Peak Oil and the Inflation Lie

…Rising energy costs are inflation. You cannot have one without the other. Energy, and energy-related material, is the lifeblood of modern industrial life. When the cost of energy (including oil, natural gas, electricity, and the products made with petroleum, such as plastic) goes up, the cost of everything goes up. This is inflation. When energy […]

Why We Keep On Truckin’

It’s been a rough stretch of road for the U.S. auto industry. Last Monday, we learned that Daimler had sold Chrysler for scrap metal. President Bush vowed to start regulating tailpipe emissions. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced new low-carbon fuel standards, a firm shove to the entire transportation sector. And gas prices hit an all-time […]

Lower emissions can cut gas prices, study finds

BERKELEY For the state to begin working on a plan to do so, however, it first needs a formula to calculate pollution from refineries and companies that blend gasoline and a way to measure the progress. The UC study attempted to solve the problem. It created a complex way to measure total greenhouse gas emissions […]

Ghana: Old manpower devices are back in vogue

There is a saying that necessity is the mother of all inventions, and Ghanaians struggling with the constant lights-out are certainly putting this into practice, with manpower appliances increasingly taking the place of electrical-powered goods. The Saturday Statesman visited some places in Accra such as corn mill shops, clothing making shops, vulcaniser shops to find […]

Scientists link world’s big dams to methane and global warming

Brazilian scientists say they have found evidence that the planet’s large dams emit nearly 115 million tons of methane every year, a figure that would put the water-control structures among the top contributors of human-caused greenhouse gases. In a study released earlier this month, the scientists claim the world’s 52,000 dams contribute more than 4 […]

There

That does it. Time to set this record straight. If I get one more email petition asking me not to buy gasoline on some day or another, or from one company or another, I’m gonna scream. Some consumers actually decided not to buy gasoline yesterday, because an email chain letter suggested that if enough of […]

Ahmadinejad and the petrol paradox

He is the son of a blacksmith, portrays himself as a champion of the working man and was swept to power pledging to put Iran Petrol consumption in Iran far outstrips the capacity of Iranian refineries, forcing Iran to import billions of dollars worth of petrol at international prices. It is then sold to the […]

Last Light, by Alex Scarrow

After several years of research into an issue that affects us all, Alex Scarrow has written a chilling thriller that depicts in a harrowingly convincing way just how fragile our society really is, and how we are only a hair’s breadth away from its collapse. It begins on a very normal Monday morning. But in […]

Schwarzenegger Rejects BHP Billiton’s LNG Proposal

(Bloomberg) — California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger rejected BHP Billiton Ltd.’s proposed $800 million natural gas-import facility because it would harm the environment. He echoed comments by the California Coastal Commission and State Lands Commission, which both turned down the proposal for off the coast of Southern California last month. Schwarzenegger, a Republican, said the state […]

Australia: Power cuts, bigger bills on the way

Buy candles. Pray for more rain. And hope for good snow this winter THE water shortage across eastern Australia is now so acute it has begun to affect power supplies, and the country is at risk of electricity shortages next year. “I think we are in denial, and are going to have brownouts in NSW […]

Midwest mulls gov’t help with gasoline crunch

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Fuel marketers in the Midwest are considering asking for government help to ease a gasoline supply crunch that has pushed pump prices in the region well above the already record-high national average. Retail gasoline prices in Chicago are running about $3.54 a gallon compared with the nationwide average of $3.13, according […]

Gunmen kidnap 3 Indians in Nigeria

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria – Gunmen dynamited the front gate of a residential compound in southern Nigeria on Saturday and kidnapped three Indians in an attack that left one Nigerian dead, the military said. Security forces intervened before seven other Indian nationals could be taken away from the compound in the main oil city of Port […]

Just how much are refineries making these days?

It should come as no surprise to anyone that times are good for the major refineries these days, but just how good are times? Simply put, things are great. According to a report that I ran across today, refineries are currently pulling in a profit of $30 for every barrel of oil that they use […]

Earth

The earth countercurrents

Nuclear resurrection on horizon

After a long lapse in growth, the U.S. nuclear power industry seems ripe for revival, particularly as the simmering climate-change debate reaches a boil. More than 30 nuclear power plant proposals are in the approval process, and in early March the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission authorized the first new site in 30 years that could […]

Europe looks to a new generation of atomic energy

Europe is alarmed about having to rely on a resurgent and unpredictable Russia, from which it takes a quarter of its gas. Russia’s President, Vladmir Putin, sent shockwaves through Europe when Russia’s state-controlled energy giant, Gazprom, cut off gas supplies to Ukraine in last year’s freezing winter to try to settle a price dispute. The […]

Scottish Power considers clean coal conversions

Scottish Power is looking at converting its two biggest power stations to clean coal technology, the company said on Thursday. If it goes ahead with the conversions at its Longannet and Cockenzie power plants in Scotland, carbon emissions from the plants would be cut by 20 percent, the company, owned by Spain’s Iberdrola, said in […]

Ecuador Seeks Aid Not to Exploit Amazon Oil

A novel proposal by Ecuador is testing world leaders’ commitment to fight global warming and preserve the biodiversity of the Earth. Ecuadorian officials told an international meeting this week that their government would ban exploitation of huge oil reserves if it was compensated for its effort to save the natural habitat of the Amazon region.The […]

Live Earth’s hot air, burn oil instead: Daltrey

Rock legend Roger Daltrey has blasted the forthcoming Live Earth event, saying burning more oil would do more to find solutions to climate change problems. The Who’s singer questioned the value of the July 7 concerts and says a better idea would be to “burn all the oil” to force world leaders into action. “The […]

Bangla Desh: Power situation to improve by Sept 08

Presenting a bleak picture of the country’s power situation, Energy and Power Adviser Tapan Chowdhury yesterday said it would not be possible to generate any new electricity before September 2008. The Adviser also said the country’s power plants use huge quantity of gas to generate electricity. “If the generation of electricity continues using gas, the […]

Heavy Oil May Play Bigger Role in China’s Oil Output Growth

China is showing increasing interest in developing its domestic reserves of heavy-grade crude oil as it struggles to line up energy supplies to feed its booming economy. Although China has substantial heavy oil reserves, their development has been hindered by high extraction and processing costs and a lack of technical skills. But due to current […]

Mexico Pemex Hopes Chicontepec Zone Can Stop Oil Output Fall

Mexico hopes to boost oil production at the under-developed Chicontepec area over the next decade to help offset declining output at the country’s largest field, Cantarell. After the country’s oil output peaked at 3.4 million barrels a day in 2004, state-owned oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos (PEM.YY) needs to act fast to develop new oil reserves […]

High Gas Prices Affecting Consumer Shopping Behavior

With gas prices reaching their highest level in recent history, $3.10 a gallon for regular unleaded, a majority of consumers plan to take steps to combat the hit to their wallets. According to the latest Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research study on gas price effects, half of new vehicle shoppers plan to purchase less retail […]

For big oil, future profits lie in big gas business

As competition for scarce petroleum resources intensifies and as oil-rich nations limit access to reserves, the multinational integrated majors are beginning to evolve from Big Oil into Big Gas. New techniques in natural gas liquefaction – necessary to transport seaborne cargoes – and control over distribution in developed world markets still give these companies an […]

Wave energy could be Australia’s carbon-free solution

New technology harnessing wave energy could be the “holy grail” for providing electricity and drinking water to Australia’s major cities, Industry Minister Ian MacFarlane said yesterday. The technology, developed with the help of more than A$770 million (US$636 million) in seed funding from the government, works through fields of submerged buoys tethered to seabed pumps. […]

New Process Generates Hydrogen From Aluminum Alloy To Run Engines, Fuel Cells

A Purdue University engineer has developed a method that uses an aluminum alloy to extract hydrogen from water for running fuel cells or internal combustion engines, and the technique could be used to replace gasoline. The method makes it unnecessary to store or transport hydrogen – two major challenges in creating a hydrogen economy, said […]

New Biofuel From Trees Developed

A team of University of Georgia researchers has developed a new biofuel derived from wood chips. Unlike previous fuels derived from wood, the new and still unnamed fuel can be blended with biodiesel and petroleum diesel to power conventional engines. sciencedaily

Somethings Peeking

SUMMARY: The President of the United States has directed the growth of the United States Army. In an unpredictable and rapidly changing global security environment, this directive is designed to ensure the Nation has the ground forces necessary to meet its strategic security and defense needs. The Presidential decision directs the Army to add 74,200 […]

How Global Warming Could Affect The World’s Fisheries

The summer 2007 issue of Natural Resource Modeling is devoted to fisheries and global climate change. Its six articles discuss various aspects of global warming’s effect on fisheries and its consequences. “This issue of Natural Resource Modeling is particularly timely as it calls attention to important future changes in global food supplies from marine fish,” […]

Colorado River Streamflow History Reveals Megadrought Before 1490

An epic drought during the mid-1100s dwarfs any drought previously documented for a region that includes areas of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. The six-decade-long drought was remarkable for the absence of very wet years. At the core of the drought was a period of 25 years in which Colorado River flow averaged […]

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