Deconstructing Daniel Yergin, the ‘Energy Pope’

Sooner or later, proponents of peak oil inevitably run up against Daniel Yergin, who Der Spiegel in a July 16, 2006, article entitled “The War over Resources: Energy Security Will Be one of the Main Challenges of Foreign Policy” says “has been known as the ‘Energy Pope’ since the 1991 publication of his book ‘The […]

Russians prepare for African energy, mining push

Russian energy and mining companies are preparing for the visit to Africa early next month of President Vladimir Putin. But the black backdrop of the visit, the first in half a century by a Russian head of state, is the increasingly aggressive reaction of the Bush administration in Washington to the combination of arms and […]

US looks to wean Georgia from Russian energy

The US government is pondering ways of breaking Georgia’s dependency on Russian gas and electricity. The US Department of Energy is working with a Tennessee-based think tank, the Howard H Baker, Jr Center for Public Policy, to “discuss policy alternatives and define and eliminate barriers to investment in Georgia’s energy sector,” said Lana Ekimoff, director […]

Food prices would soar in biofuels switch, says Unilever

Britain faces soaring food prices, a shortage of staple foods and declining public health if the Government pushes ahead with plans to promote the use of biofuels, the UK’s biggest food producer has given warning. Unilever fears that Europe-wide plans for a huge increase in use of vegetable oils, such as rapeseed and palm oil, […]

Melting Permafrost Could Amplify Global Warming

New research shows that global warming might be worse than expected because of melting permafrost, permanently frozen soil, which can release the “greenhouse” gas, carbon dioxide. Computer models predict higher future temperatures when these gases are taken into consideration.Voice of America

Global warming may be killing palms

Some palm trees along Florida`s gulf coast appear to be dying more rapidly than during previous years and that might be due to global warming. University of Florida scientists say widespread deaths of palms and other trees in low-lying coastal areas have been reported since 1992. But the researchers say their latest survey shows in […]

OPEC unable to bring down crude oil prices – IEA

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has no powers to control or influence the global crude markets any further, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said. The Organisation for Economic Corporation and development OECD, an energy watchdog and OPEC has also agreed on the fact that the cartel alone can not bring down crude […]

Fuel surcharge on international air tickets set to move higher

Airlines the world over are hiking fuel surcharge on tickets as they grapple with high fuel costs. The surcharge on international air fares has been rising steadily over the past year; it has now increased to $135 (Rs 6,210) per direction for flights to North America on airlines like United Airlines. International carriers are likely […]

Murky world of western oil interests in Africa

The investigation by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office into an alleged Nigerian bribery scandal involving a Halliburton subsidiary is the latest twist in a case that exemplifies the lucrative, murky and highly political world of western oil interests in Africa. The affair has spawned investigations in four countries and has raised big questions about both […]

Iran mulls cheap oil exports to poor nations

Iran’s oil ministry said yesterday it was studying a presidential proposal to sell cheap crude to poor countries a plan redolent of Venezuela’s attempts to counter US influence through cut-rate energy exports. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in April proposed strengthening the OPEC fund to lighten the burden of surging oil prices on poorer countries while ensuring […]

Army on tap for water riots

And what with Peak Oil you won’t be able to drive to your nearest standpipe for water. Also what if expended more water getting to the standpipe than you could take away, including the return journey. My advice (like I am doing) move to somewhere with loads of fresh water…. LONDONhttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8164-2282483,00.html timesonline

The New Frontier

Jason Bradford, an academic with a Ph.D. in botany founded the Willits Economic Localization project, otherwise known as WELL. Brian Weller, who showed up at the first screening that Bradford hosted of The End of Suburbia, eventually became an instrumental participant in WELL. In the two years since then, Bradford and Weller have learned some […]

US facing risk of recession as rate rises bite

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke may have waited too long to step off what he has called the “escalator” of steadily rising interest rates. While Bernanke and his colleagues may leave their interest rate target unchanged this week, the US economy might already be headed for a steeper slowdown than the Fed wants. Housing, consumer […]

Energy Dept. has oil reserves on standby

The Energy Department is prepared to provide oil from the government’s emergency supplies if a refinery requests it because of the disruption of supplies from Alaska, a department spokesman said Monday. “We’re taking a very serious look at this,” said spokesman Craig Stevens, referring to the loss of nearly half of oil shipments from Alaska’s […]

Controversial Transmission Line Receives First Major Approval

The California Independent System Operator Corporation (California ISO) Board of Governors unanimously approved the Sunrise/Greenpath transmission project proposed jointly by San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E), Imperial Irrigation District (IID) and Citizens Energy. Supporters say the project will provide a vital “electricity on-ramp” from the southeastern corner of the state to San Diego and the […]

Scientists See Cooling Pumps as Way to Tame Hurricanes

Two New Jersey scientists believe they may have found a way to tame hurricanes. Their concept would take some of the punch out of hurricanes by cooling a vast area of the ocean ahead of a storm, depriving it of fuel and sparing lives and property along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Their idea, using […]

Korean Scientist Makes Crude Oil Into Fuel

Korean scientists say they have created a new substance that can convert inexpensive intermediate crude oil into gasoline. The team, led by Professor Ryoo Ryong of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, says it has generated a new type of zeolite that can be a petrochemical catalyst dozens of times more effective than […]

Noam Chomsky on Israel, Lebanon and Palestine

Do you agree with the argument that Israel’s military offensive in Lebanon is “legally and morally justified?” Noam Chomsky: The invasion itself is a serious breach of international law, and major war crimes are being committed as it proceeds. There is no legal justification. The “moral justification” is supposed to be that capturing soldiers in […]

Engineer Designs System To Put Wastewater To Work

In the midst of the worldwide energy crisis, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have been continuing their work on a microbial fuel cell that generates electricity from wastewater. Advances in the design of this fuel cell in the last year have increased the power output by a factor of 10 and future designs, […]

US issues rules for clean energy loan program

The U.S. Energy Department on Monday unveiled rules that spell out how the government will dole out up to $2 billion in loan guarantees for novel clean energy-producing concepts like wind and solar. “With these loan guarantees we hope to encourage creativity and ingenuity that will help us strengthen our nation’s energy security,” U.S. Energy […]

Summit to address use of wind energy

Wind energy figures compiled during one week are outdated by the next. That’s because wind energy projects are expanding at such a rapid rate that numbers mean almost nothing, said Greg Wortham, executive director of the West Texas Wind Energy Consortium in Sweetwater. The group is hosting the inaugural Texas Wind Industrial Network Summit in […]

Variety of Crudes Seen Filling Gap Left by Prudhoe Bay Outage

With crude production from Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay field down indefinitely, and tight supplies of short-haul Latin American crudes, typical Alaska North Slope crude buyers may have to seek crudes from as far away as West Africa or Asia to fill the void on the US West Coast, market sources said August 7. “California may have […]

CNG Trash Trucks for NY

One of the general conclusions that most people come to after serious study of peak oil and how we can adapt to it is that there is no one-shot solution. Rather a wide variety of niche solutions will fill many of the puzzle pieces and together can help maintain a certain level of societal complexity. […]

BP restart of Prudhoe Bay oil field may take months

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The restart of crude oil production at the BP PLC-operated (BP) Prudhoe Bay field in Alaska could take months as the Anglo-American energy major works to diagnose and repair problems in a pipeline system. BP said late Sunday it had begun the shutdown of Prudhoe Bay, the largest producing oil field […]

OPEC Oil Output Fell 0.8% in July, Survey Shows

(Bloomberg) — Crude-oil production by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries declined 0.8 percent in July, a Bloomberg News survey showed. OPEC oil output fell an average 250,000 barrels a day to 29.61 million barrels a day, according to the survey of oil companies, producers and analysts. June production was revised 60,000 barrels […]

Horses to fission

Sometime ago I addressed the topic of peak oil and expressed the concern that the days of cheap oil and gas are gone. Today the pundits are predicting US$100 per barrel for oil in the near future and if, say, the Ghawar oil field in Saudi Arabia were to fail (it is already being pumped […]

How power-hungry cities drive projects like NYRI

Goal: Move excess energy to coasts The $1.6 billion megaproject known as New York Regional Interconnection didn’t arrive with the flip of a switch. A decade-long push to open the nation’s energy grid to the free market gave birth to the proposed high-voltage power line. Lingering fear about the next big blackout nurtured it. A […]

Ethanol has a few knocks of its own

For one, the biofuel won’t replace oil. As drivers cringe at the cost of filling up this summer, the ethanol industry is spending billions to build on the biofuel’s momentum as an alternative to gasoline. Advocates trumpet ethanol as a homegrown fuel that builds rural economies, benefits the environment, and enhances national security. General Motors […]

British high street targets energy-conscious consumers

LONDON (AFP) – Eco-friendly Britons seeking relief from soaring domestic energy bills can now pop down the high street and pick up solar panels for their homes. Electrical goods group Currys became the first major retailer in Britain to sell the power panels after Britain experienced its hottest month on record in July. Currys last […]

PTT Exploration Finds `Significant’ Energy Reserves in Myanmar

(Bloomberg) — PTT Exploration & Production Pcl, Thailand’s state-controlled oil and gas exploration company, has discovered a “significant amount” of natural gas and oil reserves in Myanmar, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said. The discovery will secure a sufficient supply of natural gas and oil for the country in the future, Thaksin said in a weekly […]

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