Coal
What is the role of coal in the United States?
Due to its relatively low cost and abundance, coal is used to generate about half of the electricity consumed in the United States. Coal is the largest domestically-produced source of energy. Coal use, however, results in higher amounts of carbon dioxide per unit of energy than [...]
Take a Nanooze Break
A new long-term exhibition at the Walt Disney World Resort® in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., will bring visitors face to face with the nanoworld.
Housed at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot®, the exhibition Take a Nanooze Break features a series of interactive, continually updated displays that allow visitors to manipulate models of molecules, study everyday items at the [...]
$1.4 Billion in Loan Guarantees to BrightSource Energy
DOE announced on February 22 its conditional commitments for more than $1.37 billion in loan guarantees to BrightSource Energy, Inc. in support of the construction and start-up of three utility-scale concentrated solar power plants (CSP) in the Mojave Desert of southeastern California. The loan guarantee is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and [...]
Japan Killing Whales
The Sea Shepherd ships Steve Irwin and Bob Barker have now had the illegal Japanese whaling processing ship, Nisshin Maru, on the run for two weeks. No whales have has been killed since February 5th.
Three weeks remain in the whaling season, and the Sea Shepherd ships have fuel reserves to continue the chase. The Bob [...]
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Climate Change News
- U.S. Departments of Commerce and the Interior to Cooperate on Climate-Related ActivitiesU.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar formalized an agreement between the two departments to coordinate and cooperate on climate related activities involving science, services, mitigation, adaptation, education and communication. […]
- NOAA: Past Decade Warmest on Record According to Scientists in 48 CountriesThe 2009 State of the Climate report released Wednesday draws on data for 10 key climate indicators that all point to the same finding: the scientific evidence that our world is warming is unmistakable. […]
Earth FAQ
- Why aren't we drilling in the Bakken Formation?Oil has been produced from the Bakken Formation since the 1950’s. Please see our slideshow presentation for context at http://energy.usgs.gov/flash/Bakken_slideshow.swf. The USGS does not maintain statistics on oil production, however, this information can be obtained from publicly available sources like the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources […]
- How do I access the online USGS Publications Warehouse?The USGS Publications Warehouse (http://pubs.usgs.gov/) has released a new interface and a variety of new content and features. The new version of this tool now includes citations for USGS-authored content including journal articles, books, book chapters, proceedings, and other research written by USGS staff but published commercially. […]
- What is National Land Imaging?NLI is a concept that places a single agency in charge of future civil operational land remote sensing satellite acquisition, operation, and data management. These three functions have been separated historically and assigned to several different agencies. Currently, DOI performs two of them – operations and data management. With NLI comes a broad responsi […]
U.S. Geological Survey
- Climate Change Implicated in Decline of Horseshoe CrabsLEETOWN, W. Va. — A distinct decline in horseshoe crab numbers has occurred that parallels climate change associated with the end of the last Ice Age, according to a study that used genomics to assess historical trends in population sizes. The new research also indicates that horseshoe crabs numbers may continue to decline in the future because of predi […]
- An island's rebirth: Life emerges after a catastrophic volcanic eruptionAnchorage, Alaska — A secluded island in the Aleutian chain is revealing secrets of how land and marine ecosystems react to and recover from a catastrophic volcanic eruption that appeared at first glance to destroy all life on the island. Yet little by little – a wingless beetle here, a tuft of grass there, Kasatochi, an island in the Alaska Maritime Nat […]
- Glaciers Retreating in AsiaMany of Asia’s glaciers are retreating as a result of climate change. This retreat impacts water supplies to millions of people, increases the likelihood of outburst floods that threaten life and property in nearby areas, and contributes to sea-level rise. The U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with 39 international scientists, published a report on […]