Seismologist: Fracking well injection linked to earthquakes
"And also what was happening with the actual injection parameters was that they had been injecting fluid into these wells since about the 1990s, and so it was somewhat of a surprise to see that, you know, 20 years later we see a series of earthquakes occur. But if you look in detail at the injection pressures, what happened was initially they could inject wastewater without any pressure. It would just basically go straight down the well, and they didn't have to put any pressure to make it go into the formation. But those pressures gradually rose over the 20 year period until essentially they'd have to keep increasing the pressure at which they'd force the water down in order to continue injecting the same volume of water. And so we think that was showing that essentially this formation, which had been previously drilled and produced and now is being reinjected into, was essentially filling up, that it was a closed space where they were pumping a lot of water down into, and essentially it got to the point where the formation was full, and that caused increases in core pressure, which may have led to these events along the existing fault systems there."
This week saw a minor breakthrough in fusion technology, but of greater impact and importance is the state of electricity and thermal storage technology. Whereas fusion would create an arms race to use the most energy, storage creates a platform for using the right amount of clean energy.
Is energy storage in Germany and America the key to sustainable energy?
"Once more, best practices in the U.S. may illuminate the path forward. Three recent rulings by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission are requiring grid operators to accurately value energy storage as a generation resource, meaning investors can see the economic value of storage instead of just the environmental upside. In fact, one bullish energy industry executive has predicted battery storage will be cost competitive with natural gas within the next 18 months."
My desired response to this question is "At least!", but developing fossil-fuel-based strategies does not mitigate the risks we face. We have the technology, the understanding of how to implement it cost effectively, and a world clamoring for energy stability and justice. We could move to a 75% distributed/100% renewable world by 2030 and do so at lower cost than our current methods. All it takes is a willingness to see past the fear.
Will distributed energy make up one-third of the US power supply by 2030?
"But there’s a catch -- this supply isn’t mostly made up of rooftop solar PV, or homes and business equipped with modern energy-saving, peak-shaving demand response technology. While those resources are growing fast, by far the biggest share of this untapped DER resource comes in the form of two decidedly un-sexy technologies: combined heat and power (CHP) systems and rarely used backup generators."
All politics is local, and all sustainability starts with the community. The quality of life where we live is of utmost importance, and it does not matter what ones politics are, no one wants their community to be a toxic place to live.
Kansas mayor says sustainability is about community, not politics
"Dixson, a Republican, won the mayoral election in a landslide. Now halfway through his second term, Dixson has delivered: Greensburg has a new hospital and a new school built using sustainable architecture. There are wind turbines and solar panels all over town. He says he had to get past the idea that being 'green' was a liberal principle."
Corporations claim they have a mandate to do whatever they have to do in order to gain market share and return profits to their investors. Should we accept that this "mandate" includes immoral activities as long as the corporation is not caught doing them? Would you buy an item if you knew someone's life was harmed to make it? If so, do you seek out information or wait for it to surface on its own? If not, why?
A guide to ethical chocolate
"For African children, chocolate poses a much bigger threat than just cavities. A 2011 Tulane University study found a “projected total of 819,921 children in Ivory Coast and 997,357 children in Ghana worked on cocoa-related activities” in 2007-2008. (I use the term “work” loosely: That implies payment, when most of these children are in fact slaves who are imprisoned on farms, beaten for trying to leave, and denied any wages.) NGOs, politicians, and even a Hershey shareholder have tried to force the industry to change, but so far, these efforts have been stymied by the powerful chocolate barons, who are surprisingly evil for folks who make candy for a living."
Happy Friday!
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