China Report Warns Of Greenhouse Gas Leap

China’s greenhouse gas pollution could double or more in two decades says a new Chinese state think-tank study that casts stark light on the industrial giant’s role in stoking global warming. In a break with official reticence, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other major state-run institutes have concluded that, without dramatic counter-steps, […]

UK announces world’s largest algae biofuel project

The world’s biggest publicly funded project to make transport fuels from algae will be launched today by a government agency which develops low-carbon technologies. The Carbon Trust will today announce a project to make algal biofuels a commercial reality by 2020. The plan could see up to Mark Williamson, innovations director at the Carbon Trust, […]

Stern: Green routes to growth

By Nicholas Stern, IG Patel professor of economics and government at the LSE and leader of the Stern Review 2006 on the economics of climate changeThere are two crucial lessons we must learn from the financial turbulence the world has been facing. First, this crisis has been 20 years in the making and shows very […]

Official describes secret uranium shipment

Enough processed uranium to make six nuclear weapons was secretly transported thousands of miles by truck, rail and ship on a monthlong trip from a research reactor in Budapest, Hungary, to a facility in Russia so it could be more closely protected against theft, U.S. officials revealed Wednesday. The shipment, conducted under tight secrecy and […]

One Lightbulb Project Hopes to Launch in 2010

Solar power is great in that it can generate virtually free power from the energy of the sun. The catch is that existing solar power equipment isn’t particularly effective at capturing and turning the suns energy into electricity. The concept of an orbiting satellite gathering power from space and beaming it down to the ground […]

Solar material absorbs entire spectrum

Current solar materials must be chosen to match a specific wavelength of sunlight, but a new hybrid inorganic/organic material could usher in solar cells that absorb all solar wavelengths. The new polymer could also enable much more efficient charge separation since electrons dislodged by light in the material remain free much longer than in conventional […]

Beetle invasion threatens New England trees

Officials want to combat the pests by cutting down infested trees WORCESTER, Mass. – A wood-devouring beetle has gained a foothold in New England, and authorities plan to cut down large numbers of infested trees and grind them up to stop the pest from spreading to the region’s celebrated forests and ravaging the timber, tourism […]

Oil companies take steady, careful approach to ‘09

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Energy companies put on a brave face in response to rapidly deteriorating pricing on Wednesday, keeping 2009 spending plans largely steady, even as crude oil prices tumbled to a 16-month low. Executives plan to wait for cues from clients before altering capital budgets because, even if oil prices are half that […]

Digesting The Termite Digestome: A Way To Make Biofuels?

ScienceDaily (Oct. 21, 2008)

Political pressure keeps ethanol cash flowing

By most rational measures, the corn-based ethanol industry should be on its knees. Its six biggest public companies have lost more than $8.7bn ( The global financial crisis has given fresh ammunition to critics who say the US can no longer afford such government largesse, and there is no let-up in the clamour to blame […]

Cheaper gas doesn’t mean anyone’s spending freely

HOUSTON (AP) “Let’s try six months. Let’s try a year. Then we can talk about how much it’s saving me,” said Jacob Curtis of Columbus, Ohio, who paid $2.48 a gallon this week. “Right now, I’m just trying to make ends meet.” One in three Americans fears losing a job, half are worried about keeping […]

US wind energy adds 1,400 MW of capacity

NEW YORK (Associated Press) – The U.S. added nearly 1,400 megawatts of new wind energy capacity during the second quarter of 2008, providing enough electricity to power more than 400,000 homes, according to an industry report released Wednesday. The American Wind Energy Association said new wind turbines this year will generate some 7,500 megawatts of […]

UK to boost wind farm power generation by a third

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will boost the generation of power from wind farms by a third next year as part of efforts to hit renewable energy targets, a government minister said on Wednesday. Energy and climate change minister Mike O’Brien said the government was expecting to increase the UK’s installed wind power generating capacity to […]

U.S. to boost geothermal energy use on federal lands

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Interior Department said on Wednesday it would make more than 190 million acres of federal lands in 11 western states and Alaska available to energy companies to develop geothermal energy resources for generating electricity. “These federal lands … hold a huge energy potential,” said Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. He said […]

Gas producers club no supply threat

LONDON (Reuters) – A new three-nation club sitting on over half the world’s gas is unlikely to dictate prices and could even improve supply security, analysts and industry executives say. Russia, Iran and Qatar’s agreement on Tuesday to meet regularly to discuss how to exploit their huge reserves revived concern that the big gas powers […]

Oil powerhouse Venezuela struggles to keep lights on

SAN FELIX, Venezuela (Reuters) – Despite having some of the world’s largest energy reserves, Venezuela is increasingly struggling to maintain basic electrical service, a growing challenge for leftist President Hugo Chavez. The OPEC nation has suffered three nationwide blackouts this year, and chronic power shortages have sparked protests from the western Andean highlands to San […]

Oil Companies Vie to Plug Skills Gap That Threatens Supply

Falling raw material and equipment costs in a slowing world economy offer an opportunity for oil and gas companies to solve the problems of rising costs and delays at major projects, but the industry again finds itself confronting a longstanding enemy – a shortage of people with the skills and experience to lead these developments. […]

Organic farming ‘could feed Africa’

Organic farming offers Africa the best chance of breaking the cycle of poverty and malnutrition it has been locked in for decades, according to a major study from the United Nations to be presented today. New evidence suggests that organic practices The “green revolution” in agriculture in the 1960s

Washington warns Iraq to accept security deal

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration on Wednesday warned of “real consequences” for Iraq if it rejects a newly negotiated security pact. Without a deal, the United States could be forced to end its military operations. The White House said Iraqi security forces are incapable of keeping the peace without U.S. troops, raising the specter of […]

The drying up of hope

…The latest climate statement from the Bureau of Meteorology paints a picture of two rural Australias: the drought-ridden south and the well-watered north. Bureau of Meteorology climate analysis head David Jones says the drought across southwest Western Australia, southeast South Australia, Victoria and northern Tasmania is longer and hotter than any before. “It is now […]

Mexico Is Near Easing Oil Laws in Bid to Attract Foreign Firms

MEXICO CITY — With oil prices falling and its own output fading, Mexico appears close to overhauling its nationalistic oil laws, allowing private oil companies to help find and produce more oil. While the changes would be historic given Mexico’s longstanding antagonism to foreign participation in its oil sector, the new laws may not go […]

Why Data Centers Can’t Save Energy

The Department of Energy is asking for industry input on where it should place future research and development priorities in reducing data center energy consumption. It has much to learn–and much to teach. For the immediate future, the DOE should de-emphasize improvements to facility technology as “the” solution. We already know a lot, and users […]

Former resident continues campaign against petroleum dependency

Jan Lundberg has been in the oil business a long time. For the last 37 years, the life-long activist — who called Arcata home for 12 years — has worked as both an oil industry analyst and in the nonprofit world, championing the campaign against society’s dependence on petroleum and what he calls the According […]

Shell Goes for Carbon Sequestration

Over the last decade, global think tanks have increasingly focused on of CCS Often (unfairly) derided elsewhere in Canada as a Johnny-come-lately to the environmental table, Alberta

Oil falls below $68 on US recession fears

NEW YORK In morning trading, light, sweet crude for December delivery fell $4.03 to $68.15 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, it sank as low as $67.50 a barrel, the lowest level for a front-month contract since June 2007. The energy markets have also been weighed down by the weak stock market, as investors […]

Why are oil (and gasoline) prices so low?

We all know that oil prices are lower than they were in the recent past because supply is greater than demand. In fact, OPEC oil ministers are meeting this week to try to fix supply, so it will be more in line with demand. All of this seems a little strange, though. We are going […]

Finance, climate crises two sides of same coin: experts

GENEVA (AFP) Rasmussen was speaking in Geneva as representatives from over 150 companies, civil society groups, governments and aid agencies gathered for a meeting of the UN Global Compact, a body set up by former UN chief Kofi Annan to boost ties between business and international bodies. The focus of the current meeting is climate […]

The end of suburban life is coming, writer says

Best-selling author James Kunstler speaks at UGa Americans had better get used to the idea that, one day, they’ll live more like their great, great-grandparents than their parents. A powerful combination of depleted oil fields, climate change, population growth and financial crisis soon will conspire to change the American lifestyle drastically, according to best-selling writer […]

Russia may create oil reserve to influence prices

MOSCOW (Reuters) “The Ministry of Energy is considering creating an oil production reserve, which would allow it to work more efficiently with prices on the market,” said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, who oversees the energy sector. Asked how big the reserve should be, Sechin told reporters: “Enough to reach efficient pricing parameters.” Reuters

Europe’s Leadership in Carbon Control at Risk in Credit Crisis

Europe’s role as a global leader in combating climate change risks becoming the next victim of the global financial crisis. As the threats of global recession and rising unemployment loom after the expensive bank bailouts, some European leaders are demanding that the trade bloc backpedal on a pledge announced with much fanfare last spring to […]

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