IRL: Is it time to join the nuclear family?

With rising energy costs, global warming directly linked to the burning of fossil fuels which power our electricity stations and the political uncertainty of the Middle East, isn’t it time we re-opened the debate about building an Irish nuclear reactor, especially now that the age of cheaper, more efficient and, most importantly, safer and more […]

ENERGY UK: a response to the 2007 Energy White Paper

It is now widely accepted that human-induced climate change is real, that global temperatures may spiral out of control, and that deep cuts are needed urgently in emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Many people now see climate change as at least as big a threat as war but, so far, the Government It […]

Civilization and succession

In an Archdruid Report post a couple of weeks ago, I used the well-worn metaphor of bacteria in a petri dish to talk about the way that ecological limits constrain the range of possibilities open to any life form, Homo sapiens included. Several people objected to the comparison, insisting basically that human beings are enough […]

Statoil Ceases Oil Development at Snohvit

The Snohvit partnership has decided to cease all work relating to oil zone development at the Snohvit field in the Barents Sea. Evaluations undertaken show that such a development would not be economically viable. An appraisal well was drilled in the Snohvit structure earlier in the summer. Its purposes included to confirm the presence of […]

Hydrogen from Algae

Algae are a promising source of biofuels: besides being easy to grow and handle, some varieties are rich in oil similar to that produced by soybeans. Algae also produce another fuel: hydrogen. They make a small amount of hydrogen naturally during photosynthesis, but Anastasios Melis, a plant- and microbial-biology professor at the University of California, […]

Storing Solar Power Efficiently

Solar proponents love to boast that just a few hundred square kilometers’ worth of photovoltaic solar panels installed in Southwestern deserts could power the United States. Their schemes come with a caveat, of course: without backup power plants or expensive investments in giant batteries, flywheels, or other energy-storage systems, this solar-power supply would fluctuate wildly […]

Scientists question computerised climate-change models

As world leaders gathered in New York for a high-level UN meeting on climate change, a new report by some of the world’s most renowned scientists urges policymakers to keep their eyes on the “science grapevine”, arguing that their understanding of global warming is still far from complete.Recognising that powerful computer-based simulations are a key […]

Grain stockpiles at a 30-year low

The world is in no danger of running out of grain, despite the lowest stockpiles in 30 years and concerns about food security. Australian Farm Institute executive director Mick Keogh said the growing affluence of the developing world and the demand for biofuels, as well as the weather, were behind the substantial price rises in […]

EU Lawmakers Eye Bold Targets for Renewable Energy

European Union lawmakers agreed on Tuesday to seek ambitious targets for renewable energy sources in negotiations next year on details of the bloc’s programme to fight climate change. EU leaders reached agreement in principle in March that 20 percent of the bloc’s energy should be produced from renewable fuels by 2020 as part of its […]

China’s Hydropower May be Global Warming Time Bomb

China is scrambling to build massive hydropower dams to curb pollution and slake its thirst for energy, but scientists warn that reservoirs can also worsen global warming by emitting a powerful greenhouse gas. Methane, which traps heat much more efficiently than carbon dioxide, is produced by plants and animals rotting underwater and released when that […]

China Warns of Catastrophe from Three Gorges Dam

China’s huge Three Gorges Dam hydropower project could spark environmental catastrophe unless accumulating threats are quickly defused, senior officials and experts have warned. The dam in southwest China, the world’s biggest hydropower project, has begun generating electricity and serving as a barrier against seasonal flooding threatening lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Xinhua news agency […]

Is there a third route to produce nuclear energy?

At a time when there is an intense debate going on in the country on the Indo-US nuclear deal, and the role of nuclear power in meeting our future energy needs, it may be worth taking note of the fact that nuclear fission reactors (and in a longer time frame thermo nuclear fusion) are not […]

S.Korea aims to expand tax cuts on energy projects

South Korea’s energy ministry is pushing to expand tax cuts for local companies investing in overseas energy projects, a proposal that would encourage firms to seek stakes in major oil and gas fields abroad. Currently, the government offers tax breaks only for equipment purchases and facility construction.The new proposal, which awaits final approval by the […]

Gov’t computer fails to track royalties

WASHINGTON – A $150 million computer system that is supposed to help the government keep track of oil and gas royalties has been a “profound failure,” contributing to possibly millions of dollars in lost revenue, according to Interior Department investigators. The department’s inspector general cited the computer system’s shortcomings in a scathing report released Wednesday […]

Greenspan, oil, and Bin Laden

ALAN GREENSPAN, the anti-war US left, virtually the entire Arab world, and Osama bin Laden have something in common: they think the war in Iraq is mainly about oil. The former Federal Reserve chairman But there

Eating local is a good way to go

…The World Bank reports that 15 per cent of the world The OECD predicts food price rises of between 20 per cent and 50 per cent over the next decade. We burn about 1 calorie of fossil fuels for every 1 calorie of food we eat. The conclusion of a recent study from Dalhousie University […]

Potential of Lunar Helium-3 Fusion Power

The long-term and primary financial, environmental, and national security rationale for a Return to the Moon consists of access to low cost lunar helium-3 fusion power. Helium-3 fusion represents an environmentally benign means of helping to meet an anticipated eight-fold or higher increase in global energy demand by 2050. Titanium-rich regolith over lunar mare basalts […]

How Successful Will Oil Exploration Be If The Earth is Already a Pin-Cushion?

With the current growing level of expenditure on exploration, the industry may have found a floor to the deteriorating trend in global discovered volumes. It is likely that the oil industry will find more in 2006 than it did in 2004, the year marking the lowest point. Projections that the industry will start a major […]

Lester R. Brown: Learning From the Past

Our twenty-first century global civilization is not the first to face the prospect of environmentally induced economic decline. The question is how we will respond. We do have one unique asset at our command The Icelanders understood the consequences of overgrazing and reduced their sheep numbers to a level that could be sustained. We understand […]

Gaia guru urges ocean pipes to fix Earth’s climate

LONDON (Reuters) – A series of giant pipes in the oceans to mix surface and deeper water could be an emergency fix for the Earth’s damaged climate system, the scientist behind the Gaia theory said on Wednesday. James Lovelock, whose Gaia hypothesis that planet Earth is a living entity has fuelled controversy for three decades, […]

When America Went Fascist

It is a truism in the blogosphere that one more terrorist attack will turn America into a fascist state. People speculate about what fascism in America will look like, or how they might fight it. Others boast that they plan to flee the country ahead of the coming fascist takeover of the United States. One […]

Evidence for a rapid sea-level rise 7600 yr ago

Dating the transgression and subsequent regression in marginal basins of the southeastern Swedish Baltic Sea provides a new perspective of global ice-volume changes and the isostatic adjustment of the mantle after the retreat of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet. Yu et al. attribute a rapid local sea-level rise of roughly 4.5 meters ca. 7600 calibrated (cal) […]

Nations skeptical of U.S. climate talks

WASHINGTON – A day before President Bush’s climate talks, China and other developing nations said Wednesday the need to provide food, shelter and clothes for their citizens must come ahead of global warming concerns. “For a developing country, the main task is to reduce poverty,” Xie Zhenhua, vice chairman of China’s national development and reform […]

Kuwait approves $14 bln budget for new oil refinery

KUWAIT – Kuwait has approved a budget of 4 billion dinars ($14.29 billion) to build the Middle East Kuwait

Scientists, Policymakers, and Industry Leaders Discuss Ocean Iron Fertilization

On September 26-27, scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will host an international, interdisciplinary conference on the proposed Scientists took a serious interest in the idea in the late 1980s after oceanographer John Martin famously told colleagues:

Greenland snow melting at record pace

BALTIMORE, Sept. 26 (UPI) — A U.S. study shows an overall rise in the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, with high altitude snows melting at 150 percent more than average. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration-supported research showed the amount of snow that has melted this year over Greenland could cover the surface size […]

The Oil Drum: This Week in Petroleum 9-26-07

This week’s report showed that gasoline prices, which normally start to free-fall at this time of year, indeed headed back up this week.Much more after the jump to The Oil Drum.

Average Oil Price Seen Hitting Record Next Year

Tight oil supplies, red-hot global demand and a weakening dollar will boost average oil prices to a record level next year, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday. Analysts raised their average 2008 oil price forecast for U.S. crude to $67 a barrel as many believe the current rally will continue well into next year. The […]

For all this talk, still we head steadfastly for catastrophe

This week’s summit on climate change will achieve nothing if rich countries don’t finally show some leadership If talking could cut greenhouse gas emissions, then this would be a good week for international action on climate change. It opened with more than 80 speeches from governments at a special session on the issue at the […]

Winemakers heading to the hills

Global warming is forcing vintners in Mediterranean countries like Spain, France and Italy to move to cooler areas, while producers in northern areas like Britain are benefiting from higher temperatures Miguel Torres SA’s vineyards have survived bombs and plagues of parasites in the past 137 years. Now, the eponymous head of Spain’s largest family-owned winemaker […]

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