Yes, I know. Normally the words ‘blue skies’ and ‘Beijing’ aren’t in such close proximity. Yet, when I was there just a couple of weeks ago, it was indeed blue skies. Warm, yes; smoggy, not really. Though I was inside much of the time … I was in the captivating capital of China for the […]
Bangers and Mash with a good dash of Pickel
The fantastic thing about geology is that it is the perfect mix of both science and imagination. There is that old saying of Einstein about imagination* and geologists, on a daily basis, have to exercise that muscle. But it is the shear scale that geological imagination has to transgress – from continents to subatomic particles […]
Cretaceous Greenhouse World
A Fish Story
NEW PAPER: Resources and Geology of Coalbed Methane in China: A Review
China is a big place. The resources are large. The scale of everything is outsized. And as has been well documented, its up and coming middle class is energy depended. Commendably, the Chinese government has prioritized renewable energy and it seems they are well on the way to leading the world. Still, conventional energy is […]
Field Work in the Senakin Peninsula: Part I – Tanjung Dewa Revisited
It was an early morning start and the topical air of South Kalimantan (Borneo) already hung heavy and thick. We boarded the wooden powerboat that was more than just a little tippy. It held a party of six, which consisted of colleagues Joan Esterle, Sonny Pangestu, Hermes Panggabean plus Pak Juwady, our pilot, and a […]
Flotsam and Jetsam of the Digital Age
Colombia: Sustainable Mining Initiatives
Playing the variance lute
It was Ron Stanton (U.S. Geological Survey) who instilled in me the importance of proper representative sampling and John C. Ferm (University of Kentucky)* who drove home the concept of variability. In understanding the character of coal beds, these two concepts should mess seamlessly together. Or so you’d think … As it turns out there […]