Preventing blackout

Dwindling fossil fuels require strong focus on local resources On July 25, La Plata County kicked off the visioning process for the update of its Comprehensive Plan with an all-day meeting, in which about 50 residents shared views about the past and present and devised story lines for the La Plata County of 2030. One […]

The mirage of energy independence and the reality of interdependence

(MENAFN – Arab News) The International Monetary Fund’s executive board has urged Saudi Arabia to maintain a longer-term perspective on global oil demand. While praising Riyadh for its leadership in stabilizing oil markets by continuing to expand capacity in the face of falling prices, the IMF directors “encouraged the authorities to continue basing their capacity […]

Clash in Alabama Over Tennessee Coal Ash

UNIONTOWN, Ala. The ash has created more than 30 jobs for local residents in a county where the unemployment rate is 17 percent and a third of all households are below the poverty line. A sign on the door of the landfill

Methanol fuel cell startup eyes hybrid market

A fast-growing Silicon Valley start-up firm is aiming to put its methanol-based fuel cells in electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid cars. Oorja Protonics, which sells its fuel cells to Nissan Motor Co, is working to have a product that can be used as a range-extender in pure electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles, Chief Executive Sanjiv […]

Asian Development Bank to Help Deliver Renewables to the Pacific

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing assistance to the Pacific to help design and deliver renewable energy products to the region through a $3 million grant for the development of small pilot projects in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.ADB’s Board of Directors has approved a technical assistance grant sourced from the Multi-Donor […]

After 150 years, age of oil entering an efficiency phase

Amory Lovins, president and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, predicts the U.S. could just about eliminate its need for oil by 2040 by expanding on a number of energy efficiency efforts that have sprung up since an Arab oil embargo sparked the energy crisis of the early 1970s. These include reducing oil’s use […]

Desalination threat to the growing Gulf

Desalination is vital in providing the region’s cities with supplies of potable water. But the process itself is pouring more and more brine back into the sea, raising the question of whether the technology will one day cease to be economically feasible. Never mind peak oil, or even peak water: Some experts are pondering the […]

Japan's Yukio Hatoyama and Climate Change

Good news, potentially, for those of us who’ve been looking to Japan for more leadership in the lead-up to Copenhagen: today’s landslide for the Democratic Party of Japan means that Yukio Hatoyama will be the next prime minister. Hatoyama is no radical outsider, but he has promised “revolutionary change” and is a strong advocate for […]

Saudi tightens security to protect oil plants

KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia, Aug 30 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia has tightened security at oil facilities after the country’s anti-terror chief escaped a suicide attack, guards at Abqaiq, the world’s biggest oil processing plant, said on Sunday. Abqaiq was the first Saudi oil target since Al Qaeda launched attacks aimed at toppling Saudi Arabia’s pro-Western monarchy […]

Solar Roadway – Could we replace the road with solar panels?

If all paved surfaces in the U.S. were replaced with 15% efficiency solar panels, the resulting distributed power network could provide three times the electricity the nation consumes, with zero carbon emissions. So crazy it just might work? Apparently the Dept. of Transportation thinks so: Solar Roadways has received a $100,000 contract from DOT to […]

Quarter of Africa faces water shortage, courtesy global warming: Pachauri

Twenty five percent of Africa experiences shortage of drinking water due to global warming, which is increasing at a higher rate now than in earlier decades, says noted environmentalist R.K. Pachauri. “Climate changes due to greenhouse gas emissions will only exacerbate. More intense and larger droughts will be there. Twenty five percent of Africa and […]

India's generation of children crippled by uranium waste

Observer investigation uncovers link between dramatic rise in birth defects in Punjab and pollution from coal-fired power stations Their heads are too large or too small, their limbs too short or too bent. For some, their brains never grew, speech never came and their lives are likely to be cut short: these are the children […]

Seven Myths About Alternative Energy

1. “We Need to Do Everything Possible to Promote Alternative Energy.” Not exactly. It’s certainly clear that fossil fuels are mangling the climate and that the status quo is unsustainable. There is now a broad scientific consensus that the world needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions more than 25 percent by 2020 — and more […]

Reluctance to Spend May Be Legacy of Recession

…The Great Depression imbued American life with an enduring spirit of thrift. The current recession has perhaps proven wrenching enough to alter consumer tastes, putting value in vogue. Here in Austin, a laid-back city on the banks of the Colorado River, change is palpable. A decade ago, Heather Nelson gained a lucrative job in telecommunications […]

A new age of cheap energy approaches

We have all become so used to reading that the end of the world is nigh that we tend to close our eyes and stick our fingers in our ears when there is evidence to the contrary. So you have probably missed one of the biggest pieces of good economic news to emerge recently: energy […]

Anti-speculation push may topple oil prices

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A debate is emerging over how curbs on energy market speculation may impact oil prices, with at least one major bank boldly expecting the new rules will trigger a 30-percent price plunge. The outcome holds wide-ranging implications for G20 developed nations collectively spending as much as $4.8 trillion to stimulate their […]

LNG boom to make Australia 'Middle East of gas'

MELBOURNE The joint venture by Chevron, Shell and ExxonMobil is already underpinned by supply contracts with China and India worth more than 60 billion US dollars, and more customers are likely to sign up before it begins operating in 2014. Gorgon is just one of a clutch of LNG projects planned in the next decade […]

Ethanol faces challenges ahead

technologies, supporting infrastructures, and greater demand will be needed to meet the country Achieving further large-scale gains will depend on whether the industry can overcome challenges in producing ethanol through cellulosic technologies and on expanding use of ethanol in automobiles. Natural Resource Report

Figuring land area use into the energy equation

The Nature Conservancy published a paper earlier this week that explored the topic of additional land use in the pusuit of energy to meet society’s growing needs in the future. The paper explored fossil fuel and renewable technologies alike and looked at their respective impacts on the environment in terms of area of land affected. […]

Standards for Small-Scale Wind Power

The American Wind Energy Association is developing a series of standards that will measure the safety, reliability and performance of small wind turbines. The standards, which the organization hopes to have in place by the end of the year, come amid increased interest in small-scale and rooftop wind power The new codes, which are still […]

United Kingdom Faces a Quandary Over New Nuclear or Coal Power

LONDON — The United Kingdom is nearing a crucial decision as it tries to tackle the climate crisis — whether to make a major push into new nuclear power or to proliferate coal-fired power plants constructed so their carbon emissions are captured and safely stored. While U.S. officials and America’s utility industry continue to mull […]

Cheap wheat to help meet EU fuel demand

LONDON (Reuters) – A sharp decline in wheat prices driven by a supply glut is set to lead to more of the grain being turned into motor fuel in the European Union. Demand for bioethanol, a renewable substitute for petrol normally made from either grains or sugar crops, is increasing in the EU. It is […]

Secret files reveal UK

LONDON: Libya has been courted by the UK Foreign secretary David Miliband, the former Labour leader Lord Kinnock and even Prince Charles were involved in the meetings with Shell about its business in Libya or Egypt. The revelations, showing that the government invested large amounts of political capital in securing North African oil, lend weight […]

Aramco boosts drilling in seismically tough Red Sea

London: Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest state-owned oil company, has boosted exploration in the Red Sea, seeking deepwater reserves away from its historical focus in the east of the nation, according to its area exploration manager. “We are at the highest level of exploration operation ever, covering more territory than ever,” Ali Al Hauwaj told […]

Venezuela Becomes U.S.

(Bloomberg) — Venezuela became the second-biggest supplier of fuel to the U.S. last quarter, as exports of oil, gasoline and refined products slipped less than sales from other producers amid slowing demand in the world Venezuela continues to send the bulk of its oil exports to the U.S., five years after President Hugo Chavez started […]

Ireland: Call to protect organic farmers from cuts

AS THE Department of Agriculture announced a major review of the organic farming scheme here, the largest organic farming group has said smaller farmers should escape the cuts to agriculture spending. The 1,000 member Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association said cuts, if essential, should be informed by a vision for the future shape of […]

Whither the Oil Age? 150 years of black gold

The American age of oil began 150 years ago today. Or, if you prefer the phrasing of President George W. Bush, the U.S. addiction to oil can be traced back to the original pusher “Colonel” Edwin Drake who began producing oil from the first commercial well near Titusville, Pa., (about 100 miles north of Pittsburgh). […]

Gas Reserves Hit New High, Forcing Prices Downhill

Natural gas producers are running out of storage space, pushing the cost of their product lower than it has been since 2002. The latest price drop comes as the government reported that salt caverns, aquifers and other underground areas where natural gas is stored are filling up. Jeff Hume, chief operating officer of Continental Resources […]

Technology Can Fight Global Warming

We have precious little to show for nearly 20 years of efforts to prevent global warming. Promises in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 to cut carbon emissions went unfulfilled. Stronger pledges in Kyoto five years later failed to keep emissions in check. The only possible lesson is that agreements to reduce carbon emissions are costly, […]

Analysis: Drilling Picks Up in The Far East

With a burgeoning and industrializing population, China is a major factor in the price of oil. When Chinese imports pick up, the price of oil follows, and Chinese imports of crude oil have been on the rise lately. The third-largest importer of oil according to the EIA, China has been on a mission to diversify […]

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