Unusually for a spring season, gasoline prices
have been steadily climbing in the US since the beginning of 2011, and have surpassed $4/gallon in many US states, largely due to
political instability in many oil-producing African and Middle-Eastern nations.
"Not so fast," says the Department of Energy. Although the price of crude oil has climbed steadily throughout the year, the price of gasoline has climbed much faster -- a disparity known as the
crack spread, which
has remained at its highest level in 32 months, even in light of a sharp decline in the price of crude oil at the beginning of the month. The DoE speculates that although crude oil is cheap and plentiful enough, the
2011 Misssissippi River Floods are currently more to blame for $4 gas than the uprisings in the Middle East.
posted by schmod
on May 19, 2011 -
125 comments
Current TV
previously & previously, the media company founded by Al Gore after the 2000 election, has picked up the kinds of in depth long form journalism being rapidly dropped by major networks, but has been tantalizingly unavailable for those without cable; until now. They have been putting their Vanguard episodes up on their website and on YouTube.
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posted by Blasdelb
on Apr 30, 2011 -
24 comments
In September, a privately held and highly secretive U.S. biotech company received a patent for a genetically adapted E. coli bacterium that feeds solely on carbon dioxide and excretes liquid hydrocarbons.
Joule Unlimited, co-founded by
George Church, appears ready to forever alter the way we produce fuel.
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posted by Baby_Balrog
on Jan 18, 2011 -
140 comments
The
Kermode bear or
Spirit bear is a an all white subspecies of the American Black Bear. Their white fur is the the result of a recessive allele and is believed to give them an
advantage in daylight fishing for salmon, but places them at a significant disadvantage in areas inhabited by Grizzly bears or wolves, who prey on them.
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posted by Ahab
on Nov 26, 2010 -
13 comments
The Soviet Collapse "The document which effectively concluded the history of the Soviet Union was a letter from the Vneshekonombank in November 1991 to the Soviet leadership, informing them that the Soviet state had not a cent in its coffers."
posted by bitmage
on Nov 19, 2010 -
28 comments
Although some claim
most of the oil is gone, and
new tests for dispersants say seafood and people are
safe, the reality is of course
much different.
However,
an investigation by an Al Jazeera online correspondent finds toxic illnesses linked to BP oil dispersants along the Gulf coast.
Trisha Springstead is a registered nurse of 36 years who lives and works in Brooksville, Florida. "What I'm seeing are toxified people who have been chemically poisoned," she said, "They have sore throats, respiratory problems, neurological problems, lesions, sores, and ulcers. These people have been poisoned and they are dying. Drugs aren’t going to help these people. They need to be detoxed."
posted by agregoli
on Oct 30, 2010 -
31 comments
Previously on metafilter, a flock of ducks
died in a Syncrude tailings pond in Northern Alberta. Last week Syncrude was fined
3 million dollars.
Now,
another flocks of ducks has landed in another Syncrude tailing pond.
Meanwhile, the Council of Canadians is warning that Alberta may be on the road to privatising water rights, something that ducks have previously been using for free. [/tongue in cheek.]
posted by Stagger Lee
on Oct 26, 2010 -
33 comments
"These paintings became a way to explore how driving in weather shifts and changes the views outside the car as well how the driving experience informs our basic interpretation of environment." The work of artist Gregory Thielker.
posted by fantodstic
on Oct 16, 2010 -
8 comments
Edward Mike Davis was the owner or Tiger Oil, an oil company operating in Houston during the 1970's. His
irascible memos have been an
Internet sensation for the past
few years.
Good things are not meant to last forever, and in 1980, Tiger Oil filed bankruptcy. Davis' hatred of people did not confine itself to the office, as
this case shows. Tiger Oil was in litigation in relation to the bankruptcy filing as late as
1989.
posted by reenum
on Aug 3, 2010 -
45 comments
Unf**k the Gulf has lots of swearing, lots, they're mad as f**k and are not going to take it anymore. Spend 13 on a Tee and 5 go to unf**king the gulf.
posted by dabitch
on Jul 23, 2010 -
36 comments
Experts are little help in the constant struggle in this conversation to separate myth from reality, because they have the same difficulty, and routinely demonstrate it by talking past each other. Respected scientists warn of imminent energy shortages as geologic fuel supplies run out. Wall Street executives dismiss their predictions as myths and call for more drilling. Environmentalists describe the destruction to the earth from burning coal, oil, and natural gas. Economists ignore them and describe the danger to the earth of failing to burn coal, oil, and natural gas. Geology researchers report fresh findings about what the earth was like millions of years ago. Creationist researchers report fresh findings that the earth didn’t exist millions of years ago. The only way not to get lost in this awful swamp is to review the basics and decide for yourself what you believe and what you don’t.
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posted by infinite intimation
on Jun 27, 2010 -
31 comments
On May 10th, 2010 ExxonMobile had an oil spill in Nigeria Delta. It is somewhere around the
16th worst oil spill in [wikipedia reported] world history, at
95,000 tonnes (696,350 barrels or 214,475,800 gallons).
Nigeria's agony dwarfs the Gulf oil spill. The US and Europe ignore it. Oil spills are a regular occurrence in Nigeria, about 300 a year, it is estimated over the past 50 years about 1.5 million tons have been dumped in the Delta, equivalent to the Gulf War oil spill (the largest spill on record) or 50+ Exxon Valdez.
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posted by stbalbach
on May 30, 2010 -
50 comments
The fire is out on the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon. But since the rig sank last Thursday, Coast Guard officials believe about 13,000 gallons (7,400 bbl) of crude oil per day is coming out of the exploratory hole drilled by the rig, about
41 miles offshore from Plaquemines Parish, LA. "An early suggestion that damage would be minimal because the fire was consuming most of the fuel 'does have the potential to change,' BP official David Rainey told the
New York Times."
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posted by toodleydoodley
on Apr 26, 2010 -
99 comments
