Scientists Call for an Oil Sands Moratorium
Consensus statement says the science is clear: there can be no more oils sands development if we are to solve the global climate crisis.
Energy
Consider the Global Impacts of Oil Pipelines
Wendy Palen, Thomas Homer-Dixon, et al. | As scientists spanning diverse disciplines, we urge North American leaders to take a step back: no new oil-sands projects should move forward unless developments are consistent with national and international commitments to reducing carbon pollution.
See Past the Fracking Hype
For years, NASA has produced a composite photograph of North America at night. Recently something strange has appeared in this image. Another patch of light—larger than Chicago’s—now glows in a sparsely populated region just south of the Canada-US border near Saskatchewan.
EIA Bakken Shale Oil Production Statistics
In a recent optimistic analysis, the US Energy Information Administration says drillers are learning how to put holes in the ground faster and release more oil from each hole; rig productivity in the Bakken field has quadrupled since 2007. But a close look at the data suggests that the EIA exaggerates the trend.
Climate Uncertainty Shouldn’t Mean Inaction
with Andrew Weaver | Folks who question the reality or seriousness of climate change are making a lot of noise about how the planet’s warming has slowed down or even stopped.
No Trains, No Keystone XL?
On hearing of the catastrophe in Lac-Mégantic, our first thoughts were with the city’s residents who had lost loved ones, friends, homes, and businesses. The accident was one of those jaw-dropping events that we all have trouble fully comprehending.
Oil Sands Debate
Read the face-off between global governance expert Thomas Homer-Dixon and Globe columnist Konrad Yakabuski
The Tar Sands Disaster
If President Obama blocks the Keystone XL pipeline once and for all, he’ll do Canada a favor.
Ice, Please – Climate on the Rocks
Any day now, the expanse of sea ice in the Arctic will reach its lowest extent for the year. The round-the-clock summer days have gone, and the weather is turning sharply colder as the sun sinks below the horizon for longer periods each day.
Climate Change’s Costs Hit the Plate
In the mid-1980s, when I was a doctoral student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and beginning to study climate change, I attended a lecture by a specialist in plant physiology at nearby Harvard University. He spoke about global warming’s impact on crop productivity. He was quite optimistic. More carbon dioxide in the air, he explained, causes certain kinds of plants to grow faster. So, on balance, food output should rise in a warmer and CO2-rich world.