Dennis Meadows – Economics and Limits to Growth: What's Sustainable?

Dr. Dennis Meadows is one of the authors of the well-known 1972 book “Limits to Growth,” plus two updates of the book. He has received a number of awards for on his work, most recently the prestigious Japan Prize from the Science and Technology Foundation of Japan. Dr. Meadows recently gave a talk for the […]

Oil, money and greed

OIL AND geopolitics is a sexy subject, prime material for writers and historians with an eye on the underlying themes of the recent past. Daniel Yergin’s The Prize set the standard almost 20 years ago and the author has updated his seminal story to account for the boom (and semi-bust) of the last decade. Otherwise, […]

Europe unites to build renewable energy 'supergrid'

It would connect turbines off the wind-lashed north coast of Scotland with Germany’s vast arrays of solar panels, and join the power of waves crashing on to the Belgian and Danish coasts with the hydro-electric dams nestled in Norway’s fjords: Europe’s first electricity grid dedicated to renewable power will become a political reality this month, […]

Greenhouse Gases: Who's Cheating?

As the world gets serious about fighting climate change, a huge question looms: Are countries and companies really reducing their greenhouse gas emissions as much as they claim? The answer is crucial not just for the planet, but for business. The tighter the limits on emissions, the higher the price companies have to pay to […]

Report Cites Crippling Infighting at Nuclear Site

The infighting among the federal officials in charge of the Savannah River Site, a federally owned nuclear site in South Carolina that won one of the country The Savannah River Site, which is owned by the federal government and operated by private contractors, received $1.6 billion in stimulus money to speed its efforts to clean […]

Yemen

SANA, Yemen The priorities of the Yemeni government have been fighting a war in the north and combating secessionists across the south. In the interim, Al Qaeda has flourished in the large, lawless and rugged tribal territories of Yemen, creating training camps, attacking Western targets and receiving increasing popular sympathy, Yemeni and American officials say. […]

Kjell Aleklett: The Peak Oil Year 2009

We stand at the doorway to a new year but also to a new decade and it is time to make a short summary. At the start of the 21st century Peak Oil was not an issue. During the 1990s the oil price fluctuated around $20 per barrel and that the price would increase was […]

Kurt Cobb: The problem of induction and the blindness of fools

The problem with the future is that it’s not always like the past. In fact, were this statement not true, history would indeed be “bunk” just as Henry Ford once said. But, of course, history is a chronicle of what changed and therefore led to a future that was different from the past. So, it […]

Richard Heinberg: The Meaning of Copenhagen

It was the pivotal international conference of the new century. Tens of thousands showed up, including heads of state, officials at all levels of government, representatives of environmental organizations, and ordinary citizens from nearly 200 countries. Scientists had warned that, without a strong agreement to reduce carbon emissions, the consequences for civilization and the world’s […]

Large Oil Spill Reported in China

SHANGHAI The government has not explained why the report of the spill was not released until late Saturday. But Xinhua, the official state news agency, said the leak was caused by construction work and that a crew of 700 people was struggling to contain the damage from what Shaanxi officials said was about 150,000 liters, […]

Shell accused of abandoning solar power buyers in the developing world

Shell has become embroiled in a major row with the World Bank and green energy companies after allegations that it is unfairly refusing to honour warranties on solar power systems sold to the developing world. A widespread breakdown of its equipment in Sri Lanka and elsewhere has left the oil firm accused of abandoning a […]

Tobacco biofuel to solve energy/ environment crisis?

Boffins in Philadelphia, America have come up with a radical new plan for biofuels. Rather than the cars of tomorrow running on various forms of alcohol, sunflower oil, algae etc, the scientists propose that they should instead be fuelled by burning tobacco. “Tobacco is very attractive as a biofuel because the idea is to use […]

2010: The Year For Making Contact

Another year. Another decade. Older, wiser and on an unchanged trajectory. Though it may not feel like it, 2010 puts us 5 years beyond the annual peak in world oil production. 2005 was also the inaugural year of this website [TOD] – devoted generally to exploring the details, constraints and opportunities accompanying energy depletion. Just […]

Climate change far worse than thought before

Global alarm over climate change and its effects has risen manifold after the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Since then, many of the 2,500-odd IPCC scientists have found climate change is progressing faster than the worst-case scenario they had predicted. Their studies will be considered for the next IPCC report, […]

Clean Coal – Not as Clean as We Thought

Is the term “clean coal” an oxymoron? That’s a hot question for politicians, the energy industry and environmentalists, alike. While the words seem intuitively clear, the meaning of the term, as well as the feasibility of improving coal’s environmental impact, are in question. Originally, “clean coal” referred to any number of techniques to reduce the […]

Woolgatherers ponder worst case scenarios

It Oil shortages and high prices would mean radical lifestyle changes, they said. There would be an explosion of backyard gardens. That in itself would be a good thing, but more gardens would mean more demand for manure compost. Manure, of course, is malodorous. A superabundance of manure could condemn Lawrence to a reputation of […]

Americans Doing More, Buying Less, a Poll Finds

Quietly but noticeably over the past year, Americans have rejiggered their lives to elevate experiences over things. Because of the Great Recession, a recent New York Times/CBS News poll has found, nearly half of Americans said they were spending less time buying nonessentials, and more than half are spending less money in stores and online. […]

US 'believes Iran working on design of nuclear weapon'

The US believes the official intelligence assessment of Iran’s nuclear programme is wrong and Tehran is working on the design of a nuclear weapon, it was reported today. …Washington is distancing itself from a controversial National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), produced by several US spy agencies in 2007, which suggested Iran had suspended work on weapons […]

Will Oil Hit $300 A Barrel in 2010 Due To Mid-East Tensions Part I & II

While I am very reluctant to provide short term forecasts on area such as commodity prices or stock prices, I have a strong opinion about future oil prices. I am confident in my prediction because huge oil disruptions might occur due to tensions in the Middle East this coming year. I strongly believe that the […]

Russia halts oil flows to Belarus refineries

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia has halted oil supplies to Belarussian refineries after failing to agree terms for 2010, traders said on Sunday, threatening a repeat of a dispute which disrupted supplies to elsewhere in Europe three years ago. Deliveries to Belarus refineries were halted after talks broke down on New Year’s Eve, two traders from […]

Gordon Brown unveils £100bn wind farm gamble

GORDON BROWN will this week launch a It revolves round the construction of nine enormous offshore wind farms on parcels put up for auction by the Crown Estate, owner of the UK

The Greatest Story Rarely Told

The diagram, drawn by compiling weekly news summaries from Journalism.org, contains not even a postage-stamp-size space for coverage of climate The crew at Journalism.org, which is run by the Pew Research Center

U.S. states strive to regulate shale gas industry

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – As U.S. energy companies scramble to mine natural gas from shale deposits, state regulators are struggling to keep pace amid criticism that they lack the resources to enforce environmental laws. Shale gas trapped deep underground is considered one of the most promising sources of U.S. energy and one that is generating jobs, […]

Lithuania Shuts Down Its Only Nuclear Power Plant

The shutdown was mandated by the EU, where the Chernobyl-type facility is considered unsafe due to inherent design flaws. Lithuania’s Soviet-built nuclear power plant was shut down late Thursday as part of an agreement with the European Union, ushering in a new era of energy uncertainty for the country. Engineers say the closure of the […]

WHO Warns Climate Change Bad For Health

World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan says she is disappointed a deal on climate change was not struck in Copenhagen. But she says important steps were taken that, she believes, will ultimately result in an agreement to stop or retard climate change. She says the relationship between climate change and health is obvious. For example, […]

Stable prices at the pump lull motorists

A deep recession, home foreclosures, job losses, swine flu Held in check by lower oil prices and a sputtering economy, the national average price for gasoline

Where Are Oil Prices Heading in 2010?

Alternative-energy companies not only compete with each other, they also compete in a sense with oil firms. While it After dipping below $35 a barrel early in the year, crude oil prices steadily increased throughout 2009, closing at $78.87 on Wednesday. Last year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated that oil would average around $51 […]

Oil ends 2009 78 percent above year-ago level

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil finished the year above $79 a barrel on Thursday, climbing a whopping 78 percent in 2009 and notching the biggest annual gain in a decade. The market roared back from depressed levels seen at the end of 2008 that came as the global economic crisis sapped demand. U.S. crude for […]

Biodiesel producers lose $1 a gallon tax credit

Bad start to 2010 after ‘rough year’ for entire biofuel industry OKLAHOMA CITY – An alternative fuel for diesel engines is off to a shaky start this year even though it emits fewer pollutants and cuts down on petroleum use because it’s made from environmentally friendly waste and vegetable oil. A federal tax credit that […]

Choice Quotes from the Peak Oil Decade

New Year In a June report, CERA said it believed that between now and 2010 there will be a substantial increase in worldwide oil production capacity, providing a supply cushion of 6 million to 7.5 million barrels per day that could cause oil prices to

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