Oil companies talk biodiesel

A panel of oil and pipeline company representatives discussing biodiesel took center stage during the general session on day two of the National Biodiesel Conference & Expo in Grapevine, Texas. The topic of discussion was how oil and distribution companies will carry out RFS2’s biomass-based diesel mandate, and what physical challenges exist in doing so.A […]

Georgia to Build Black Sea Oil Port to Boost Caspian Flows

(Bloomberg) — Georgia plans to build another Black Sea port to boost transit fees from cargo shipments such as crude oil from the Caspian Sea region. The Supsa port will cost Georgia

Big Food will do everything to stop you talking about this

LS: What do you hope people will take away from the film? RK: That the system is unsustainable. We’ve created a world where we’re using up our natural resources and, in doing so, robbing our children and our grandchildren. We have to think about growing and producing food in a fairer way. We have to […]

Ecuador May Develop $6 Billion Dam Project After Shortages

(Bloomberg) — Ecuador may develop a $6 billion hydroelectric project to create energy supplies for new mines and avert power shortages similar to the ones the South American country experienced in 2009. The Zamora, one of 17 hydroelectric projects Ecuador aims to build in the next decade to help end dependence on imported power project […]

Iran Unfazed By Congressional Threats of New Energy Sanctions

U.S. lawmakers are toughening their stance on Iran The bottom line is these bills, once signed into law by President Obama, will pursue financial institutions and businesses that do business in Iran

The Rise of

Kevin Clayton, the chief executive of Clayton Homes, a modular home manufacturer based in Maryville, Tenn., predicted last year that his company The company also rolled out its first green mobile home, the e-home, last December.

India to Complete Building First Oil Storage Tank by Mid-2011

(Bloomberg) — India will complete building its first crude oil storage terminal by the middle of next year as it seeks to insulate the country against price fluctuations and ensure fuel supplies. The tank at Visakhapatnam on the east coast will have a capacity of 1.33 million metric tons, Oil Secretary S. Sundareshan said in […]

No charges in EnCana case 1 month after Ludwig arrest

The RCMP are defending the arrest and detention of Alberta environmental activist Wiebo Ludwig in connection with a series of natural gas pipeline bombings in B.C. even though no charges have been laid a month after the arrest. “[The arrest] has advanced the investigation, which has brought us a step closer to the end,” said […]

We

What? No more oil? How will we find our way at night? How will we heat our homes? Will we be doomed in eternal darkness? These were common apprehensions raised in the middle of the 19th century Not only was it cheaper than its counterparts, but being a heavily concentrated source of energy, it was […]

With Darpa

The Pentagon At first, the idea doesn

Palm oil deal 'a threat to the rainforest'

Hundreds of millions of tonnes of palm oil look set to be pumped into Britain’s vehicles despite scientific evidence showing that chopping down rainforests to make way for plantations exacerbates climate change, according to a leaked report. The European Commission is planning to increase the amount of palm oil used in cars and power stations […]

The lessons of Iraq have been ignored. The target is now Iran

We were The US insists the growing militarisation is defensive, aimed at deterring Iran, calming Israel and reassuring its allies. But the shift of policy is clear enough. Last week Barack Obama warned that Iran would face “growing consequences” for failing to halt its nuclear programme, while linking it with North Korea

Global clean energy investment: US$145bn

Soaring investment in Asia for clean energy pushed the continent beyond the total of the Americas last year, reports Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Although total new investment slipped 6.5% from the peak of US$155 billionn in 2008, it declined by less than had appeared likely, the report explains. The key reason for this resilience was […]

Readers Respond on "Squeezing More Oil from the Ground"

Letters to the editor from the October 2009 issue of Scientific American: End or No End? In Given the central place of oil-based energy in the modern world, it is critically important that governments should base their policies on realistic depletion profiles, despite ambiguous definitions and lax reporting practices. Decline typically commences at about midpoint […]

How to Write Letters to the Editor

I spend a lot of time reading The Oil Drum. It helps me to understand the nature of the energy and economic problems we face. These problems are complex and important, so it is easy to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to understand them. But it has become clear to me that we […]

Entropy revisited

You can’t win, you can’t break even, and you can’t get out of the game. Those kernels are my favorite descriptors of the Three Laws of Thermodynamics. Respectively, the clauses mean (1) energy is conserved (First Law), (2) entropy never decreases, thus precluding perpetual motion machines (Second Law), and (3) it is impossible to cool […]

Gas market goes global

Within the past week, Russia’s energy giant OAO Gazprom has announced it is delaying the development of the Shtokman natural gas field, while at the same time trotting through major investment centres saying the company is poised for growth. Is it another sign of the rapidly changing nature of the world’s natural gas markets or […]

UK: Green energy labels launched by Ofgem

The power regulator Ofgem is bringing in a new scheme designed to show if a supplier is making real cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. Its “green energy certified” label is designed to give users a real guide to who is doing most to source renewable power. The idea is to reassure householders and small businesses […]

Venezuela's Oil Problem

Hugo Chavez had a crummy January. Hammered by a slugging economy and 24 percent a year inflation, the Venezuelan president prepared for his 11th anniversary in office with 61 percent of his countrymen believing they’re on the wrong path. But there ought to be at least one opportunity for Chavez’s salvation: his country’s plentiful oil […]

Exploring 'uncivilisation'

The exhaustion of the planet and existing ways of life presents a creative challenge: exploring “uncivilisation”. Paul Kingsnorth introduces the Dark Mountain Project. I often wonder how we would act if we really believed it. How we would act and how we would write. Every day, we are hit with more news about the human […]

Making Solar Power Portable

Last year, when Jonathan Smith was still the president of Earth911.com, a Web site dedicated to recycling, he said he would often board a plane after a speaking engagement or a day of meetings with a dead cellphone in hand. With limited recharging options available, “it was really frustrating,” he said. “Having access to a […]

Year of the Tiger, electric vehicles and wind power

Perhaps the most worrying recent example of this is how China has been preparing for a forthcoming peak oil energy crisis. Whilst much of the rest of the world has been asleep, China has been doing the sums and getting ready to react.A recent deal with the Australia to import large quantities of Australian coal […]

U.S. Oil Consumption Remains Weak

The U.S. Energy Department’s weekly inventory release showed a surprise climb in crude stockpiles, while distillate supplies posted a smaller-than-expected draw. The agency …With crude reserves rising unexpectedly, we take this as an indication that energy consumption in the world’s biggest economy remains slack. As a result, following the EIA release, oil prices tumbled the […]

UK: The government has the power, it could make us all pay into a green bank

One thing Lord Browne knew better than most was that the energy world is all about power, not money. Sadly, this fact only just seems to have caught up with a British political establishment that thought open markets were all that was necessary. Last week’s bombshell from energy regulator Ofgem calling for an end to […]

UK: Meaner politics is in the gas pipeline

Some commentators believe Ofgem was off target with its diagnosis of the perils faced by the UK energy market in its Project Discovery document. Possibly, but the regulator seems rather more prescient than its detractors, given the news that Gazprom, and its joint venture partners, are mothballing the enormous Shtokman gas field under the Barents […]

U.N. Climate Panel and Chief Face Credibility Siege

Just over two years ago, Rajendra K. Pachauri seemed destined for a scientist Critics, writing in Britain

Iran Tankers Idle in Persian Gulf

Iran, OPECBloomberg

Chavez declares "electricity emergency" in Venezuela

CARACAS (Reuters) – President Hugo Chavez inaugurated a folksy new radio talk-show on Monday by declaring an “electricity emergency” in oil-rich Venezuela. Despite its huge crude reserves, the South American OPEC member relies on hydro-electricity for 70 percent of its power needs, and a drought has hit supply since late 2009. “We are ready to […]

It's Official: The Oil Export Crisis Has Arrived

Last March, my study of the effect of peak oil on U.S. imports had brought Mexico to the fore ( As I explained in that piece, rising domestic consumption coupled with declining supply puts an ever-tightening squeeze on imports. I have found no evidence that policymakers are paying any attention to this critically important dynamic, […]

Urban growth, farm exports drive tropical deforestation

Under December’s Copenhagen Accord, rich countries are pledging some 10 billion dollars over the next three years to help poor countries tackle climate change. A big but so far unspecified chunk of the cash will go on programmes to prevent loss of tropical forests, which is a major source of greenhouse gases But environmental scientists […]

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