Mining the Mother of all Data Dumps We now have a relatively massive haul of digital data from the OBL strike. There are several forensic toolkits in use by the private
(commercially available) and
public sector as well as
open-source.
Best practices include inventorying all the sources, cloning the sources so as to not damage pristine data, recovering any partial or damaged content, making the cloned sources read-only, adhering to legally-admissible tools standards, and documenting everything. There is an excellent source titled Digital Forensics and Born-Digital Content from the Council on Library and Information Resources [
pdf,
Resource Shelf]. But what to do next*?
[more inside]
posted by rzklkng
on May 4, 2011 -
40 comments
Dirty Coal, Clean Future To environmentalists, "clean coal" is an insulting oxymoron. But for now, the only way to meet the world's energy needs, and to arrest climate change before it produces irreversible cataclysm, is to use coal—dirty, sooty, toxic coal—in more-sustainable ways. The good news is that new technologies are making this possible. China is now the leader in this area, the Google and Intel of the energy world. If we are serious about global warming, America needs to work with China to build a greener future on a foundation of coal. Otherwise, the clean-energy revolution will leave us behind, with grave costs for the world's climate and our economy. (more
here and responses
here,
here and
here)
posted by kliuless
on Nov 12, 2010 -
49 comments
"
Places like Picher are why Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980—better known as the Superfund bill." - Wired Magazine on the most toxic town in America,
Picher, OK , and
the people who still live there
posted by The Whelk
on Sep 5, 2010 -
21 comments
U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan. The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.
The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe.
posted by scalefree
on Jun 13, 2010 -
156 comments
7 Dead, 19 Missing "The Mine Safety and Health Administration, or MSHA, has cited the Upper Big Branch Mine for hundreds of violations in recent years, including 10 so far this year related to legal requirements for ventilation systems to control methane and dust. The company has contested numerous fines, including two in January totaling more than $130,000 related to mine ventilation."
posted by wv kay in ga
on Apr 5, 2010 -
57 comments
The Dzrtgrls explore mines, ghost towns, rockhounding spots, petroglyphs, geocaching and metal detecting sites, and take lots of great pictures in the process.
posted by rollbiz
on Apr 26, 2009 -
12 comments
Picher, Oklahoma was part of a
major lead mining area in the central US until the middle of the last century, when the
mines closed down. It is now the
epicenter of the
Tar Creek Superfund site. Residents live among mountains of
mine tailings known
as chat. Heavy metal poisoning is endemic in the area. With fits and starts, things do begin to get done about it, but only very slowly.
To add insult to injury, Picher was
struck by an
EF-4 tornado on May 10th, 2008. The residents are finally
suing over the long in
coming
buyout plan. Shockingly, the buyout plan was put into place with urgency not because of the lead, zinc, and cadmium poisoning,
but because the mines are
in danger of caving in. There is still word on when the
mountains of debris will be removed, or the acid mine drainage stopped. Despite attempts to prevent further contamination in the 1980s and 90s, the waste is still
poisoning local creeks and
wildlife.
posted by wierdo
on Apr 9, 2009 -
15 comments
Long revered for its value as a
fertilizer, and as a raw material for
explosives, guano is the dried droppings of various birds and bats. The New York Times has published an excellent account of the
Peruvian harvest of this valuable resource including a
multimedia slideshow. Guano was superseded by synthetics in the early part of the 20th century, due to the development of the
Haber Bosch process, which fixed atmospheric
nitrogen.
An attempt to harvest bat guano from a
Grand Canyon cave in the late 1950’s was beset by technical problems and was ultimately unsuccessful. The remaining structures at the canyon rim are now a
tourist attraction.
posted by Tube
on Jun 7, 2008 -
13 comments
The Crooked House is a pub in the UK's West Midlands built on coal mining land. Severe subsidence over time caused a 15 degree shift from the left wall to the right. Faced with the choice of repairing the damage or abandoning the structure, the owners took a different tack - buttresses now hold the building in place, and it remains at a permanent slant. Higher
resolution photos here.
Via.
posted by jonson
on Sep 27, 2007 -
13 comments
"A bad way to make a living." A series on the history and ecological impact of
strip mining in southeast Kansas during the early 20th century that includes articles, photo galleries with sound files, and video slideshows about the region. The area, known as the
"Little Balkans," because of the large Eastern European population that worked the mines, was a
large mining community that has given the US the
second largest electric shovel in the country, a home to
one of the largest socialist newspapers in the country (called
Appeal to Reason and
founded by Julius Wayland) as well as the
Little Blue Books series started by
Emanuel Haldeman-Julius in 1919. Oh yeah, it was
also --second paragraph-- the place that most of the
bootleg alcohol that fueled the
Kansas City Jazz Scene of
that time was from as well. Of course, if you should ever find yourself in SEKS, and you eat meat, go to either
Chicken Annie's or Chicken Mary's [transcript] since they're only a few miles apart in their modern incarnation.
The legends you hear growing up there aren't always true, but it doesn't matter because the onion rings are fantastic. And yes,
in some ways all Kansas has left is history.
posted by sleepy pete
on Mar 22, 2007 -
9 comments
15 days ago, there was a relatively small earthquake near Beaconsfield, Tasmania, which left 3 miners trapped in a gold mine. The situation looked grim after the body of
one of the miners was recovered. But after 5 days, there was elation as the other two were found,
still alive, buried one kilometer underground in a small cage. Australia's major commercial networks immediately sent their top news celebrities to the small mining town, assuming there would be a quick and easy rescue. In hindsight, they were perhaps a bit over enthusiastic. Accusations of a
media circus, and
chequebook journalism soon followed. After a couple of days of nothing happening, the media even started
turning on their own.
The story took an unexpectedly sad twist this weekend when one of Australia's most well known journalists
died at the site from an apparent heart attack. But tonight, after 15 days underground, it seems the rescuers are
finally breaking through the rock to
reach the unfortunate trapped miners.
posted by Diag
on May 8, 2006 -
19 comments
Take a trip with me to 1913.
To
Calumet, Michigan, in the
Copper Country.
I'll take you to a place called
Italian Hall,
Where the
miners are having their big
Christmas Ball.
This time of year,
Woody Guthrie's haunting ballad "
1913 Massacre" brings to mind one of the most tragic incidents in American labor history. At the midpoint of the bitter and violent
miners' strike of 1913-14, miners and their families gathered for a Christmas party given by their union. An unidentified "
stupid person" gave the shout of "
fire", causing a panicked rush to escape. Unable to get out the door,
more than 70 people, mostly children, were smothered to death. A forthcoming documentary (main link) explores the legacy of the event, using Guthrie's song as its starting point.
posted by Miko
on Dec 21, 2005 -
19 comments
Motherload is a Flash game about mining Mars. It just devoured my morning. Be careful.
posted by picea
on Oct 12, 2004 -
16 comments
"The depleted uranium being used in the Middle East is a repeat of the deception of Navajos, the abuse of the innocent. 'The United States government knew all along the uranium mining would kill Navajos....' said Badoni, among Navajos organizing opposition to further uranium mining on the Navajo Nation....declassified documents in the United States reveal that both the buyer, the United States government, and Ottawa, then the world's largest supplier, withheld information from Native miners that could have saved their health and their lives."
The ongoing, deadly fallout in a certain nation where development (and use) of weapons of mass destruction has
never been in doubt.
posted by fold_and_mutilate
on Aug 18, 2003 -
10 comments
Paging Andy Warhol What happens during the 16th minute after you unexpectedly become famous? Here's a follow up story on the Coal Miners trapped and then rescued last July. You know its gonna get weirder, so lets get on with the show
posted by BentPenguin
on Nov 13, 2002 -
9 comments
Mining Artifacts "This site is dedicated to those who daily faced the danger, uncertainty, darkness, dampness, heat and cold of underground mining, those who were drawn to toil in the depths of the earth."simply massive collection of mining paraphernalia and images. a veritable gold mine (sorry) of cool stuff!
posted by quonsar
on May 15, 2002 -
3 comments
