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Michelle Fitzsimmons

Wednesday, Dec 29, 2010 3:29 AM UTC

Former oil executive: Expect $5 gas in 2012

Critics say John Hofmeister's prediction has to do with his new venture, wind energy

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Former oil executive: Expect $5 gas in 2012

Tweets are aflutter with something a former oil executive said over the weekend — gas could reach $5 a gallon by 2012.

In an interview with Platts Energy Weekly, John Hofmeister, ex-head honcho of Shell Oil, said that the moratorium on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and global demand will lead to a surge in gas prices over the next two years.

Some think Hofmeister is being a bit too sensational in his prediction and that gas will cost a five-spot in a decade, not in two years. One dubious analyst at a local Fox affiliate in Washington, D.C., says Hofmeister might be crying wolf because he runs a grass-roots group called Citizens for Affordable Energy. He just wrote a book called “Why We Hate Oil Companies.”

However, with gas prices the highest they’ve been since 2008, Hofmeister might be on to something. He’s got some startling predictions for the next few years: 

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Wednesday, Feb 23, 2011 10:33 PM UTC

“Sex.com” sets Guinness world record for most expensive domain name

Officially the "Most expensive Internet address domain name" with $13 million price tag

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The Guinness Book of World Records has made it official: Sex.com is the most expensive domain name in the history of URLs.

The storied site, originally owned by Match.com founder Gary Kremen, got picked up by Clover Holdings in November 2010 for $13 million. Escom LLC, the address’s previous owner, went bankrupt early last year and was forced to ditch the domain.

Since the sale, not much has changed at Sex.com. It’s still a parking page for links to other salacious sites, like live webcams, sex personals and swinger cruises.



Read more about the Sex.com domain acquisition at Global Post

Thursday, Feb 17, 2011 12:30 AM UTC

Chargers, chargers everywhere, but not all can plug in

As more electric cars fill the roads, cities struggle to provide fast-charging stations with no industry standards

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Chargers, chargers everywhere, but not all can plug in

As electric cars zip down America’s roads in record numbers, cities must pick up the task of supplying the fast growing fleet with easy-access charging stations. 

In the effort to get 1 million electric cars on the road by 2015, the a lack of industry standards for fast-charging stations — which allow motorists to pull in and power up in about 30 minutes — could be a major glitch. The fast-charge stations in Chicago, for instance, are designed for Japanese model plugs, not for American cars like the Ford Focus or Chevy Volt. 

The Chicago Tribune reports industry standards are changing so rapidly that by the time the city’s fast-charging stations are installed, they may be obsolete. At $65,000 a plug, constantly retrofitting the stations to meet new standards will put a strain on the Windy City’s infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Japan, Germany and Italy are all competing to have their country’s fast-charging plug-in become the industry’s international standard.

 

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Saturday, Feb 5, 2011 1:05 AM UTC

“Skin cell gun” regenerates cells in days

By spraying healthy stem cells onto damaged areas, the skin cell gun cuts burn victims' recovery time drastically

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Our skin is fragile, penetrable and flammable. Simply surviving immolation is a statistical feat, and the recovery process is slow and precarious. Every year, thousands survive the immediate effects of skin burns but die from infections while waiting for their skin to heal over the exposed flesh.

Researchers at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine devised a tool to cut recovery time drastically and save lives. Their sci-fi-sounding “skin cell gun” trounces the traditional technique of grafting healthy skin onto a burn victim’s damaged body — a process that can take weeks and months — by spraying healthy stem cell tissue through an airbrush-type nozzle.

Doctors harvest the stem cells from the victim’s body, add them to a water solution and spray them onto burned areas. Rather than weeks or months, the healing process takes hours and days. One man with second-degree burns came in for treatment on a Friday and left completely healed by Monday.

“If we can find a way to get normal healthy skin, as much as we want, within a week, that’s the Holy Grail,” one researcher said. But if the dozen patients successfully treated with the gun are any indication, we may have already found it. 

Warning: The video below contains graphic images of burned skin.

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Friday, Feb 4, 2011 7:05 PM UTC

Sarah Palin is a soap opera, says Ron Reagan

Son of the former president speaks out about Palin's scheduled speech at a birthday tribute to his father

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Sarah Palin is a soap opera, says Ron ReaganPolitical Commentator Ron Reagan, Jr. speaks during CNN's Media Conference For The Election of the President 2008 at the Time Warner Center on October 14, 2008 in New York City. 16950_6376.JPG(Credit: Joe Kohen)

Sarah Palin is scheduled to speak at a tribute to former President Ronald Reagan today, whose 100th birthday would have been this Sunday.

Not all are fans of the governor turned vice-presidential candidate, most notably Reagan’s son, Ron Reagan. He told the Associated Press that he sees nothing in common between his father and Palin.

Sarah Palin is a soap opera, basically. She’s doing mostly what she does to make money and keep her name in the news. She is not a serious candidate for president and never has been.

Reagan’s former speechwriter, Kenneth Khachigian, praised the choice of Palin to honor the 40th president, saying Palin’s philosophy and political fortunes were shaped by the Reagan presidency. “She can reflect on that as well as anyone could,” he said.

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Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 11:35 AM UTC

Newt Gingrich wants to get rid of the EPA

The former House Speaker says we should replace agency with a more streamlined entity. Could he be right?

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Newt Gingrich wants to get rid of the EPANewt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich is tired of the EPA’s iron-fisted approach to environmental regulation, and he wants it gone. The former House Speaker says the agency is one big bureaucratic tangle and thinks it should be replaced by a body that works closely with businesses to create jobs, according to the AP. Additionally, Newt’s vision would more aggressively use science and technology to tackle environmental issues.

Gingrich — who is (yet again) mulling over a 2012 run for the Republican party nomination, something we — calls his proposed entity the “Environmental Solution Agency.” The organization would specifically pursue the development of clean coal and rewrite regulations governming the development of small nuclear plants, but its primary objective would be to streamline regulation and integrate the causes of the environment and business, he says.

He lays out a pretty detailed explanation on his website. Could Newt be on to something?

 

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