Valentine Makhouleen — interactive art director » Social Issues

Selling greenhouse emissions for billions

Valentine — Mon, 30 May 2011 13:05:25 +0000

Wake up, Canada:

Oilsands emissions data left out of UN report

Federal government admits deliberately leaving numbers out that indicate pollution from oilsands production outstrips auto emissions… The data also indicated that emissions per barrel of oil produced by the sector is increasing, despite claims made by the industry in an advertising campaign.

Overall, Environment Canada said that the oilsands industry was responsible for about 6.5 per cent of Canada’s annual greenhouse gas emissions in 2009, up from five per cent in 2008. This also indicates a growth in emissions that is close to about 300 per cent since 1990, which cancel out many reductions in pollution from other economic sectors.

Via Vancouver Sun

China targeting tens of billions in Alberta oilsands investment

Alberta government and business leaders who sat down with Chinese energy executives this week were told tens of billions of dollars in new oilpatch investment will flow in the coming years — if export capacity issues in Canada are improved.

In the past 18 months alone, Chinese oil companies have pumped more than $13 billion into developing crude oil and natural gas prospects in Western Canada.

However, future spending is contingent upon Canada building new pipeline capacity to transport oilsands — such as the $5.5-billion Northern Gateway project planned by Enbridge Inc. — and natural gas to the West Coast, where liquefied gas could be shipped by tanker into the Chinese market, he said.

Via Calgary Herald

Perspective on solar power

Valentine — Fri, 27 May 2011 22:31:32 +0000

The left square, labelled “world,” is around the size of Austria. If that area were covered in solar thermal power plants, it could produce enough electricity to meet world demand. The area in the center would be required to meet European demand. The one on the right corresponds to Germany’s energy demand.

I wonder how this theoretical area compares to total oil spill area coverage or areas affected by coal strip-mining.

Via Spiegl

Dona, the charity robot

Valentine — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:29:58 +0000

DONA is the robot that interactively solicits donations from passers-by. The robot roams around in a public outdoor space and solicits donations from passers-by by engaging them through pet-like inter-action.

http://www.thisisminsu.com/#!dona

The Kill Team

Valentine — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:39:15 +0000

With their commanding officers repeatedly failing to investigate, the kill team was starting to feel invulnerable. To encourage soldiers in other units to target unarmed civilians, Gibbs had given one of the “off the books” grenades he had scrounged to a friend from another battalion, Staff Sgt. Robert Stevens. “It showed up in a box on my desk,” recalled Stevens, a senior medic. “When I opened the box, I saw a grenade canister, which had a grenade in it and a dirty green sock.” Figuring the sock was some kind of joke, Stevens threw it away. Later, when he saw Gibbs, he mentioned getting the grenade.

“Did you get the other thing?” Gibbs asked.

“What, the sock?” Stevens said.

“No, what was in the sock,” Gibbs replied.

Inside the sock, Gibbs had placed a severed human finger.

Stevens got the message. On March 10th, as his convoy was driving down Highway 1, the central road connecting Kandahar to the north, Stevens stuck his head out of his Stryker’s open hatch and tossed the grenade. It detonated a few seconds later than he had anticipated, and when it blew, it thudded into the vehicle. Stevens immediately began firing at a nearby compound of huts, yelling at another platoon member to do the same. “Get the fuck up, Morgan!” he screamed. “Let’s go, shoot!”

The Kill Team by Mark Boal, Rolling Stone