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Talk:Kart racing

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Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 7 July 2020 and 14 August 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Lewis9763.

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General
What is the copyright status of that image?

 * The snapshot was taken by me in 2000, and I declare it public domain. --Boleslav Bobcik, Wednesday, May 29, 2002

By the way, this should probably be shifted to kart racing, the capitalized naming is against conventions. --user:Robert Merkel

All these leisure karting images on the page jarr with the actual content, should there be a leisure karting topic? --user:maryann

Isn't it ironic that the WORLD karting association or federation etc. ONLY govern the USA? Kartcrazy | Talk 22:35, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

There is a huge following for the emerging activity of off road go karting, but no mention of this in the racing go kart topic. Shouldn't this be recognisd as a legitimate evolution of karting and worthy of its own definition? Hirondelle 06:16, 12 April 2007 (UTC)hirondelle

Etymology
What is the origin of the word "kart", (mis-)spelled with a "k"? This isn't addressed anywhere in the article, and should be covered in the lead section or very early in the History section.—QuicksilverT @ 21:41, 24 July 2010 (UTC) We should start a section on a DIY kart. Imagine, a shareware kart design! Reference: http://www.diyden.net/html/plans.html Nickgomez 06:59, 4 September 2007 (UTC)
 * This article should NOT be titled "Kart Racing" as a good deal of the content has nothing to do with racing, and "karting" is not necessarily racing. A more generic "Go Kart" or "Kart" entry should contain much of this article.   TC 18:15, 16 April 2010 (UTC)

Only racing ?
Why only kart racing?. There would be an article about karts in general (i.e. definition and differences with other vehicles)?. --Mac (talk) 15:06, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

 * "Go-karts" is currently just a redirect to here. Saying that amusement karts cannot be used for "racing" as User:Wikigi says to me in his total revert of my article edit is false. Amusement karts can be used for that racing, but just not to the extremely high speeds of the upper-crust karts.

 * There is really no reason to have a separate article for "amusement park" go-karts, since those do also use gas engine machines with all the same properties of the high-end racers. Creating such an article would involve duplication of about 75% of this article so they can be easily covered as a subcategory, as I am trying to add.

 * DMahalko (talk) 21:14, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

 * Fine, I have edited the "Engines" section only for clarity. In any case, electric karts should not be confused with "race" karts, just like walking is not confused with racewalking, etc.., etc.. Karting (the sport) is an open wheeled auto racing class governed worldwide by the FIA. - Wikigi | talk to me | 09:04, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

 * The electric karts are no different in user-operation from the small-engine gas powered karts. There's gas, brake, a steering wheel, and a shoulder harness. I have not seen them perform on a large open track nor do I know much (yet) about their design process, but they do have potential to be operated as a high-speed racing machine. Green karting is sure to be a future race sport anyway as people focus more on environmental issues.

 * Regarding the inertia of an electric vehicle, I don't think there is too much to dispute there, as you claim it is POV in your second deletion edit. Two large lead acid deep-cycle batteries (similar to what is used in electric  golf carts and boat trolling motors) easily add 150-200 pounds to the rear of a machine that is already a lightweight. That means slower acceleration but also worse braking and more rear-end sliding in the tight cornering of the very small tracks used in amusement parks.

 * I do not know enough about the electric karts to know if they can be operated for more than say 15-30 minutes between charging, since deep discharging is bad for lead acid batteries and makes the lead plates degrade quicker. The top-end speed of an electric is unknown to me, but is mainly just an issue of how much current the batteries can deliver. Permanent magnet motors in wheelchairs can suffer torque fade if magnets get too hot, though these high-performance kart motors may use series-wound field coils instead.

 * I will be doing some more research of the topic, much to your annoyance I am sure. ;-)
 * DMahalko (talk) 18:32, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

Do we really need more about batteries powered karts in this article? A specific article could/should be created under Electric go-karts (see Electrathon, Category:Electric vehicles). BTW, race karts are not equipped with a harness. - Wikigi | talk to me | 10:15, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

 * Kart racing is a specialty of go-karts in general, rather than the other way around. If we want to be really serious and scholarly about it, then 80% of this article discussing the kart design and mechanics should be under the go-kart article heading.

 * Upper-crust kart racing would be a subtopic or article stub off of that, and amusement part karting would also be an article stub off of that, since both are specific applications of the general kart technology. DMahalko (talk) 18:45, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

I agree with some of that. There is a disambiguation page for kart, in my opinion go-kart should not redirect to kart racing but to a short presentation article. However, karts used in amusement parks are not built on race karts specifications and vary widely in shape and form. Chassis, body, transmission, are most likely to be very different, not to mention engines (see 2008 KARTING TECHNICAL REGULATIONS). You've got electric or gas engines, single or dual seaters, tiny kid go-karts, karts bodies replicating cars and race cars, etc. Before you mentioned electric engines and "External controls" under "Components", this article was strictly pertaining to racing machines. - Wikigi | talk to me | 10:15, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

 * Article is still badly skewed towards kart racing, with almost no mention of leisure karting. Either the balance needs to be changed, or a general go-karting article written, and this article re-named 'kart racing', with relevant disambig. Centrepull (talk) 09:42, 21 December 2009 (UTC)

 * Well, it's not "badly skewed towards kart racing", it is about kart racing, later on, mention of leisure karting were added to it but I feel like you do, go-kart should not redirect here. - Wikigi | talk to me | 11:34, 21 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Fixed this long standing confusion today, kart racing is about racing karts. Everything about other go-karts, soap boxes, recreational and amusement parks included, is now in the go-kart article. - Wikigi | talk to me | 15:13, 28 May 2011 (UTC)

Indoor karting
sorry about the typos on my edit, my auto spellchecker didn't work. why do you say in your comment, "Nope (Indoor karting doesn't refers to the more serious type of rental karts)"? I meant that indoor karting usually refers to the variety that requires skill to drive, requires safety gear, etc. not the type mostly for kids at an amusement park somewhat common in the US. I don't mean to call it "serious" compared to traditional karting racing or something. I'm not clear on why you disagree.

also you left no comment when you removed the line about rental karts on outdoor tracks. could you provide your reasoning?

finally, I removed some of the text from the section be cause it was not that well written and not really notable, for example, the line about indoor karting being in warehouses. that's kind of obvious and not really notable in my opinion. But I left it in.--RA64 (talk) 00:12, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

 * Well, I have been practicing karting for over two decades, in Europe and in the US, and can confirm to you that : with very few exceptions indoor tracks are shorter than their outdoor counterparts (most of the time around ¼ of a mile or 400 m when outdoor tracks are easily 2 or 3 times longer), that they are narrower and twisted (very short straights) due to the limited space available within a building to design a track (drastically limiting speed), that surface is often very slippery (again limiting speed), that indoor tracks are not fit for the higher performance of a 2-stroke kart, that rental karts used in indoor facilities are less powerful than the rental karts made available for outdoor tracks where 15 hp 4-stroke karts and sometimes even 2-stroke karts (up to 28 hp - Rotax Max) can be rented. Not sure I get your point about facilities offering both indoor and outdoor tracks on the same premises... Regards - Wikigi | talk to me | 09:23, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

 * I like some things about the latest edit but made some changes. what I was trying to do before was make a distinction between kiddie style fun karts and racing based karts.  Categorizing on indoor vs outdoor can have some flaws - for example, there must be a kiddie kart indoor track somewhere, but the current content doesn't cover that.

 * In terms of the seriousness of indoor tracks, I certainly agree indoor tracks are shorter then outdoor, and tighter, and usually have less grip, but that doesn't mean they are easier to drive. In fact, personally I find the indoor tracks sometimes more challenging then the moderate power(11-15hp) heavy rental karts on bigger high grip outdoor tracks.  However, "Serious" is subjective so I agree with leaving that line out.  I think grouping "indoor karting" with outdoor rentals on racing tracks makes more sense then grouping outdoor rentals on racing tracks with outdoor kiddie karts.

 * Finally, I've rented TaG before, but I don't really consider that "recreational/concession" karting, that is traditional karting covered by the rest of the article.

 * All that said, I tried to make my last edit is a reasonable compromise. --RA64 (talk) 00:25, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

 * It appears to be fine like this. Remember that this article is about Kart racing.. As I suggested earlier, go-kart should not redirect to kart racing but to a short presentation article where recreational and kid karts could be introduced, as well as what falls under the "related" part of the See also. Regards - Wikigi | talk to me | 08:45, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Added Drift track info in Indoor Karts
I added information on a drift kart track near me in Australia. Someone removed it as spam, but I thought it was worth putting on because it is quite unusual to have a dedicated drift racing track, and because it is a new thing, I didn't think it was quite popular enough to add "Drift" as a subsection. Please let me know what you guys think. --Sean deFaoite (talk) 00:12, 27 June 2009 (UTC)

 * You can "drift" with any type of vehicle, this "information" doesn't introduce anything new to the article exept for a commercial link - Wikigi | talk to me | 07:13, 27 June 2009 (UTC)

True that you can drift with anything, but they they have an unusual track that is designed specifically for drift racing. It has very sharp corners, and they water and oil the track - it's also a bit unusual because it is an indoor track and as far as Australia goes, we don't have any dedicated drift tracks for this. You are not allowed to "drift" here anywhere at any rate. Is it different in America? That seems a bit different to me than an average track, so I thought it was worth mentioning. They seem to think that drifting is a new subsection of the sport, and there is a fair amount of interest from real enthusiasts. I had no intention of just adding a commercial link. I thought it might be interesting because it is fairly distinct. If you feel otherwise, could you please outline what you think about it. --Sean deFaoite (talk) 11:40, 27 June 2009 (UTC)

 * Would you please point to a source mentioning this. I cannot find any information regarding a dedicated drift tracks on the website you posted earlier. If it cannot be sourced, your edit will have to be reverted again. Thanks - Wikigi | talk to me | 12:13, 27 June 2009 (UTC)

Hi Wikigi - it says on the first page (about 5th paragraph) of www.funcitygokarts.com.au "...More experienced drivers are able to access our drifting track which is the only one in Victoria." So far, you have told me to add a comment on the talk page when I already have done so and also accused me of spamming, and now you have threatened to remove what I have written, when the source was in fact right in front of you. You've also reinstated your incorrect comments into my user talk section, when you have already been told that you had made a mistake about it, both on this page, and on your own talk page. Once again, you seem quite rude - or are you not understanding what I am saying to you? Thanks --Sean deFaoite (talk) 00:32, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

 * That short and single line is all I had already seen about it, more information was expected. Is it really a dedicated track? Are they using the same main short 400 m track for special drifting hours? etc.. - Wikigi | talk to me | 07:52, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

 * Wikigi - you first say "I cannot find any information" and then you say "That short and single line is all I had already seen about it" - both of your statements can not be true. Since I feel that you are harassing me on my user talk page anyhow, I don't want to continue this discusion with you further. --Sean deFaoite (talk) 10:03, 29 June 2009 (UTC)
 * My question was "I cannot find any information regarding a dedicated drift tracks". I am still awaiting more information with regard to a dedicated drift track. If not confirmed, the information will be deleted from the article - Wikigi | talk to me | 03:37, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Article edited today - Wikigi | talk to me | 08:05, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

It appears that you are not a strong English speaker because (aside from being rude and quite stalker-ish) you don't seem able the subtlety and finer nuance of what you read. The website says "More experienced drivers are able to access our drifting track." That means that there is a drift track that can not be used ''unless you are an experienced driver. Your objection makes no sense. The website clearly implies that there is a unique drift track. What part of this are you unable to understand??? The fact that I had already told you that this is the case anyway is more than enough. What the hell is your problem?

The only possible ridiculous alternative is that they have only one track that nobody is allowed to use because nobody at all is experienced enough to use it! It isn't possible given what the site has said for there to be only one track. You really need to improve your English comprehension skills before you attempt to battle it out with native speakers in a language that you have not yet mastered. --Sean deFaoite (talk) 23:48, 10 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Sean, you said yourself that the facility was using water and oil on the track, this argument is getting really silly now, bring evidence of a "dedicated" drift track to us or let go.. - Wikigi | talk to me | 07:19, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

Firstly, there is no "us" - only you. Secondly, I went in yesterday and told them about how I had encountered a weirdo on the internet who persisted in refusing to believe that they had a dedicated track, so they simply added it on this page whilst I was there: https://gokartwiki.com/go-kart-track/. Hopefully, you are able to read the part that says "We have Go Karts (with a dedicated drifting track)" Is this clear enough for you, or is there something about this that you don't still understand? Time to stalk someone else. --Sean deFaoite (talk) 12:33, 12 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Very well. Thank you - Wikigi | talk to me | 14:53, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

Good luck with your next victim. --124.176.184.227 (talk) 22:33, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

 * This is nothing but spam for an amusement park in Victoria. No information there. Wikigi | talk to me | 08:04, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

American and British English differences
There was a recent edit flip-flop on tire/tyre related to American and British English differences. I have noticed this on a few articles, where the combination of American and other editors using British English has resulted in this type of thing. The official guideline is to stay consistent with the preference of the originator (of the article, not of the edit as appeared to be the case in this recent edit flip-flop), but it seems like there might have been a software upgrade around 2001-2002 that wiped out the previous history, making the finding of the originator impossible, AFAIK.

Any ideas out there on how to solve this problem? Spalding 19:00, August 21, 2005 (UTC)

 * Use English English....its the real thing after all! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 80.177.152.156 (talk • contribs) 11:36, 11 December 2005.

 * The first available version uses "tyre", and as it was on 29 May 2002 I don't think there would've been too many edits beforehand. We should therefore use British English spelling.  violet/riga (t) 11:42, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

 * Oops, should have read this. The tyre/tire section was horribly inconsistent, using both, and I've updated it to use the US version. At least it's now consistent... djomp, 12:47, 22nd June 2006 (UTC)

Links

 * Why is kartingextra.com not allowed... e.g. it keeps getting removed. Karting.co.uk is something I have been involved in a few years back, and indeed that spun off a number of club websites. Kartingextra is going to be an site that draws all the aspects together, including lots of information from its users about their kart wins, set ups, pictures etc which are relevant.

The site is not making money, it is run for free, and does not sell anything, it is totally free for members. Is someone able to give me some good reasons as to why it should not be included as a resource?' —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.195.160.59 (talk)

 * You should read Wikipedia's External links guidelines, and maybe also WP:Spam. Rule number one: don't add links to your own website.  Also, no blogs. -- Mwanner | Talk 13:28, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

It was the only way I could get you to actually come back and answer my question in this discussion. :( Not trying to be annoying, though I am succeeding me thinks. :( Who said it was my own site? And I tried linking to the main information / site so instead linked it to direct information in a section that happens to be title "blog". Sigh. UPDATE: I have read the guidelines, I understand why you don't want it there. I personally feel that there is at least 1 other link that should not be there, but I don't hold weight obviously with my opinion. Tis a shame, but thats life.

I am slightly at the bottom of the page, most appear to simply be individual driver's websites, rather than sites which talk more about the community. This is not allowed on other articles, so I suggest they are removed, with the exception of Ekarting News and UK karting 80.176.252.211 09:14, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

 * I would second this; they do seem to be relatively personal websites, rather than those about Kart Racing in general. Djomp 15:19, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

 * there's a webiste http://www.lebkart.com that has an immense database about karting, worth a look at 194.126.24.3 08:09, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Clean up of External Links
The External links section was tagged with. As a result, as part of WP:WPSPAM, I've reviewed the external links. I believe the links to NGBs (National Governing Bodies) warrant inclusion. Links to promotional sites/magazine sites etc... Have been removed. -- Rehnn83 Talk 10:58, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

 * Agreed, maybe we could add a dmoz (see Template) Open Directory Project link such as ""? - Wikigi | talk to me | 15:26, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

 * Added dmoz link today, as mentioned above - Wikigi | talk to me | 14:14, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

History of Karting in Sweden
Liftarn, you have reposted your picture taken in a Swedish museum in Kart racing without any argumentation. As I said before when I reverted it, I believe your note has its place on the Swedish Karting article, or maybe you want to create a new page on the history of karting in Sweden. If we start to explain how karting started in France, Germany, India or Japan, this article is going to be extremely boring and out of place. It is already made mention of the 50th anniversary - with FIA reference - as well as the introduction of karting (which started in the US) in Europe with reference also. This is enough of history for this topic as it is more interesting to know what the sport is about today IMO. - Wikigi | talk to me | 19:36, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

 * Why not globalize the article instead of blanking valid content? The picture is also interesting since it's an example of an early kart. // Liftarn 22:47, 25 August 2007 (UTC)
 * I have re-introduced your picture of an early kart under History. - Wikigi | talk to me | 12:27, 30 August 2007 (UTC)
 * Sweden? The article has no history whatsoever.  It certainly has no links to any History of Carting in XXXX anywhere.  An History of Carting in The United States would be fascinating, as in Sweden, Britain, you name it.Bugatti35racer (talk) 00:54, 8 December 2014 (UTC)

Shifter karts on the street
I concur with the previous post. BTW, it is not vandalism to include a reference to "Video of 125cc shifter kart, on Quebec City streets, at night." as a shifter kart is a prototypical sports microcar just as s etc. were to cyclecars, and though illegal to drive one as such in Quebec, it is not elsewhere. 65.246.126.130 (talk) 14:52, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

 * 1) The video you are referring to has no other purpose than selling you a DVD (see the end of the video) and if posted on WP it constitutes spam. 2) A shifter kart has nothing to do with a Microcar and is certainly not a prototype. Karts are racing machines built according to strict CIK-FIA regulations and chassis, engines and all components have to be homologated by the same. All sprint karts, even when raced under national governing bodies, are using chassis built by manufacturers following the same CIK regulations 3) They are designed to run fast on circuits dedicated to the sport, in a safe environment, for the sake of performance, excellence, and competition. I don't know where it is legal to drive such a machine on the street, surely not in the US or in Europe - Wikigi | talk to me | 08:10, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

1) Whatever its commercial purpose, it has much inherent value as information for those who haven't driven one. 2) ... "nothing to do with a Microcar" except being an "extremely small automobile" i.e. its definition. 3) One man's excellence may be another man's fussy puritanism. 65.246.126.130 (talk) 20:30, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Safety
I think this article needs a safety section. I raced karts for the first time today and I just can't understand why there are not seatbelts and roll cages. Surely this just makes the sport far more dangerous than it needs to be. Andrewjlockley (talk) 23:50, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

 * Due to their very low center of gravity, it is extremely rare to see a kart roll over, for that to happen you need to drive over the wheel of another kart at a great speed and you will never do a complete rollover (I've seen a complete rollover happen only once with karters while running at very high speed, over 60 mph, driver was ok although a bit shaken..). As for seat belts, you would be better off being ejected in the case (even more rare) of a frontal collision (again, speed is a factor and there are no hard obstacles on a race track). Kart racing has a great safety record, if you wear the proper equipment, race a kart with a CIK-FIA approved chassis, run on a certified track, I can assure you that you're practicing a "safe" sport. - Wikigi | talk to me | 06:00, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

This being said, information about required driver equipment could be added.. - Wikigi | talk to me | 06:14, 27 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Done - Wikigi | talk to me | 08:20, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

transmission
Is there any transmission information there. Didn't think so.--Ericg33 (talk) 00:20, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

Fuel
Formula zero and Formula Hybrid aren't mentioned; see http://www.formulazero.nl/ http://www.formula-hybrid.org/about.php —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.182.225.103 (talk) 09:59, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

 * I cannot reach the Formula Zero site at the moment but the Formula Hybrid has suspension. That makes it a car, and outside the scope of this article whatever fuel it uses as karts do not have a separate suspension system. Britmax (talk) 10:27, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

 * There's no mention of gas (LPG) fuel in the engines section either - it seems to be increasingly popular in European rental karts, so is probably worth a mention. Jellyfish dave (talk) 08:54, 23 May 2011 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 2 one external links on Kart racing. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20090824043652/http://www.cikfia.com:80/web/karting/webkarting.nsf/CIKFIA_Dpliant50ansKarting.pdf to http://www.cikfia.com/web/karting/webkarting.nsf/CIKFIA_Dpliant50ansKarting.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20100922214253/http://www.cikfia.com:80/News2010/Zuera/KF2WKCFINALR.pdf to http://www.cikfia.com/News2010/Zuera/KF2WKCFINALR.pdf

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers. —cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 11:41, 28 August 2015 (UTC)

Moving "Components" section to Go-kart
The "Components" section is related to the vehicle itself, not the racing. Best suited for the article at Go-kart. 162 etc. (talk) 15:58, 24 June 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Kart racing


text:
Wikipedia talk:Contents/List of reference tables

Note: this page has been conceptually split into Category:Lists, List of lists, and the page itself, List of reference tables. These should be remerged into a {Category, article} pair; and should probably be moved back out of the WP: namespace. +sj +  21:58, 21 September 2005 (UTC)

 * Archive 1

Dismantling the Lists of reference tables
Because the list of reference tables is for the most part comprised of links to lists (and hardly any tables at all), it was decided at Wikipedia talk:Contents to dismantle the page, by merging it into Lists of topics, and copying links to other lists if appropriate - see the box to the right.

Lists of topics has a different format, so if you help move the links over, please be careful to format them correctly to match the formatting at the destination.

What the above means in common English is cutting and pasting the links to Lists of topics, and arranging and editing them so that they match the way the rest of that page is presented.

Don't worry about merging the whole page all at once. It's a big chore, so if you can help out by moving just a few links, that's fine too. Every little bit helps.

Thank you.

 Th e Tr ans hu man ist  06:08, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Olof Palme

Sven Olof Joachim Palme (30 January 1927 – 28 February 1986) was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and 1982 to 1986. Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until his assassination in 1986.

A longtime protégé of Prime Minister Tage Erlander, he became Prime Minister of Sweden in 1969, heading a Privy Council Government. He left office after failing to form a government after the 1976 general election, which ended 40 years of unbroken rule by the Social Democratic Party. While Leader of the Opposition, he served as special mediator of the United Nations in the Iran–Iraq War, and was President of the Nordic Council in 1979. He faced a second defeat in 1979, but he returned as prime minister after electoral victories in 1982 and 1985, and served until his death.

Palme was a pivotal and polarizing figure domestically as well as in international politics from the 1960s onward. He was steadfast in his non-alignment policy towards the superpowers, accompanied by support for numerous liberation movements following decolonization including, most controversially, economic and vocal support for a number of Third World governments. He was the first Western head of government to visit Cuba after its revolution, giving a speech in Santiago praising contemporary Cuban revolutionaries.

Frequently a critic of Soviet and American foreign policy, he expressed his resistance to imperialist ambitions and authoritarian regimes, including those of Francisco Franco of Spain, Augusto Pinochet of Chile, Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union, António de Oliveira Salazar of Portugal, Gustáv Husák of Czechoslovakia, and most notably John Vorster and P. W. Botha of South Africa, denouncing apartheid as a "particularly gruesome system". His 1972 condemnation of American bombings in Hanoi, comparing the bombings to a number of historical crimes including the bombing of Guernica, the massacres of Oradour-sur-glane, Babi Yar, Katyn, Lidice and Sharpeville and the extermination of Jews and other groups at Treblinka, resulted in a temporary freeze in Sweden–United States relations.

Palme's assassination on a Stockholm street on 28 February 1986 was the first murder of a national leader in Sweden since Gustav III in 1792, and had a great impact across Scandinavia. Local convict and addict Christer Pettersson was originally convicted of the murder in Stockholm District Court but was unanimously acquitted by the Svea Court of Appeal. On 10 June 2020, Swedish prosecutors held a press conference to announce that there was "reasonable evidence" that Stig Engström had killed Palme. As Engström had taken his own life in 2000, the authorities announced that the investigation into Palme's death was to be closed. The 2020 conclusion has faced widespread criticism from lawyers, police officers and journalists, decrying the evidence as only circumstantial, and – by the prosecutors' own admission – too weak to ensure a trial had the suspect been alive. The true identity of his assassin remains unknown.

Early life
Sven Olof Joachim Palme was born on 30 January 1927 into an upper class, conservative Lutheran family in the Östermalm district of Stockholm. The progenitor of the Palme family was skipper Palme Lydert of Ystad of either Dutch or German ancestry. His sons adopted the surname Palme. Many of the early Palmes were vicars and judges in Scania. One branch of the family, of which Olof Palme was part, and which became more affluent, relocated to Kalmar; that branch is related to several other prominent Swedish families such as the Kreugers, von Sydows and the Wallenbergs. His father, Gunnar Palme (1886–1934), was a businessman, son of Sven Palme (1854–1934) and Swedish-speaking Finnish Baroness Hanna Palme (1861–1959). Through her, Olof Palme claimed ancestry from King Johan III of Sweden, his father King Gustav Vasa of Sweden and King Frederick I of Denmark and Norway. His mother, Elisabeth von Knieriem (1890–1972), of the Knieriem family who originated from Quedlinburg, descended from Baltic German burghers and clergy and had arrived in Sweden from Russia as a refugee in 1915. Elisabeth's great-great-great grandfather Johann Melchior von Knieriem (1758–1817) had been ennobled by the Emperor Alexander I of Russia in 1814. The von Knieriem family does not count as members of any of the Baltic knighthoods. Palme's father died when he was seven years old. Despite his background, his political orientation came to be influenced by Social Democratic attitudes. His travels in the Third World, as well as the United States, where he saw deep economic inequality and racial segregation, helped to develop these views.

A sickly child, Olof Palme received his education from private tutors. Even as a child he gained knowledge of two foreign languages — German and English. He studied at Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket, one of Sweden's few residential high schools, and passed the university entrance examination with high marks at the age of 17. He was called up into the Army in January 1945 and did his compulsory military service at Svea Artillery Regiment between 1945 and 1947, becoming in 1956 a reserve officer with the rank of Captain in the Artillery. After he was discharged from military service in March 1947, he enrolled at Stockholm University.

On a scholarship, he studied at Kenyon College, a small liberal arts school in central Ohio from 1947 to 1948, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Inspired by radical debate in the student community, he wrote a critical essay on Friedrich Hayek's The Road to Serfdom. Palme wrote his senior honour thesis on the United Auto Workers union, led at the time by Walter Reuther. After graduation, he traveled throughout the country and eventually ended up in Detroit, where his hero Reuther agreed to an interview which lasted several hours. In later years, Palme regularly remarked during his many subsequent American visits, that the United States had made him a socialist, a remark that often has caused confusion. Within the context of his American experience, it was not that Palme was repelled by what he found in America, but rather that he was inspired by it.

After hitchhiking through the U.S. and Mexico, he returned to Sweden to study law at Stockholm University. In 1949 he became a member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party. During his time at university, Palme became involved in student politics, working with the Swedish National Union of Students. In 1951, he became a member of the social democratic student association in Stockholm, although it is asserted he did not attend their political meetings at the time. The following year he was elected President of the Swedish National Union of Students. As a student politician he concentrated on international affairs and travelled across Europe.

Palme attributed his becoming a social democrat to three major influences:
 * In 1947, he attended a debate on taxes between the Social Democrat Ernst Wigforss, the conservative Jarl Hjalmarson and the liberal Elon Andersson.
 * The time he spent in the United States in the 1940s made him realise how wide the class divide was in America, and the extent of racism against black people.
 * A trip to Asia, specifically India, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Japan in 1953 had opened his eyes to the consequences of colonialism and imperialism.

In 1956, Palme married children's psychologist Lisbeth Beck-Friis, and together they had three sons: Joakim, Mårten, and Mattias Palme.

Palme was an atheist.

Early political career

In 1953, Palme was recruited by social democratic prime minister Tage Erlander to work as his personal secretary, becoming the first of Erlander's large personal staff, a group of young aides such as Ingvar Carlsson and Bengt K. Å. Johansson, a group that became known as "the boys". From 1955 he was a board member of the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League and lectured at the Youth League College Bommersvik. He also was a member of the Worker's Educational Association.

In 1957 he was elected as a member of parliament (Swedish: riksdagsledamot) represented Jönköping County in the directly elected Second Chamber (Andra kammaren) of the Riksdag. In the early 1960s Palme became a member of the Agency for International Assistance (NIB) and was in charge of inquiries into assistance to the developing countries and educational aid. In 1963, he became a member of the Cabinet as minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office, and retained his duties as a close political adviser to Prime Minister Tage Erlander. In 1965, he became Minister of Communications. One issue of special interest to him was the further development of radio and television, while ensuring their independence from commercial interests. In 1967 he became Minister of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs, and the following year, he became Minister for Education and was the target of strong criticism from left-wing students protesting against the government's plans for university reform. The protests culminated with the occupation of the Student Union Building in Stockholm; Palme came there and tried to comfort the students, urging them to use democratic methods for the pursuit of their cause. On 21 February 1968, Palme participated in a protest in Stockholm against U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam together with the North Vietnamese ambassador to the Soviet Union, Nguyễn Thọ Chân. The protest was organized by the Swedish Committee for Vietnam and Palme and Nguyen were both invited as speakers. As a result of this, the U.S. recalled its Ambassador from Sweden and Palme was fiercely criticised by the opposition for his participation in the protest.

When party leader Tage Erlander stepped down in 1969, Palme was elected as the new leader by the Social Democratic party congress and asked by king Gustaf VI Adolf to form a government and succeed Erlander as Prime Minister. Prior to the selection of Palme, President of Finland Urho Kekkonen asked Erlander who his successor would be, and Erlander gave evasive answers. Kekkonen then asked if it would be Palme, to which Erlander responded, "Never, he is far too intelligent for a Prime Minister". Palme was later asked when Erlander first hinted to him that he wanted him to succeed him. Palme stated, "It never happened."

Palme was very popular among the left, but harshly detested by liberals and conservatives. This was due in part to his international activities, especially those directed against the US foreign policy, and in part to his aggressive and outspoken debating style.

Domestic policy
As leader of a new generation of Swedish Social Democrats, Palme was often described as a "revolutionary reformist" and self-identified as a progressive. Domestically, his leftist views, especially the drive to expand labour union influence over business ownership, engendered a great deal of hostility from the organized business community.

During the tenure of Palme, several major reforms in the Swedish constitution were carried out, such as orchestrating a switch from bicameralism to unicameralism in 1971 and in 1975 replacing the 1809 Instrument of Government (at the time the oldest political constitution in the world after that of the United States) with a new one officially establishing parliamentary democracy rather than de jure monarchic autocracy, abolishing the Cabinet meetings chaired by the King and stripping the monarchy of all formal political powers.

His reforms on labour market included establishing a law which increased job security. In the Swedish 1973 general election, the Socialist-Communist and the Liberal-Conservative blocs got 175 places each in the Riksdag. The Palme cabinet continued to govern the country but several times they had to draw lots to decide on some issues, although most important issues were decided through concessional agreement. Tax rates also rose from being fairly low even by Western European standards to the highest levels in the Western world.

Under Palme's premiership tenure, matters concerned with child care centers, social security, protection of the elderly, accident safety, and housing problems received special attention. Under Palme the public health system in Sweden became efficient, with the infant mortality rate standing at 12 per 1,000 live births. An ambitious redistributive programme was carried out, with special help provided to the disabled, immigrants, the low paid, single-parent families, and the old. The Swedish welfare state was significantly expanded from a position already one of the most far-reaching in the world during his time in office. As noted by Isabela Mares, during the first half of the Seventies "the level of benefits provided by every subsystem of the welfare state improved significantly." Various policy changes increased the basic old-age pension replacement rate from 42% of the average wage in 1969 to 57%, while a health care reform carried out in 1974 integrated all health services and increased the minimum replacement rate from 64% to 90% of earnings. In 1974, supplementary unemployment assistance was established, providing benefits to those workers ineligible for existing benefits. In 1971, eligibility for invalidity pensions was extended with greater opportunities for employees over the age of 60. In 1974, universal dental insurance was introduced, and former maternity benefits were replaced by a parental allowance. In 1974, housing allowances for families with children were raised and these allowances were extended to other low-income groups. Childcare centres were also expanded under Palme, and separate taxation of husband and wife introduced. Under Palme, over half of the Swedish economy was under public ownership, and the influence of the state had grown massively. Access to pensions for older workers in poor health was liberalised in 1970, and a disability pension was introduced for older unemployed workers in 1972.

The Palme cabinet was also active in the field of education, introducing such reforms as a system of loans and benefits for students, regional universities, and preschool for all children. Under a law of 1970, in the upper secondary school system "gymnasium," “fackskola" and vocational "yrkesskola" were integrated to form one school with 3 sectors (arts and social science, technical and natural sciences, economic and commercial). In 1975, a law was passed that established free admission to universities. A number of reforms were also carried out to enhance workers' rights. An employment protection Act of 1974 introduced rules regarding consultation with unions, notice periods, and grounds for dismissal, together with priority rules for dismissals and re-employment in case of redundancies. That same year, work-environment improvement grants were introduced and made available to modernising firms "conditional upon the presence of union-appointed 'safety stewards' to review the introduction of new technology with regard to the health and safety of workers". In 1976, an Act on co-determination at work was introduced that allowed unions to be consulted at various levels within companies before major changes were enforced that would affect employees, while management had to negotiate with labour for joint rights in all matters concerning organisation of work, hiring and firing, and key decisions affecting the workplace.

Palme's last government, elected during a time when Sweden's economy was in difficult shape, sought to pursue a "third way," designed to stimulate investment, production, and employment, having ruled out classical Keynesian policies as a result of the growing burden of foreign debt, together with the big balance of payments and budget deficits. This involved "equality of sacrifice," whereby wage restraint would be accompanied by increases in welfare provision and more progressive taxation. For instance, taxes on wealth, gifts, and inheritance were increased, while tax benefits to shareholders were either reduced or eliminated. In addition, various welfare cuts carried out before Olof's return to office were rescinded. The previous system of indexing pensions and other benefits was restored, the grant-in-aid scheme for municipal child care facilities was re-established, unemployment insurance was restored in full, and the so-called "no benefit days" for those drawing sickness benefits were cancelled. Increases were also made to both food subsidies and child allowances, while the employee investment funds (which represented a radical form of profit-sharing) were introduced.

In 1968, Palme was a driving force behind the release of the documentary Dom kallar oss mods ("They Call Us Misfits"). The controversial film, depicting two social outcasts, was scheduled to be released in an edited form but Palme thought the material was too socially important to be cut.

An outspoken supporter of gender equality, Palme sparked interest for women's rights issues by attending a World Women's Conference in Mexico. He also made a feminist speech called "The Emancipation of Man" at a meeting of the Woman's National Democratic Club on 8 June 1970; this speech was later published in 1972.

As a forerunner in green politics, Palme was a firm believer in nuclear power as a necessary form of energy, at least for a transitional period to curb the influence of fossil fuel. His intervention in Sweden's 1980 referendum on the future of nuclear power is often pinpointed by opponents of nuclear power as saving it. As of 2011, nuclear power remains one of the most important sources of clean energy in Sweden, much attributed to Palme's actions. Palme advocated for nuclear energy to move away from fossil fuels in his speech during the Stockholm Conference in 1972

Foreign policy
SovietSwedish bilateral relations were tested during Palme's second span of time as prime minister in the 1980s, in particular, owing to reports of incursions by Soviet submarines into Swedish territorial waters.

On the international scene, Palme was a widely recognised political figure because of his:
 * harsh and emotional criticism of the United States over the Vietnam War;
 * vocal opposition to the crushing of the Prague Spring by the Soviet Union;
 * criticism of European Communist regimes, including labeling the Husák regime as "The Cattle of Dictatorship" (Swedish: "Diktaturens kreatur") in 1975;
 * campaigning against nuclear weapons proliferation;
 * criticism of the Franco Regime in Spain, calling the regime "goddamn murderers" (Swedish: "satans mördare"; see Swedish profanity) after its execution of ETA and FRAP militants in September 1975;
 * opposition to apartheid, branding it as "a particularly gruesome system", and support for economic sanctions against South Africa;
 * support, both political and financial, for the African National Congress (ANC), the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Polisario Front;
 * visiting Fidel Castro's Cuba in 1975, during which he denounced Fulgencio Batista's government and praised contemporary Cuban revolutionaries;
 * strong criticism of the Pinochet regime in Chile;
 * support, both political and financial, for the FMLN-FDR in El Salvador and the FSLN in Nicaragua; and,
 * role as a mediator in the Iran–Iraq War.

All of this ensured that Palme had many opponents as well as many friends abroad.

In June 1972 at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment he described the environmental damage caused by the Vietnam War (including use of Agent Orange and other rainbow herbicides to deforst whole areas of the country) as ecocide and called for it to become an international crime.

On 23 December 1972, Palme (then Prime Minister) made a speech on Swedish national radio where he compared the ongoing U.S. bombings of Hanoi to historical atrocities, namely the bombing of Guernica, the massacres of Oradour-sur-Glane, Babi Yar, Katyn, Lidice and Sharpeville, and the extermination of Jews and other groups at Treblinka. The US government called the comparison a "gross insult" and once again decided to freeze its diplomatic relations with Sweden (this time the freeze lasted for over a year).

Assassination

Political violence was little-known in Sweden at the time, and Olof Palme often went about without a bodyguard. Close to midnight on 28 February 1986, he was walking home from a cinema with his wife Lisbeth Palme in the central Stockholm street Sveavägen when he was shot in the back at close range. A second shot grazed Lisbeth's back. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Sabbatsberg Hospital at 00:06 CET. Lisbeth survived without serious injuries.

Deputy Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson immediately assumed the duties of Prime Minister, a post he retained until 1991 (and then again in 1994–1996). He also took over the leadership of the Social Democratic Party, which he held until 1996.

Two years later, Christer Pettersson (d. 2004), a murderer, small-time criminal and drug addict, was convicted of Palme's murder, but his conviction was overturned. Another suspect, Victor Gunnarsson, emigrated to the United States, where he was the victim of an unrelated murder in 1993. The assassination remained unsolved.

A third and fourth suspect popularly referred to as "The Skandia Man" and GH, after their working place at the Skandia building next to the crime scene, and police investigation number ("H" representing the eighth letter, i.e. "Suspect Profile No. 8"), took their own lives in 2000 and 2008 respectively. Both fitted the suspect profile vaguely, and owned firearms. GH was a long-time suspect partly because he had self-described financial motives, and owned the only registered .357 Magnum in the Stockholm vicinity not tested and ruled out by authorities, which as yet has not been recovered.

On 18 March 2020, Swedish investigators met in Pretoria with members of South African intelligence agencies to discuss the case. The South Africans handed over their file from 1986 to their Swedish colleagues. Göran Björkdahl, a Swedish diplomat, had done independent research on Palme's assassination. Major General Chris Thirion, who headed the military intelligence of South Africa during the final years of apartheid rule, had told Björkdahl in 2015 that he believed South Africa was behind Palme's murder. Swedish investigators announced that they would reveal new information and close the case on 10 June 2020. Earlier remarks by lead investigator Krister Petersson that "there might not be a prosecution" have led commentators to believe that the suspect is dead.

On 10 June 2020, Swedish prosecutors stated publicly that they knew who had killed Palme and named Stig Engström, also known as "Skandia Man", as the assassin. Engström was one of about twenty people who had claimed to witness the assassination and was later identified as a potential suspect by Swedish writers Lars Larsson and Thomas Pettersson. Given that Engström had committed suicide in 2000, the authorities also announced that the investigation into Palme's death was to be closed.

Some politicians and journalists in Turkey relate the assassination of Palme to PKK since he was the first in Europe to designate PKK as terrorist organisation.

title: Olof Palme


text:
Lesbos Prefecture

Lesbos Prefecture (Νομός Λέσβου) was one of the prefectures of Greece. It comprised three main islands: Lesbos itself, Lemnos, and the smaller island of Agios Efstratios. Its capital was the town of Mytilene, on Lesbos. In 2011 the prefecture was abolished and the territory was divided between the regional units of Lesbos and Lemnos.

Places

 * Mytilene, the capital city of the island and the prefecture itself.
 * Kalloni, the central town of the island of Lesbos.
 * Agia Paraskevi, on the island of Lesbos.
 * Eressos, on the island of Lesbos.
 * Myrina, capital town of the island of Limnos.
 * Agios Efstratios, on the homonymous isle.

Provinces
Note: Provinces no longer hold any legal status in Greece.
 * Province of Lemnos – Myrina
 * Province of Mithymna – Mithymna
 * Province of Mytilene – Mytilene
 * Province of Plomari – Plomari

title: Lesbos Prefecture


text:
Methane clathrate

Methane clathrate (CH4·5.75H2O) or (4CH4·23H2O), also called methane hydrate, hydromethane, methane ice, fire ice, natural gas hydrate, or gas hydrate, is a solid clathrate compound (more specifically, a clathrate hydrate) in which a large amount of methane is trapped within a crystal structure of water, forming a solid similar to ice. Originally thought to occur only in the outer regions of the Solar System, where temperatures are low and water ice is common, significant deposits of methane clathrate have been found under sediments on the ocean floors of the Earth (approx. 1100m below the sea level). Methane hydrate is formed when hydrogen-bonded water and methane gas come into contact at high pressures and low temperatures in oceans.

Methane clathrates are common constituents of the shallow marine geosphere and they occur in deep sedimentary structures and form outcrops on the ocean floor. Methane hydrates are believed to form by the precipitation or crystallisation of methane migrating from deep along geological faults. Precipitation occurs when the methane comes in contact with water within the sea bed subject to temperature and pressure. In 2008, research on Antarctic Vostok Station and EPICA Dome C ice cores revealed that methane clathrates were also present in deep Antarctic ice cores and record a history of atmospheric methane concentrations, dating to 800,000 years ago. The ice-core methane clathrate record is a primary source of data for global warming research, along with oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Methane clathrates used to be considered as a potential source of abrupt climate change, following the clathrate gun hypothesis. In this scenario, heating causes catastrophic melting and breakdown of primarily undersea hydrates, leading to a massive release of methane and accelerating warming. Current research shows that hydrates react very slowly to warming, and that it's very difficult for methane to reach the atmosphere after dissociation. Some active seeps instead act as a minor carbon sink, because with the majority of methane dissolved underwater and encouraging methanotroph communities, the area around the seep also becomes more suitable for phytoplankton. As the result, methane hydrates are no longer considered one of the tipping points in the climate system, and according to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, no "detectable" impact on the global temperatures will occur in this century through this mechanism. Over several millennia, a more substantial 0.4-0.5 C-change response may still be seen.

General
Methane hydrates were discovered in Russia in the 1960s, and studies for extracting gas from it emerged at the beginning of the 21st century.

Structure and composition
The nominal methane clathrate hydrate composition is (CH4)4(H2O)23, or 1 mole of methane for every 5.75 moles of water, corresponding to 13.4% methane by mass, although the actual composition is dependent on how many methane molecules fit into the various cage structures of the water lattice. The observed density is around 0.9 g/cm3, which means that methane hydrate will float to the surface of the sea or of a lake unless it is bound in place by being formed in or anchored to sediment. One litre of fully saturated methane clathrate solid would therefore contain about 120 grams of methane (or around 169 litres of methane gas at 0 °C and 1 atm), or one cubic metre of methane clathrate releases about 160 cubic metres of gas.

Methane forms a "structure-I" hydrate with two dodecahedral (12 vertices, thus 12 water molecules) and six tetradecahedral (14 water molecules) water cages per unit cell. (Because of sharing of water molecules between cages, there are only 46 water molecules per unit cell.) This compares with a hydration number of 20 for methane in aqueous solution. A methane clathrate MAS NMR spectrum recorded at 275 K and 3.1 MPa shows a peak for each cage type and a separate peak for gas phase methane. In 2003, a clay-methane hydrate intercalate was synthesized in which a methane hydrate complex was introduced at the interlayer of a sodium-rich montmorillonite clay. The upper temperature stability of this phase is similar to that of structure-I hydrate.

Natural deposits

Methane clathrates are restricted to the shallow lithosphere (i.e. < 2,000 m depth). Furthermore, necessary conditions are found only in either continental sedimentary rocks in polar regions where average surface temperatures are less than 0 °C; or in oceanic sediment at water depths greater than 300 m where the bottom water temperature is around 2 °C. In addition, deep fresh water lakes may host gas hydrates as well, e.g. the fresh water Lake Baikal, Siberia. Continental deposits have been located in Siberia and Alaska in sandstone and siltstone beds at less than 800 m depth. Oceanic deposits seem to be widespread in the continental shelf (see Fig.) and can occur within the sediments at depth or close to the sediment-water interface. They may cap even larger deposits of gaseous methane.

Oceanic
Methane hydrate can occur in various forms like massive, dispersed within pore spaces, nodules, veins/fractures/faults, and layered horizons. Generally, it is found unstable at standard pressure and temperature conditions, and 1 m3 of methane hydrate upon dissociation yields about 164 m3 of methane and 0.87 m3 of freshwater. There are two distinct types of oceanic deposits. The most common is dominated (> 99%) by methane contained in a structure I clathrate and generally found at depth in the sediment. Here, the methane is isotopically light (δ13C < −60‰), which indicates that it is derived from the microbial reduction of CO2. The clathrates in these deep deposits are thought to have formed in situ from the microbially produced methane since the δ13C values of clathrate and surrounding dissolved methane are similar. However, it is also thought that freshwater used in the pressurization of oil and gas wells in permafrost and along the continental shelves worldwide combines with natural methane to form clathrate at depth and pressure since methane hydrates are more stable in freshwater than in saltwater. Local variations may be widespread since the act of forming hydrate, which extracts pure water from saline formation waters, can often lead to local and potentially significant increases in formation water salinity. Hydrates normally exclude the salt in the pore fluid from which it forms. Thus, they exhibit high electric resistivity like ice, and sediments containing hydrates have higher resistivity than sediments without gas hydrates (Judge [67]).

These deposits are located within a mid-depth zone around 300–500 m thick in the sediments (the gas hydrate stability zone, or GHSZ) where they coexist with methane dissolved in the fresh, not salt, pore-waters. Above this zone methane is only present in its dissolved form at concentrations that decrease towards the sediment surface. Below it, methane is gaseous. At Blake Ridge on the Atlantic continental rise, the GHSZ started at 190 m depth and continued to 450 m, where it reached equilibrium with the gaseous phase. Measurements indicated that methane occupied 0-9% by volume in the GHSZ, and ~12% in the gaseous zone.

In the less common second type found near the sediment surface, some samples have a higher proportion of longer-chain hydrocarbons (< 99% methane) contained in a structure II clathrate. Carbon from this type of clathrate is isotopically heavier (δ13C is −29 to −57 ‰) and is thought to have migrated upwards from deep sediments, where methane was formed by thermal decomposition of organic matter. Examples of this type of deposit have been found in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caspian Sea.

Some deposits have characteristics intermediate between the microbially and thermally sourced types and are considered formed from a mixture of the two.

The methane in gas hydrates is dominantly generated by microbial consortia degrading organic matter in low oxygen environments, with the methane itself produced by methanogenic archaea. Organic matter in the uppermost few centimeters of sediments is first attacked by aerobic bacteria, generating CO2, which escapes from the sediments into the water column. Below this region of aerobic activity, anaerobic processes take over, including, successively with depth, the microbial reduction of nitrite/nitrate, metal oxides, and then sulfates are reduced to sulfides. Finally, methanogenesis becomes a dominant pathway for organic carbon remineralization.

If the sedimentation rate is low (about 1 cm/yr), the organic carbon content is low (about 1% ), and oxygen is abundant, aerobic bacteria can use up all the organic matter in the sediments faster than oxygen is depleted, so lower-energy electron acceptors are not used. But where sedimentation rates and the organic carbon content are high, which is typically the case on continental shelves and beneath western boundary current upwelling zones, the pore water in the sediments becomes anoxic at depths of only a few centimeters or less. In such organic-rich marine sediments, sulfate becomes the most important terminal electron acceptor due to its high concentration in seawater. However, it too is depleted by a depth of centimeters to meters. Below this, methane is produced. This production of methane is a rather complicated process, requiring a highly reducing environment (Eh −350 to −450 mV) and a pH between 6 and 8, as well as a complex syntrophic, consortia of different varieties of archaea and bacteria. However, it is only archaea that actually emit methane.

In some regions (e.g., Gulf of Mexico, Joetsu Basin) methane in clathrates may be at least partially derive from thermal degradation of organic matter (e.g. petroleum generation), with oil even forming an exotic component within the hydrate itself that can be recovered when the hydrate is disassociated. The methane in clathrates typically has a biogenic isotopic signature and highly variable δ13C (−40 to −100‰), with an approximate average of about −65‰. Below the zone of solid clathrates, large volumes of methane may form bubbles of free gas in the sediments.

The presence of clathrates at a given site can often be determined by observation of a "bottom simulating reflector" (BSR), which is a seismic reflection at the sediment to clathrate stability zone interface caused by the unequal densities of normal sediments and those laced with clathrates.

Gas hydrate pingos have been discovered in the Arctic oceans Barents sea. Methane is bubbling from these dome-like structures, with some of these gas flares extending close to the sea surface.

Reservoir size
The size of the oceanic methane clathrate reservoir is poorly known, and estimates of its size decreased by roughly an order of magnitude per decade since it was first recognized that clathrates could exist in the oceans during the 1960s and 1970s. The highest estimates (e.g. 3 m3) were based on the assumption that fully dense clathrates could litter the entire floor of the deep ocean. Improvements in our understanding of clathrate chemistry and sedimentology have revealed that hydrates form in only a narrow range of depths (continental shelves), at only some locations in the range of depths where they could occur (10-30% of the Gas hydrate stability zone), and typically are found at low concentrations (0.9–1.5% by volume) at sites where they do occur. Recent estimates constrained by direct sampling suggest the global inventory occupies between 1e15 and 5e15 m3. This estimate, corresponding to 500–2500 gigatonnes carbon (Gt C), is smaller than the 5000 Gt C estimated for all other geo-organic fuel reserves but substantially larger than the ~230 Gt C estimated for other natural gas sources. The permafrost reservoir has been estimated at about 400 Gt C in the Arctic, but no estimates have been made of possible Antarctic reservoirs. These are large amounts. In comparison, the total carbon in the atmosphere is around 800 gigatons (see Carbon: Occurrence).

These modern estimates are notably smaller than the 10,000 to 11,000 Gt C (2 m3) proposed by previous researchers as a reason to consider clathrates to be a geo-organic fuel resource (MacDonald 1990, Kvenvolden 1998). Lower abundances of clathrates do not rule out their economic potential, but a lower total volume and apparently low concentration at most sites does suggest that only a limited percentage of clathrates deposits may provide an economically viable resource.

Continental
Methane clathrates in continental rocks are trapped in beds of sandstone or siltstone at depths of less than 800 m. Sampling indicates they are formed from a mix of thermally and microbially derived gas from which the heavier hydrocarbons were later selectively removed. These occur in Alaska, Siberia, and Northern Canada.

In 2008, Canadian and Japanese researchers extracted a constant stream of natural gas from a test project at the Mallik gas hydrate site in the Mackenzie River delta. This was the second such drilling at Mallik: the first took place in 2002 and used heat to release methane. In the 2008 experiment, researchers were able to extract gas by lowering the pressure, without heating, requiring significantly less energy. The Mallik gas hydrate field was first discovered by Imperial Oil in 1971–1972.

Commercial use
Economic deposits of hydrate are termed natural gas hydrate (NGH) and store 164 m3 of methane, 0.8 m3 water in 1 m3 hydrate. Most NGH is found beneath the seafloor (95%) where it exists in thermodynamic equilibrium. The sedimentary methane hydrate reservoir probably contains 2–10 times the currently known reserves of conventional natural gas,. This represents a potentially important future source of hydrocarbon fuel. However, in the majority of sites deposits are thought to be too dispersed for economic extraction. Other problems facing commercial exploitation are detection of viable reserves and development of the technology for extracting methane gas from the hydrate deposits.

In August 2006, China announced plans to spend 800 million yuan (US$100 million) over the next 10 years to study natural gas hydrates. A potentially economic reserve in the Gulf of Mexico may contain approximately 100 e9m3 of gas. Bjørn Kvamme and Arne Graue at the Institute for Physics and technology at the University of Bergen have developed a method for injecting into hydrates and reversing the process; thereby extracting CH4 by direct exchange. The University of Bergen's method is being field tested by ConocoPhillips and state-owned Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC), and partially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The project has already reached injection phase and was analyzing resulting data by March 12, 2012.

On March 12, 2013, JOGMEC researchers announced that they had successfully extracted natural gas from frozen methane hydrate. In order to extract the gas, specialized equipment was used to drill into and depressurize the hydrate deposits, causing the methane to separate from the ice. The gas was then collected and piped to surface where it was ignited to prove its presence. According to an industry spokesperson, "It [was] the world's first offshore experiment producing gas from methane hydrate". Previously, gas had been extracted from onshore deposits, but never from offshore deposits which are much more common. The hydrate field from which the gas was extracted is located 50 km from central Japan in the Nankai Trough, 300 m under the sea. A spokesperson for JOGMEC remarked "Japan could finally have an energy source to call its own". Marine geologist Mikio Satoh remarked "Now we know that extraction is possible. The next step is to see how far Japan can get costs down to make the technology economically viable." Japan estimates that there are at least 1.1 trillion cubic meters of methane trapped in the Nankai Trough, enough to meet the country's needs for more than ten years.

Both Japan and China announced in May 2017 a breakthrough for mining methane clathrates, when they extracted methane from hydrates in the South China Sea. China described the result as a breakthrough; Praveen Linga from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the National University of Singapore agreed "Compared with the results we have seen from Japanese research, the Chinese scientists have managed to extract much more gas in their efforts". Industry consensus is that commercial-scale production remains years away.

Environmental concerns
Experts caution that environmental impacts are still being investigated and that methane—a greenhouse gas with around 25 times as much global warming potential over a 100-year period (GWP100) as carbon dioxide—could potentially escape into the atmosphere if something goes wrong. Furthermore, while cleaner than coal, burning natural gas also creates carbon dioxide emissions.

Routine operations
Methane clathrates (hydrates) are also commonly formed during natural gas production operations, when liquid water is condensed in the presence of methane at high pressure. It is known that larger hydrocarbon molecules like ethane and propane can also form hydrates, although longer molecules (butanes, pentanes) cannot fit into the water cage structure and tend to destabilise the formation of hydrates.

Once formed, hydrates can block pipeline and processing equipment. They are generally then removed by reducing the pressure, heating them, or dissolving them by chemical means (methanol is commonly used). Care must be taken to ensure that the removal of the hydrates is carefully controlled, because of the potential for the hydrate to undergo a phase transition from the solid hydrate to release water and gaseous methane at a high rate when the pressure is reduced. The rapid release of methane gas in a closed system can result in a rapid increase in pressure.

It is generally preferable to prevent hydrates from forming or blocking equipment. This is commonly achieved by removing water, or by the addition of ethylene glycol (MEG) or methanol, which act to depress the temperature at which hydrates will form. In recent years, development of other forms of hydrate inhibitors have been developed, like Kinetic Hydrate Inhibitors (increasing the required sub-cooling which hydrates require to form, at the expense of increased hydrate formation rate) and anti-agglomerates, which do not prevent hydrates forming, but do prevent them sticking together to block equipment.

Effect of hydrate phase transition during deep water drilling
When drilling in oil- and gas-bearing formations submerged in deep water, the reservoir gas may flow into the well bore and form gas hydrates owing to the low temperatures and high pressures found during deep water drilling. The gas hydrates may then flow upward with drilling mud or other discharged fluids. When the hydrates rise, the pressure in the annulus decreases and the hydrates dissociate into gas and water. The rapid gas expansion ejects fluid from the well, reducing the pressure further, which leads to more hydrate dissociation and further fluid ejection. The resulting violent expulsion of fluid from the annulus is one potential cause or contributor to the "kick". (Kicks, which can cause blowouts, typically do not involve hydrates: see Blowout: formation kick).

Measures which reduce the risk of hydrate formation include:
 * High flow-rates, which limit the time for hydrate formation in a volume of fluid, thereby reducing the kick potential.
 * Careful measuring of line flow to detect incipient hydrate plugging.
 * Additional care in measuring when gas production rates are low and the possibility of hydrate formation is higher than at relatively high gas flow rates.
 * Monitoring of well casing after it is "shut in" (isolated) may indicate hydrate formation. Following "shut in", the pressure rises while gas diffuses through the reservoir to the bore hole; the rate of pressure rise exhibit a reduced rate of increase while hydrates are forming.
 * Additions of energy (e.g., the energy released by setting cement used in well completion) can raise the temperature and convert hydrates to gas, producing a "kick".

Blowout recovery

At sufficient depths, methane complexes directly with water to form methane hydrates, as was observed during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. BP engineers developed and deployed a subsea oil recovery system over oil spilling from a deepwater oil well 5000 ft below sea level to capture escaping oil. This involved placing a 125 t dome over the largest of the well leaks and piping it to a storage vessel on the surface. This option had the potential to collect some 85% of the leaking oil but was previously untested at such depths. BP deployed the system on May 7–8, but it failed due to buildup of methane clathrate inside the dome; with its low density of approximately 0.9 g/cm3 the methane hydrates accumulated in the dome, adding buoyancy and obstructing flow.

Natural gas hydrates for gas storage and transportation
Since methane clathrates are stable at a higher temperature than liquefied natural gas (LNG) (−20 vs −162 °C), there is some interest in converting natural gas into clathrates (Solidified Natural Gas or SNG) rather than liquifying it when transporting it by seagoing vessels. A significant advantage would be that the production of natural gas hydrate (NGH) from natural gas at the terminal would require a smaller refrigeration plant and less energy than LNG would. Offsetting this, for 100 tonnes of methane transported, 750 tonnes of methane hydrate would have to be transported; since this would require a ship of 7.5 times greater displacement, or require more ships, it is unlikely to prove economically feasible.. Recently, methane hydrate has received considerable interest for large scale stationary storage application due to the very mild storage conditions with the inclusion of tetrahydrofuran (THF) as a co-guest. With the inclusion of tetrahydrofuran, though there is a slight reduction in the gas storage capacity, the hydrates have been demonstrated to be stable for several months in a recent study at −2 °C and atmospheric pressure. A recent study has demonstrated that SNG can be formed directly with seawater instead of pure water in combination with THF.

Research

 * Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate (CAGE)
 * Center for Hydrate Research
 * USGS Geological Research Activities with U.S. Minerals Management Service - Methane Gas Hydrates
 * Carbon Neutral Methane Energy Production from Hydrate Deposits (Columbia University)

Video

 * USGS Gas Hydrates Lab (2012)
 * Ancient Methane Explosions Created Ocean Craters (2017)

title: Methane clathrate


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Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than 247.3 e6acre of land, or one-eighth of the United States's total landmass.

The Bureau was created by Congress during the presidency of Harry S. Truman in 1946 by combining two existing agencies: the United States General Land Office and the Grazing Service. The agency manages the federal government's nearly 700 e6acre of subsurface mineral estate located beneath federal, state and private lands severed from their surface rights by the Homestead Act of 1862. Most BLM public lands are located in these 12 western states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

The mission of the BLM is "to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations." Originally BLM holdings were described as "land nobody wanted" because homesteaders had passed them by. All the same, ranchers hold nearly 18,000 permits and leases for livestock grazing on 155 e6acre of BLM public lands. The agency manages 221 wilderness areas, 29 national monuments and some 636 other protected areas as part of the National Conservation Lands (formerly known as the National Landscape Conservation System), totaling about 36 e6acre. In addition the National Conservation Lands include nearly 2,400 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers, and nearly 6,000 miles of National Scenic and Historic Trails. There are more than 63,000 oil and gas wells on BLM public lands. Total energy leases generated approximately $5.4 billion in 2013, an amount divided among the Treasury, the states, and Native American groups.

History
The BLM's roots go back to the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. These laws provided for the survey and settlement of the lands that the original Thirteen Colonies ceded to the federal government after the American Revolution. As additional lands were acquired by the United States from Spain, France and other countries, the United States Congress directed that they be explored, surveyed, and made available for settlement. During the Revolutionary War, military bounty land was promised to soldiers who fought for the colonies. After the war, the Treaty of Paris of 1783, signed by the United States, the UK, France, and Spain, ceded territory to the United States. In the 1780s, other states relinquished their own claims to land in modern-day Ohio. By this time, the United States needed revenue to function and land was sold as a source of income for the government. In order to sell the land, surveys needed to be conducted. The Land Ordinance of 1785 instructed a geographer to oversee this work as undertaken by a group of surveyors. The first years of surveying were completed by trial and error; once the territory of Ohio had been surveyed, a modern public land survey system had been developed. In 1812, Congress established the United States General Land Office as part of the Department of the Treasury to oversee the disposition of these federal lands. By the early 1800s, promised bounty land claims were finally fulfilled.

In the 19th century, other bounty land and homestead laws were enacted to dispose of federal land. Several different types of patents existed. These include cash entry, credit, homestead, Indian, military warrants, mineral certificates, private land claims, railroads, state selections, swamps, town sites, and town lots. A system of local land offices spread throughout the territories, patenting land that was surveyed via the corresponding Office of the Surveyor General of a particular territory. This pattern gradually spread across the entire United States. The laws that spurred this system with the exception of the General Mining Law of 1872 and the Desert Land Act of 1877 have since been repealed or superseded.

In the early 20th century, Congress took additional steps toward recognizing the value of the assets on public lands and directed the Executive Branch to manage activities on the remaining public lands. The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 allowed leasing, exploration, and production of selected commodities, such as coal, oil, gas, and sodium to take place on public lands. The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 established the United States Grazing Service to manage the public rangelands by establishment of advisory boards that set grazing fees. The Oregon and California Revested Lands Sustained Yield Management Act of 1937, commonly referred as the O&C Act, required sustained yield management of the timberlands in western Oregon.

In 1946, the Grazing Service was merged with the United States General Land Office to form the Bureau of Land Management within the Department of the Interior. It took several years for this new agency to integrate and reorganize. In the end, the Bureau of Land Management became less focused on land disposal and more focused on the long term management and preservation of the land. The agency achieved its current form by combining offices in the western states and creating a corresponding office for lands both east of and alongside the Mississippi River. As a matter of course, the BLM's emphasis fell on activities in the western states as most of the mining, land sales, and federally owned areas are located west of the Mississippi.

BLM personnel on the ground have typically been oriented toward local interests, while bureau management in Washington are led by presidential guidance. By means of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, Congress created a more unified bureau mission and recognized the value of the remaining public lands by declaring that these lands would remain in public ownership. The law directed that these lands be managed with a view toward "multiple use" defined as "management of the public lands and their various resource values so that they are utilized in the combination that will best meet the present and future needs of the American people."

Since the Reagan administration in the 1980s, Republicans have often given priority to local control and to grazing, mining and petroleum production, while Democrats have more often emphasized environmental concerns even when granting mining and drilling leases. In September 1996, then President Bill Clinton used his authority under the Antiquities Act to establish the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument in southern Utah, the first of now 20 national monuments established on BLM lands and managed by the agency. The establishment of Grand Staircase–Escalante foreshadowed later creation of the BLM's National Landscape Conservation System in 2000. Use of the Antiquities Act authority, to the extent it effectively scuttled a coal mine to have been operated by Andalex Resources, delighted recreation and conservation enthusiasts but set up larger confrontations with state and local authorities.

Under the Trump administration, the BLM offered millions of acres of available Federal lands for 10-year leases for commercial development, potentially in oil and gas and mining, with the stated goal of "promoting American energy security". The BLM holds quarterly oil and gas lease sales. According to a June 18, 2018 article in The Atlantic, under the tenure of then-United States Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke "practically gave away hundreds of thousands of acres of open land across the West, leasing it to energy companies for pennies on the dollar." The Salt Lake Tribune reported that in March 2019, the price per acre for leases near the Golden Spike National Historical Park, in Utah were "$1.50 an acre for the next two years". By September 11, 2018, the Department of Interior was offering 2.9 million acres to be leased to commercial operations including drilling for oil and gas and mining in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and other states where public land is not protected by a national park or monument designation. The BLM's May 30, 2019 statement proposed an additional 183,668 acres on "lands managed by the Canyon Country, Color Country, Green River, and West Desert districts" that would be listed for the quarterly oil and gas lease sale on September 10, 2019. In their May 2019, September lease offerings, the BLM said that they had "245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 Western states, including Alaska" and across the United States another "700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate" is under their management. The statement also said that these "diverse activities authorized on these lands generated $96 billion in sales of goods and services throughout the American economy in fiscal year 2017" while supporting over 468,000 jobs".

On August 4, 2020, President Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act into law, committing up to $1.9 billion from energy development revenues to the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund each year for five years for needed maintenance for critical facilities and infrastructure in national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, recreation areas and American Indian schools. The Act also committed $900 million a year in royalties from offshore oil and natural gas to permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund investments in conservation and recreation opportunities across the country.

Also in August 2020, the BLM headquarters was relocated to Grand Junction, Colorado, by an order signed by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt. The relocation was praised by Republican Western politicians but criticized by Democrats as a move to weaken the agency through the loss of experienced staffers, who opted to stay in Washington, D.C. Some ranchers were concerned about the isolation of Grand Junction compared to other Western cities, having limited flights and road access. After the announcement, 87% of D.C.-based employees left, prompting former lead career BLM official Steve Ellis to state "the bureau lost a tremendous amount of expertise...[of] very seasoned people."

On September 17, 2021, Secretary Deb Haaland announced that the headquarters would be moved back to Washington, D.C.

Under the Biden administration, the BLM is working on a pilot project called "outcomes-based grazing", to see if cattle grazing can help achieve conservation, agency director Tracy Stone-Manning said in an interview published in April 2022.

In June 2022, the BLM finalized two acquisitions in Colorado and Wyoming, acquiring over 40,000 acres of previously inaccessible land. The acquisition in Wyoming for 35,670 acres is the agency's largest ever purchase in the state.

In 2024 the Department of the Interior has begun to advance a new rule according to which the Bureau of Land Management can distribute restoration leases and mitigation leases exactly in the same way as it distributes new leases for oil and gas drilling. The designed land will be used for nature conservation including use of indigenous knowledge.

Programs

 * Grazing. The BLM manages livestock grazing on nearly 155 e6acre million acres under the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934. The agency has granted more than 18,000 permits and leases to ranchers who graze their livestock, mostly cattle and sheep, at least part of the year on BLM public lands. Permits and leases generally cover a 10-year period and are renewable if the BLM determines that the terms and conditions of the expiring permit or lease are being met. The federal grazing fee is adjusted annually and is calculated using a formula originally set by Congress in the Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978. Under this formula, the grazing fee cannot fall below $1.35 per animal unit month (AUM), nor can any fee increase or decrease exceed 25 percent of the previous year's level. The grazing fee for 2014 was set at $1.35 per AUM, the same level as for 2013. Over time there has been a gradual decrease in the amount of grazing that takes place on BLM-managed land. Grazing on public lands has declined from 18.2 million AUMs in 1954 to 7.9 million AUMs in 2013.
 * Mining. Domestic production from over 63,000 Federal onshore oil and gas wells on BLM lands accounts for 11 percent of the natural gas supply and five percent of the oil supply in the United States. BLM has on record a total of 290,000 mining claims under the General Mining Law of 1872. The BLM issues permits for oil and gas, coal, strategic minerals, and renewable energy resources such as wind, geothermal and solar to be developed on public lands. The total mining claims on lands owned by the BLM has decreased while the number of rejected claims has increased. Among the over 3.8 million mining claims overseen by BLM just over 10% of claims still active, of which Nevada has the most at 203,705 and California has 49,259.
 * Coal leases. The BLM holds the coal mineral estate to more than 570 e6acre where the owner of the surface is the federal government, a state or local government, or a private entity. As of 2013, the BLM had competitively granted 309 leases for coal mining to 474,252 acre, an increase of 13,487 acre or nearly 3% increase in land subject to coal production over ten years' time.
 * Recreation. The BLM administers 205498 mi of fishable streams, 2.2 e6acre of lakes and reservoirs, 6600 mi of floatable rivers, over 500 boating access points, 69 National Back Country Byways, and 300 Watchable Wildlife sites. The agency also manages 4500 mi of National Scenic, National Historic and National Recreation Trails, as well as thousands of miles of multiple use trails used by motorcyclists, hikers, equestrians, and mountain bikers. In 2013, BLM lands received an estimated 61.7 million recreational visitors. Over 99% of BLM-managed lands are open to hunting, recreational shooting opportunities, and fishing.
 * Conservation. The National Landscape Conservation System preserves a variety of lands protected from development.
 * California Desert Conservation Area. The California Desert Conservation Area covers 25 e6acre of land in southern California designated by Congress in 1976 by means of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. BLM is charged with administering about 10 e6acre of this fragile area with its potential for multiple uses in mind.
 * Timberlands. The Bureau manages 55 e6acre of forests and woodlands, including 11 e6acre of commercial forest and 44 e6acre of woodlands in 11 western states and Alaska. 53 e6acre are productive forests and woodlands on public domain lands and 2.4 e6acre are on O&C lands in western Oregon.
 * Firefighting. Well in excess of 3,000 full-time equivalent firefighting personnel work for BLM. The agency fought 2,573 fires on BLM-managed lands in fiscal year 2013.
 * Mineral rights on Indian lands. As part of its trust responsibilities, the BLM provides technical advice for minerals operations on 56 e6acre of Indian lands.
 * Leasing and Land Management of Split Estates. A split estate is similar to the broad form deeds used, starting in the early 1900s. It is a separation of mineral rights and surface rights on a property. The BLM manages split estates, but only in cases when the "surface rights are privately owned and the rights to the minerals are held by the Federal Government."
 * Cadastral surveys. The BLM is the official record keeper for over 200 years' worth of cadastral survey records and plats as part of the Public Land Survey System. In addition, the Bureau still completes numerous new surveys each year, mostly in Alaska, and conducts resurveys to restore obliterated or lost original surveys.
 * Abandoned mines. BLM maintains an inventory of known abandoned mines on the lands it manages. As of April 2014, the inventory contained nearly 46,000 sites and 85,000 other features. Approximately 23% of the sites had either been remediated, had reclamation actions planned or underway, or did not require further action. The remaining sites require further investigation. A 2008 Inspector General report alleges that BLM has for decades neglected the dangers represented by these abandoned mines.
 * Energy corridors. Approximately 5000 mi of energy corridors for pipelines and transmission lines are located on BLM-managed lands.
 * Helium. BLM operates the National Helium Reserve near Amarillo, Texas, a program begun in 1925 during the time of the Zeppelin Wars. Though the reserve had been set to be moved to private hands, it remains subject to oversight of the BLM under the provisions of the unanimously-passed Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act of 2013.
 * Revenue and fees. The BLM produces significant revenue for the United States budget. In 2009, public lands were expected to generate an estimated $6.2 billion in revenues, mostly from energy development. Nearly 43.5% of these funds are provided directly to states and counties to support roads, schools, and other community needs.

National Landscape Conservation System
Established in 2000, the National Landscape Conservation System is overseen by the BLM. The National Landscape Conservation System lands constitute just about 12% of the lands managed by the BLM. Congress passed Title II of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11) to make the system a permanent part of the public lands protection system in the United States. By designating these areas for conservation, the law directed the BLM to ensure these places are protected for future generations, similar to national parks and wildlife refuges.

Source: BLM Resources and Statistics

Law enforcement and security
The BLM, through its Office of Law Enforcement & Security, functions as a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Government. BLM law enforcement rangers and special agents receive their training through Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC). Full-time staffing for these positions approaches 300.

Uniformed rangers enforce laws and regulations governing BLM lands and resources. As part of that mission, these BLM rangers carry firearms and defensive equipment, make arrests, execute search warrants, complete reports and testify in court. They seek to establish a regular and recurring presence on a vast amount of public lands, roads and recreation sites. They focus on the protection of natural and cultural resources, other BLM employees and visitors. Given the many locations of BLM public lands, these rangers use canines, helicopters, snowmobiles, dirt bikes and boats to perform their duties.

By contrast BLM special agents are criminal investigators who plan and conduct investigations concerning possible violations of criminal and administrative provisions of the BLM and other statutes under the United States Code. Special agents are normally plain clothes officers who carry concealed firearms and other defensive equipment, make arrests, carry out complex criminal investigations, present cases for prosecution to local United States Attorneys and prepare investigative reports. Criminal investigators occasionally conduct internal and civil claim investigations.

The current sidearm is the SIG Sauer P320 chambered in 9mm which is replacing the SIG Sauer P226/P229 both chambered in .40 S&W.

Wild horse and burro program

The BLM manages free-roaming horses and burros on public lands in ten western states. Though they are feral, the agency is obligated to protect them under the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 (WFRHBA). As the horses have few natural predators, populations have grown substantially. WFRHBA as enacted provides for the removal of excess animals; the killing of lame, old, or sick animals; the private placement or adoption of excess animals; and even the killing of healthy animals if range management required it. The killing of healthy or unhealthy horses has almost never occurred. Pursuant to the Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978, the BLM has established 179 "herd management areas" (HMAs) covering 31.6 e6acre acres where feral horses can be found on federal lands.

In 1973, BLM began a pilot project on the Pryor Mountains Wild Horse Range known as the Adopt-A-Horse initiative. The program took advantage of provisions in the WFRHBA to allow private "qualified" individuals to "adopt" as many horses as they wanted if they could show that they could provide adequate care for the animals. At the time, title to the horses remained permanently with the federal government. The pilot project was so successful that BLM allowed it to go nationwide in 1976. The Adopt-a-Horse program quickly became the primary method of removing excess feral horses from BLM land given the lack of other viable methods. The BLM also uses limited amounts of contraceptives in the herd, in the form of PZP vaccinations; advocates say that additional use of these vaccines would help to diminish the excess number of horses currently under BLM management.

Despite the early successes of the adoption program, the BLM has struggled to maintain acceptable herd levels, as without natural predators, herd sizes can double every four years. As of 2014, there were more than 49,000 horses and burros on BLM-managed land, exceeding the BLM's estimated "appropriate management level" (AML) by almost 22,500.

The Bureau of Land Management has implemented several programs and has developed partnerships as part of their management plan for preserving wild burros and horses in the United States. There are several herds of horses and burros roaming free on 26.9 million acres of range spread out in ten western states. It is essential to maintain a balance that keeps herd management land and animal population healthy. Some programs and partnerships include the Mustang Heritage Foundation, U.S. Border Patrol, Idaho 4H, Napa Mustang Days and Little Book Cliffs Darting Team. These partnerships help with adoption and animal population as well as education and raising awareness about wild horses and burros.

Renewable energy

In 2009, BLM opened Renewable Energy Coordination Offices in order to approve and oversee wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal projects on BLM-managed lands. The offices were located in the four states where energy companies had shown the greatest interest in renewable energy development: Arizona, California, Nevada, and Wyoming.

 * Solar energy. In 2010, BLM approved the first utility-scale solar energy projects on public land. As of 2014, 70 solar energy projects covering 560,000 acres had been proposed on public lands managed by BLM primarily located in Arizona, California, and Nevada. To date, it has approved 29 projects that have the potential to generate 8,786 megawatts of renewable energy or enough energy to power roughly 2.6 million homes. The projects range in size from a 45-megawatt photovoltaic system on 422 acres to a 1,000-megawatt parabolic trough system on 7,025 acres.
 * Wind energy. BLM manages 20.6 e6acre of public lands with wind potential. It has authorized 39 wind energy development projects with a total approved capacity of 5,557 megawatts or enough to supply the power needs of over 1.5 million homes. In addition, BLM has authorized over 100 wind energy testing sites.
 * Geothermal energy. BLM manages 59 geothermal leases in producing status, with a total capacity of 1,500 megawatts. This amounts to over 40% of the geothermal energy capacity in the United States.
 * Biomass and bioenergy. Its large portfolio of productive timberlands leaves BLM with woody biomass among its line of forest products. The biomass is composed of "smaller diameter materials" and other debris that result from timber production and forest management. Though the use of these materials as a renewable resource is nascent, the agency is engaged in pilot projects to increase the use of its biomass supplies in bioenergy programs.

title: Bureau of Land Management