Study Looks at Mortality in Post-Soviet Era

…The report contends that life expectancy diminished in the early to mid-1990s in countries that were being rapidly transformed after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Even though the governmental and economic transitions occurred nearly two decades ago, the report said, The contrast between Russia and other countries, notably the Czech Republic and Poland, was […]

Russians hoard cash as fear of crisis takes hold

Muscovites are hoarding thousands of dollars in safety deposit boxes, as fears intensify that Russia is teetering on the brink of a full-blown economic crisis, after the government devalued the rouble five times in six days. World oil prices have plunged from almost $150 ( As the public frets about a repeat of the 1998 […]

Cheap, high grade Brent-linked crude fails to woo Asia

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – OPEC’s deep supply cuts pushed the Brent/Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS), a key crude oil hedging tool, to its first-ever discount this month, but expected African and European cargoes have yet to flow to Asia. Sinking fuel consumption during the economic crisis and a durable improvement in the value of […]

Land rental deal collapses after backlash against ‘colonialism’

One of the world’s largest land deals, a scheme to lease African farmland to rich countries to grow their own crops, has collapsed amid accusations of ‘neo-colonialism’. Madagascar was poised to sign a 99-year agreement to rent 1.3 million hectares of land to South Korea’s Daewoo Logistics Corporation to plant maize and palm oil for […]

What strategy for a green recovery?

Did We Read the Same Plan? Apollo, Obama, and the Real Deal …The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, presumably drawn up with Obama Those of us who understand that the limitations of resources and technology, and the danger to our future from the consequences of continued use and dependence on finite fossil and living fuels, […]

Goldman Sees

(Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. commodity analyst Jeffrey Currie said he expects a World oil demand is likely to fall by about 1.6 million barrels a day this year, the Goldman analyst said today at a conference in London. That

The benefits of an intercontinental energy grid

Imagine an Asian electricity grid anchored by China at one end and Australia on the other. The grid would carry and distribute hemispheric solar, geothermal, wind and wave energy. The vision is big. But so’s the problem of climate change. The plan would entail building a 10,000-kilometer long electricity transmission system stretching from Beijing to […]

Morgan Stanley Hires Supertanker to Store Oil in Gulf

(Bloomberg) — Morgan Stanley hired a supertanker to store crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico, joining Citigroup Inc. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc in trying to profit from higher prices later in the year, two shipbrokers said. The ship is the Argenta, capable of carrying more than 2 million barrels, Paris-based Barry Rogliano Salles […]

Gas Spat Earns Praise for Putin at Home

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s standoff with Ukraine over gas supplies may have angered European Union leaders and denied heat to millions, but at home it’s winning him plaudits. In turning off gas supplies to Ukraine and Europe, Putin showed Russians that he is in charge as a recession looms and that the West must treat […]

Australia – Move north to escape climate change

Worried about climate change? Move to Darwin. New research shows the top half of Australia will be little affected by climate change, while from Brisbane south the effects will get stronger and stronger. Dr Tim Barrows, from the Australian National University, has prepared a hit-list of the cities which will be most affected as the […]

Iran informs 21 oil customers of supply cuts: report

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran has told 21 Asian and European customers it will reduce oil sales to them, its OPEC governor said in remarks published on Sunday, as Iran and other members of the cartel cut output to halt sliding prices. Mohammad Ali Khatibi, Iran’s representative to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), […]

Catching the Currents

Tidal power isn’t for the faint-hearted, as Verdant Power CEO William Taylor knows from experience. The first time Taylor’s company sank an experimental turbine into New York City’s East River, in late 2006, the powerful tidal currents Tidal power doesn’t get the attention

Israel eyes gas bonanza from large offshore find

JERUSALEM, Jan 18 (Reuters) – A U.S.-Israeli exploration group said on Sunday it has discovered large natural gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean with the potential to meet Israel’s gas needs for well over a decade. Led by Noble Energy (NBL.N), the group said it found more than 3 trillion cubic feet (88 billion cubic […]

Byron King: The End of the Oil Bust

As crude oil languishes near a 5-year low of $35 a barrel, forward-looking investors have good reason to suspect that a new bull market is about to begin. Sure, oil prices might continue slumping over the near term. But don As it turned out, we had both events. The world economy hit the wall, and […]

Brazil’s Petrobras: Production up 4.3 pct in ‘08

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) Associated Press

Palm oil frenzy threatens to wipe out orangutans

TANJUNG PUTING NATIONAL PARK, Indonesia (AP) The demand for palm oil is rising in the U.S. and Europe because it is touted as a “clean” alternative to fuel. Indonesia is the world’s top producer of palm oil, and prices have jumped by almost 70 percent in the last year. Associated Press

Less fog explains warming Europe, study says

LONDON (Reuters) – Fewer foggy, misty and hazy days help explain why Europe’s temperatures have risen so fast over the past 30 years, a finding that could help predict future climate change, researchers said on Sunday. Clearer skies due to changing weather patterns and less air pollution have contributed on average to about 5 to […]

Gulf states delay projects to lower costs

Gulf oil producers are delaying some of their projects in energy and other sectors to take advantage of a steady decline in construction costs as a result of the global economic crisis, according to a Saudi financial centre. Although state-owned oil companies in the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) have sufficient cash to fund planned […]

Bursting The New ”Green” Bubble

United States–A diverse alliance of organizations published an open letter today in the U.S. and internationally warning of the dangers of industrially produced biofuels (called agrofuels by critics). The letter explains why large-scale industrial production of transport fuels and other energy from plants such as corn, sugar cane, oilseeds, trees, grasses, or so-called agricultural and […]

Cheap oil may delay GCC’s shift to clean fuel

Supported by low oil prices, GCC states may continue to use petroleum distillates instead of implementing plans to switch over to clean fuels, a senior analyst with Merrill Lynch has said. Gustavo Soares, a senior commodity strategist with Merrill Lynch, said with oil prices hitting rock bottoms, it might seem irrational in the short term […]

Climate change to stifle developing nations’ growth

Global warming will not only devastate agriculture in developing countries, it will undermine economic and political stability to a far greater extent than previously imagined, according to new study. The link between “high temperatures and poor growth is much stronger than we’d realised”, says Benjamin Olken, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Crucially, […]

Balloon power isn’t just a load of hot air

For those who dislike the sight of wind turbines on the horizon, would a spectacular hot-air balloon farm be more acceptable? Ian Edmonds, an environmental consultant with Solartran in Brisbane, Australia, has designed a giant engine with a balloon as its “piston”. A greenhouse traps solar energy, providing hot air to fill the balloon. As […]

Fear, suspicion plague northeast B.C. community after pipeline bombings

Residents in and around Tomslake, B.C., say months of tension and suspicion about pipeline bombings have driven a wedge between people in the community. Local resident Tom Dean and his family have been caught in the crossfire. Dean’s farm is just across the road from the latest explosion at an EnCana Corp. natural gas facility. […]

Gulf states run risk of losing investors

DUBAI During the region’s six-year oil boom

Deal to end European gas crisis

Russia and Ukraine announce settlement of dispute that has cut gas supplies to Europe. MOSCOW (Reuters) — The prime ministers of Ukraine and Russia said on Sunday they had reached an outline of a deal to restore disrupted gas supplies, while the European Union said it was waiting to see gas actually flowing on to […]

Detroit 3 say they’ll need help to go electric

When Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker strolled into the Ford Motor Co. display last week at the Detroit auto show, Mark Fields had his pitch for electric vehicles ready. The Ford vice president steered Corker toward a display showing the underside of a Focus converted to all-electric power, and pressed a case that Ford and other […]

The $4 billion opportunity off the coast of Gaza

…In 1999, after paying the Palestinian Authority an undisclosed sum, BG, along with its partner, Consolidated Contractors Corporations, acquired the concession to survey for natural gas in 1,000 square kilometers of the Gaza Marine area. In their agreement with BG, the PA stipulated that BG must pay it at least 10 percent of the royalties […]

Nigerian militants abduct crew in attack on Shell

LAGOS (AFP) Industry sources said the attack on the MV Lamnalco Waxbill loading vessel happened between 12.00 am and 1:00 am. Local military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Musa Sagir said the militants boarded a tanker, MV Front Chief, which they looted. “They also attacked a tug boat towing a supply vessel from Bonny to Calabar,” he […]

Should Obama push a climate bill in 2009 or 2010? Part 1

…First, however, let me make a few comments. We have no chance to stabilize CO2 concentrations at 450 ppm (let alone 350), if China does not agree to cap its carbon emissions by 2020 (see “Must-read IEA report explains what must be done to avoid 6 The international negotiation process that led to the Kyoto […]

President ‘has four years to save Earth’

Barack Obama has only four years to save the world. That is the stark assessment of Nasa scientist and leading climate expert Jim Hansen who last week warned only urgent action by the new president could halt the devastating climate change that now threatens Earth. Crucially, that action will have to be taken within Obama’s […]

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