Social Impact Articles
- US gas demand should fall for good after '06 peak
NEW YORK – The world's biggest gas-guzzling nation has limits after all.
After seven decades of mostly uninterrupted growth, U.S. gasoline demand is at the start of a long-term decline. By 2030, Americans will burn at least 20 percent less gasoline than today, experts say, even as millions of more cars clog the roads.
The country's thirst for gasoline is shrinking as cars and trucks become more fuel-efficient, the government mandates the use of more ethanol and people drive less.
"A combination of demographic change and policy change means the heady days of gasoline growing in the U.S. are over," says Daniel Yergin, chairman of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates and author of a Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the oil industry.
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- Fuel apocalypse' to come: Gas could top $3.75 by spring, analyst says
Today's gasoline prices, while higher than normal for this time of year, could end up looking cheap come springtime, says one prominent oil analyst.
Pump prices nationwide for regular unleaded could hit an average of $3.25 to $3.75 a gallon early next year on higher crude oil prices and a seasonal rise in gasoline demand, Tom Kloza, senior oil analyst with the Oil Price Information Service predicts.
"My view of 2011 suggests that we are looking at the second fuel price apocalypse of the 21st century, commencing during a time line that will begin with spring training and end when the Cubs are written off as a baseball non-contender," Kloza writes.
As for whether U.S. pump prices will reach an average of $3 a gallon before the end of 2010, he says it could go either way.
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- Proximity to Freeway Associated With Autism
ScienceDaily (Dec. 17, 2010) - Living near a freeway may be associated with increased risk of autism, according to a study published by a team of researchers from Children's Hospital Los Angeles, the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) and the UC Davis MIND Institute.
The paper will appear online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives this week.
"Children born to mothers living within 309 meters of a freeway appeared to be twice as likely to have autism," said Heather Volk, PhD, MPH, and first author on the study. Dr. Volk holds a joint appointment at the Community, Health Outcomes & Intervention Research Program at The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles, the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute and the Department of Preventative Medicine at USC.
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- Must-see 'Lost Generation' video
It might be better titled, "A tale of two generations." It is palindromic - so be sure to watch it until the end:
Yes, it's not new - it has nearly 15 million views. But it's still poignant.
It'd be very interesting to do something like this just for climate and clean energy. If someone put such a video together, I'd be delighted to run it.
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- Scientists develop method to detect, track carbon dioxide
ALBUQUERQUE - Scientists have developed a method for detecting and tracking carbon dioxide deep underground, giving the federal government an important tool as scientists try to keep carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from crowding the atmosphere.
Scientists working with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory used colorless, nontoxic liquids called perflourocarbon tracers to essentially fingerprint carbon dioxide that was injected into a coal seam in northwestern New Mexico.
They followed the carbon dioxide's movement by tracking the tracers.
A physical scientist at the National Energy Technology Laboratory in Pittsburgh, Brian Strazisar, says using the tracers will eliminate some of the uncertainty surrounding carbon capture and sequestration.
"There is going to be some sort of requirement that we verify that the carbon dioxide is going where we expect it to and that it's not going back into the atmosphere or into geologic zones that weren't intended. The tracers help with that," he said.
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- 'Resisting The Green Dragon': Religious Right Attacks Environmentalism As 'Deadly' And 'Destructive' In New DVD Series
Various conservative Christian leaders have united with the Cornwall Alliance for the release of a shocking new 12-part DVD series, "Resisting The Green Dragon," that attempts to debase and discredit the environmental movement by portraying it as "one of the greatest deceptions of our day" that is "seducing your children" and "striving to put America and the world under its destructive control."
The hyperbolic accusations spewed throughout the video give it the appearance of a ridiculous parody, calling environmentalism "deadly," a "cult" and a "spiritual deception." Unfortunately, the comical PSA is anything but a joke.
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