallon. U.S. Air Force photo by Jet Fabara

The Department of Defense is the world's single largest energy consumer and is poised to help solve the world's energy challenges. Photo: Tech. Sgt. Angela Stafford, USAF

President Barack Obama, Col. Dave Belote and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., tour Nellis Air Force Base. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Nadine Y. Barclay

Can the Department of Defense solve the world’s energy crisis one jet at a time?

Crystal Ball EARTH: Policy: A tale of two years

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

The U.S. Capitol Building Diliff

The International Space Station, seen from the shuttle Discovery. The shuttle program is due to be retired in 2010, and the space station decommissioned in 2015. NASA

Florida Power & Light's Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center will be the largest solar thermal plant outside of California when it opens in 2010. Florida Power & Light

BP's Thunderhorse oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Congress and the Obama administration are considering whether to allow more drilling off U.S. coasts. BP p.l.c.

In U.S. policy, the past year was dominated by discussions of energy and climate change issues, at least in the earth sciences realm. In the first year of his administration, President Barack Obama focused on his top campaign priorities — but between discussions of healthcare reform, trying to rejuvenate the economy and setting up his cabinet, he still found time to discuss the sciences.

GM, Ford, Chrysler CEOs may carpool to Capitol

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

The cast-iron dome of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. U.S. government

Blogging on EARTH

Last week, members of the House Financial Services Committee blasted the execs at General Motors, Ford and Chrysler for arriving on the Hill in separate private jets — even as they pleaded for a $25-billion-dollar government bailout. But it looks like the Big Three auto companies have gotten the message.

Maldives' residents looking for a new patch of land

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Blogging on EARTH

The highest land point in the Maldives, a tiny island nation in the Indian Ocean, is only about 2.4 meters above sea level. With the IPCC predicting a sea level rise of 20 to 58 centimeters by the year 2100, the Maldives' 300,000 residents are therefore among the most threatened in the world by climate change.

New USGS chief appointed

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Courtesy of MBARI

Blogging on EARTH

It looks like the next head of the U.S. Geological Survey will be the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's current president and CEO, marine geophysicist Marcia McNutt.

EARTH/Geotimes did a profile of her back in 2005 - it's here.

Pelosi: Science first for economic recovery

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Blogging on EARTH

According to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, there are four words to describe the economic recovery package that Congress will consider this spring: “science, science, science and science.” Pelosi told National Public Radio today that science has to be first and foremost in this bill: “[We need] the science, technology and engineering to build the infrastructure for the future, the science for the innovation to keep us competitive and number one in the world markets,” she said.

Protecting planets from us - and us from them

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Apollo 11 astronauts in isolation garments. NASA

Rangers 6 through 9 made it to the moon, but were unsterilized - thus, their crash landings could have contaminated the moon. NASA

Although Apollo 11 astronauts and their ship were supposed to be quarantined to protect against possible pathogens in moon dust, the capsule door opened into the Pacific Ocean after landing. NASA

NASA scientists examine dust from comet Wild 2 in a clean room. Pathogens in the dust could still contaminate the scientists: Their eyes (soft, moist tissue) are exposed. NASA

The Space Shuttle Discovery on its way to the International Space Station. NASA

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin stands with the American flag on the moon. The astronauts' footprints are visible in the lunar soil. NASA

The two Viking landers were the only NASA spacecraft sent to Mars that received a full heat sterilization. NASA

A technician puts finishing touches on the Sputnik 1 satellite in the assembly shop in fall 1957. NASA

The Outer Space Treaty and planetary contamination

Is there life out there? Finding life has been a goal of the exploration of other celestial bodies since humans first imagined leaving our atmosphere — and that life may come in forms we do not immediately recognize. The search itself carries an inherent danger, however: We must not contaminate these pristine worlds with earthly microbes — lest we “rediscover” earthly microbes on a different planet, completely frustrating the science and devaluing the investment in the mission. If celestial bodies like Mars, the moon, comets, and Jupiter and Saturn’s icy moons do harbor microbial life, crash-landing a spacecraft on them could have serious consequences.

Rebuilding Afghanistan

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Locals cross a stream in Faryab Province in northern Afghanistan. Kristin Enstad

Ravaged by war, drought and natural hazards such as earthquakes and landslides, Afghanistan’s people face many challenges. But the country also has untapped resources — great natural beauty , deep supplies of groundwater and a vast mineral wealth, including coal, gems like emeralds and metals like copper and iron.

The Thirsty Dragon and the Wealthy Bear

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline carries crude oil 1,768 kilometers from an oilfield in the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean. BP

How China, Russia and High Oil Prices Influence Global Dynamics

The world is changing. Gone are the days of Middle Eastern sheikhs controlling the world’s oil and our purse strings. Russia and China are changing the rules of the game.

Wanted: Interim nuclear waste storage site

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Before being stored in dry casks, spent nuclear fuel spends time cooling off in a storage pool. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Like current commercial nuclear power plant practices, an interim storage facility would store spent nuclear fuel in dry casks made of concrete, lead and steel. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The United States is in a nuclear waste holding pattern. Yucca Mountain, the site of the proposed geological repository that is supposed to permanently store the country’s nuclear waste, was supposed to open in 1998. Controversy has led to numerous delays, and the repository won’t open until 2020 — assuming everything goes smoothly from here on out.

West Virginia Coal: Dirty water, dirtier politics - but will there be a cleaner future?

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Glade Creek in Raleigh County, W.Va., has not been impacted by mining. Mary Caperton Morton

Reclaimed mountaintop mine areas are put to a variety of uses. Engineering Consulting Services, Inc.

Coal has always been king in West Virginia. For more than 250 years, the mining industry has ruled the Mountain State, sometimes running roughshod over worker’s rights, public safety and West Virginia’s mountain ecosystems in the push for higher yields. Coal mining is not without its benefits: West Virginia’s mines produce 15 percent of our country’s coal and half of our coal exports. And the industry provides 40,000 jobs and contributes $3.5 billion to the Mountain State’s economy. Now with U.S. energy demands increasing and oil and natural gas prices soaring, coal’s proponents are calling for even more vigorous mining of West Virginia’s remaining estimated 52 billion tons of recoverable coal. But the energy crisis isn’t the only trend influencing the coal industry. Mining pollution is also garnering widespread attention, and new regulations are forcing mining companies to strike a better balance between protecting the environment and increasing yields.

White House climate report: U.S. changes already apparent

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Blogging on EARTH

The climate status report released today by the White House includes no new research; instead, it is a synthesis of existing scientific data and studies. But the report sums up this information by adding a firm message: The United States is already feeling the impact of climate change — and should therefore take mitigating action sooner rather than later.

Who deals with coal fires?

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Currently (and historically), most people who deal with underground coal fires and gob fires are employed by government agencies, mining and engineering companies, and firefighting agencies. Today, as in the past, these institutions undertake various responsibilities that include recording the location of coal fires, tracking their progression, and extinguishing the most problematic ones, if physically and economically feasible.