Pumps can extract crude oil from the Earth. That’s because crude is a liquid – sometimes a thick one, but a liquid nonetheless. But the Earth also contains some oil so stiff it’s more like solid plastic than it is like a liquid. Our Canadian neighbors have a lot of this special form of petroleum. […]
Wresting a living from the world is never easy. Heck, just making it through a desk-bound workweek is enough to wipe me out most of the time. But it could be worse. Imagine sitting throughout your life on a cold rock, making a living as best you can from air and the occasional drop of […]
It’s easier to make biodiesel and burn it in your truck than to sort out the politics of whether we should make more or less of the fuel. I’ve made biodiesel in an open jar. I wouldn’t recommend doing it that way because one step in the process creates impressively toxic fumes. But apart from […]
If you’ve been feeling despair about your gasoline bills this year, you have me for company. Having a root canal is looking like fun compared to filling up a gas tank. It is no wonder lots of us are examining our driving habits and our vehicles with new intensity. Over the years we’ve all grown […]
Campers, ranchers and us aging geologists all come across our share of rattlesnakes on warm days. Although my reflexes are generally slower in middle age than they were in my distant youth, hearing the dry sound of a rattler still makes my adrenalin levels instantly soar. So I stand in awe of scientists who can […]