Science & Technology
Science & Technology
France Forbids Shale Gas Exploration, Will “Prosper” Accordingly
David Biederman July 21, 2013
French president François Hollande recently stated, “As long as I am president, there will be no shale gas exploration in France. The debate on shale gas has gone on for too long." The debate is whether France, Europe's second largest energy consumer, will maintain its moratorium on oil and gas…
History, Science & Technology
Neil Armstrong Demonstrated Man at His Best
Robert Begley July 20, 2013
Today, July 20, is the anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s historic walk on the moon and his famous proclamation, “That’s one small step for a man. One giant leap for mankind.” The success of the Apollo space program required the dedicated effort of thousands of individuals, all of whom are to…
Science & Technology
Eagle Ford Shale Oilmen Increase Productivity by 54 Percent
David Biederman July 13, 2013
In April, I highlighted the enormous wealth being generated in the Texas Eagle Ford shale. Now that April’s oil production numbers have been made public, there is even more to celebrate. Oil production was 54 percent higher than it was the previous year. This enormous increase in productivity was achieved…
Science & Technology
Scientists at Riken BioResource Center Make Major Leap in Life-Serving Cloning Technology
Derrick Nantz July 12, 2013
Japanese scientists at the Riken BioResource Center have discovered a way to clone mice from cells drawn from circulating blood, the BBC reports (and as Mikayla Callen mentions here). Scientists took blood cells from the tail of a donor mouse and used them to make viable clones in the lab.…
Science & Technology
Oil Developers’ Innovative Technology Breathes New Life into Legendary Oilfield
David Biederman July 8, 2013
In the August 1920 edition of Oil and Gas News, an excited reporter wrote about a region that “is attracting much attention due to the good [oil] wells that are being brought in.” Oil had been discovered on the Bertha Hickman farm in Oklahoma, a discovery that started the industrial…
Science & Technology
Celebrating Dolly’s Birthday: Advancements in Cloning Technology
Mikayla Callen July 5, 2013
July 5 marks the anniversary of the first successful cloning of a mammal. Dolly, the well known clone sheep, was born to a surrogate ewe this day in 1996. Adult stem cells were taken from a ewe, then cultured in a lab using microscopic needles, in a method first used…
Science & Technology
Don’t Delay ObamaCare—End It
Ari Armstrong July 3, 2013
“The Obama administration announced Tuesday that it is delaying a major provision in the [ObamaCare] health care overhaul, putting off until 2015 a requirement that many employers offer health insurance”—a date after the 2014 congressional elections—Fox News reports. This political move illustrates (among other things) that ObamaCare is creating a…
Science & Technology
Fracking Could Unlock 40 Years of Gas in the UK
David Biederman June 30, 2013
[caption id="attachment_9894" align="alignright" width="300"] Image: Wikimedia Commons[/caption] On Thursday, the British Geological Survey (BGS) released a report estimating that 1,329 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of shale gas exists in the Bowland shale beneath central Britain. According to the BGS, in the United States, roughly 10 percent of a shale gas…
Science & Technology
Obama’s War on Energy Producers and Consumers
Ari Armstrong June 26, 2013
Regarding Barack Obama’s speech yesterday on so-called “climate change,” the Washington Post asks, “Is Obama waging a ‘war on coal’?”—and answers, “To a large extent, the answer is yes,” in that he is seeking to expand costly regulations of coal-fired plants. But it’s worse than that. Among other things, Obama…
Science & Technology
Freedom and Fracking Fuel Investment in Texas
David Biederman June 23, 2013
Relative freedom and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in Texas continue creating business opportunities and attracting capital investment from around the world. Austria’s largest steel company, Voestalpine, has signed a lease to build a $716 million iron-ore pellet plant in Corpus Christi, Texas. CEO Wolfgang Eder stated, “It would have been impossible…