Everyone agrees that if oil production is going to increase it will have to come from the group of 13 oil producing countries known as OPEC. But can OPEC really do it? We meet the men in power and find out that all may not be as it seems. Travelling to Kuwait the documentary team uncovers exclusive evidence that world oil reserves may be exaggerated by up to 50%.

There is a new documentary on CBCNewsworld, entitled Oil Apocalypse Now?. According to the promotional bulletin, it "reveals the myths and conspiracy theories surrounding the future of our world's oil supplies" and offers an in-depth, intercontinental look at oil production and consumption. It airs September 15 at 10 PM ET and September 21 at 8 PM ET on CBC Newsworld.


Update: The title of the original is Petroabpocalypse Now?, but I think they're changing it for North American audiences. Here's the trailer. I can't stand the voiceover, but I think it looks interesting, nevertheless.

Environmental Economist gives a foolproof formula for beating the lottery:

Suppose you spend $10 a week on lottery tickets. Follow the simple fool-proof lottery winning steps below and I guarantee at the end of a year you will come out ahead.

Step 1: Choose a number between 1 and 100.

Step 2: Take your age, multiply by 2, add 5, multiply by 50, and subtract 365.

Step 3: Add the number from step 1 to the number from step 2

Step 4: Add 115

Step 5: Take the resulting number, write it down on a piece of paper and carefully place it in your wallet/purse.

Step 6: Drive to the nearest lottery ticket selling store.

Step 7: Walk next door to the bank, and deposit your $10.

Step 8: Drive home.

Step 9: Repeat steps 1 through 8 each week for 52 weeks.

At the end of 52 weeks you will have 'won' $520.

Did McCain just lose Colorado? That would be a fucking miracle.

Forget about winning our nine electoral votes next November. We don't vote for water rustlers in this state; we tar and feather them!

So, contrary to what I had been led to believe, the job prospects do not look bleak at all for postsecondary teachers in the coming years. I came across the labor department job discussions while looking up something entirely unrelated; they seem to think that job growth in postsecondary education is projected to have much larger job growth than most other fields (except, of course, the big alternative energy boom that we're waiting on). This may be wrong, but it's certainly heartening.

I feel the need to quote this at length, from Climate Progress:

But let me begin at the beginning. Obama, as everyone knows, has presented detailed national strategies to reduce oil consumption as part of his climate plan months ago (see “Obama’s excellent energy and climate plan“). Now the right wing is all agog at some remarks Obama made yesterday about what individuals can do:

“We could save all the oil that they’re talking about getting off drilling if everybody was just inflating their tires and getting regular tune-ups. You could save just as much.”

Limbaugh said:

This is unbelievable! My friends, this is laughable of course, but it’s stupid! It is stupid! … Avoid jackrabbit starts, keep your tires properly inflated, there’s a list of about ten or twelve these things. I said if I follow each one of these things I’ll have to stop the car every five miles, siphon some fuel out, for all the fuel I’m going to be saving. This is ridiculous…. Who has filled his head with this stuff?

Actually, it is probably the Bush administration’s own Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency that has filled him with that stuff. Let’s do the math.

First, America consumes about 22 million barrels of oil a day. According to a recent EPA report, “light-duty vehicles account for approximately 40 percent of all U.S. oil consumption,” or about 9 million barrels of oil a day.

Strange as it may seem, the Bush/Cheney DOE and EPA jointly run a website, www.fueleconomy.gov, that provides recommendations to consumers for saving fuel. And it quantifies the savings. First, we have the recommendations for

KEEPING YOUR CAR IN SHAPE

* Keep Your Engine Properly Tuned: Fixing a car that is noticeably out of tune or has failed an emissions test can improve its gas mileage by an average of 4 percent, though results vary based on the kind of repair and how well it is done. Fixing a serious maintenance problem, such as a faulty oxygen sensor, can improve your mileage by as much as 40 percent.
* Check & Replace Air Filters Regularly: Replacing a clogged air filter can improve your car’s gas mileage by as much as 10 percent. Your car’s air filter keeps impurities from damaging the inside of your engine. Not only will replacing a dirty air filter save gas, it will protect your engine.
* Keep Tires Properly Inflated: You can improve your gas mileage by around 3.3 percent by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure. Under-inflated tires can lower gas mileage by 0.4 percent for every 1 psi drop in pressure of all four tires. Properly inflated tires are safer and last longer.
* Use the Recommended Grade of Motor Oil: You can improve your gas mileage by 1-2 percent by using the manufacturer’s recommended grade of motor oil. For example, using 10W-30 motor oil in an engine designed to use 5W-30 can lower your gas mileage by 1-2 percent. Using 5W-30 in an engine designed for 5W-20 can lower your gas mileage by 1-1.5 percent. Also, look for motor oil that says “Energy Conserving” on the API performance symbol to be sure it contains friction-reducing additives.

Okay, let’s say we had a real president who actually cared about ending our addiction to oil during a time we are at war in the Persian Gulf. Let’s say he made a major effort to work with the governors and the mayor is to educate the public and perhaps had an economic stimulus package that included vouchers for low income people to get their car tuned up.

Limits on sprawling development are critical to reducing heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions as the U.S. population expands, U.S. EPA says in a new draft report.

Development in urban and suburban areas is expected to increase by at least 56 percent by 2100 and could expand as much as 156 percent, the draft says, leading to more asphalt and concrete and stress on watersheds affected by dirty stormwater runoff from the developed areas. Scientists say some areas will see stronger storms -- and thus more runoff -- as temperatures warm.

Via eenews (subscription required, but if you're a university student, your university probably subscribes). The drought in North Carolina was what first made me aware (yes, I'm a bit of a latecomer) of one of the central problems of the urbanization and sub-urbanization of the U.S. As cement builds up, less water is absorbed into the ground and there is more runoff, impacting watersheds. This is, of course, a preliminary analysis. The conclusion that the EPA comes to is that a large number of impervious surfaces (roads, sidewalks, buildings) increases regional vulnerability to drought, pollution, etc. You can download the full report here.