Environmental Crises and Maps - Environmental Defense Fund

Saturday, 16 August 2008

Maps can cut through the BS around the big environmental choices that we will make as a society, individuals, corporations and governments. Peter Black, of the Environmental Defense Fund, has created brilliant maps that communicate more information than thousands of words. They bolster global warming arguments made by many a scientist, government, and campaigner. Issues covered range from oil reserves, transport patterns, wind resources, temperature changes and beyond.

Offshore drilling

The map below shows the ridiculousness of drilling in offshore-nature-preserves.

Click the map for a larger image. Thanks to Peter Black of EDF:

There's an estimated 86 Billion Barrels of Oil (BBO) that has yet to be discovered offshore.

Of that, 18 BB0 are in the Congressional Moratorium Areas (21%)

68 BBO are in planning areas where it's already ok to drill (79%)

We Americans consume 20.7 Million Barrels of Oil each and every day.

Therefore, the total offshore supply equates to 11.4 years worth of oil at current rates of consumption. The supply in the moratorium areas equals 2.4 years.

Black asks, and answers, that this small amount of oil is too little to justify the environmental damage from offshore drilling. Moreover, the American assumption that the oil would go to their domestic market is false given the current structure of the world oil market. International oil companies sell to the world market regardless of where oil is produced. Therefore, offshore drilling contribute a big drop to an even bigger bucket, which would lead to a minimal effect on prices.

Wind Resources

How about investment opportunities in wind? Current wind industry leaders have emerged from Europe, but there is definitely huge potential for wind power to be produced in the USA . Wind maps by AWS Truedwind ...

To learn more about the economics of wind energy see this discussion by the Danish Wind Industry Association . For a counter point, here is a quick quote from a great/hilarious article about "Big Wind" by Michelle Malkin: "Let's call [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi what she is: House girl of the Big Wind boondogglers."

I will leave you with a link to one more of Peter Black's great maps on public transport (It's interactive!)...Apparently, public transit use has risen since oil prices have shot up!

Thanks to Climate Progress and fungreenfair.com for the idea.