Author Archives: AKB

How much oil do we use? (4/5)

By AKB | Published: June 5, 2009
Now that we’ve covered where oil comes from, what oil is chemically, and how we refine crude, it’s time to get to the heart of the oil hype – consumption. The cool flow diagram below shows where the USA gets oil from and where we use it. From this diagram we can learn quite a [...]
Posted in Oil & Crude | Tagged , | Comments closed

The Psychology of Climate Change

By AKB | Published: June 4, 2009
“Let’s start with the fact that climate change is anthropogenic. More or less, people have agreed on that. That means it’s caused by human behavior. That’s not to say that engineering solutions aren’t important. But if it’s caused by human behavior, then the solution probably also lies in changing human behavior.” Elke Weber An informative [...]
Posted in Climate Change, Human Behavior, NYTimes | Tagged , , | Comments closed

CFLs and Mercury

By AKB | Published: June 3, 2009
There’s been a lot of backlash to the CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamp) movement recently. Why? Mercury. CFLs contain small amounts of mercury. When these bulbs  reach the end of their lives (on average 5 or more years – 10 times that of incandescent bulbs), they usually end up in the trash. On the way to [...]
Posted in Electricity | Tagged , , | Comments closed

Affordable Green Living

By AKB | Published: June 2, 2009
Check out this video from the NYTimes on affordable duplex housing in Massachusetts. These subsidized homes are outfitted with photovoltaic panels, solar thermal water panels, and 12-inch double stud exterior walls making them near-zero net energy homes. These efficiency and alternative energy measures save users $2,500 each year on energy. All this adds up to [...]
Posted in NYTimes, Video | Tagged , | Comments closed

How do we make gasoline and other useful fuels? (3/5)

By AKB | Published: June 1, 2009
In the last article in the series on crude oil, we learned where oil comes from. In this edition, we’ll discuss how fuels, lubricants, and other petroleum products are made from oil. After oil is extracted from the earth, it is separated into different components roughly according to how big the molecules are. Differences in [...]
Posted in Energy | Comments closed