Fast rise of scorching days predicted

Assessing and predicting the frequency and strength of extreme climate events are critical to determining the consequences of future climate change. Motivated by western Europe’s exceptionally hot summers of 2003 and 2006, Sterl et al. use an ensemble of climate models to investigate changes in extreme values of climate variables. Using a statistical method for […]

Alternative Energy Hits the Road

Anyone who has walked barefoot across a parking lot on a hot summer day knows that blacktop is exceptionally good at soaking up the sun …

UC Solar House Serves as a Summer Lab for Alternative – Energy Technologies

Cost savings, energy sources, appliances and more are all subjects for ongoing experimentation this summer in the University of Cincinnati solar house. … Ongoing experiments in the house include Using hot water to create new kinds of appliances and energy-saving adaptions to today

The Path from Petroleum Shortages to Electricity Shortages

It seems to me that there is likely to be a very short path from petroleum shortages to electricity shortages. There are a lot of issues involved, from the fact that the fuels used in electricity production are themselves dependent on petroleum for their extraction and transportation, to the current state of the US electricity […]

Soaring fertiliser prices threaten world’s poorest farmers

India and China hoard fertilisers to guarantee food stocks, while riots break out in Vietnam, Africa and Pakistan A global fertiliser crisis caused by high oil prices and the US rush to biofuel crops is reducing the harvests of the world’s poorest farmers and could lead to millions more people going hungry, according to the […]

U.S. Retools Economy, Curbing Thirst for Oil

The U.S. economy is starting to figure out how to curb its legendary appetite for energy. Consumers are buying fewer sport-utility vehicles and more energy-saving washing machines. Some trucking companies have rejiggered their engines to max out at lower speeds. Gridlock is easing in California. Americans drove 9.66 billion fewer miles in May than they […]

Black Hole

Oil prices aren’t soaring because of speculators. They’re gyrating because the fundamentals of the market have disappeared. Back in January, when the price of crude was just below $100 a barrel, I predicted a crash in the oil market. That would be the same oil market that has since superspiked its way toward $150 before […]

Curse of ancient Rome hangs over modern societies

Over time, all societies face problems of various kinds. In The Collapse of Complex Societies, Joseph Tainter advances the argument that societies respond to most problems by increasing societal complexity. Generally, an increase in complexity results in an increase in energy expenditure. Initially, the benefits of complexity outweigh the additional expenditure. Over time, however, the […]

‘We Live in an Era of High Energy Prices’

After rising for months, oil prices are now on the decline. SPIEGEL spoke with the head of the International Energy Agency about the future of oil prices, the growing importance of nuclear power and the quantity of oil left in the world. SPIEGEL: Mr. Tanaka, do you know what your organization predicted the price of […]

8 Ways to Profit if OPEC Dumps the Dollar

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dropped a bombshell. And while it wasn Not surprisingly, Ahmadinejad ally and fellow anti-U.S. hardliner Hugo Chavez – the president of Venezuela – echoed a similar sentiment. What makes their posturing so troublesome, however, is that for the first time there was no rebuttal, or reassuring commentary from Saudi Arabia and […]

Improved Reaction Data Heat Up The Biofuels Harvest

ScienceDaily (Aug. 12, 2008) Most of the ethanol produced in the United States is created by fermenting the sugars and starch found in corn. The capability to convert inedible plants and agricultural waste into usable sources for ethanol production will help to supplement alternatives to fossil fuels while reducing the diversion of food crops to […]

Reading China’s oil demand is getting harder

BEIJING (Reuters) – Oil traders have long been accustomed to reading the tea leaves for clues to the true state of fuel consumption in China, but even the savviest analysts are being tested this year by a befuddling mix of signals. An unexpected second month of weak crude oil imports reported on Monday gave fresh […]

IEA nudges up 2009 oil demand, sees higher supply

LONDON (Reuters) – World oil demand will rise slightly more than expected in 2009, but supplies will also increase, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday. Demand will rise by 930,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2009, 60,000 bpd more than previously forecast, the IEA said in its Oil Market Report for August. It cited […]

Human activity, El Nino warming West Antarctic: study

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Human activity and the El Nino weather pattern over the last century have warmed West Antarctica, part of the world’s coldest continent, according to a study based on four years of collecting ice core data. The West Antarctic warmed in response to higher temperatures in the tropical Pacific, which itself has […]

Escalade is latest SUV to get hybridized

BIRMINGHAM, Mich. – General Motors Corp. will test the market for a full-size luxury hybrid SUV when it releases the industry’s first vehicle in that category Sales of GM’s other hybrid sport utility vehicles, the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon, also have been slower than GM had hoped for. Through July, hybrids have made up […]

Hot subways to floods, all part of NYC climate risk

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday announced an in-depth study of perils the city faces from climate change, ranging from overly hot subways to shoreline floods. With 506 days left before his second and final term ends, Bloomberg is eager to cement his legacy by shoring up the city’s […]

U.S. ship heads for Arctic to define territory

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. Coast Guard cutter will embark on an Arctic voyage this week to determine the extent of the continental shelf north of Alaska and map the ocean floor, data that could be used for oil and natural gas exploration. U.S. and University of New Hampshire scientists on the Coast Guard […]

Over 33,000 buyers signed up for GM electric car

DETROIT (Reuters) – In a bid to show the demand for the upcoming all-electric Chevrolet Volt, a proponent of the car has released details of an unofficial waiting list for the vehicle with over 33,000 prospective buyers. Lyle Dennis, a New York neurologist who has emerged as a prominent enthusiast for the battery-powered car from […]

Rattled Caspian energy investors likely to sit tight

LONDON (Reuters) – Conflict in Georgia has shaken but is unlikely to scare off investors in the region, drawn by its energy resources and vital oil and gas links to the West. Analysts agree that while the dispute has had a limited impact on the price of oil and gas, investors will be more nervous […]

Peak Oil Review — Aug 11th, 2008

1. Production and Prices 2. The BTC pipeline 3. Oil and the US elections 4. Briefs Quote of the Week 1. Production and Prices Forces coalesced this week to bring about another $10 a barrel drop in oil prices. General concern about the prospects for the US and other OECD economies topped the list, but […]

Biggest drop in U.S. oil demand in 26 years

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. oil demand during the first half of 2008 fell by an average 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) compared with the same period a year ago, the biggest volume decline in 26 years, the Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday. In its latest monthly energy forecast, the EIA said the huge drop […]

Opec output hits all-time record

Opec last month pushed its production to the highest level in its 48-year history even as demand was slipping in the US and Europe, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday. The combination of surplus supply and weaker demand has pushed oil prices to $113.50 a barrel, down 24 per cent in the past […]

Russia’s vast energy supplies worry US

WASHINGTON – The Cold War competition between the United States and Russia The Russians now supply about 25 percent of the European Union’s crude oil needs and half of its natural gas. And Moscow, with its recent attack on its former Georgian republic, may be trying to blunt the West’s counteroffensive in the deadly serious […]

Problems at Petrocan refinery lead to gasoline shortages

CALGARY

It is largely about oil pipelines

The Russian assault has very little to do with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s ill-advised decision to send troops into that troubled region, and owes much more to Moscow’s determination to control energy supplies in the Caucasus and strengthen its position as a near-monopoly supplier to Europe. Georgia is a crucial transit point for oil and […]

Oil in Troubled Mountains

MONTREAL – The armed conflict between Russian and Georgia has further exposed the fragile position of the energy links running through the smaller country from the Caspian Sea to developed market economies. Russian forces are placed to disrupt oil flows through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, which has carried Caspian Sea oil from Azerbaijan across Georgia […]

New Report Details Historic Mass Extinction Of Amphibians

Amphibians, reigning survivors of past mass extinctions, are sending a clear, unequivocal signal that something is wrong, as their extinction rates rise to unprecedented levels, according to a paper published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Humans are exacerbating two key natural threats While many factors have been cited for the […]

Overbuilt market creating modern ghost towns

Scott MacDonald, a 40-year-old lawyer, and his family were among the first buyers of new homes in Kirkway Estates, a residential community in the Detroit suburbs. The MacDonalds paid more than $500,000 in 2006 for a home that would be ready in July 2007. The Colonial-style brick home had four bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms, and designer […]

BP begins marketing Thunder Horse crude: traders

NEW YORK (Reuters) – BP Plc has begun marketing production from its 250,000 barrels per day Thunder Horse oil field in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, U.S. cash crude traders said on Tuesday. BP was offering Thunder Horse crude at prices comparable to light sour Eugene Island for September pipeline injection, traders said. BP began […]

If A Street Tree Falls … What Does It Take To Make Sound Policy?

…A paper written by an Indiana University professor and doctoral student, and presented at two international conferences, argues that thinking of street trees as a “common-pool resource” can help lead to better management of an under-appreciated community asset. The paper, titled “Street Trees — A Misunderstood Common-Pool Resource,” was presented this summer at meetings of […]

« 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