Blackout: Coal, Climate and the Last Energy Crisis

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China, U.S. Sign Agreement on Clean Energy, Climate

China and the U.S. signed a memorandum of understanding today to expand cooperation on clean-energy technology and to redouble efforts to reach an international agreement to curb climate change. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the accord builds on past efforts, including the U.S.-China 10-Year Framework for Energy Environment Cooperation, Bloomberg

Peak Oil Review – July 27

1. Production and prices 2. An Alternative View 3. China 1. Production and prices Oil prices climbed from $65 to $68 a barrel last week largely on strength in the equity markets as some earnings reports beat analysts

ExxonMobil eyes algae as future biofuel producer

IRVING, Texas ExxonMobil has entered into a research and development alliance with SGI, a privately held company, to develop advanced biofuels from photosynthetic algae. Farm and Dairy

Actions taken over the next decade will determine US energy future

WASHINGTON — With a sustained national commitment, the United States could obtain substantial energy-efficiency improvements, new sources of energy, and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through the accelerated deployment of existing and emerging energy technologies, according to AMERICA’S ENERGY FUTURE: TECHNOLOGY AND TRANSFORMATION, the capstone report of the America’s Energy Future project of the National […]

A Preliminary Investigation of Energy Return on Investment for Global Energy

ABSTRACT: Economies are fueled by energy produced in excess of the amount required to drive the energy production process. Therefore any successful society Much more after the jump to http://netenergy.theoildrum.com/node/5600.

The Evil Twins

In our zeal to do something about global warming, we need to avoid solutions based on false assumptions. Mistakes made now will be impossible to correct later. Of particular concern is our approach to balancing CO2 reduction versus the realities of fossil fuel depletion. Media discussion of global warming seldom makes any connection between the […]

Toyota to launch hybrid compact in Japan: report

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp plans to launch a hybrid compact for around 1.5 million yen ($15,760) in Japan in late 2011, broadening its hybrid car line-up, the Asahi newspaper reported on Tuesday. Demand for gasoline-electric vehicles has jumped in Japan, helped by government tax breaks and subsidies on cleaner cars, and as […]

India to unveil 20GW solar target under climate plan

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India will unveil its first solar power target as soon as September, pledging to boost output from near zero to 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2020 as it firms up its national plan to fight global warming, draft documents show. The target, which would help India close the gap on solar front-runners […]

Warm Caribbean, Gulf seas threaten corals

‘We are quite concerned,’ coordinator of federal Reef Watch says WEST PALM BEACH, Florida – Warm ocean temperatures predicted to persist through October in the Caribbean and the central Gulf of Mexico could mean the loss of huge swaths of corals across those regions, U.S. scientists warned Wednesday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral […]

Europe's CO2 war has room for electrics, hybrid cars

PARIS (Reuters) – European carmakers are likely to rely on a mix of clean car technologies to achieve big emission cuts even as they gear up for fully electric cars, battling to put infrastructure in place and convince wary drivers. The auto groups must cut global-warming gases from new vehicles by 18 percent within six […]

China drives electric bike, scooter boom

Millions get easier transportation, but battery disposal a big concern SHANGHAI – It’s a simple pleasure, but Xu Beilu savors it daily: gliding past snarled traffic on her motorized bicycle, relaxed and sweat-free alongside the pedal-pushing masses. China, the world’s bicycle kingdom Workers weary of crammed public transport or pedaling long distances to jobs are […]

Cheaper Solar Thermal Power

A simpler design could reduce the cost of solar power generated by concentrating sunlight on Stirling engines. Stirling Energy Systems (SES), based in Phoenix, has decreased the complexity and cost of its technology for converting the heat in sunlight into electricity, allowing for high-volume production. It will begin building very large solar-power plants using its […]

Offshore wind could be next wave for U.S.

HYANNIS, Massachusetts (Reuters) – The Cape Cod resort area, famous for sandy beaches and centuries-old fishing villages, could in the next few years claim a new title of home to the United States’ first offshore wind farm. The United States has experienced a surge in investment in wind power over the past four years, more […]

CFTC report blames speculators for oil price swings: report

(Reuters) – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is planning to issue a report next month that suggests that wild swings in oil prices were significantly driven by speculators, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website on Tuesday. A 2008 report by the main U.S. futures-market regulator that attributed oil-price swings primarily on […]

World will warm faster than predicted in next five years, study warns

The world faces a new period of record-breaking temperatures as the sun’s activity increases, leading the planet to heat up significantly faster than scientists had predicted over the next five years, according to a new study. The hottest year on record was 1998, and the relatively cool years since have led to some global-warming sceptics […]

An Important Greentech Bill You Need to Know: STORAGE

But a lesser-known bill Reuters

Joule Biotechnologies Unveils Liquid Fuel From Solar Power

First came corn and cane as biomass for renewable fuel, then cellulosic materials and algae. Now Joule Biotechnologies Inc. has emerged from stealth mode with a recipe for making transportation fuel without biomass by simply harnessing solar power and carbon-dioxide emissions. Joule

Greenpeace study finds oil companies may be doomed

A long-term decline in the demand for oil could undermine the huge investments in Canadian tar sands, which have been heavily opposed by environmentalists, according to a report published today. The report, by Greenpeace, will make uncomfortable reading for the companies that are investing tens of billions of pounds to exploit the hard-to-extract oil in […]

Mines could provide geothermal energy

Mine shafts on the point of being closed down could be used to provide geothermal energy to local towns. This is the conclusion of two engineers from the University of Oviedo, whose research is being published this month in the journal Renewable Energy. The method they have developed makes it possible to estimate the amount […]

Israel on Iran: Anything it takes to stop nukes

JERUSALEM Yahoo News

Russian Oil Group Visits Venezuelan Oil Fields

Company officials from a Russian oil consortium were to visit Venezuela’s eastern oil-producing region Monday, an area where it plans to explore for extra-heavy crude. Directors from Lukoil), Gazprom, Rosneft and other Russian firms, accompanied by Venezuela’s oil minister, planned to inspect an oil block that used to be controlled by the U.S. firm Conoco […]

Oil find 'enough for Uganda'

The 700 million barrels of oil discovered in Uganda will be enough to provide for the country’s needs, but there could be plenty more under Lake Albert, the vice-president of Tullow Oil Group claimed last week. The New Vision reported that Tim O’Hanlon said the discovery may be the “tip of the iceberg”, adding that […]

China's H1 oil use declines

China’s oil consumption declined in the first half of the year as the country’s economy slowed, but it would pick up growth in the second half, the main industry group said Monday. According to the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association (CPCIA), China’s apparent consumption of crude oil dropped 2.9 percent year-on-year to 190 million […]

Oil is Peaking But Not Because of Speculation

In seeking to explain the run up in oil prices from 2004 to 2008, commentators often turn to However, this came at a price. In the absence of oil supply growth, demand accommodation was required. This was achieved by prices rises averaging 25 percent per annum from 2003 to the end of 2007. In other […]

Nissan says working on hybrid system for smaller cars

YOKOSUKA, Japan (Reuters) – Nissan Motor Co is developing a hybrid system that can be used to power smaller cars as an interim solution to improving mileage before pure electric cars can take over, a top executive said on Monday. Executive Vice President Mitsuhiko Yamashita said Japan’s No.3 automaker had made no final decision about […]

World oil demand to rise in 2010, supply still high

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – World oil consumption will rise for the first time in two years in 2010 as a recovery in the global economy boosts demand, according to a Reuters poll of top oil-tracking analysts and organizations. But the expected increase of 1.1 percent worldwide is unlikely to drain away all the excess supplies, […]

Saudi burns more crude for power, halts fuel oil import

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, is burning more crude in domestic power plants to keep new wells pumping and produce cleaner electricity, likely eliminating demand for imported fuel this summer. The use of even more crude oil to generate electricity allows the kingdom to put to use fresh output from […]

Peak Oil And World Food Supplies

Only about 10 percent of the world The other problem with the 10:90 ratio is that with

Evolution machine speeds up search for better bugs

If humans want to persuade microbes to produce vast quantities of fuels or pharmaceuticals, we may need to give evolution a helping hand. A new genome engineering machine that tweaks dozens of genes to create billions of unique strains in a few days does just that. “This technique allows us to do some amount of […]

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