Economic crunch time appears to be nearer

The rate of inflation remains relatively low compared with much of the past three decades. But its gradual advance is causing discomfort. Wages, for instance, are rising at a decent clip, but those gains are being swallowed by higher prices, mainly at the gas pump. So far, the higher energy prices have not pushed prices […]

Shanghai company starts small with hydrogen-powered car

It’s a dream that’s been pursued for years by governments, energy companies and automakers so far without success: Mass-producing affordable hydrogen-powered cars that spew just clean water from their tailpipes. So Shanghai’s Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies decided to start small. Really small.This month, it will begin sales of a tiny hydrogen fuel-cell car, complete with […]

Oil spawns new wave of newly rich in Venezuela

They drive shiny new Hummers and Audis. They wear Cartier and carry Montblanc bags. They buy up luxury apartments and fly private aircraft to and from Miami. And they almost always pay in cash. They are the so-called Boliburguesia – short for Bolivarian Bourgeoisie – a reference to socialist President Hugo Chavez’s declared “Bolivarian” revolution […]

Helicopter companies see mixed blessing in soaring oil prices

Soaring oil prices have been a mixed blessing for the helicopter industry, bringing higher materials costs as well as new demand from oil-exploration companies, top executives told Dow Jones Newswires this week. Oil prices over $50 per barrel bring a bonanza in customer demand, said Jeff Pino, president of United Technologies Corp.’s (UTX) Sikorsky Aircraft […]

Amazon rainforest ‘could become a desert’

The vast Amazon rainforest is on the brink of being turned into desert, with catastrophic consequences for the world’s climate, alarming research suggests. And the process, which would be irreversible, could begin as early as next year. Studies by the blue-chip Woods Hole Research Centre, carried out in Amazonia, have concluded that the forest cannot […]

Technology aims to convert solar energy on large scale

Over the years, the Palo Alto Research Center has developed numerous electricity-gobbling innovations. Now, the storied lab that gave the world laser printing and graphical user interfaces is trying to harness the sun to power its inventions.The research at PARC is part of an eco-friendly technology trend that draws on the materials and know-how that […]

The Prius Bubble

The tech elite and the financiers who fund them are bored with Google and MySpace. Their New, New, New Thing—apologies to Michael Lewis—is alternative energy. Wired and Business 2.0, the print bibles of the dot-com boom, are now stuffed with stories about light-emitting diodes, zero-emission cars, rechargeable fuel cells, and hackers who pimp their Prius […]

Biofuel cars ‘not green enough’

Planet-saving biofuels are not the environmentally friendly way forward that we have all been led to believe, according to new research.The claim was made by leading ecologist David Tilman of the University of Minnesota in an interview with the influential New Scientist magazine. He suggested that the amount of oil used to sow, harvest, process […]

Senate Bill Would Open Oil, Gas Fields in US Gulf – NYT

(Dow Jones)- Senate Republicans have agreed on legislation that would open four times as much of the Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling as the Bush administration was seeking, and a vote on the bill is expected next week, the New York Times reported on its Web site Saturday. The Senate’s only energy […]

Putin Plan to Shut Out US Oil Giants

The Observer – Kremlin will favour Norwegian firms to develop Barents Sea field after differences with Bush scupper Russia’s bid to join WTO President Vladimir Putin is set to keep US oil companies out of a lucrative gas field in the latest sign of the deteriorating relationship between Moscow and Washington. The Russian leader is […]

A World in Peril

The Daily Mail – How peaceful it all seemed five years ago. Today the world’s a more frightening place than it has been for decades. One of the causes: Blair and Bush have no moral credibility Look back just five years, to the summer of 2001. What an amazingly sunny, hopeful place the world seemed! […]

California ISO Declares Stage 1 Emergency

Business Wire – The extensive heat storm that has gripped California and much of the West since last week intensified today, sending the mercury over 110 degrees throughout the East Bay Area, The Central Valley, San Diego and the Inland Empire in Southern California. Energy demand soared as well, and a major power plant in […]

Iranian Army Chief: Arab States Should Cut Oil Supply to Israel

Ynetnews – The head of the Iranian armed forces, Maj.-Gen. Hasan Firuzabadi called on Arab states to cut oil supplies to Israel in response to its military offensive against Lebanon, the Iranian news agency ISNA reports.Ynetnews.com

No End in Sight for Queens, N.Y., Blackout

(AP) — The damage to a utility’s underground network in the borough of Queens is greater than imagined – a twist in the six-day power outage that could mean electricity won’t be back until early in the week, the mayor said Saturday. “It’ll be done when it’s done,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters gathered in […]

Bombs or Booms? Asia Pushes Oil Prices Higher

The surge in oil prices seems to have the Middle East written all over it. Israel’s confrontation with Hezbollah in Lebanon is unnerving markets already jittery over Iraq and Iran. Africa also is thought to have a role. Declining production in Nigeria is helping to keep crude oil above $73 a barrel. All these risks […]

Energy efficiency explored

Oil is in a run for its money. That These are some of the approaches that institutions throughout the Tri-Counties are using to attack the looming threat of

Bloomington, Indiana, adopts Peak Oil Resolution

On July 19, the Bloomington, Indiana City Council passed a resolution acknowledging That the global peak of petroleum production is The Bloomington City Council directs the City Clerk to distribute this Resolution to the attention of the Indiana Congressional delegation, the Governor of the State of Indiana, and all members of the Indiana Statehouse, and […]

‘Attitude to coal industry is apathetic’

Wales could be a world leader in clean coal technology were it not for the lack of foresight from the Government, a cross-party group of MPs said yesterday. In its report into energy in Wales, the Welsh Affairs Select Committee said it was “disappointed” at the low levels of official funding for research and development […]

Private Energy Producers Rising in Russia?

An anonymous Moscow-based blogger writing for Ruminations on Russia is making some interesting claims about a report issued last week by UBS, an international investment bank. According to RoR’s Thursday July 13 blog post, foreign investors are seriously underestimating how quickly the Russian economy is growing, and therefore how much gas Russia will soon burn […]

Labor Unrest Rocks Siberian Oil Town

A storm is brewing in Surgut, the seemingly sleepy hometown of Kremlin-friendly oil company Surgutneftegaz. Discontent over wages and management tactics is driving thousands of workers onto the streets in protest. Managers at the closely held company may be sitting on a cash pile estimated at more than $13 billion from sky-high oil prices, but […]

Oil, energy companies dig deep to woo geology graduates

Steve Goldsmith intended to become a teacher when he started graduate school in geology at Ohio State University, but the recent hiring boom in oil and energy, and the lucrative pay that comes with such jobs, might be too tempting to pass up. “It’s a perfect opportunity to get into this,” said Goldsmith, 32, of […]

Buy less gas, begs oil exec

Here’s a head-scratcher: The oil industry wants you to buy less gasoline. Carol Montreuil, vice-president of the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute, said his industry is going through a demand crunch, and needs time to pay for the pipelines and refineries needed to transport and refine gasoline.So if governments cut speed limits – every one km/h […]

Zimbabwe: ‘Power Cuts Could Reduce Wheat Yield’

Power cuts currently being experienced in the country might reduce the expected winter wheat yield, the Department of Agricultural Research and Extension Services (Arex) has warned. The report cited the shortage of critical inputs such as fertilizer, load shedding, erratic supply of fuel and delayed payment for grain delivered to the Grain Marketing Board as […]

Major species extinction looming, scientists warn

A group of 19 leading scientists have warned of an upcoming “catastrophic loss of species” in a joint declaration published in journal Nature. They are calling for the creation of a special UN advisory body on biodiversity protection. Erosion of natural habitats and the effects of global warming induced by human activity are causing plant […]

Cheju Emerging as Test Bed for Reusable Energy

South Korea is developing the country’s southern resort island of Cheju as a test bed for clean reusable energy systems as part of the country’s efforts to cope with high oil prices, industry and government, experts said Friday. Officials from the Cheju regional government, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy and Korea Southern Power […]

Panic Buying at Oil Pumps (India)

The Telegraph – Calcutta – As pump-owners stopped procuring petrol and diesel from oil companies from Thursday midnight, several outlets in and around the city witnessed panic buying on Friday. If the buying spree remains unchecked, most filling stations will run dry by Saturday, triggering a major crisis. The West Bengal Petroleum DealersThe Telegraph – […]

China’s Oil Demand Forecast to Slow to 5% per Year to 2015

The growth in China’s demand for oil to feed its galloping economy will slow to an average rate of 5% over the next decade and is not enough to trigger a crisis in global supply or a demand crunch, said energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie in a report published Friday. Additional supply expected to be brought […]

U.S. Energy Secretary Calls on Iraq To Open Oil Sector

U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman has urged Iraq to establish a legal framework that would be instrumental in attracting foreign investment to its oil sector. “Iraq will only realize its very considerable potential as an oil producer with the help of investors,” he told reporters July 18 during his visit in Baghdad, Iraq. usinfo

War in the Middle East

Two things bother us about any turmoil in the Middle East. First is the effect on oil prices resulting from interruptions in delivery from Arab suppliers. Historically, any oil price increase has triggered protests from gas consumers abs-cbnnews

Global Warming Disputes Heat Up Congress

As a heat wave baked the capital, global warming dominated a number of conversations in and around the government Thursday. The House Government Reform Committee began an inquiry into allegations that White House officials edited reports on global warming to play down the threat it poses. abcnews

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