Today's EIA "Energy Cookie" -- April 17, 2015; Japan's CO2 Emission -- 2nd Highest On Record -- So Much For The Kyoto Protocol

Today's EIA "energy cookie:

EIA is currently in the process of updating maps of major tight oil and shale gas plays, including the Eagle Ford and Marcellus plays, which will help to better characterize the geology of key areas of production in the United States.

EIA's most recent maps focus on shale and tight oil plays, and characterize plays based on geologic characteristics, including rock type and age. Understanding geologic history and processes helps exploration and production companies reduce the risk of drilling dry, nonproducing wells and better understand hydrocarbon resource potentials. --- EIA

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The Kyoto Protocol Up In Smoke

CO2 emissions second-highest on record for Japan:

Japan's greenhouse-gas emissions rose to the second-highest on record in the year ended March 2014, revised government figures showed on Tuesday, reflecting a rise in coal-fired power after the indefinite closure of nuclear power plants.

Emissions rose 1.2 percent to 1.408 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent from a year earlier.

That was up 0.8 percent from 2005 and up 10.8 percent from 1990.

That compares with record emissions of 1.412 billion metric tonnes in 2007.

All of Japan's 48 nuclear reactors have been shut down since September 2013, amid rigorous safety checks required after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami wrecked the Fukushima plant northeast of Tokyo. Nuclear power had accounted for 26 percent of Japan's electricity generation. Its loss has forced the country to import natural gas and coal, increasing its greenhouse gas emissions.

Preliminary data in December had shown the emissions were a record high in the year ended March 2014.

Don't even get me started. Rumors are Algore is flying to Japan today to have a high-level discussion with Japanese leaders.

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400 PPM CO2 And Blizzards In April

NBC News is reporting:

As many as 70 vehicles piled up in one spot of a Wyoming interstate Thursday after a heavy April storm dropped almost 10 inches of snow on the area.

An almost 150-mile-long stretch of Interstate 80 remained closed in both directions Thursday afternoon between Cheyenne in southeast Wyoming and Rawlins in the central part of the state because of treacherous, slick conditions that caused accidents across the area, officials said. The worst spot was near mile post 342, between Cheyenne and Laramie, two of the state's major population centers.

Don't even get me started. Unless Mile Post 342 is 11-feet tall, it was buried.