Bush Administration Eyes Utah for Oil

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has identified about 630,000 acres in Utah that are made up of tar sands suitable for oil extraction through an expensive and grueling process. 431,000 of those acres are being assessed for development in South East Utah of which many of these acres are considered wildlife quality land.

A petition rolled through my inbox today asking to sign and add comments to send a message of wildlife protection in Utah.

Getting oil out of shards and sand of tar requires a process that does extreme damage to the environment in terms of energy as well as contributes significantly to greenhouse gases.

Shale does not contain crude oil, but a substance called kerogen, a precursor to crude oil. Kerogen must be heated in an energy-intensive process to produce oil, either in the ground or after the shale is mined, usually by large-scale surface mining. Huge piles of toxic waste rock are produced. And the shale oil must be extensively refined. -Salt Lake Tribune

The cost to the environment including the air, water, and wildlife could be detrimental for residents of Utah. The lands of Utah should be left alone and protected from further development rather than exploited for oil.

Your petition signature today is urgently important. Unless the public speaks out now, President Bush's land management team will forge ahead aggressively, with little thought to the permanent impact on this fragile, irreplaceable ecosystem.

Technorati Tags: oil

Plug In Wars: Toyota vs. GM

Plug-in hybrids are going to be the next eco-fad of of the hybrid world. Slated for the year 2010, Toyota has announced plans to build plug-in hybrids by that year. 2010 is the same year auto giant GM has announced to reveal its first plug-in hybrid, the Chevy Volt. Even Ford has announced plans to build plug-in hybrids but no official year has been given to the public as to when they would begin manufacturing.

Related Articles:

Rental Car Companies Go Hybrid

Toyota Plug In Hybrid

Toyota to Go All Hybrid by 2020

Toyota Reaches 1 million Hybrid Sales

Toyota has had the most success in the hybrid business so far, with 10+ years of experience in developing high quality, fuel efficient vehicles. In a battle of Plug-In wars between the proven Prius versus a Chevy Volt, the outcome of the winner may lead towards Toyota. However, if the Chevy Volt which has been hyped beyond belief is successful by means of efficiency and price, a lot of consumers may opt for the Chevy.

Also, GM has announced that a next generation vehicle for its Saturn Vue Green Line Hybrid model is coming by late 2008 or early 2009. GM says it will become the most fuel efficient V6 SUV in which the new model is expected to increase fuel efficiency by 60% in city driving and by 50% in highway driving.

Technorati Tags: global warming

BioFuels may do More Harm Than Good

According to the Royal Society and the European Union, unless strict rules are imposed on how biofuels are grown, biofuels have the potential to do more harm than good. Biofuels have the potential to reduce greenhouse gases, however, the devastation to forest lands to clear way for agricultural farming could do more harm to the environment.

The problem lies with the battle for remaining arable land for crops and a growing demand for food as the worlds population continues to rise. Scientists that have studied the issue argue that more carbon dioxide emissions could be saved by protecting forest land rather than using biofuels.

The argument for biofuels and its implications are clearly not over and only time will tell the outcome over this issue.

Update (4/30/2008): Now we have seen the real harm biofuels have done to the world. The pressures and demand for food have driven the prices up exponentially to the point where millions more people will go malnourished or hungry due to inability to pay and lack of access. Read Related Articles below for more information.

Related Blog Articles:
Looming Food Crisis
Food Crisis to Get Worse

Technorati Tags: global warming

EPA blocks California's Emissions Waiver

Since the decision was made by the Environmental Protection Agency to block any efforts of California's attempt to regulate greenhouse gases, a rage of fury from environmentalists has commenced. The EPA has essentially told the states that they cannot regulate their own tailpipe emissions due to the fact that global warming is a global problem that needs a global solution, rather than a few states trying to implement laws. However, thirteen other states have also adopted or are poised to adopt California’s emission reduction program: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.

The EPA is holding back states that are trying to lead the country in a positive direction to help curb global warming. Now the Western Environmental Law Center (WELC) and four other non-profits are filing a lawsuit against the EPA for its baseless decision. California has basis to protect the health and well being of its citizens under the Clean Air Act and intends to move forward with the issue.

One of the most upsetting factors about the whole situation is that the EPA is an agency that has no accountability to the people since they are not elected officials. However, it is imperative that we voice our opinions in matters like these...so if you disagree with the EPA decision then I encourage you to sign this petition here and make your voice heard.

Technorati Tags: global warming

Enter to Win a Contest For A PaperNorPlastic Re-Usable Bag

So first of all, Happy New Years to everyone! One can hope that 2008 will be a better year for everyone with a fresh new start.

If you haven't already thought about a New Years Resolution, may I suggest that you try to bolster your eco-bling by using re-usable bags at the grocery store or at the market instead of using paper or plastic. Its a great way to help out and I think theres nothing cooler than seeing people use these instead of the traditional bags.

To enter the contest is simple, you have to sign up for the email subscription on the right and confirm the subscription by checking your email inbox and selecting the link that says confirm subscription. Once you have confirmed, your email will be entered into the contest and 3 winners will be selected at random for a PaperNorPlastic re-usable bag.

If you're already a subscribed member, there is another way you can enter to win, but it would require you to create a one way link to this article about the Contest and then for you to send me an email with your email address and the link that shows me where your one way link was created. That's it!

If you do both you can get two chances to win, so the contest is pretty easy. I will select the winners on January 10th to give this contest enough time to spread a little over the Internet. So Spread the word...


Technorati Tags: global warming