Chocolate Biodiesel: an Unexpected New Horizon in Fuel Sourcing

Biodiesel is a controversial area of energy sourcing. Many believe it is a poor choice for breaking human dependence on carbon-based fuels, since it is essentially, yet another way of burning carbon to produce energy. But others say it is a healthy, incremental step, which can burn cleaner than petroleum fuels and will help diversify […]

Kurds lay claim to land and oil, defying Iraq's central government

ith the passage of a controversial new constitution, the Kurdish regional parliament has added fuel to an already raging fire between Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq and Iraq’s central government. The constitution, which still must be ratified in a popular vote, asserts Kurdish sovereignty over Kirkuk and other disputed areas, including oil fields. The constitution […]

Oil prices could ruin us yet

It strikes some on the outside looking in that the normal operations of the oil market are not only manipulated by speculators but all too brazenly by the producer nations as well. Many of them formed the oil cartel OPEC that effectively has curtailed production to offset reduced demand, helping to sustain a high price […]

Tuna, Toilet paper, and Timing

The drive home had me thinking thoughts on various levels. On the surface, I was curious as to how many people unaware of peak oil and fundamentals of debt/credit crisis have been intuitively preparing for some sort of social dislocation. An ivory tower moment for me, of sorts, I suppose. But as I thought about […]

"Peak Oil Day" dodges political roots of crisis

We’re all for bicycles and a transition to a post-carbon economy. But a big problem with the Peaksters’ geological determinism is that, blind to political root causes, it dodges the political imperatives for the transition. The oil economy fuels endless war and is bringing on cataclysmic climate change. These would be more than sufficient imperative […]

What population apocalypse is affecting us now?

For many groups yesterday, July 11, on which we marked World Population Day, was another chance to bemoan “the relentless growth in human population,” while the United Nations Population Fund says “stabilising population would help sustain the planet.” The problem, however, is not population but poverty. Over-population enthusiasts have always claimed there is not enough […]

If Gas Prices Go Up, Are Speculators To Blame?

Some U.S. lawmakers and a number of international leaders say oil prices are being driven far higher than necessary by financial investors who gain from driving up commodity prices. They want to limit futures contracts to crack down on speculation. Daniel Yergin, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Prize, talks with host Scott Simon […]

Suspected terrorists arrested for plotting Egypt attacks

Egyptian authorities have announced the arrest of 26 men, most of them engineers and technicians suspected of links with the terrorist al-Qaeda organization, on charges of plotting attacks on oil pipelines and ships transiting the Suez Canal. The Egyptian Interior Ministry said the suspects, 25 Egyptians and a Palestinian, who had prepared remote-controlled detonators and […]

400bn Euro energy plan to harness African sun

It’s decision day on a chain of solar generators across the desert that could supply a quarter of Europe’s power The world’s most ambitious green energy project is about to take shape. It is a plan for a chain of mammoth sun-powered energy plants in the deserts of North Africa to supply power to Europe’s […]

A Rough Year for High Ethanol Blends

Far fewer people have been refueling with high ethanol blends this year in parts of the Midwest. In North Dakota, sales of E85 Because ethanol has a lower energy content than gasoline, ideally it should be priced 15 to 20 percent lower than regular unleaded to make it worthwhile on a cost-for-energy basis, Mr. Lambert […]

U.S. makes $3 billion available for renewable energy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled guidelines that will allow companies to apply for some $3 billion in government funds to boost development of renewable energy projects around the country, creating jobs. The funding will help meet the White House’s goal to double U.S. renewable energy production over the next three years […]

Clean-coal project gains government support

HOUSTON (Reuters) – The Taylorville Energy Center, a proposed clean-coal project to be built in Illinois, expects to obtain a federal loan guarantee of nearly $2.6 billion after being selected by the U.S. Department of Energy for final term-sheet negotiations, the developers said on Friday. Taylorville, a hybrid integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant, will […]

Planet's future: Climate change will cause civilisation to collapse

An effort on the scale of the Apollo mission that sent men to the Moon is needed if humanity is to have a fighting chance of surviving the ravages of climate change. The stakes are high, as, without sustainable growth, “billions of people will be condemned to poverty and much of civilisation will collapse”. This […]

One Year After Oil

A year ago this weekend, oil prices reached a trading record of $147.29 a barrel. That peak followed months of speculation that oil prices would zoom past $200 or $250 a barrel Oil demand has dropped by nearly 1.5 million barrels a day since last year, and OPEC producers are now sitting on five or […]

China's rise to create truly global auto market

CHICAGO (Reuters) – In the century since Henry Ford rolled out his first Model T — the world’s first mass-produced, affordable car — in 1908, America has been the world’s No. 1 auto market. Nothing lasts forever. Some day in the not-too-distant future the rise of China’s middle class and its growing hunger for cars […]

Mack hopes to keep NYC garbage trucks rolling

New York City’s garbage trucks eat a lot of gas of while picking up trash from the city’s busy streets — and in turn — release a lot of carbon dioxide and monoxide into the environment through tailpipe emissions. The New York City Department of Sanitation is vowing to curb some of those costs, while […]

Why did President Obama choose Ghana as his Africa destination?

The press has barely been able to contain their excitement over President Obama’s trip to Africa. Their glee is understandable. America’s first black president is returning to the land in which his ancestors were born. The story is beautiful — poetic, really. But what few people are asking is, “Why Ghana?” One of the few […]

Texans Asked to Reduce Electricity Use

It is so hot in Texas that record amounts of energy are being used …The conservation requests come after the state legislature failed to pass a number of bills that would have increased production of solar power and created incentives for energy efficiency. Some efficiency advocates were displeased.

Buses May Aid Climate Battle in Poor Cities

BOGOT Versions of these systems are being planned or built in dozens of developing cities around the world

The end is coming, but not because of climate change

…Global warming is a serious issue for the future, but by the time global warming really heats up, other crises will have destroyed our modern industrial civilization. Let Case in point: Oil is 800 billion barrels from running out and we

Wind Projects at a Standstill

Despite Washington’s Enthusiasm, Recession and New Regulations Slow Firms The Obama administration has made offshore wind energy a priority and an important part of its plans to create jobs and combat climate change, but even such favorable political breezes have not been strong enough to propel the nation’s first projects. The economy has intervened, and […]

Spectre of peak oil prices loom

Oil at $200 a barrel is not far off and with it a new world order that will see the demise of globalization. That prediction is put forward in a new book by well-known Canadian economist Jeff Rubin: Why Your World Is About To Get A Whole Lot Smaller.Rubin’s is one of a raft of […]

Indian monsoon among risks from rapid climate change

Rising seas, a rapid weakening of the Indian monsoon and spiraling costs of adapting to a warmer, drier world are just some of the looming risks from rapid climate change, a report for the Australian government says. The report, “Climate change 2009, faster change and more serious risks,” examines the rapid progress of climate change […]

China to establish giant oil palm plantation in DR Congo

ZTE Agribusiness Company Ltd, a Chinese firm, plans to establish a one million hectare oil palm plantation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) for biofuel production, reports China state media. Zhang Peng, ZTE’s regional manager, told Xinhua that the plantation could yield up to 5 million tons of palm oil per year, 90 […]

Xinjiang – China's energy gateway

The unrest in China’s far-west region of Xinjiang, notably in the local capital of Urumqi, comes after 15 years of development and transformation of the area to be a geo-economic springboard for projecting influence into Central Asia and the Caspian region in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union. The vast region, more […]

Caspian gas producers affirm supplies for Nabucco

The leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, both major producers of natural gas in the Caspian region, have given assurances that their respective countries stand ready to serve as suppliers to the Nabucco gas pipeline, which is being backed by the US and the European Union. Azerbaijan’s gas reserves are sufficient to supply more than one […]

Study Urged on Water Demands of Next-Generation Biofuel Feedstocks

Extensive studies are needed to understand the water needs of biofuel production from cellulosic feedstocks or other next-generation sources, federal auditors said in a preliminary report released yesterday. The effects of corn-based ethanol production on water quantity and quality are well understood, the Government Accountability Office report (pdf) says, but less is known about next-generation […]

Russian regional governor said ArcelorMittal could lose coal mines

ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, could lose ownership of two West Siberian coal mines if it fails to bolster production, a Russian regional governor warned. Aman Tuleyev, who heads the Kemerovo region where the two mines are located, made the warning to ArcelorMittal chief executive Lakshmi Mittal in a letter posted on the government Web […]

Will the stars align for space-based solar power?

The high cost of putting hardware into orbit would seem to rule out space-based solar power on financial grounds, but several companies are betting that technology has changed the equation. Here’s how such systems would work. Although the US has plenty of terrain that’s well placed for producing solar power, the intermittent nature of that […]

Peak Oil Investing

Think back to July of 2008, oil was over $140/barrel and a lot of talk on “Peak Oil” (the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached) was floating around. By late December a hard hitting recession (depression?) and a strengthening dollar drove prices under $35/barrel. Suddenly there was very […]

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