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Archive for December 21st, 2012
Census: Oil-and-Gas Heavy North Dakota is Fastest-Growing State
Posted by The Hill: Zack Colman on December 21st, 2012
The Hill: The U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday that North Dakota experienced the nation’s greatest population growth this year, with the domestic oil-and-gas boom a likely reason for the gains.
As of July 1, North Dakota’s population increased 2.17 percent compared with the previous year. As a whole, the U.S. population rose 0.75 percent during that period.
Oil-and-gas drilling in North Dakota’s Bakken shale formation has been a boon for jobs, attracting out-of-state workers by the thousands and transforming...
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Coal’s Backup Plan: Ignite It Underground
Posted by Midwest Energy News: Michael Berndtson on December 21st, 2012
Midwest Energy News: As low-cost natural gas displaces more and more conventional coal plants, a relatively unknown method for extracting energy from coal - without removing it from the ground - might seem far-fetched.
Backers of the technique, however, still believe the technology has a future in an increasingly carbon-constrained world.
Underground coal gasification, or UCG, is a method in which coal seams are basically ignited underground, and the gas released by the combustion is harvested and refined so that...
Huge Expansion of U.S. Protection for N. Calif. Waters Proposed
Posted by LA Times: Kenneth R. Weiss on December 21st, 2012
LA Times: Federal officials Thursday proposed a massive expansion to federal protection of waters off Northern California from offshore oil drilling, seabed mining and ocean dumping.
The proposal would more than double the size of the national marine sanctuaries around the Cordell Bank and the Farallon Islands. When combined with the massive Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the newly expanded system would protect more than a third of California's offshore waters from oil drilling, from Cambria in...