Posts filed under “Droppin Science”
The Problem With Non-Problems
Fox News has a knack for reporting on non-problems by making problems out of them. Such is the case of an article on their website today titled “Wind Farms Blow U.S. Off the Radar,” which at first made me fall to the ground in laughter because it resembled an Onion News Network satire piece from [...]
There is no room for a moderate Republican candidate
I wondered earlier this week whether a Republican presidential candidate with culturally moderate views (a.k.a. Jon Huntsman) could feasibly shore up conservative support for the Republican 2012 popularity contest. I wondered whether there was room for a ‘moderate.’ However, being reminded of tidbits such as the ones that follow, I sobered up and realized that [...]
The Continuing Saga Of The NOAA’s Clumsy Spin
On August 4, the NOAA — which has not exactly covered itself in glory as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill debacle has unfolded — put out an unexpectedly upbeat report that was widely interpreted as celebrating the end of the clean-up phase of the oil spill. According to the report: …almost three-fourths of the crude [...]
Where Has All The Oil Gone, Long Time Passing
Once BP managed to cap the well that had gushed millions and millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, we started to see media reports that most of the oil had magically vanished. This is the AFP, on July 27: With BP’s broken well in the Gulf of Mexico finally capped, the [...]
Does This Scientific Method Pass The Smell Test?
AP: Even the people who make their living off the seafood-rich waters of Louisiana’s St. Bernard Parish have a hard time swallowing the government’s assurances that fish harvested in the shallow, muddy waters just offshore must be safe to eat because they don’t smell too bad. Fresh splotches of chocolate-colored crude, probably globules broken apart [...]
Pardon My French
Last week, the American Energy Innovation Council tried to highlight the urgency of the need to act on a radically new energy policy: On June 10, a group of technology-focused business leaders — including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist John Doerr, and the current or former chief executives of General Electric, [...]
The Spill Rate Estimate That Walks On Water Has Feet Of Clay
On May 26, a U.S. government expert panel, the Flow Rate Technical Group, released an official government estimate of the spill rate from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, estimating that oil is gushing from it at a rate of 12,000 to 25,000 barrels a day. That estimate quickly attained “the most reliable estimate” status, and [...]
Quote Of The Day
U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt, releasing the findings of a U.S. government expert panel that has produced an official pronouncement on the amount of oil that has spilled from the Deepwater Horizon: This is obviously a very, very significant environmental disaster and I think with the numbers I’ve given you, you can do the [...]
BP’s Strategy Pays Off
Here’s a perfect illustration of why BP doesn’t want the outside world — that would be you, me and Uncle Sam — to have a halfway accurate estimate of the amount of oil gushing from the Deepwater Horizon disaster site. It has something to do with the perceived corporate benefits accruing from fooling some of [...]
On The Evolution Of The Deepwater Horizon Spill Rate Estimate
For some reason, BP thinks it is in their best interests to pretend that the continuing Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is just a trickle, and not a torrent. I imagine this stems from their conviction that, without their cooperation, it will be pretty much impossible for anyone to ever come [...]