Drunk on ethanol

Basing energy policy on corn could fuel a potential disaster. ‘Gasoline is going — alcohol is coming. And it’s coming to stay, too, for it’s in unlimited supply. And we might as well get ready for it now.” Those words might have come from President George W. Bush, or just about any member of the […]

Facing the Multiple Risks of Newer, Deeper Mines

As hope dims for the six miners trapped by a coal mine collapse in central Utah, engineers and seismologists are grappling with the broader implications of the Crandall Canyon Mine accident and the interplay of risks they say are mounting in the newer, deeper generation of coal mines, especially in the West. The extreme depth […]

Peak Oil Passnotes: Falling Markets, Stable Crude. Why?

We have been used to hearing about how volatile the market in energy has become. But after the equity market events of recent weeks, all of a sudden one has to take a different view. One that could support the notion of Of course roughly the same thing happened to crude oil. Slow but very […]

Combating global warming requires a social revolution

Twenty years ago, a UN special commission produced a report, Our Common Future, that predicted rising CO2 levels would lead to a mean temperature increase of up to 4.5oC within 50 years, which would cause catastrophic climate change. The report proposed that immediate action be taken to counter global warming through massive investment in renewable […]

”Nuke Nuggets” glow for the Senate’s radioactive rip-off

Gargantuan loan guarantees for a “new generation” of nuke reactors define the Senate’s version of the Energy Bill that Congress will consider right after Labor Day. Its backers say the $50 billion-plus in radioactive pork will give us “inherently safe” reactorsNuke reactors are no safer than those coal mines just littered with fresh corpses, than […]

‘Peak oil’ becomes burning issue

Swiss scientists say politicians and the public should have a greater awareness of “peak oil” “The question is not for how long we will have crude oil reserves, but for how long output can grow,” warned Daniele Ganser, a historian and peace researcher at Basel University, who says the significance and explosive nature of the […]

Shoppers fed up with higher grocery bills

Bigger food bills caused by trends abroad, pricey veggie of many uses: corn Blame it on ethanol, gas prices and more demand for grain in China. Ellie Arnold doesn’t care about the causes. She just knows her $300 monthly grocery budget is stretched to the max. “That’s what I budget at, and we’re staying there,” […]

Iran May Give More Fuel Rations to Help Tourism

Iran may offer drivers extra gasoline above their monthly quota, a newspaper said on Monday, in a move to help boost domestic tourism which hoteliers say has suffered a blow since fuel rationing started in June. Iran, OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer, started rationing gasoline on June 27, as summer holidays began and when Iranians usually […]

EU: Gaza fuel funding depends on Hamas

The European Union said Monday it would resume the financing of fuel deliveries to Gaza only when it gets assurances that Hamas will not introduce taxes on electricity bills. Power was cut in parts of the Gaza Strip on Sunday after the EU halted funding for fuel deliveries to the impoverished territory’s sole power plant. […]

The small-farm revival

Local program equips young people for careers in livestock, agriculture “We’re here for two really serious concerns: the death of the family farm . . . and Ontario’s food security,” said Mike Shook, FarmStart’s program manager. Shook argues industrial agriculture — with its reliance on chemical farming — is not sustainable. He figures that in […]

Argentina reportedly seeking arrest of Shell executives over supply

BUENOS AIRES (MarketWatch)-The Argentine government’s price controllers are seeking arrest warrants for top executives at the local unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC, apparently on the grounds that the company has failed to adequately supply the local fuels market, Argentine daily La Nacion reported Sunday. Government and company officials weren’t immediately available for comment amid […]

Shell to Evacuate Further 200 People from Gulf of Mexico as Dean Approaches

Royal Dutch Shell PLC said it will evacuate a further 200 people from its Gulf of Mexico operations today and will continue to evacuate as needed in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Dean. The latest scheduled evacuations follow Saturday’s exodus of 380 people from the company’s operations in the western Gulf of Mexico, along […]

UK: Oil deal signals lower bus fares

Londoners on income support will be required to pay only half the fare on buses, Mayor Ken Livingstone has said. At least 250,000 people, including single parents, carers and disabled people, will benefit from the low fares costing 50p for a single journey. The mayor said the low fares follow an oil deal with Venezuela […]

Oil Storm Clouds Gather in Gulf

…The 2005 storm season was devastating to America, and not just New Orleans. Gulf of Mexico oil and gas infrastructure was also severely crippled, perhaps irreversibly in some cases. Two years after Katrina and Rita, oil production in the Gulf has still not recovered. Although some of the lost production is due to the natural […]

Oil Wars: Fueling Both U.S. Empire & Ecocide

…Oiloholics Bush and Cheney both have deep and dirty connections to the oil industry, not to mention former National Security Advisor and now Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who actually had a Chevron oil supertanker ship named after her. Many others in the Bush gang are up to their necks Americans, more generally, have also […]

The Oil Drum: Hurricane Dean’s Impact on the Oil Infrastructure in Google Earth

This post is a collection of different Google Earth based mashups of various weather data, oil infrastructure overlays and excellent impact maps.The Oil Drum

Mexico moves oil workers on Dean, sees output impact

MEXICO CITY, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Mexico has started to evacuate 13,360 workers from its Gulf of Mexico oil rigs as powerful Hurricane Dean neared and the move will affect production, state oil company Pemex said on Sunday. Pemex, which produces some 70 percent of its crude oil from offshore platforms in the Gulf of […]

People buy small cars even though they can be deadly

Americans are buying more small cars to cut fuel costs, and that might kill them. As a group, occupants of small cars are more likely to die in crashes than those in bigger, heavier vehicles are, according to data from the government, the insurance industry and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The newest small […]

Why Dick changed his mind

In a widely viewed You Tube clip, taken from a C-Span interview conducted in 1994, Dick Cheney argues persuasively that the United States was right not to topple Saddam Hussein during the first Gulf War. He cites the potential disintegration of the country and the risk of American casualties as good reasons for the decision […]

China, Kazakhstan Agree to Link Pipe to Caspian

China and Kazakhstan agreed Saturday to expand an oil pipeline that will link China to the Caspian Sea, giving Beijing direct access to an energy-rich region controlled by Kazakhstan. China has become increasingly assertive in Central Asia, viewing neighboring Kazakhstan, an ex-Soviet state the size of Western Europe, as a key source for raw materials […]

Brace for more fuel shortages, blackouts (South Africa)

Just about every bit of spare capacity in the South African economy is being soaked up. And it is likely to get worse before it gets better. During the next few years, consumers should brace for further fuel shortages and electricity blackouts. Industry will have to contend with continuing shortages in domestic production of raw […]

Sacked Iranian oil minister warns of energy crisis

Iran’s ex-oil minister, sacked by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a reshuffle last week, has warned of looming catastrophe in the energy sector because of high consumption, media reported yesterday. “If we do not find a solution to the energy problem in the next 15 years, the country will face a catastrophe,” Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh was […]

Saudi Aramco invites engineering bids for $8 bln Saudi refinery

Saudi Arabian Oil Co. has invited engineering firms to bid for a contract to help it build an estimated $8-billion refinery in eastern Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the plans said Monday. Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest national oil company, has invited international engineering companies to bid by Sept. 15 for the contract to carry […]

Reforming Bio-Oil for Hydrogen Production

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in collaboration with the Colorado School of Mines and Chevron, are developing a process for the low-temperature, partial oxidation, and catalytic autothermal reforming of bio-oil for the production of hydrogen. The project, which began in 2005 and now runs through 2012, has a 2012 […]

Eco-millionaires see boom times ahead

Mankind’s response to climate change will shift how the world gets its energy and is already making “green barons” out of early investors in renewable energy, clean technologies and carbon trading. Reuters spoke to four entrepreneurs who are cashing in on the energy revolution and who say there is more money to be made.BRUCE KHOURI, […]

Bangladesh Energy Sector: Anatomy of Disasters.

We always told someday Bangladesh will pay heavy price for mismanagement, corruption, nepotism, neglect of genuine professionals of the energy sector. Nobody listen .Gas sector operation and development was made the happy hunting ground for the grabbers and looters. None bothered for professional development. Persons loosing job in the Armed forces or retiring were thrust […]

CZ: Long queue forming for renewable energy dole

Despite continued reservations about the potential of renewable energy sources in the Czech Republic, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is set to begin its most ambitious subsidy program later this year. As the Czech Republic and other European Union countries come to terms with their commitments to boost renewable energy use in coming decades, […]

Energy Producing Roads Made From Solar Cells and Glass May Be The Solution

Although Scott Brusaw’s company, Solar Roadways, is based out of his house in Idaho and in the home electronics workshop he built next to it with the income from his consulting, it may hold the key to solving climate change and global warming. Solar Roadways is still in the concept phase, built on Brusaw’s childhood […]

China’s sharp jump in food prices fuels inflation fears

After a run that has seen sizzling growth top 10 percent for four years, analysts say China’s supercharged economy is facing strains that could break out into an upsurge of inflation. So far the worst damage has been confined to food prices, which jumped 15.4 percent in July over the same month a year ago […]

US Coast Guard joins in Arctic oil rush

The US Coast Guard icebreaker Healy and a group of 20 scientists have embarked on a four-week cruise that will help shape the future of US efforts to claim its share of mineral and oil wealth beneath the Arctic Ocean. The cruise, which left Barrow, Alaska, on Friday, is the fourth voyage in the last […]

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