U.S. scientists claim world record in solar cell efficiency

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DoE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) claim to have set a new world record in solar cell efficiency: A new photovoltaic device can convert 40.8% of the light it is exposed to into electricity – which is more than twice as much as average solar cells can achieve […]

Report: Climate change to fuel wildfires in West

RENO, Nev. SignoOnSanDiego

GM to finish electric car design by mid-September

TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan (Reuters) – General Motors Corp said on Thursday it would finalize the design of the all-electric Chevy Volt by mid-September and aims to have 50 prototypes with production-ready parts by the end of 2008. GM has been racing to finish development of the Volt in time for its planned launch in 2010. […]

Slower economy saps climate action; oil a prop

OSLO (Reuters) – An economic slowdown is sapping enthusiasm for a costly drive to fight climate change but persistently high oil prices are a lifeline for a “green revolution” of renewable energy technology, experts say. U.N. talks on a new climate treaty to be agreed in Copenhagen at the end of 2009 resume in Ghana […]

Australia: Clean coal gets the green light

A FEDERAL parliamentary committee has given the green light to burying carbon pollution under the ground – and suggested taxpayers pay any clean-up bills. The world’s first laws to allow companies to capture carbon dioxide emissions from power stations and bury them under the seabed are under consideration in Canberra. Called Carbon Capture and Storage […]

Hurdles to blending more ethanol remain

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will require the nation’s oil industry to blend 36 billion gallons of ethanol into the fuel supply by 2022. If federal incentives bring the necessary research breakthroughs, more than half of that will come from cellulosic ethanol made from wood, corn cobs, switchgrass and other plant materials. […]

If Congress Lifts the Offshore Oil Drilling Moratorium, What Happens Next?

The issue then moves to individual states. And there is no guarantee that more oil would flow If Congress bows to pressure from Republicans and decides to lift its restrictions on offshore oil drilling, it is unclear exactly what would happen next. Such a move would take the country into uncharted waters, and there is […]

Two Large Solar Plants Planned in California

Companies will build two solar power plants in California that together will put out more than 12 times as much electricity as the largest such plant today, the latest indication that solar energy is starting to achieve significant scale. The plants will cover 12.5 square miles of central California with solar panels, and in the […]

Rising ocean acidity slows marine fertilization

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Rising acidification of the ocean could reduce fertilization of marine invertebrates and might eventually wipe out colonies of sea urchins, lobsters, mussels and oysters, according to a study. Scientists knew that ocean acidification was eating away at the shells of marine animals, but the new study has found that rising acidity hindered […]

Electric bikes sell briskly as gas prices climb

Desire for green travel also driving many to this form of transport The surging cost of gasoline and a desire for a greener commute are turning more people to electric bikes as an unconventional form of transportation. They function like a typical two-wheeler but with a battery-powered assist, and bike dealers, riders and experts say […]

Zenn and the art of small, electric vehicles

Will smaller electric cars with limited speed and range catch on? It might sound surprising, but all-electric vehicles are already on American roads. They just haven’t quite made it to the highway yet. A growing cottage industry of Neighborhood Electric Vehicle manufacturers is spurring the development of cars like the Zenn, which has reached a […]

Shell Not Yet Evacuating Staff in U.S. Gulf on Possible Storm

(Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil company by market value, said it is has not yet started evacuations of offshore staff in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico as a tropical depression may develop in the Caribbean. “We have not initiated any evacuations and there is no impact to Shell-operated production at this […]

The Great Illusion

So far, the international economic consequences of the war in the Caucasus have been fairly minor, despite Georgia Writing in 1919, the great British economist John Maynard Keynes described the world economy as it was on the eve of World War I.

Dr. Doom

On Sept. 7, 2006, Nouriel Roubini, an economics professor at New York University, stood before an audience of economists at the International Monetary Fund and announced that a crisis was brewing. In the coming months and years, he warned, the United States was likely to face a once-in-a-lifetime housing bust, an oil shock, sharply declining […]

Climate change: The next ten years

WHAT’s going to happen to the climate over the next 10 years or so? Is it time to buy that air conditioner you considered during the last heatwave? Should you rip up your garden and replant it with drought-resistant plants, or can you expect more rain — perhaps even floods — in your part of […]

Russia: Poland risks attack because of US missiles

MOSCOW – A top Russian general said Friday that Poland’s agreement to accept a U.S. missile interceptor base exposes the ex-communist nation to attack, possibly by nuclear weapons, the Interfax news agency reported. The statement by Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn is the strongest threat that Russia has issued against the plans to put missile defense elements […]

Drivers Spend More on Fuel Than Cars for First Time Since 1982

(Bloomberg) — Consumers spent more on gasoline than vehicles and parts for the first time in 26 years in May and June, as U.S. pump prices headed for a record. Gasoline accounted for about 4.4 percent of spending in June, compared with 3.9 percent for autos and motor parts, according to the U.S. Bureau of […]

$65 oil is coming (maybe)

A top analyst expects crude prices to start plummeting. If you don’t believe it, you’re not the only one, and a few stocks look good if you’re in the skeptics’ camp. If you’re frustrated over the high cost of gasoline at the pump, don’t trade in your Hummer for a Vespa just yet: A leading […]

Dreading winter’s bitter bill

Heating costs are expected to climb this winter putting additional pressure on Americans already hurt by high gasoline and food prices. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Home heating bills are expected to soar this winter and Americans, already struggling with high gas and food prices, are bracing for more financial hardship. On average, consumers are expected […]

How much oil and gas will increased drilling provide? Geology’s Answer: Not Much

As oil prices increase and the presidential campaigns heat up there is a lot of discussion about increased drilling for oil. In economic theory higher prices will give market signals to increase exploration and exploitation of resources and hence deliver more to society, although at a higher price. Will this in fact occur with oil […]

Oceanic Dead Zones Continue to Spread

More bad news for the world’s oceans: Dead zones—areas of bottom waters too oxygen depleted to support most ocean life—are spreading, dotting nearly the entire east and south coasts of the U.S. as well as several west coast river outlets. According to a new study in Science, the rest of the world fares no better—there […]

Michael Klare – Russia and Georgia: All About Oil

In commenting on the war in the Caucasus, most American analysts have tended to see it as a throwback to the past: as a continuation of a centuries-old blood feud between Russians and Georgians, or, at best, as part of the unfinished business of the Cold War. Many have spoken of Russia This struggle commenced […]

Peak Oil Reader: Where To Start Learning About Peak Oil

Peak oil is the point at which worldwide oil production is reached. Once the oil supply peaks, petroleum extraction will decline, prices will increase and oil will become unobtainable. In 1956, M. King Hubbert, an American geophysicist employed by Shell Oil, predicted that the United States oil production would peak between 1965 and 1970 in […]

Boom times for traditional energy sources

…This is the world of 21st-century energy, which around here looks surprisingly like 19th-century energy. There is little evidence that the old, conventional sources of energy are about to disappear, or that the free market by itself is going to drive a transition to clean, renewable power. With oil, gas and coal near record prices, […]

Probing Question: Is peak oil a myth?

Unprecedented summer gasoline prices are squeezing Americans’ wallets and also expanding their vocabularies, as terms like “peak oil” gain common usage. Peak oil, economists say, is the point at which oil production maxes out: The easily available reserves are gone, and the cost of extracting and refining the remaining stuff exceeds the price it fetches […]

Lynas: How nuclear power can save the planet

The location for this year’s Camp for Climate Action – outside the Kingsnorth power station in Kent – was well chosen: it is here that E.ON wants to build the first new coal-fired plant in the UK in nearly 30 years. With coal the most global-warming-intensive fuel on the market, and six more coal plants […]

Ikea to Sell Solar Panels Alongside Kitschy Housewares, Futons, Meatballs

Ikea, purveyor of cheap living room sets and futons for 20-somethings worldwide, will soon be offering another product you can pick up in a flat-pack: solar panels. The Scandinavian company is already taking a lot of green steps—from renting out bikes with trailers for emission-free furniture delivery, to offering recycling for CFL bulbs—but their recent […]

Making a Solar Cell Component without Using Fossil Fuels

Solar energy is touted by some as the solution to the world’s energy woes. But the process of making the various components requires fossil fuels, both for power and for the components themselves, some of which are based on petroleum. A new company, BioSolar, aims to kick petroleum to the curb, at least in the […]

Conflict threatens U.S. effort to secure access to Central Asian energy

NEW YORK: When the main pipeline that carries oil through Georgia was completed in 2005, it was hailed as a major success in the U.S. policy to diversify its energy supply. Not only did the pipeline transport oil produced in Central Asia, helping move the West off its dependence on the Middle East, but it […]

Connecticut Energy Scarcity & Security Analysis

In the wake of the Peak Oil & Natural Gas Forum held in November 2007, Representative Terry Backer has taken the lead to further investigate this issue and has recently been appointed as Co-Chairman of the 2008 Energy Scarcity & Security Task Force. The first meeting convened Wednesday, August 13, 2008. The following information provides […]

« Previous Page — Next Page »

LATEST NEWS HEADLINES

• Why the IEA is Wrong About Peak Oil Demand
• Did we inadvertently speed global warming?  
• Venezuela’s Oil Monopoly Eases
• Why Germany is Choosing Natural Gas Over Nuclear Power
• U.S. coal-fired electricity generation decreased in 2022 and 2023

• America Cracks Down on Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas Facilities
• Meet America’s Newest Oil Trader Extraordinaire: Joe Biden
• Is It Time To Refill America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
• Oil prices set to end year 10% lower as demand concerns snap winning streak
• What’s Driving America’s New Oil and Gas Boom?
• China’s peak oil demand bombshell eviscerates Danielle Smith’s energy strategy