Peak oil: Mayberry, not Mad Max

…A critical mass of Americans who believe in an imminent zombie apocalypse runs the risk of making the future more difficult than it need be. Just as a Depression-era panic could crash a bank that would not otherwise have failed, so a widespread belief in a violent and hopeless end could actually make Americans less […]

Peru suspends rights in jungle protest regions

LIMA, Peru – Peru’s government declared a state of emergency Monday in remote jungle regions where Indian groups are blocking highways and oil and gas installations to protest a law that makes it easier to sell their lands. The 30-day decree published in the official gazette suspends rights to public gatherings and free transit in […]

China: Nation to get key oil reserve bases by year end

China will complete the construction of its first four strategic oil reserves by the end of this year, a senior government official said Monday. “The progress has been smooth and all the four bases will be completed by the year end,” Zhang Guobao, administrator of the National Energy Administration (NEA), said after a press conference […]

China’s coal exports seen falling after tax hike

China’s coal exports could fall further in September as higher export taxes take effect, pushing up international prices and giving Australian producers a stronger hand in upcoming contract negotiations. China, the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal, on Friday said it would impose an export tax of 10 percent on thermal coal starting Aug. […]

Japan to Trial Frozen Gas Output in Pacific in 2012

Japan plans to start trial drilling in 2012 to extract frozen natural gas buried under the seabed and test if the methane hydrate is a viable next-generation fuel. The government will lead test production of the frozen methane in an ocean trench called the Nankai Trough about 30 miles (50 kilometers) off the coast of […]

As Oil Giants Lose Influence, Supply Drops

…Sluggish supplies have prompted a cottage industry of doomsday predictions that the world Western companies are far better than most national oil companies at finding and extracting petroleum, experts say. They have developed advanced exploration technologies and can muster significant financing to develop new fields. Many of the world

OPEC likely to cut oil production

LONDON

Schools scramble as tougher times hit

WASHINGTON (AP) — Harder times and higher fuel prices are following kids back to school this fall. Children will walk farther to the bus stop, pay more for lunch, study from old textbooks, even wear last year’s clothes. Field trips? Forget about it. This year, it could cost nearly twice as much to fuel the […]

Future impact of global warming is worse when grazing animals are considered

The impact of global warming in the Arctic may differ from the predictions of computer models of the region, according to a pair of Penn State biologists. The team — which includes Eric Post, a Penn State associate professor of biology, and Christian Pederson, a Penn State graduate student — has shown that grazing animals […]

Energy: Will Coal Liquefaction Be The Answer?

Coal liquefaction is a process that has been around for a long time. Although relatively unfamiliar in the American energy vocabulary, it dates back to 1923 when German scientists developed the Fisher-Tropsch process for converting coal into the liquid fuels of gasoline and diesel. The process was used extensively by Nazi Germany during World War […]

Water expert slams biofuels at global conference

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – The winner of the Stockholm Water Prize on Monday slammed the growing use of biofuels and urged people to eat less meat – to help cut the amount of water used in food production. British professor John Anthony Allan said the effect of the growing use of biofuels “is too frightening to […]

Coal’s toxic legacy to the Arctic

Coal burning in western Europe and North America has been a prime source of heavy metal pollution in the Arctic. Scientists plotted levels of thallium, cadmium and lead in a Greenland ice core and linked them to other chemicals indicating coal as the main origin. Clean air legislation has reduced the heavy metal load in […]

High Oil Prices Drive Search for New Fuels

With rising oil prices inflating the cost of almost everything, people are looking for other ways to power vehicles, and even for alternatives to vehicles. In this report, VOA’s Kent Klein looks at ways to end the era of expensive fuel. (Part 5 of 5) Ten or 20 years from now, the car you drive […]

Hydrogen harvested using nature’s recipe

Researchers have split water into hydrogen and oxygen by replicating how plants use photosynthesis to make carbohydrates. The team of Australian and US researchers says their findings, published in the latest Angewandte Chemie International Edition could lead to a cheap and easy way of making hydrogen, which many experts believe is the green fuel of […]

Consortium to build biggest U.S. oil import terminal

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A consortium of oil pipeline and storage companies plans to invest $1.8 billion to build the United States’ biggest deepwater oil import terminal in Texas, the companies said on Monday. The terminal will have double the import capacity of the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, currently the only oil terminal in the […]

Storm Fay unlikely to disrupt offshore production

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Fay is unlikely to disrupt oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, offshore operators said on Monday. Instead of heading toward the U.S. offshore oil patch, the storm is forecast to enter the far southeastern Gulf of Mexico before striking Florida as a hurricane on Tuesday. Reuters

Peak Oil Review – August 18

1. Production and Prices 2. Oil from the Caspian 3. Chinese Demand 4. Briefs 1. Production and Prices Oil prices spent the week bouncing around the $115-a-barrel level. A strong US dollar, concerns about a slowing world economy, and the closing out of large speculative positions by hedge funds and others were enough to overshadow […]

Events in Russia Could Push U.S. Toward a Clearer Energy Policy

I recently had lunch with a top U.S Department of Energy executive. He Voters – as we know because all the candidates are talking energy- clearly see the cost of oil dependence and want a new direction and a truly useful energy policy. SeekingAlpha.com

Drive 55 campaign gaining speed

LOS ANGELES “The faster you go, the more you waste,” says Tim Castleman, a Sacramento man who is promoting a Drive 55 campaign. Until gasoline approached $4 a gallon, Castleman didn’t find a lot of support for reinstating the 55-mph limit that Congress abolished in 1995 after more than 20 years. USA Today

Saudi Arabia: Northern fuel shortages widen

AR Thani Al-Anezi, chairman of the Northern Frontier Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the complaint has been referred to the concerned authorities and will be followed up because the impact falls on citizens, travelers and owners of fuel stations. He called on Saudi Aramco to conduct a field survey and supply fuel as […]

Offshore Drilling vs. Serious Efficiency

(LWN-Commentary) Many politicians and political commentators are busily clamoring for offshore drilling, with Speaker Pelosi and other Democrats apparently joining their ranks. Some claim this drilling will “reduce reliance on foreign oil”, despite its rather temporary nature. Regardless of these opportunistic moves, offshore drilling is being used as a false substitute for serious efficiency. Offshore […]

Peak Oil Now? If so, Oil Prices Not Likely to Decline–Ever

There has been a lot of talk in recent years about “peak oil” – defined as the point where the maximum amount of oil that can be recovered is being pumped. After that, oil becomes increasingly scarce and expensive. If sticker shock at the gas pumps hasn’t convinced you, talk to Dr. Darrel Schmitz, head […]

Vital oil route ’set to reopen’

A vital oil pipeline from the Caspian Sea oilfields, through Georgia, to Turkey’s west coast is set to reopen soon, according to Turkey’s energy minister. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) line, the world’s second-longest pipeline, was closed down on August 5 after an explosion in a pump at a section in eastern Turkey sparked a fire. It […]

Video: 100 years of Iran oil wealth

This year marks 100 years since oil was discovered in Iran – the first oil in the Middle East. Jon Leyne looks back at the chequered history of Iran’s oil industry. BBC Today oil is used in the manufacture of a wide variety of products that you might not imagine. Here are just a few. […]

It’s all about the oil, in this game

‘We are all Georgians,” declared Sen. John McCain, swearing his campaign loyalty, and perhaps one day our national blood and treasure – to the homeland of Josef Stalin. I resist. The Alabaman in me distrusts the Georgian that is President Mikhail Saakashvili. He is, after all, a New York lawyer. As president, this reckless attorney, […]

World’s farmers turn to raw sewage for irrigation

The future may not smell too rosy An estimated one fifth of the world

Energy Storage For Hybrid Vehicles

Hybrid technology combines the advantages of combustion engines and electric motors. Scientists are developing high-performance energy storage units, a prerequisite for effective hybrid motors. But up to now, hybrid technology has always had a storage problem. Scientists from three Fraunhofer Institutes are developing new storage modules in a project called The pilot project was launched […]

BP’s troubles in Russia show Big Oil’s clout fading

Last year, soon after Tony Hayward became chief executive of BP, a colleague and I met with him and asked, among other things, about the company’s venture in Russia. He described it as “stunningly successful” and pledged that “we are going to continue to expand and grow our business in Russia.” A year later, TNK-BP […]

Waking up to the threat of ‘peak oil’

The recent dip in the world oil market has given consumers relief from surging pump prices, and has investors and commentators waxing with hope that the dip will become a trend. But don’t bet on it, says energy expert Matthew Simmons. Along with the likes of oilman T. Boone Pickens whose celebrated national campaign calls […]

Everything is not peachy

THOMAS HOMER-DIXON AND SARAH WOLFE From households to nations, we need to get serious about food self-sufficiency …Self-sufficiency isn’t a sexy idea. At best, people who say they’re interested in being self-sufficient are stereotyped as dour, old-fashioned rural types. At worst, they’re seen as fanatical survivalists planning for an apocalypse. Economists also tell us that […]

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