Saturday, July 28, 2012

"Stubborn sea ice":   Shell scales back Arctic drilling plans
Shell is scaling back plans to drill up to five wells in Arctic waters this summer amid a series of setbacks, including stubborn sea ice still clinging to Alaska’s shores and delays in construction of an emergency oil spill containment barge.
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“Ice conditions will dictate how long the drilling season will last, with a slower start due to heavy ice conditions,” he said.

Unusually thick shorefast ice is keeping Shell from sending drillships into the Arctic waters and shortening an already brief window. Under federal regulations, Shell has to stop drilling in hydrocarbon zones by Oct. 31 in the Beaufort Sea; regulators are requiring that work to end 38 days earlier in the Chukchi Sea.

In the past five years, ice has encroached over the planned drill sites as early as Nov. 1, but this summer, the slow melt of multi-year ice at the season’s start means the water is colder and is a signal it could return even earlier.
Natural Gas Gets Green Light To Power Britain
Centrica is to create 4,000 jobs in Britain with the development of a huge North Sea gasfield after the Government signalled a new “dash for gas”. After weeks of delay, heated negotiations and only hours after a £500 million tax break for this type of field was unveiled, the owner of British Gas said that it would invest £1.4 billion with its French partner GDF Suez.
Cultural Cognition Blog - What do I think of Mooney's "Republican Brain"?
I don’t feel persuaded of the central thesis of The Republican Brain
Why Science Is a Non-Issue in the Election...Again
In the face of a massive drought and climbing sea levels, are the presidential candidates going to talk about climate change? Why is science always at the bottom of the list of campaign issues that resonate with the public? Ira Flatow and guests [all warmists] discuss what scientists can do to shape the national dialogue in an election year.

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