High Prices Are Driving Increased Extraction of Oil and Other Fossil Fuels
AMWELL, Pa.--
...Heavy industry has invaded the countryside because of something called the Marcellus Shale. It's a layer of hard, black rock, more than a mile down. Trapped in tiny pores of that rock is a huge quantity of natural gas. The Marcellus Shale could become what people in the natural gas business call a big play."It's a gold rush, really. It's a boom," said Steve Rupert, an executive with Range Resources, which is drilling aggressively in the rolling farmland southwest of Pittsburgh.
This is the world of 21st-century energy, which around here looks surprisingly like 19th-century energy. There is little evidence that the old, conventional sources of energy are about to disappear, or that the free market by itself is going to drive a transition to clean, renewable power....MORE
The writer, Joel Achenbach is pretty funny. From his WaPo blog:
The Tasmanian Megafauna
I know: It's all anyone can talk about. The Tasmanian megafauna!
But it's a clue in a big riddle. What happened to all the big animals that used to stomp around the planet during the Pleistocene?>>>MORE
And:Next Stop:The Dead Zone
Dead zones are all the rage! Here's my latest dead zone story. That's all I do now: I've got the dead zone beat. Refrain from obvious "deadbeat" jokes!!!...MORE
And:
World War Five
When in doubt, go with the most hysterical headline. (Rule one of blogging is that the End Of The World will be good for page views.)...MORE
