How does Congress know Alberto Gonzales is lying to them?

They can tell when they hear sound and see his mouth moving.

 

And speaking of moving mouths, here’s a bonus joke:

What’s the difference between Alberto Gonzales and a carp?

One is a bottom dwelling scum sucker, the other is a fish.

That’s all, thank you very much. Don’t forget to tip your waiters and waitresses!

Originally published at Montara Energy Ventures.

Via Business Week online:

Many are in love with the idea of alternative energy. But there’s yet to be an economical alternative to petroleum that can generate large amounts of energy without damming up rivers, crowding the landscape with windmills, or generating radioactive waste.

That may be about to change, however, as interest grows in an emissions-free energy source that can generate power at prices competitive with traditional fuels. It’s virtually inexhaustible, and it’s right under your feet. It’s the heat emanating from the earth’s molten core, also known as geothermal energy.

Geothermal could have a major effect on the energy future of the U.S., according to a study published in January by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Using existing technology, there is the potential to generate geothermal energy in the U.S. equivalent to 2,000 times the country’s total energy consumption in 2005, the study says.

Read more…

Here’s the key question on geothermal development: If it’s OK to risk $10M on a petrochemical wildcat well, why is it not OK to risk $1M on a wildcat geothermal well? As one of our partners says, nearly all of the producing geothermal fields and plants (including those under development) are as a result of exploration that happened in the 1970’s. Where is the geothermal exploration program? What will it take to engage those with the geotechnical skills to engage in this segment? (We know, money, and lots of it.)

Our view is that as emissions restrictions tighten, carbon taxes become a reality, and peak oil has definitively happened, the talent will engage as geothermal power will be the next frontier. We know from attending the SMU conference that oil companies are starting to wake up, we know one project where Chevron is assembling its own geothermal data set (as one of our partners talked to the primary researcher doing the work.) Can we expect geothermal exploration in the near future?

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales lying
(also known as testifying) to Congress


US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned today, effective September 17th. This comes in the wake of Gonzales firing eight US Attorneys for political reasons and then ineptly and publicly attempting to cover it up. Gonzales is the first AG ever caught lying publicly, multiple times to Congress. While loss of confidence from the Congress may be the catalyst for this resignation, unfortunately, damage to the Constitution, individual liberty, and human rights have already been done.

This is the man who helped justify torture of people, the policy of secrecy at the Whitehouse, and spying on US citizens. I thought Ashcroft was bad, but Gonzales was worse. Who knows how his successor will lower the bar…..Mr. Gonzales spoke of the honor of being a public servant in his resignation speech. Well, the best part of your service Mr. Gonzales is your departure. Gonzales lacked the core requirement for upholding the law, a grasp of the truth and an ethical compass that enables one to seek the facts and use them for the greater good of society. The tenure of this Attorney General has been a disgrace.

This gave me a flashback to my childhood in Ohio where the BB gun reigned supreme. It’s amazing people from this era are not all walking around with eye patches…

Originally published at Montara Energy Ventures.

Aerial view of power plant (lower right corner)


One interesting site along the way to the visit to Sou Hills last week was the Brady Springs Power plant. Both the springs and the power plant are clearly visible and accessible off I-80 east of Reno (and Fernley) Nevada. This 27MW gross, 21MW net dual-flash plant has been in operation since 1992 and is owned and operated by Brady Power Partners, an Ormat subsidiary. In addition to the electricity production, a food processing plant is located right next door which takes advantage of direct use of hot water in their process.


Closeup view of power plant


One thing that is always striking about geothermal plants is their relatively small footprint and their relative cleanliness. While it is not clear from this level of detail, there are pipes all around the plant bringing the geothermal brine to the power plant and then to the food plant. These pipes are camoflauged and are small in comparison to their counterparts at the Geysers.