India’s little car on crash course

Tata Motors’ plans for the world’s cheapest four-seater car, the US$2,500 Nano, to reach the market in October are in danger of crashing as violent protests over the auto factory site in eastern India’s West Bengal state threaten its production lines. National Highway-2, or NH-2, connecting Kolkata, the country’s third-largest city, with the national capital […]

Economy at 60-year low, says Darling. And it will get worse

Britain is facing “arguably the worst” economic downturn in 60 years which will be “more profound and long-lasting” than people had expected, Alistair Darling, the chancellor, tells the Guardian today. In the government’s gravest assessment of the economy, which follows a warning from a Bank of England policymaker that 2 million people could be out […]

Energy traders batten down for Gustav’s arrival

Concerns that a powerful tropical storm could affect oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico ensured upward pressure on energy prices throughout this week. Tropical storm Gustav was expected to regain hurricane strength this weekend and threatened to cause the most disruption to oil production in the Gulf of Mexico since hurricane Katrina […]

Probe says IAEA nuclear leak did not reach environment

VIENNA (Reuters) – A small amount of plutonium which leaked from an ageing International Atomic Energy Agency laboratory near Vienna did not reach the environment, according to an independent inquiry cited by the U.N. watchdog on Friday. The August 3 incident at the Seibersdorf analytical lab, which occurred overnight and caused no injury, raised a […]

Australia: Our coal emissions are worst, says global study

AUSTRALIANS continue to lead the world on emissions from burning coal, pumping out 10 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year per person. The Centre for Global Development, a Washington think-tank, yesterday also revealed Australia is the planet’s eighth biggest carbon polluter. The study of emissions from 50,000 coal-fired power stations put China, the US, India, […]

Indiana’s Amish embracing wind, solar power

GRABILL, Ind. – Northeastern Indiana’s large Amish community is starting to embrace wind and solar energy to power their homes’ lights, refrigerators and other equipment. Although many Amish rejected high-voltage electricity in the early 1920s because of the power lines that would have connected their people to the outside world, limited use of site-generated, low-voltage […]

UK: Boris Johnson unveils climate crisis plan

LONDON (Reuters) – Mayor Boris Johnson unveiled a plan on Friday to help London tackle the challenge of climate change with less carbon dioxide, more trees, better drainage and increased water efficiency. Some 15 percent of London is deemed at high risk from flooding due to global warming — an area including 1.25 million people, […]

Brazil admits Amazon deforestation on the rise

69 percent increase in 1 year reported; 20 percent of forest now cleared RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Amazon deforestation jumped 69 percent in the past 12 months Some 3,088 square miles of forest were destroyed between August 2007 and August 2008

Elephant grass plantations could fuel Scotland

PLANTING ASIAN elephant grass across the Highlands could provide enough biofuel to drive every vehicle in Scotland and perhaps the whole of the UK, experts will tell a conference in Glasgow this week. Monster Miscanthus grass, which grows up to four metres high, could be the ideal crop to grow on marginal land for conversion into liquid fuels, […]

Solar panels are hot for the stealing

They turn the sun’s rays into usable electricity, with proponents calling it an environmentally friendly alternative that saves money on utilities. But the growing number of solar panels being installed on roofs of government buildings, private businesses and homes are becoming a hot commodity in a way many say they didn’t expect. East Bay law […]

Scientists: Save the planet

As rising populations strain a warming planet, a British journal suggests having smaller families LONDON Limiting family size is “the simplest and biggest contribution anyone can make to leaving a habitable planet for our grandchildren,” the editorial’s authors said. Family planning as a means to reduce climate change has been little talked about in international […]

Hutchison says Texas is shortchanged on roads

She wants out of system that is providing subsidy to other states AUSTIN “We are a high-growth state that needs a lot of highway miles, and we don’t need to be subsidizing other states,” Hutchison told a meeting of the Texas Association of Counties on Thursday. The senator continued to dance around the question of […]

More than 75% of Gulf oil cut off as energy companies evacuate because of Gustav

NEW ORLEANS (AP) _ More than three-quarters of the Gulf of Mexico’s offshore oil production had been cut off Saturday as energy companies evacuated petroleum platforms in the face of Hurricane Gustav. The federal Minerals Management Service, which manages offshore leases, said 76.8 percent of the Gulf’s daily oil production of 1.3 million barrels, or […]

As Food Becomes The New Oil, Russia Plans To Seize Control

With food prices rising and riots shaking regimes from Haiti to Egypt, a backlash is growing against global free markets. Governments from Moscow to Buenos Aires are moving to regulate grain prices, supplies and distribution. Like oil, food supply is becoming a strategic commodity that central authorities are keener than ever to command. Top producers […]

Beware the bear trap

Britain, like most of Europe, is at risk of being the target of Russia’s energy export weaponry Yesterday, a “highly placed source” in Moscow was reported as saying the Kremlin intends to turn off the oil export pipeline to the EU on Monday, so great is Russian ire about the rhetoric in Brussels and warships […]

Rising food bills connected to gas prices

Shipping fees change families’ eating habits. HAINES, ALASKA – Haines shoppers are taking a double hit as the cost of food rises along with Alaska shipping charges because of higher fuel prices. “When you buy a gallon of milk, $2 is freight just to get it here from Seattle,” said local grocer Doug Olerud, who […]

Gustav headed for current that fuels big storms

‘I hope this thing doesn’t really explode,’ says expert after overflight WASHINGTON – The difference between a monster and a wimp for Gulf of Mexico hurricanes often comes down to a small patch of warm deep water that’s easy to miss. It’s called the Loop Current, and hurricane trackers say Gustav is headed right for […]

Venezuela Attacked in New EA Game

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, set in a ‘fully destructible Venezuela’ is scheduled for release Sunday. CARACAS (Reuters) – A video game depicting mercenaries storming Venezuela, which has been criticized in the oil-rich South American country as a blueprint for an invasion, will be released by a U.S. company this weekend. The release is likely […]

Hurricane Gustav, Energy Infrastructure, and Updated Damage Models – Thread #3

Just to be clear, we would expect to get 139 million BBL of oil out of the Gulf between now and the end of the year, and 774 BCF. If the NHC track and intensity verifies, we would only expect to get 99 MMBBL, or 71.2% of normal production (30MMBBL cumulative shut in). And that’s […]

Swedish researchers confirm Siberian seabed methane leak

Swedish researchers working on an international mission have confirmed that methane, a potent greenhouse gas, has started to leak from the permafrost under the Siberian seabed, Dagens Nyheter reported on Saturday. “The permafrost now has small holes. We have found elevated levels of methane above the water surface and even more in the water just […]

Analysis: McCain’s choice of Palin for veep could change energy debate

WASHINGTON (AP) _ If Democrats hoped to paint Republican John McCain a pawn of Big Oil, their task has become a bit more complicated with the selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. While an ardent advocate for more drilling As the presidential campaign moves into high gear in the coming weeks, […]

McCain’s Energy Intentions

The McCain camp will keep that issue front and center in St. Paul, as it believes energy will provide a critical differentiation for voters as the debate over the rival economic policies heats up. Palin could be a key asset in that fight. Daniel Clifton, Washington policy analyst for the Strategas Group, believes the pain […]

Bubble Fusion Vindicated in Flagship Nuclear Journal

Bubble fusion, which in the last couple of years has come to be viewed with a jaundiced eye, has been cleared by a new peer-reviewed report that examines the faulty basis for the negative assessment. A new scientific paper* on bubble fusion has been published by the multi-institutional team of Taleyarkhan, Lapinskas, Xu, Cho, Lahey […]

UK – Coal back-up for wind power ‘will cost

A LEADING power company has claimed wind energy is so unreliable that even if 13,000 turbines are built to meet EU renewable energy targets, they could be relied on to provide only 7 per cent of the country’s peak winter electricity demand. E.On has argued that, during the coldest days of winter, so little wind […]

Canada’s oil rush fuels environmental concerns

Shell, Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, Canada’s Imperial and other companies plan to strip an area here the size of New York state that could yield as much as 175 billion barrels of oil. Daily production of 1.2 million barrels from the oil sands is expected to nearly triple to 3.5 million barrels in 2020. Overall, Alberta has […]

Small farmers to join Brazil sustainable cane move

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Dozens of small and medium-scale farmers in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state will grow sugar cane certified as meeting strict social and environmental standards, the region’s cane producers association said late on Thursday. Several ethanol companies like Cosan and Louis Dreyfus signed deals to produce and export verified sustainable ethanol in the […]

Promoting Biofuels

The U.S. Government says biofuels are an important part of the U.S. strategy for reducing America’s dependence on oil and its emissions of greenhouse gases. The Department of Energy estimates that thirteen million tons of greenhouse gases were avoided in 2007 due to biofuels production and use. Scientists there found that corn ethanol from the […]

The Enduring Allure of

The vision that A group that pushed the clean-coal theme at the Democratic convention, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, will be heading to the Republican convention next week. Environmentalists have attacked the group as the latest in a string of industry propaganda mills. New York Times: Dot Earth

How the summer of shale changed the natural gas game

It wasn’t so long ago analysts were anticipating declining North American gas supplies. But those gloomy forecasts are being revised to reflect booming development of unconventional gas reserves, notably those trapped in hard-to-tap shale rock. Driven by sharply rising shale gas volumes, U.S. production of natural gas is on track to rise by more than […]

It may be too soon to exit oil-dollar bet

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The long oil/short dollar bet may be off the table for now as energy prices ease and the U.S. currency rises, but inflation and inherent risks in commodities supply could bring this popular trade back. For over a year, one of the main themes in currency and commodity markets has been […]

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