Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Carolyn Tucker, Colorado, energy, kerogen, oil, oil shale, peak oil, pie in the ground, proven reserves, Royal Dutch Shell
Said spokesman Martin Skrtel, speaking at Shell’s headquarters in Den Hague, “It was always just a really stupid, non-starter of an idea. You’d have to be a scientific illiterate to believe that cooking “oil shale” to create crude oil could have a positive energy balance. Still, we thought we could buy off enough legislators to create, how should we say, a conducive fiscal atmosphere that would make the scheme a profit-maker for us. But now we have abandoned even those plans…”
Ha ha that was satire. What they really said was different:
A month after Royal Dutch Shell’s U.S. subsidiary said it would pursue its oil shale research project in Colorado while selling off other oil and gas assets, the company has reversed its decision.
“There’s been a shift in our oil shale project,” spokeswoman Carolyn Tucker said Tuesday.
“The energy market has evolved since Shell first started its oil shale research project in 1981. We plan to exit our Colorado oil shale research project in order to focus on other opportunities and producing assets in our broad global portfolio,” she said in an email.
“Our current focus is to work with staff and contractors as we safely and methodically stop research activities at the site,” she said.
The announcement regarding the closure of Shell’s oil shale research and development work comes as the company announces plans to put its assets on the market across the United States, including oil and gas assets in northwestern and southeastern Colorado.
Shell on Aug. 1 reported a 60 percent drop in second-quarter results — largely due to a $2 billion write-down of its North American shale assets due to “the latest insights from exploration and appraisal drilling results and production information.”
via Shell pulling out of Colorado oil shale research project – Denver Business Journal.
via Brian Holcombe, velonews:
Stetina suffered a traumatic brain stem injury in the crash, which reportedly came after a driver pulled across the oncoming traffic lane ahead of a group of cyclists in Lefthand Canyon. He remained in critical condition at the Boulder Community Hospital after being airlifted from the crash site, and has taken significant steps in regards to his cognitive function since reconstructive oral surgery late last week, according to friends and family.
“I told him about how the races [WorldTour events in Quebec] went and he tried his best to give me training advice,” Peter Stetina wrote in an email shared with VeloNews. “It was hard to follow, but it shows his mind is trying to process complex theories. He was making regular eye contact and even told me I need to get five percent more power. I told him about switching to BMC next season, he didn’t remember this had happened but he understood what I was telling him and processed that as well. I also asked him if he remembers Loba (my dog) and he said yes.”
via Stetina showing signs of improvement after traumatic brain injury – VeloNews.com.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Anadarko, Colorado floods, John Christiansen, Weld County
via rigzone:
DENVER (AP) — More spills were revealed Friday in a Colorado oilfield swamped by floodwaters as cleanup efforts remained stalled due to high waters and regulators cautioned that more oil releases were likely to be found in coming days.
The latest spills included 2,400 gallons of oil from a toppled storage tank, almost 900 gallons from an unspecified source and two others from damaged storage tanks that involved unknown volumes.
[…]
Most of the oil releases reported to date came from storage tanks or tank farms operated by Texas-based Anadarko Petroleum Co. At least four of the releases reported by the company were in Weld County and spilled oil into the South Platte River or a tributary, according to information submitted to regulators.
It’s possible other companies have suffered similar problems since flooding began last week but have not yet been able to assess their damage. An aerial survey of the flood area on Thursday revealed up to two dozen overturned oil storage tanks, state regulators said. Releases from those tanks could not be immediately confirmed.
With many roads in the area washed out, the sites remained largely inaccessible, preventing cleanup work from getting underway until water levels drop, said Anadarko spokesman John Christiansen.
via RIGZONE – New Flood-Related Oil Spills Reported in Colorado.
“State regulators…” Come on. We all know that, for all intents and purposes, there are no state regulators of Colorado’s oil and gas industry. We rely on the industry to regulate itself here.
Remember that Weld County, offended by some legislators’ attempts to strengthen the virtually non-existent regulatory regime, wanted to secede and become their own state, to which I say “Go for it, Weld County.”
Was mysteriously ordered to leave the scene of the DC Navy Yard shooting… leaving shooter to go about his business.
The Capitol Police tactical response team was told by a supervisor to leave the scene instead of aiding municipal officers, sources told the BBC.
Meanwhile, the department has installed a new leader of the elite unit. No reason has been given for the decision.
via BBC News – Navy Yard shooting: Swat team awaits answers.
Anything in US media?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bicycling, East Bay, EBBC, Oakland, sharrows, urban cycling
Not exactly what I had in mind when I coined the term some years ago, but pretty cool. These look essentially like a green stripe bike lane painted right down the middle of the travel lane. via East BAy Bicycle Coalition:
EBBC compromised with the city of Oakland to allow supersharrows on 40th St. in return for real bike lanes on West MacArthur Boulevard, which are being studied. The compromise was made necessary by neighborhood concerns about narrowing newly planted medians to make room for bike lanes and AC Transit concerns about bus service impacts if a traffic lane was removed for bikes. EBBC prefers bike lanes over supersharrows for any street with significant traffic or higher speeds, but we first want to hear what you think. Thanks for providing feedback.
via 40th St Supersharrows: What do you think? | East Bay Bicycle Coalition.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Berdimuhamedov, bicycles, biking, Turkmenistan
Story is old and lacks credibility. Still fun.
President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov – featured on TV “winning” a cycle race a fortnight ago – has been encouraging mass-participation events on Sundays. And the opposition website Chrono reports that hes expecting the entire population to climb into the saddle on 1 September. “This campaign will help to boost health, ensure environmental security and promote cycling,” the president is quoted as saying. It comes after Berdimuhamedov approved a four-year state programme for developing cycling in the country.But Chrono says this is bad news for those who dont own a bike. “Prices for bikes have sharply risen in the country. By any means, all able-bodied individuals, pupils and students should have bikes by 1 September,” it reports, citing the case of one teacher in the capital Ashgabat who tendered his resignation because of his refusal to take part.
via BBC News – Turkmenistan: Citizens forced to buy bikes.
Good ol’ Chris Horner. And amazing candor from Nibali.
The 41-year-old Horner ripped the legs off race leader Vincenzo Nibali Astana, attacking on the steepest ramps of 20 percent on the 5.5km final climb up Peña Cabarga on stage 18, trimming Nibali’s lead to the slenderest of margins, pulling within three seconds.
“I had amazing legs today. I told the team today I could take the jersey, but I was just three seconds off,” Horner said at the top of the mountain. “If I can get a gap tomorrow, maybe I can get the red jersey. I was confident all day. I was never in the red, always pedaling easy. It was a big day.”
Horner confirmed yet again he is the best climber in this Vuelta. Just as he’s demonstrated every time the road has gone up, Horner has been able to put his rivals into trouble. He came up just three seconds from taking the red leader’s jersey, but Horner knows that momentum is in his corner.“Maybe it’s better if I don’t have the red. I just have to go deep on Saturday,” Horner continued. “The most important thing is that I made up a lot of time. The gap is smaller.”
After losing time to Horner for the second consecutive summit finish, Nibali all but threw in the towel.“Horner demonstrated again that he is a level above all of us in the climbs,” Nibali said. “The rhythm he was setting up the climb was too hard for me, so I tried to limit the damage. With tomorrow and Saturday for Anglirú, Horner is set up to win this Vuelta.”
via With two summit finishes remaining, Horner edging closer to Vuelta lead – VeloNews.com.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: chicken jerky, chicken nuggets, China, Chinese chicken, USDA, what came first, where are chicken nuggets made?
(NEWSER) – The US Department of Agriculture quietly announced on Friday that it had approved four Chinese poultry plants to ship processed chicken into the US. It’s no wonder it tried to sneak that news onto the eve of a long weekend, notes Bloomberg: China has a dodgy reputation for food safety, with repeated outbreaks of avian flu and the New York Times reports that Chinese-made chicken jerky recently killed hundreds of US dogs. So it’s a little worrying that these processing plants will operate without USDA inspectors, and the agency does not require point-of-origin labeling, so American consumers will not know where their chicken comes from.
via Soon to Be Made in China: Your Chicken Nuggets – But that won't be on the label….
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cesium, Fukushima, nuclear disaster, radiation leaks, Tepco, Yoshihide Suga
Japan is to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into building a frozen wall around the Fukushima nuclear plant to stop leaks of radioactive water.
Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said an estimated 47bn yen ($473m, £304m) would be allocated.
The leaks were getting worse and the government “felt it was essential to become involved to the greatest extent possible”, Mr Suga said.
via BBC News – Fukushima leaks: Japan pledges $470m for 'ice wall'.
Way too late, government.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bicycling, bike routes, Boulder, Coal Creek Trail, cycling, Erie, Lafayette, Rock Creek Trail
Really fun hardpack paths.
Last month, the last major segment of the Coal Creek/Rock Creek Regional Trail was completed, bringing together a 27-mile trail network that now extends from Erie to Eldorado Springs, south of Boulder.
via 20-plus-year dream of a Boulder County prairie-to-mountain trail realized – Boulder Daily Camera.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bicycle crash, bicycling, Coors Classic, cycling, Dale Stetina, Left Hand Canyon, Red Zinger
…
According to multiple sources — including Boulder newspaper Daily Camera, local Colorado cycling website 303Cycling, and veteran American racer Steve Tilford — Stetina, 57, sustained life-threatening injuries when he fell from his bike while trying to avoid colliding with a car in Lefthand Canyon, a well-traveled road for riding among the Boulder cycling community.
According to the Daily Camera report, troopers who responded to the scene said that a 1999 Jeep SUV was headed westbound on Lefthand Canyon when the driver, identified as an adult male, pulled across the centerline and onto a shoulder on the opposite side of the road.
The driver then attempted to pull back into the westbound lane just as a group of cyclists headed eastbound on the roadway came around a slight bend. All of the cyclists were able to avoid the vehicle, but one rider lost control in the process of maneuvering, causing him to fall from his bike, a Colorado State Patrol spokesperson told Daily Camera.
Though Stetina was wearing a helmet, Tilford posted to his website Saturday night that he’d received an email from a friend of Stetina’s, describing his injuries as “very serious.”
“Dale did not hit the car, but hit the pavement, landing face first, suffering significant facial and ocular damage, and loss of responsiveness,” the email message read. “EMTs were on the scene rapidly, he received good care. He was flown to Boulder Community Hospital in a Flight for Life helicopter. He is there now in ICU. The CatScan diagnosis revealed brain stem injuries. The neurosurgeon describes the injuries as very serious. Dale is in tough shape. The future of Dale’s recovery is not known at this time, the doctors have offered no predictions. His vital signs are stable given the trauma he encountered. We are all hopeful.”
via Former national champion Dale Stetina in critical condition after Colorado accident – VeloNews.com.
Brain stem injury — not from hitting the road but from getting his neck twisted violently.
Industrialized Cyclist Notepad 