Energy | Mary Catherine O'Connor

What Drones Are Learning from Insects

October 14, 2014 by mcoc

Large, unmanned aerial vehicles, aka UAVs or drones, look like regular (albeit, menacing) airplanes. But there are also small drones that look like big insects, and they’re being programmed to act like them too. Insectile drones could evolve into useful minions to track, map, and respond to climate change. Climate Confidential October 31, 2014 Since […]

Categories: Climate Change, Energy, Technology • Tags: and Perception, Automation, DRONES, General Robotics, insects, Sensing, stephen pratt, uav, University of Pennsylvania, vijay kumar

It’s a Hardrock Life

June 1, 2014 by mcoc

In Wisconsin’s picturesque Northwoods, a big battle over iron-ore extraction is pitting environmentalists and Native Americans against mining companies and their political allies. Earth Island Journal Summer 2014 The cab of Bill Heart’s Ford Ranger is cluttered with pamphlets and fishing gear, and as we pull out onto Highway 77, just north of the high […]

Categories: Energy, Lifecycle, Policy, Wilderness • Tags: dnr, epa, gogebic taconite, gtac, iron ore, mining, northwoods, penokee hills, scott walker, wisconsin

Squeezing Cleaner Energy from Coal’s Waste

October 21, 2013 by mcoc

Coal mine methane could soon transform from problematic waste to valuable fuel Smithsonian In a Colorado valley where miners have harvested coal for more than a century, a second fuel—methane—escapes from the thick black seams of the Elk Creek mine. A system of boreholes and pipes around the mine funnels methane-rich gas to a modified […]

Categories: Climate Change, Energy, Policy, Technology • Tags: aspen ski company, carbon pricing, coal power plant, colorado climate change, elk creek mine, methane to energy

The Dangers of Kickstarter

February 8, 2013 by mcoc

Kickstarter has become the go-to funding source for serious expeditions and boondoggles alike. And that has some benefactors wanting their cash back. Outside Magazine, February 2013 Last May, Andrew Badenoch, a thirtysomething former Internet marketer in Oregon, set off on a 7,000-mile solo expedition from Bellingham, Washington, with a jumbo-tired fat bike and a pack […]

Categories: Action Sports, Climate Change, Energy, Gear, Recreation, Wilderness • Tags: andrew badenoch, fatbike, kickstarter, packraft, zero carbon

Mary Catherine O'Connor

Independent Journalist

Category Archives: Energy

What Drones Are Learning from Insects

It’s a Hardrock Life

Squeezing Cleaner Energy from Coal’s Waste

The Dangers of Kickstarter