Nigerian soldiers, militants clash in oil-rich region

LAGOS, Nigeria (CNN) — Fighting erupted Wednesday between Nigerian soldiers and armed militants in the country’s oil-rich southern Niger Delta, both sides said. Militants belonging to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta ambushed a military unit escorting Chevron workers at an oil terminal, injuring two soldiers, said military spokesman Col. Rabe Abubakar. […]

Consumers show no interest in eco-certified palm oil

Lack of interest in eco-certified palm oil among buyers threatens to undermine efforts to improve the environmental performance of the industry, reports the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Analysis by the environmental group shows that only 1 percent of the palm oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has been purchased since it […]

Solar Gloom Overshadows Q-Cells, Solon

A lack of project funding threatens to undermine the solar industry’s already fragile growth prospects, two of the sector’s biggest players said on Tuesday, reporting profits that missed market forecasts. Q-Cells, the world’s largest maker of solar cells, slashed its 2009 sales outlook for the third time since December, while German peer Solon, a solar […]

IEA: Love Affair With Gadgets Squeezing Power Supply

The rapidly growing number of televisions, laptops and other electronic gadgets in households is putting a growing strain on electricity supplies and jeopardizing efforts to cut carbon emissions, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday. Without new policies by governments and gadget-makers to improve the energy efficiency of electronic devices “efforts to increase energy security” will […]

OPEC Cuts Forecast for Oil Demand as Economy Shrinks

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cut its 2009 forecast for the ninth straight month, predicting oil demand will fall as consumption shrinks in the U.S., the world’s biggest energy consumer. OPEC lowered its estimate for global demand this year by 150,000 barrels a day to 84.03 million. Demand will contract by 1.57 million barrels […]

Does biofuel harm the environment?

If you’re looking to power your car with biofuels — be it ethanol or biodiesel — the future has never looked more promising. Farmers from the Corn Belt to the Brazilian heartland are planting more crops for biofuels each year, and with the push to reduce dependence on oil, domestic demand is only going to […]

Biofuels may be short on access

Concerns over food crops are only a minor issue to overcome when it comes to biofuels. It’s lack of infrastructure that will prevent the fuel alternative from becoming mainstream, according to a new report by Lux Research. “The problem is that there aren’t nearly enough filling stations and cars–nor will there be for decades–that are […]

Peak Oil or Climate Change: Which Is Most Urgent?

For a casual, scientifically-inclined observer, climate change used to be easy: the link between CO2 and climate change had been established, CO2 emissions were increasing year after year and unchecked growth was likely to see a world at least 2 degrees hotter than now — and possibly much more. However, there is increasing evidence that […]

Japan to sign nuclear supply deal with Russia

After two years of negotiations, energy-starved Japan is to sign a nuclear supply deal with Russia on Tuesday during a visit by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, to enable trade in technology and uranium while addressing proliferation issues. Planned contracts under the deal include supplying Japan with $100 million worth of low enriched uranium for nuclear […]

Uranium supply shortage could be looming

Salida Capital analysts in Toronto believe that a possible 35% increase in the number of nuclear power plants operating worldwide this decade could create a supply shortage in the supply of uranium yellowcake–especially if China decides to stockpile the metal to avert domestic shortages. Global mine output of uranium is about 107 million lbs annually, […]

Russia's Putin seeks to reinvigorate Mongolia ties

ULAN BATOR (AFP) — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said here Wednesday that Russia sought large-scale trade and investment projects in Mongolia as the Soviet-era allies moved to reinvigorate long-standing ties. Mongolia is also keen to speed up creation of a joint venture in uranium mining and increase military cooperation with Russia, Bayar said.Putin told reporters […]

Moscow warns of future energy wars

Russia has warned that military conflicts over energy resources could erupt along its borders in the near future, as the race to secure oil and gas reserves gains momentum. A Kremlin policy paper, which maps out Russia’s main challenges to national security for the next decade, said “problems that involve the use of military force […]

Carter pushes energy reform plan to Congress

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former President Carter warned members of Congress on Tuesday that America’s failure to achieve energy independence is threatening the country’s national security, undermining its long-term potential for economic growth and contributing to global warming. “Collectively, nothing could be more important than this question of energy,” Carter said during a rare presidential appearance […]

Aramco 2008 Oil Output Rises, New Discoveries Likely

(Bloomberg) — Saudi Aramco said it Aramco is raising oil and gas production capacity and adding refining capability even as demand for fuel falls with the global economic crisis. Oil prices have fallen about $90 from a record $147.27 in July as stockpiles increased.

Cities Can Save the Earth

The climate crisis won The concepts behind the ecocity are fairly simple. They involve a shift in development toward centers of high diversity:

Working hard to live simply

The idea of growing your own food and living a more simple, sustainable lifestyle is something that more and more people are aspiring to do

Deny, baby, deny

Energy security and environmental sustainability aren’t just two sides of the same coin, they’re two aspects of the same principle. We all want to be able to forget about the threat of losing what we have. The challenge that comes with our reliance on fossil fuels is, at its core, all about finding alternatives that […]

Stress-Testing Biofuels: How the Game Was Rigged

Last week, while the financial world was obsessing over stress tests for fragile banks, the environmental and agricultural worlds were watching the results of the Obama Administration’s stress tests for renewable fuels. An outgrowth of the 2007 energy bill, the tests were supposed to document whether corn ethanol and other biofuels designed to replace fossil […]

Gas may be cheaper, but many staying home anyway

As Americans prune their expenses because of the relentless recession, the family vacation is taking a hit. A third of those surveyed in an AP-Gfk Poll released Monday said they had already canceled at least one trip this year because of money. IHS Global Insight, which studies travel habits for AAA, expects Americans to take […]

Egypt oil minister warns of oil price spike

CAIRO “We are in a period of extreme slowness” on the global level, Fahmy said, adding that fears about last year

World Oil Outlook: Consumption Remains Weak, Muted Price Increases

EIA is currently projecting a weaker global oil market for 2009 than anticipated in last month’s assessment. Expectations of global economic recovery and a resultant increase in demand were offset by initial data for the first quarter showing high oil inventories, weak consumption, and higher-than-expected production. Price increases will likely be muted by the substantial […]

Gasoline belatedly takes role of summer oil driver

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Investors have been slow to make their seasonal move into gasoline ahead of the U.S. driving season, but now have helped to push oil to six-month highs and are likely to keep providing modest price support. Economic downturn and the credit crunch had warded off the investors that typically bet on […]

Here comes the flood

Policymakers must start to view mass migration as a form of adaptation so that the global response to climate-induced migration is one of facilitation rather than neglect. Two leviathans are about to collide on the world stage of science and politics Flight for survival Already, some countries cannot afford to wait for a new climate […]

Three cheers for higher oil prices!

Kind of. Oil at $60 is good news if the rise is fueled by stronger demand, not a weak dollar and speculation. But at some point oil prices may become too high. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The price of oil is back towards $60 a barrel for the first time since November. Prices have shot […]

World 2009 oil demand seen lowest since 2004 – EIA

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Despite rising optimism about the economy, the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Tuesday again slashed its forecast for 2009 world oil demand, lowering its estimate by 420,000 barrels per day to 83.67 million bpd, which would be the lowest level in five years. The EIA said it expects world oil demand to […]

Edison

(Bloomberg) — Arizona regulators didn Fortifying the 211,000 miles of cables that form the core of the U.S. electrical grid raises issues as public as national energy policy and as private as a backyard view. The political fight for control may help determine whether the U.S. fulfills President Barack Obama

Oil Companies May Wait for Hedges to End to Go Bargain Shopping

(Bloomberg) — Quantum Energy Partners, the Houston private-equity firm that put together a $3.5 billion bankroll to go bargain-hunting for acquisitions after oil and natural-gas prices plunged, is waiting for a better time to pounce. Buyers will accelerate acquisitions late this year and in early 2010 as the hedging contracts that shielded potential takeover targets […]

Norwegian Supply Falls; Is $100 Oil Far Away?

Norway, the worldWSJBlogs

China-Kuwait ink $9 bln oil refinery deal

China and Kuwait have signed a long-awaited agreement on a $9 billion oil refinery in southern China’s Guangdong province, said to be the country’s largest such venture so far. The deal was signed late Monday in Beijing by Kuwait’s oil minister, Sheik Ahmed Al Abdullah Al Sabah and Zhang Guobao, director of China’s energy agency, […]

Iraq says Kurd's oil deals still illegal

Iraq’s Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahrastani said that Kurd’s oil deals with foreign oil firms still considered “illegal” despite approving Kurdish plans to export crude oil through national pipelines. “Iraq’s oil ministry considers the contracts signed by Kurdish regional government (KRG) with the international oil companies illegitimate and illegal,” Shahrastani said on Tuesday in an interview […]

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