California shale oil to be extracted by first injecting massive amounts of propaganda

California could be next oil boom state - Jan. 14, 2013: "In fact, the Monterey is thought to hold over 400 billion barrels of oil, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. That's nearly half the conventional oil in all of Saudi Arabia."

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IPS – Experts Fear Collapse of Global Civilisation | Inter Press Service

IPS – Experts Fear Collapse of Global Civilisation | Inter Press Service: "We’re facing a future where billions will likely die, and yet little is being done to avoid certain disaster, he said."

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Transit benefits package unexpectedly included in fiscal cliff deal Read more at the San Francisco Examiner:

Included in the package of tax increases was the restoration of a commuter benefits program that allows workers to pay for up to $240 of their monthly transit costs with pre-tax dollars. Transit passengers could exempt up to $1,500 of their annual commute costs from taxes as a result of the legislation.

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/01/transit-benefits-package-unexpectedly-included-fiscal-cliff-deal#ixzz2H7eqXwvZ

We have ignored the laws of physics and are in free-fall - Mandy Meikle

The economics of oil dependence: a glass ceiling to recovery | the new economics foundation:
comment by Mandy Meikle
The best analogy I've heard for our current reality is that of Wile E. Coyote flapping his arms, hoping for flight, long after having run off the edge of the cliff. His look of bemusement at being unable to break the laws of physics is a key part of the analogy for me.

Fossil fuels are a vast, one-off bank of energy which we have drained in the pursuit of industrial capitalism. In just 15 decades, we've gone from an abundance of cheap and easy shallow onshore reserves of good quality oil to kidding ourselves that tar sand oil and shale gas are just the same as conventional oil & gas. Flap! The energy bank is now struggling to pay out what we require to keep growth economics growing. Flap, flap! We refuse to reduce energy demand (for that's what's needed, not just reducing carbon emissions) and we carry on hoping for some technological breakthrough. But technology uses energy, it doesn't create it. Uh-oh! All renewable devices have a fossil fuel input and it doesn't take a mathematical genius to know that biofuels grown today can never release an amount of energy comparable to that contained within fossil fuels, which took millions of years to form. At this point, Coyote waves solemnly and plummets.

So I think we are in freefall, just beginning to wonder if the environmentalists might be onto something. Unlike Coyote, we can make the landing softer - IF we accept the laws of physics and work to change how we live. A shock can sometimes bring us to our senses but I fear we may hit the ground first.

Why do we fall for the green illusion that is the electric car?

Press Kit | Green Illusions Book: "“Environmentalists generally object to battery-powered devices and for good reason: batteries require mined minerals, employ manufacturing processes that leak toxins into local ecosystems and leave behind an even-worse trail of side effects upon disposal. Though when it comes to the largest mass-produced battery-powered gadget ever created—the electric car—environmentalists cannot jump from their seats fast enough to applaud it.” —Ozzie Zehner, The Economist"

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With Large Oil Reserve, California Faces Fracking Debate | KQED QUEST

With Large Oil Reserve, California Faces Fracking Debate | KQED QUEST: "California has long been an oil-producing state, but it’s getting renewed attention because of the Monterey Shale, the country’s largest shale oil reserve. It stretches under a large part of Central California. In places like Southern Monterey County, where new oil leases are being offered, the battle for fracking is heating up."

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No money for #freetransit. Billions in tax money wasted subsidizing sports

Animated Infographic: Watch As America's Stadiums Pile Up On The Backs Of Taxpayers Through The Years: " Public financing of stadiums for private teams is common enough now that it's largely taken for granted, even though these deals rarely produce anything of real value for the municipalities that fund them. "

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