While we here in the United States ponder, argue, deny, obfuscate and even lie about what to do about carbon in the air, or even doing nothing about it, the rest of the world is actually trying to work out some kind of solution, Interpol is trying to educate police as to how to keep criminals out of global carbon markets. The system of Cap & Trade, where big emitters of CO2 can trade emission credits to low emitters of CO2 to avoid paying penalties for for their emissions, is very complicated and subject to fraud. It’s happening in many European countries. Traditional environmental agencies have come up against so many different parties and new instruments never before seen that they are having to learn of forms of vulnerability they’ve never even heard of.As the price of carbon increeases the more likely criminals are to be attracted to the market.

Jonah  Goldberg, the ‘brilliant’ columnist who proclaimed not too long ago that oil and gas were the “True” green fuels, is criticising President Obama for saying we need all available fuels, pursuing nuclear as well as fossil fuels and alternatives such as wind and solar. Goldberg maintains that Obama blocked the Keystone XL pipeline and his policies are responsible for high gas prices now. Jonah is playing fast and loose with the truth. First, it is pretty well known that financial firms, speculating on future oil prices, are responsible for the high cost of gas at the pump. I don’t think the president has been buying oil futures. (Anyone with evidence that he is doing this let me know.) The president stopped the pipeline to allow an evaluation of the proposed route which passed through sensitive areas in which a pipeline spill could seriously harm a vital aquifer. Just a week ago he lifted the block and allowed the start of the lower end of the pipeline. As for not embracing cap and trade, that program does not take greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. It just lets big polluters buy credits from a clean industry so they can pursue business as usual. Germany has tried cap-and-trade and found that the system was easily scammed.

Emissions of Methane are known to be 20 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas, far exceeding estimates for gas drilling and production, according to scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The study, focused in Weld County, Colorado, is home to 20,000 gas wells. Four percent of the methane produced by these wells is lost to the atmosphere. That’s double what was originally thought. Methane accounts for roughly 10% of greenhouse gas emissions nationwide. Leaks during the drilling, production and transmission of natural gas are the greatest source accounting for about a third of all man-made methane emissions. Researchers also found surprisingly high emissions of benzene, a carcinogen, and other pollutants.

Running on Empty was submitted to the 18th Annual Writer's Digest Self Publishing Book Awards. While it didn't win an award it did receive a good rating. The reviewer thought the cover needed improvements  but overall the book got high marks. The following is excerpted from the review. No name was given for the reviewer.

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning "poor" and 5 meaning "excellent," Running on Empty was rated 5 for structure and organization and 5 for grammar. The cover was rated 2.

Comment: This book is extremely timely, and I'm glad the author has decided to strike while the iron is hot. There's never been a bigger market for original and incisive material in the fields of energy and energy conservation. I urge the author to continue to retool and market Running on Empty to get the notice it deserves. Greene is obviously a master of the material, and I felt in capable hands all the way through. The writing is clear and punchy (though a bit technical at times for a general readership), and thanks to great organizational tools the text is easy to follow. This book has the best table of contents I've encountered among this year's entries, and that's carried through with excellent non-narrative elements including ample subheadings, accessible illustrations, and a fat glossary. Overall, a strong entry that would benefit from a little update of appearance. Best wishes!

This morning I read an Op-Ed piece in the NY Times by Seth Shostak, an astronomer with the SETI Institute, those folks who look for extra- terrestrial beings in outer space. The point of his thesis was that the kind of space exploration done on Mars, namely sending robots and cameras, made more sense than sending people to outer space due to the cost and energy it would consume. His term for sending humans into deep space to explore was “a pipe dream.”

The technology, not yet developed, and the cost of fuel required, estimated at...