The Revenue Watch program and the Initiative for Policy Dialogue promote transparency and civic participation in natural resource policymaking. Journalists know how hard it is to report on government management of oil, gas, and other natural resource revenues. Governments and industry are seldom forthcoming. And reporters themselves usually lack the background in economics, engineering, geology, and corporate finance helpful to understanding the energy industry and the effects of resource wealth. This book attempts to redress the balance with practical information in easy to understand language. Chapters include Understanding the Resource Curse, A Primer on Oil, Oil Companies and the International Oil Market, the ABCs of Petroleum Contracts, and the Environmental, Social, and Human Rights Impacts of Oil Development. Tip sheets inform reporters about stories to pursue and questions to ask.
Here is everything you need to know about getting into oil painting—and maintaining a safe, solvent-free oil painting practice—in a slim, sophisticated guide. Oil painting is an exciting and adventurous medium, but aspiring artists can feel daunted by complex setups and the thought of using harsh chemicals. All of that changes now. The New Oil Painting walks you step-by-step through oil painting fundamentals—which materials you actually need, how to mix paint, how to set up your painting space—and, most revolutionary of all, how to eliminate harmful solvents from your work and replace them with safe, effective substitutes. This instructional handbook is organized into chapters with helpful diagrams throughout illustrating various techniques and tools. Whether you're a true beginner or have been painting with oils for years, you will find that this book has everything you need to build a new, thriving, toxin-free practice. • UNIQUE APPROACH: Not only does this book help aspiring artists build a repertoire of skills and materials, it also offers all artists, regardless of their experience levels, methods for eliminating solvents and other toxic substances from their oil painting practices. What was once a dangerous pastime is now a guilt-free, health-conscious, and rewarding activity. And using safe, nontoxic materials is better for the environment! • LONG-TERM USE: Good art instruction can deliver over a long period of time, and this handy guide is no exception. Along with being able to use this as an entryway into oil painting, you can also use it for reference or reread sections when you need a brushup. • EXPERT AUTHOR WITH IMPRESSIVE CREDENTIALS: Painter Kimberly Brooks was the founding arts editor at Huffington Post. As a painter, she exhibits her work frequently throughout the United States and was a featured artist with the National Endowment for the Arts. She has led oil painting workshops, and now she shares her vast knowledge of the subject in this accessible and comprehensive handbook. Perfect for: • Artists and art aspirants interested in exploring a new medium • Experienced oil painters looking to eliminate solvents from their practices • Painting students and teachers
World acclaimed scientist Vaclav Smil reveals everything there is to know about nature's most sought-after resource Oil is the lifeblood of the modern world. Without it, there would be no planes, no plastic, no exotic produce, and a global political landscape few would recognise. Humanity’s dependence upon oil looks set to continue for decades to come, but what is it? Fully updated and packed with fascinating facts to fuel dinner party debate, Professor Vaclav Smil's Oil: A Beginner's Guide explains all matters related to the ‘black stuff’, from its discovery in the earth right through to the controversy that surrounds it today.
This volume offers a review of oil inputs to the Mediterranean Sea from sources such as shipping, and offshore exploration and exploitation activities. It discusses international measures to prepare for, respond to, and prevent oil pollution incidents, as well as the international legal framework and agencies with a role in pollution prevention and responses. It includes chapters on modeling the fate of oil pollution, oil spill response, and oil spill beaching probability, and presents data from a range of sources, including historic data on shipping accidents and oil exploration and exploitation activities, satellite and remote sensing data, and numerical modelling data, to provide an overview of oil pollution over several years. Topics covered include modelling of oil slicks in the eastern and western Mediterranean basins, oil exploration and exploitation activities in the waters of the Levantine Basin (Eastern Mediterranean), and signatures to and ratification of the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols, for example. Together with the companion volume Oil Pollution in the Mediterranean Sea: Part II - National Case Studies, it addresses both national and international measures in the region, making it of relevance to the agencies and government bodies tasked with remediating or preventing oil pollution, as well as policymakers and practitioners in the fields of shipping, ports and terminals, oil extraction and marine management. It provides researchers with essential reference material on tools and techniques for monitoring oil pollution, and serves as a valuable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students in the field of marine oil pollution.
