Thomas Friedman -- la moustache de la sagesse -- has a column up (NYT $elect; reprinted in full here) suggesting that his "geo-green" shtick would be a good basis for a third party presidential candidacy. God love The Mustache for bringing energy issues to a broad audience, but this column is dopey. Let's start with this: What might a Geo-Green third party platform look like? Its centerpiece would be a $1 a gallon gasoline tax, called "The Patriot Tax," which would be phased in over a year. People earning less than $50,000 a year, and those with unusual driving needs, …

Struggling Iraqi refineries dump oil byproduct near Tigris River The government of Iraq has been disposing of millions of barrels of oil refinery byproduct by pumping it into mountain valleys in the north of the country and setting it on fire. The result: huge black bogs and thick smoke carried as far as 40 miles downwind. The oily bogs are threatening to seep into the nearby Tigris River and the groundwater that sustains villages in the area. The byproduct, called black oil, would normally be exported for further refining, but insurgents have stalled government-controlled exports; insurgent presence is also cited …

Melting Siberian permafrost could release billions of tons of CO2 As it melts, Siberian permafrost could release up to 500 billion tons of carbon dioxide from ancient plant roots and animal bones into the atmosphere -- twice what scientists had previously expected, says a new study in Science. It's a (woolly) mammoth amount: at present, the atmosphere contains about 800 billion tons of greenhouse gases, and human fossil-fuel burning adds roughly another 6.5 billion tons of CO2 a year. The study, conducted by Russian and American researchers, warned of the possibility of a cyclical effect: warming causes melting, which causes …

Dear Umbra, So the weather is turning hot again. I got my electric fans out of the closet. On the back of these, there are no indications of what amount of electricity they use. Could you illuminate which ones are most efficient? Howard Nelson Portland, Ore. Dearest Howard, Not really. Efficiency is very important for commercial ventilation, and even home ceiling fans and oven fans are given an Energy Star label, but I fear our lowly personal fans don't get similar levels of evaluation. Better oscillate than never. Photo: iStockphoto. It does seem generally accepted that oscillating fans are more …

Billions with a B: OSLO - Norway is setting up a 20 billion Norwegian crowns ($3.24 billion) fund to promote renewable energy such as wind and hydropower while spurring energy savings, the government said on Monday. It said the cash would help Norway achieve a goal of raising available power by 30 terawatt hours (TWh) by 2016, compared with 2001, from renewable energy sources and by greater efficiency. Its previous goal was a saving of 12 TWh by 2010 versus 2001. Norway's total power output, mostly from hydropower, is about 120 TWh a year. "Bioenergy, windpower, hydropower, and energy efficiency …

Hungry polar bears eating each other We can't think of anything funny to say about this: polar bears, deprived of their natural food by longer seasons without ice, may be turning to cannibalism. In the journal Polar Biology, American and Canadian scientists reviewed three cases of polar bear cannibalism in early 2004 in the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska. The kills included a mama bear in her den, a case described in graphic detail by the researchers, insuring that we won't be able to sleep for a week. Polar bears usually eat ringed seals; they kill each other for population …

As an artist, Mark Beesley is drawn to subjects that others might find repellant. Beesley lives only a few miles from the Sizewell nuclear power station in Britain, and has occasionally made the plant the subject of his work. Despite his opposition to nuclear power, Beesley admits to a fascination with the plant's design. "When you drive by it, you see this semicircular dome looming over the trees," he says. "It's a powerful presence." Images courtesy REimaginations. But nukes are nothing compared to one of Beesley's true obsessions: wind turbines. He paints the emblems of wind power -- a form …

Western governors resolve to combat climate change Western states need to reduce greenhouse gases while meeting growing energy demand, says a resolution passed unanimously yesterday by members of the self-explanatorily named Western Governors Association. However, the pact neglects to prescribe specific actions. "My friends," California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) chided the group, "it's long past the time when it's OK to just talk about these problems." New Idaho Gov. James Risch (R) voted for the resolution despite being "not strongly convinced either way" whether humans cause climate change, but Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) insisted that human causation is implicit …

Don't miss a great piece by Sasha Lilley about Archer Daniels Midland and ethanol: "The dirty truth about green fuel." The latter part covers the environmental sins of corn-based ethanol -- familiar to Gristmillians -- but the first part provides some crucial context. It's about ADM. Here's a taste: ADM has more than 25,000 employees, net sales last year of $35.9 billion, with $1 billion in profits, as well as a recent 29 percent profit increase in the last quarter. The company is a global force: ADM is one of the world's biggest processors of soybeans, corn, wheat, and cocoa, …

Oh brother. CEI is at it again with a "special web-only bonus" titled Al Gore: An Inconvenient Story. Electric_Penguin over at Hugg.com sums it up nicely: CEI has created quite the moral dilemma for themselves. They are condemning Al Gore for generating dramatically more Carbon Dioxide emissions than an average person while traveling around the world giving speeches on global warming. You can't condemn Al Gore for traveling and contributing to Global Warming when you are denying Global Warming exists. Either "CO2 is life" or Global Warming exists and the balancing act between to little and too much begins.