Tropical rain forests can fight climate change better than biofuel plantations

A new study has determined that keeping tropical rain forests intact is a better way to combat climate change than replacing them with biofuel plantations. It was undertaken by an international research team of botanists, ecologists and engineers from seven nations.The study revealed that it would take at least 75 years for the carbon emissions […]

China violates accord with Japan over disputed gas field

China has violated an agreement with Japan and continued developing a gas field in a disputed area in the East China Sea, a press report said Sunday. The neighbours struck a deal in June last year to end a lingering spat over four Chinese undersea gas fields which, Japan claimed, extend or possibly extend into […]

Soot reduction ‘could help to stop global warming’

Governments could slow global warming dramatically, and buy time to avert disastrous climate change, by slashing emissions of one of humanity’s most familiar pollutants – soot – according to Nasa scientists. A study by the space agency shows that cutting down on the pollutant, which has so far been largely ignored by climate scientists, can […]

The Peak Oil Scam Controlling Oil Prices

Fifty year ago, experts stated that Peak Oil would be reached by the year 2000. Now, most experts [Oilempire.us] say that this number will probably be in the year 2020. If you knew you were being told that a product would soon be in low supply, and you believed it, you could raise prices on […]

Tehran to reform subsidy scheme for oil products

TEHRAN: Iran will begin deregulating the heavily subsidised prices for oil products in three stages in the year starting in March. Deputy oil minister in charge of planning Akbar Torkan said it was part of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s economic reform plan that includes increasing energy prices and paying direct subsidies to the needy people instead. […]

Economic crises sharpen Russia-Ukraine gas row

KIEV/MOSCOW (Reuters) – The deepening economic crises that have gripped both Russia and Ukraine may make it harder to find a resolution to the row over cut-off gas supplies, analysts said on Friday. Russian state-controlled gas behemoth, Gazprom (GAZP.MM), halted supplies to Ukraine on New Year’s Day at 2 a.m. EST, provoking memories of a […]

Energy demand is down sharply

People worldwide are driving less, flying less and using less electricity The economists

Big solar power plant planned for northwest China

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Two Chinese companies on Friday announced plans to build a solar power plant in northwestern China that could one day be the largest photovoltaic solar project in the world. The news helped spur a rally in shares of solar power companies that was also underpinned by higher oil prices and a […]

End of the ethanol era

Imagine a plant that can be easily grown on farms all over America. Imagine it can be turned into a fuel through a simple process. Imagine we burn that fuel in our cars to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. That sounds wonderful. But that plant is not corn. That process is not simple. And […]

Coffee next in line as biofuel source

Coffee grounds can provide a cheap and abundant source of biodiesel, particularly in coffee-producing nations, say researchers. Coffee grounds Scientists at the US-based University of Nevada, Reno, used an inexpensive process to extract oil from the leftovers of making espressos, cappuccinos and other coffee preparations from a multinational coffeehouse chain. This oil was then converted […]

Obama sketches out recovery plan

President-elect says he wants to double renewable energy production, rebuild roads and schools and cut taxes. Next step: Consulting with Congress. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday offered the most detailed statement yet of his economic recovery plan, sketching out broad-based spending proposals and tax incentives aimed at reviving an economy mired […]

Continental Jetliner to test biofuels

Continental Airlines next week could become the first U.S. airline to demonstrate passenger jets can fly on a special blend of algae, the jatropha weed and jet fuel. Earlier this week, Air New Zealand successfully conducted a similar experiment and later this month Japan Airlines plans to conduct its own biofuels test flight. The hope […]

Pakistan: Govt acts after riots, orders end to gas cuts

ISLAMABAD: As violent energy riots raged in various cities and towns, President Asif Ali Zardari here on Friday ordered an immediate end to gas load-shedding for domestic consumers and elimination of circular debt in the power sector that has bulged to Rs400 billion, crippling the power generation system, in six months. Mr Zardari and Prime […]

6 Reasons Why Nuclear Power Can’t Save Us

A new book shows that it is not just the cost of nuke plants and their deadly waste that is the energy source’s only problems. 1. Length of time to come on stream Commissioning and building new plants is a time-consuming business (at least twenty years), so they would have little or no impact on […]

Hammer Time

Israeli troops entered Gaza under cover of darkness on Saturday, escalating the war on Hamas after artillery pounded the Palestinian territory and warplanes staged dozens of air strikes — one killing 16 people in a mosque. “Large numbers of forces are taking part in this stage of the operation including infantry, tanks, engineering forces, artillery […]

Russia oil output falls for first time in a decade

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian oil production fell by around one percent in 2008, official data showed on Friday, the country’s first annual decline in a decade after large increases in previous years and a sign of things to come. The decline is widely expected to continue because of ageing reserves and plunging oil prices, which […]

Planting Trees And Managing Soils To Sequester Carbon

As of 2007, the shrinking forests in the tropical regions were releasing 2.2 billion tons of carbon per year. Meanwhile, expanding forests in the temperate regions were absorbing 0.7 billion tons of carbon annually. On balance, a net of some 1.5 billion tons of carbon were being released into the atmosphere each year, contributing to […]

The carbon footprint of nuclear war

Just when you might have thought it was ethically sound to unleash a nuclear attack on a nearby city, along comes a pesky scientist and points out that atomic warfare is bad for the climate. According to a new paper in the journal Energy & Environmental Science, even a very limited nuclear exchange, using just […]

Dynegy ends coal-plant venture with LS Power

NEW YORK, Jan 2 (Reuters) – Power company Dynegy Inc (DYN.N) will end its power plant development joint venture with LS Power Associates because of tough credit markets and regulatory hurdles in building new coal-fired plants, the company said on Friday. …Dynegy Chief Executive Bruce Williamson said the climate for new power-plant development has changed […]

Global Warming Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg

The Cold War shaped world politics for half a century. But global warming may shape the patterns of global conflict for much longer than that — and help spark clashes that will be, in every sense of the word, hot wars. We’re used to thinking of climate change as an environmental problem, not a military […]

Bitter weather and still no gas from Russia

Supplies to four EU countries are below normal levels, but still no talks in sight. MOSCOW (Reuters) — Russian gas flows to four European Union countries were below normal levels on Saturday after Moscow cut off supplies to Ukraine in a pricing dispute, and there were no talks in sight to resolve the dispute. With […]

Michael T. Klare: Time to Kill the Oil Beast

America’s overreliance on petroleum is the source of all its energy problems. If the recent Presidential campaign demonstrated anything, it was that Americans want and expect the next president to make dramatic changes in U.S. energy policy. Americans want to see a substantial reduction in their country’s reliance on imported oil All summer and fall, […]

Uganda: Workers appeal to government over fuel crisis

Workers under their umbrella organizations, National Organization of Trade Unions have appealed to the government of Uganda to intervene in the fuel market to stop an already bad situation from getting worse. NOTU says many workers and other Ugandans are reeling from the bad effects of escalating fuel prices which have got worse in recent […]

In Obama

WASHINGTON His view prevailed over those of officials arguing for tougher standards, among them Carol M. Browner, then the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and her mentor, Al Gore, then the vice president. Today, as the climate-change debate once again heats up, Mr. Summers leads the economic team of the incoming administration, and Ms. […]

Toyota’s Solar Concept Might Not Be a Car At All

It seemed fitting that the first viable solar car would come from the Land of the Rising Sun, but a chorus of online skeptics have begun dismissing reports that Toyota’s “top secret” solar concept would ever see the light of day. We’re pretty sure that Toyota isn’t about to unveil a 100% solar electric car, […]

A First: More Ethanol Sold than Gas in Brazil

Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency reported this week that ethanol sales topped gas sales for the first time ever last year. The record reflects a major upswell in ethanol sales in Brazil over the past year, up 44.9 % over 2007. Cane ethanol sells for half the price of fossil fuel gasoline in Brazil, giving drivers […]

Venezuela Aims to Save $2.5 Billion by Curbing Foreign Travel

The government of Venezuela hopes to save $2.5 billion this year by cutting the foreign travel allowance to $2,500 per person with effect from January 1, according to the head of the Foreign Exchange Administration Commission (Cadivi).The reduction in the personal allowance was announced shortly before the festive break as an emergency measure to confront […]

Obama, Vilsack and Salazar: The Ethanol Scammers’ Dream Team

Over the past few weeks, Obama’s delusions about ethanol have become even more pronounced. On December 16, Stephen Power of the Wall Street Journal reported that Obama’s transition team has been talking to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) — the trade group funded by the corn ethanol producers — about a bailout for the ethanol […]

Oregon looks at taxing mileage instead of gasoline

PORTLAND, Ore. The proposal is not without critics, including drivers who are concerned about privacy and others who fear the tax could eliminate the financial incentive for buying efficient vehicles. But Oregon is ahead of the nation in exploring the concept, even though it will probably be years before any mileage tax is adopted. Congress […]

Steel Industry, in Slump, Looks to Federal Stimulus

The steel industry, having entered the recession in the best of health, is emerging as a leading indicator of what lies ahead. As steel production goes The industry itself is turning to government for orders that, until the September collapse, had come from manufacturers and builders. Its executives are waiting anxiously for details of President-elect […]

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