Earth day is just around the corner, and it is important that we make sustainable choices in the areas that we have influence in. I’m a big advocate of sustainable #engineering, and it is an area that I have some influence in, to the point where almost all of the major projects I work on …
Category Archives: Energy
Revelstoke Dam
Engineers seem to love rituals, but one unspoken engineering ritual that I love to partake in, is to view the greatest examples of engineering, great buildings, bridges, tunnels, canals and even sewer systems are all possible candidates worthy of reflection. But in my mind, and for many Civil Engineers, dams are an important pilgrimage ritual …
The Permafrost Thaws
Article corrected 23rd March 2011. An article from Canada’s North this week may have slipped under the radar due to the high profile of the massive earthquake, tsunami and nuclear risks that are gripping Japan. Recent studies indicate the permafrost of the southern Arctic is deteriorating at an alarming rate. In some regions of what …
Nuclear Risk
One disaster after another. It seems that there are few countries that have come through the past couple of years without wearing some damage from disasters economic or natural. Once again, the Ring of Fire has awoken and claimed thousands of lives. Japan has been considered one of the best prepared countries for a natural …
Signs of the Times
As we wait to see what will happen in countries like Lybia, where gunfire is being called “Celebratory Fireworks” by the regime, the price of oil once again begins it’s inexorable climb. Down in the US, those charged with making decisions on behalf of the people are wishing that the magic 8-ball had answers for …
Castlegar Dims the Streetlights
Castlegar, a rural City in the Kootenay Region of British Columbia (and our home) is getting smart street lights. “The City of Castlegar is pleased to be the first city in Canada to totally commit to a complete transformation of all of its streetlights to the Adaptive Street Light Management System and moving ahead with its strategy …
Edmonton’s Biofuel Project
Having seen the Edmonton landfill, it is hardly surprising that this project is on the books. Edmonton, Alberta is about to get the world’s first municipal scale gas to biofuel plant and when it is up and running they’ll be recycling 90% of their non-reusable trash into biofuel. That’s 100,000 tons of garbage diverted from …
The Story of Oil in the 21st Century
Image by Barrybar via Flickr If you want to get a picture of the last twenty or thirty years of the oil industry, then Oil – Money, Politics, and Power in the 21st Century by Tom Bower is a must read. Released in June 2010, it just missed out on recording one of the biggest …