Entries by Keith Schneider

Great Lakes Ports and Shipping Companies Confounded by Climate Changes and Water Levels

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With freighters forced to carry lighter loads, port structures damaged by rot, ship cannels that are filling with silt, there are millions of dollars in losses, repairs, and dredging — but scientists are working on adaptation solutions and planning resilience.

Great Lakes Algae Blooms: Lake Erie Respite, Lake Superior Rises

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Photo courtesy of the University of Toledo. Not far from where I live in Benzie County, Michigan lies a network of shaded forest trails that end on the broad sand beaches of Lake Michigan’s Platte River Bay. In the distance, the steep flanks of the Sleeping Bear Dune dive to the Great Lake. Across the […]

U.S., U.K, and China Lead Foreign Land Investments In Agriculture and Finance

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GRAIN’s online database is the foundation for much of what the world knows about foreign investments in land. Though the majority of “land grabs” are for agribusiness, other sectors include construction, finance, industry, real estate, and more. Map © Varun Mangla /Circle of Blue Interactive map of “Land Grabs” by country and by sector: The […]

Production, Water Savings, and a Heroic History on China’s State-owned Farms

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Circle of Blue’s senior editor starts his second of three weeks reporting in the field from China, where new infrastructure over the next five years will give a big boost to farming in a northeastern province.

In China, Every Square Meter Counts

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Circle of Blue’s senior editor wraps up his first of three weeks reporting in the field from China, finding a wealth of promise in fields of golden wheat.

Blues Festival and Blue Skies in Beijing

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Circle of Blue’s senior editor will be filing reports from China for the next three weeks. See what he has to say about Beijing’s Blues Festival and a beautiful blue-sky day.

Exxon and Imperial Oil Forced To Go Around Sensitive Idaho River Valley

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Push-back on the transportation of tar sands equipment through a wilderness corridor reflects civic resistance to North American fossil fuel boom.

New Generation Oil and Gas Lease Ensures Water Protection and Big Money

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In Ohio, Circle of Blue’s senior editor finds mineral leases are being negotiated by an attorney representing the landowners.

Clean Energy Picture Dramatically Changed For Midwest, As U.S. Fossil Energy Boom Gathers Steam

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With the price of natural gas falling thanks to innovating drilling solutions in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, investments in water-sipping energy models like wind and solar have dried up.

Fossil Fuel Boom Shakes Ohio, Spurring Torrent of Investment and Worry Over Water

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Ohio’s shale oil and gas fortunes point up. By Keith Schneider and Codi Yeager Circle of Blue Photo © Codi Yeager/Circle of Blue The site of a proposed $US 3 billion natural-gas-to-liquids plant near Wellsville, Ohio, heralds what many say is the state’s most significant investment in oil and gas development in decades. But the […]

State of the Union: New Economics of Energy Production Tilts Obama’s “All-of-the-Above” Strategy One Way

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In the era of deficit and disinvestment, water-intensive fossil fuel production is overwhelming the water-sipping clean energy sector.