Energy
Oil and Gas
The Energy Information
Administration (EIA),
is a statistical agency
of the U.S. Department of Energy. The EIA provides policy-
independent data, forecasts, and analyses to "promote sound
policy making, efficient markets, and public understanding
regarding energy and its interaction with the economy and the
environment." This page is an excellent source of data on
energy availability and use of all types (traditional and
nontraditional). Check out the annual
energy review for
clear, accessible data presentations
for all energy sources.
United States Energy Resources - generally
International Oil and Gas:
Oil Production Around the World
Texaco
in Ecuador. According to the
Rainforest Action Network:
"For the past 20 years, a film of heavy crude has slowly spresd over the crystalline rivers of the upper Ecuadorian Amazon, known as the Oriente. Fueled by the participation of a dozen international oil giants, petroleum is booming in the rainforest. Threatening a unique world brimming with life, oil extraction in Ecuador causes massive colonization and destruction of formerly inaccessible rainforest regions, contamination of rivers and streams and the invasion of lands inhabited by indigenous groups who have been afforded little to say about the expansion of the oil frontier into their forest lands"
See also: Drilling to the ends of the Earth: The Case Against New Fossil Fuel Exploration
Coal
Strip Mine in Scranton PA
"The Energy &
Mineral Law Foundation (EMLF)
is a non-profit educational organization established to foster the study of
the legal issues related to natural resources development. The Foundation's
goal is to provide a forum for the exchange of information and the discussion
of mineral, environmental and energy
law issues." The pages with state
and federal internet
links are definitely worth checking out. Full text versions of annual symposium
papers are also available and may be helpful for finding a research topic.
What do coal
miners do? Also refer to the Museum of Science and Industry's Internet
coal mine exhibit
("Old
Ben No. 17") for a virtual tour of a working mine.
Productive capacity of coal mines by state available from the Department of Energy
An assessment of the impacts of underground coal mining is required by 1994 amendments to Pennsylvania's mine subsidence control law (Act 54). The report is a preliminary study and cautions that it "should not be used to draw any long-term conclusions about the impact of underground mining". A summary of the 187 page report is available on-line.
Coal Mining in Pennsylvania