Chernobyl ‘not a wildlife haven’

The idea that the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has created a wildlife haven is not scientifically justified, a study says. Recent studies said rare species had thrived despite raised radiation levels as a result of no human activity. But scientists who assessed the 1986 disaster’s impact on birds said the ecological […]

Scientists seek new ways to feed the world amid global warming

On an agricultural research station south of Manila a group of scientists are battling against time to breed new varieties of rice as global warming threatens one of the world’s major sources of food. According to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) more than half the world’s 6.6 billion people depend on rice for nourishment. […]

Sudan just shrugs off sanctions

Ten years after the U.S. imposed an economic boycott against what is territorially Africa’s largest country, it’s hard to see much effect on the streets of Khartoum, the capital. Unlike the case of Iraq, which was crippled by United Nations sanctions in the 1990s, Sudan has blossomed economically since the sanctions were put in place […]

No waiting game for oil companies

Some can afford to wait. Some can’t. Shell Oil is not taking any chances. Especially with a hurricane churning in the Gulf of Mexico. At sea, employees gather their belongings and get on board a chopper bound for shore.In all there are more than 800 rigs running in the Gulf. Most of them relatively close […]

India`s dependence on oil imports to grow 85% by 2012

India’s dependency on oil imports is likely increase to about 85 per cent by 2012 from the current level of 70 per cent, driven by the rising demand for energy, industry body Assocham said today. This despite “refining capacity in India poised to increase by 58 per cent to touch 235 million tonnes in the […]

Russian Oil Production Up but Resource Nationalism Continues

lthough Russian news agencies reported that oil production, which includes gas condensates, has increased by 2.8% to reach a level of 285 million tonnes in January through July 2007, the hidden crackdown by Moscow on the private oil sector continues. The Russian Ministry of Oil has reported that during the first seven months of 2007, […]

Africa: Oil & Gas Discoveries – the Implications

Theoretical models regarding the life span of the current oil reserves have been advanced. According to these models, the world’s oil reserves will be depleted within the next 30-40 years. This is an extremely worrying situation as the modern economy, especially the heavily industrialized nations, greatly depend on oil. What will, then, happen when, in […]

Biofuel Seen as Boost for Poor Farmers

The world’s rural poor could benefit from a boom in fuel wrung from crops, despite worries that an accompanying surge in food prices could result in more hunger, say environmental and food experts. But for the poor to share in the bounty of the so-called biofuel revolution, trade and agricultural policies and the practices of […]

Namibia: Biomass as an Energy Resource

In order to ensure the sustainable supply of biomass, it is vital to promote reforestation and environmental preservation measures. Nevertheless, biomass emits little greenhouse gasses compared to coal, gas or oil. Biomass energy has helped our distant ancestors since their early days. And currently it is the energy of the poor. Anyhow, the benefits of […]

Alternative Energy: It’s Not for Everybody

Before I go any further, I’d like to say one thing right up front. I think alternative energy is a grand idea. I have fantasies about my country’s deserts (I’m American) being covered by massive solar farms, and my nation’s long and beautiful coastlines sprouting windmills by the thousands. I have Sci-Fi visions of millions […]

Manifesto To Counter Global Warming and Climate Change

The natural calamities due to global warming and climate change have ignited a total reassessment among the western thinkers about the western way of economic development and lifestyle. The recent articles by Mr. Eamon OAs we move recklessly forward with the so called economic progress ignoring the signs of nature and the writing on the […]

Court nixes drilling

9th Circuit order kills Beaufort drilling this year, Shell reviewing options Shell has crossed several major hurdles in its attempt to start an exploration drilling program in the Beaufort Sea during the 2007 open water season. But the latest obstacle, an Aug. 15 court order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, […]

MegaWest reports encouraging initial results from Kentucky

MegaWest Energy Corp., a Calgary based oil and gas company, specializing in non-conventional oil and gas projects with a focus on North American heavy oil, announces the commencement of an eight well drilling program at its Kentucky Reserves Project by its wholly-owned subsidiary, MegaWest Energy USA Corp. MegaWest has initiated the drilling of eight exploration […]

Planning for Hard Times Peak Oil Conference

The Fourth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions October 26-28, Kelly Hall, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio. Keynotes: David Korten, author of The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community and When Corporations Rule the World; Dr. Thomas Princen, author of The Logic of Sufficiency; Richard Heinberg, author of The Party’s Over and […]

Carolyn Baker: The End of the World as we Know it – Hope vs. Mindset

A friend for whom I have a great deal of respect and admiration recently challenged me on my incessant hope-bashing stance and gave me some food for thought which has caused me to reframe the concept of “hope” in my own mind in a way that I can live with. What I cannot live with […]

Move to lower greenhouse expectations

A SECRET document prepared for John Howard’s summit of world leaders reveals they will only be asked to back an “aspirational” global goal to cut dangerous greenhouse gases, rather than hard targets. The full draft of the declaration for the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation forum was due to be announced by the 21 leaders at […]

Desperately seeking uranium

Against the background of the increasing importance of nuclear energy worldwide, French nuclear company Areva is short of raw materials. Experts believe this could presage a shortage of uranium. Fears were triggered by the flooding of an uranium mine in Canada and political tensions in Niger. The price per pound of uranium has tripled in […]

Turkey positions itself as a strategic corridor for Caspian hydrcarbons

On July 14 Turkey signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Iran related to gas and oil transit and joint energy investments. Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler and a team of officials are currently in Tehran meeting with Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, international affairs director of the state-owned National Oil Company (Zaman, August 13). The two sides also […]

Air travel latest target in climate change fight

Technology, taxation, and rationing are all being eyed as possible solutions. London – For the hundreds of climate-change activists who’ve camped out by Heathrow Airport this week, there is just one way to reduce aircrafts’ carbon footprint: stop flying. “Aviation is a luxury we can live without,” says a protester named Merrick. Air travel, he […]

Abu Dhabi National Targets Canadian Oil and Gas Growth

Crisis A ‘Perfect Storm’ CALGARY – The liquidity crunch roiling global financial markets has created “a perfect storm” for Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. to aggressively expand in the oil and gas sector in Canada in the next 12 months, its chief executive said yesterday. Peter Barker-Homek said his company, known as TAQA, could spend […]

Electricity in Africa: The dark continent

Power shortages have become one of the biggest brakes on development SEEN from space, Africa at night is unlitThe situation is bound to get worse as the demand for power continues to grow. Africa’s relatively healthy economic growth of recent years begets factories and shopping centres

Plant wood, not wheat, to reduce C02: report

Restoring and protecting forests would do far more to reduce the carbon load in the atmosphere than dedicating vast tracks of land to “energy crops,” a new report says. Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently announced a $1.5-billion, nine-year plan to make Canada a leader in biofuel production. But there is concern in many quarters about […]

Scarcity in the midst of surplus

Thanks partly to ethanol from sugar cane, Brazil aims to be an energy superpower. But can it keep its own lights on? THE president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has just returned from a five-country tour taking in Mexico and Central America, where he touted Brazil’s claims to be an energy superpower. Blessed with sunshine, […]

Officials investigating fire at Pascagoula Chevron refinery

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) “They’ll be a complete investigation,” he said. “We’ll get to the root cause of the fire and we’ll work with local, state and federal officials and address any issues that come out of the investigation.” The blaze was contained within hours of when it started Thursday afternoon, but Renfroe said it would […]

Urban planning needs rethink as climate change looms

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, floods and hurricanes: global warming means urban planners need to rethink how and where to build cities, water experts warned at a conference in Stockholm this week. Almost 80 percent of the world’s population lives less than 50 kilometers (30 miles) from a coastline, a jarring fact […]

TVA reactor shut down; cooling water from river too hot

The Tennessee Valley Authority shut down one of three units at the Browns Ferry nuclear plant Thursday because water drawn from a river to cool the reactor was too hot, a spokesman said. The nation’s largest public utility shut down Unit 2 about 5:42 p.m. CDT because water drawn from the Tennessee River was exceeding […]

Hurricane Dean likely to threaten Gulf of Mexico

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Hurricane Dean, which could strengthen into a Category 4 hurricane over the next two days, pounded the eastern Caribbean islands of Martinique and Dominica as it churned into the Caribbean Sea. And next week Dean will likely enter the Gulf of Mexico, threatening the region’s oil and natural gas facilities, which […]

United States: Energy in Flux: The 21st Century

Thirty-three years ago this autumn, a crisis in the Middle East sent the price of oil soaring overnight from $3 to $5 a barrel, and to $11 within three months. A gallon of gasoline, just 30 cents that summer, skyrocketed to $1.20. In the immediate aftermath of the Arab oil embargo, the Nixon administration took […]

UAE to cut oil production for rig maintenance

The United Arab Emirates will shut around a quarter of its oil output for two to three weeks of planned maintenance at two of its largest fields from the end of October, a Gulf industry source said yesterday. The shutdown will cut output from the worldThePeninsula

Defeating Depletion

Solar and wind power are good alternatives. Denmark is the per-capita world leader when it comes to wind farming, with 18 percent of its power coming from wind power. But before we make an unqualified endorsement, bear in mind that the production of the components used to produce solar and wind power obviously does cause […]

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