In North Dakota: A Great Divide Over Oil Riches

Just like everybody else around here, Fred Evans spent his life coaxing a good enough living out of the earth. He grew wheat, ran cattle and, during a couple of short-lived bursts of activity, worked on the drill rigs searching for oil across the northern prairie. But unlike his neighbors, Mr. Evans was convinced that […]

Peaking in World Oil Production – A Hydrogen Solution?

Down Under Politics “Peaking in World Oil Production – A Hydrogen Solution?” John Purvey interviewing Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki University of Tasmania (Stanlet Burbury) – 2006

Iran navy chief says closing Gulf “really easy”

Closing off the Gulf to oil tankers will be “easier than drinking a glass of water” for Iran if the Islamic state deems it necessary, state television reported on Wednesday, ratcheting up fears over the world’s most important oil chokepoint. “Closing the Strait of Hormuz for Iran’s armed forces is really easy … or as […]

More solar firms set to burn up as prices sink

Only four years ago, hundreds of start-ups optimistically built factories and churned out solar panels to meet rising demand. Now, closures and failure loom for many. The brutal shakeout is a dramatic reversal for an industry that has seen overall global growth of more than 30 percent annually over the past decade and this year […]

Presenting Anonymous’ “Survival Guide For Citizens In A Revolution”

Following the fireworks from this weekend in which Anonymous hacked and exposed thousands of Stratfor clients and millions of confidential emails, it may be time to pay some more attention to the hacker collective, and specifically a document that was released a few weeks ago titled “Survival Guide for Citizens in a Revolution.” As Anonymous […]

Net-energy (eroei) for dummies, aka peak oil deniers

Here’s a brief explanation of why net-energy aka EROEI (energy returned on energy invested) debunks claims of “energy independence” from U.S. shale oil deposits like the Bakken Formation in North Dakota & Montana. Yes, drilling technology has improved yields, but only incrementally, not exponentially. And that’s why shale remains an abundant delusion. Per the USGS, […]

Can Oil Restore Libya’s Fortunes?

Libya’s new rulers struggle to rebuild an oil industry battered by the civil war that ended Muammar Gaddafi’s 32-year rule, but the threat of further violence could sabotage these efforts and with them any prospect of an early national recovery. Libya, finally unshackled from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s brutal regime, is struggling to restore its battered […]

Watching The World: Oil diplomacy in action

The oil and gas industry might want to tip its hat out of respect for work done by the Atlantic Council in the past year—especially its recently concluded Black Sea Energy and Economic Forum. Held in Istanbul, this year’s BSEE was remarkable for many reasons, not least the ability of the Atlantic Council to bring […]

Resilience: The Next Big Word for 2012

Create a “sustainable ad­vantage” to win in this new age of sustainability. – From yet another sustainability consultancy newsletter. Big symbolic words come and go, and for various reasons they often annoy. That is not the fault of the actual words: articulating ideas like “corporate social responsibility” and “social entrepreneurship” in just one word is […]

Oil sands pipeline seems likely to endure

The Obama administration confirmed last week that if forced by Congress to quickly decide the fate of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from western Canada to the Gulf Coast, it would probably kill the project. But does that mean the $7 billion pipeline project is dead forever? Will it curb the inexorable global demand […]

Maybe that war with China isn’t so far off

The year 2011 has been a tough one for Sino-United States ties. And 2012 does not look like it’s going to be a good year either, with a presidential election year in the United States. For both the Democratic and Republican parties, bashing the Chinese economic, military and freedom-averse menace will probably be a campaign-trail […]

Oil interests push China into Sudanese mire

At a restaurant along the River Nile offering crocodile and ostrich meat, officials of the world’s newest — and desperately destitute — nation hosted a lunch this month for Liu Guijin, China’s visiting envoy for African affairs. Liu’s visit to Juba, the dirt-track capital of South Sudan, which split from Sudan in July, came at […]

Canada, Australia hunt for rare earths

Hopes are high for major finds of rare earths in Canada, the US and Australia, as Chinese rare earth metals exports used in hi-tech gadgets fall sharply. ‘Everyone has started to search for rare earth elements (REE),’ Michel Jebrak, a mineral resources specialist at the University of Quebec in Montreal, told AFP. ‘The Japanese are […]

Shale gas puts some energy independence within reach for U.S.

Ever since Richard Nixon’s 1973 promise to attain energy independence, successive U.S. presidents all have pledged the same goal — even as foreign supplies composed a larger and larger share of the U.S. energy mix. Now, almost 40 years later, a measure of independence is within reach. But as this booming town in northeastern Pennsylvania […]

Collateral Damage From Fukushima Hits Europe

Several leading European electricity providers and nuclear power plant constructors now count as part of the collateral damage caused by the tsunami that destroyed the Japanese nuclear power plant of Fukushima last March. In reference to the German government’s decision to phase out nuclear power soon after the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, Johannes […]

After Fukushima: A Changing Climate For Nuclear

This year has something unpleasant in common with the years 1979 and 1986. In 1979, a nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania melted down. In 1986, the Soviet reactor at Chernobyl blew up and burned. This year’s meltdown occurred in Fukushima in Japan, and nuclear power isn’t likely to be the same as […]

Announcement of “Cold Shutdown” of Fukushima Reactors Is Based On a Political Decision

If The Reactors Are “Cold”, It May Be Because Most of the Hot Radioactive Fuel Has Leaked Out The Japanese Government and Tepco say that they have achieved a “cold shutdown” of Fukushima nuclear reactors. Specifically, they claim that the water inside the reactors is now below the boiling point. In reality, no one knows […]

Iran ‘rehearses closing gulf oil route’

Iranian naval forces launch a massive 10-day exercise Saturday near the Strait of Hormuz, the only way in and out of the Persian Gulf, in what is widely seen as a rehearsal for a threatened closure of the strategic global oil artery if the country is attacked. The Iranians have billed the Velayat-90 drill as […]

Secret Ms. Santa pays electric bills in Alaska

Michael Lundy was bracing for a bleak Christmas in Juneau after he lost his wallet and $550 that was to have gone toward rent and his utility bill, he said. “That’s a lot of money when you’re not working,” said Lundy, who is unemployed. Then came the phone call this week from the local utility. […]

Tens of thousands rally as Russian protests resume

Tens of thousands of Russians took part in demonstrations Saturday to protest against suspected fraud in the Dec. 4 legislative polls. Participants braved freezing temperatures in the largest public show of discontent since the 1991 Soviet collapse. Tens of thousands of people on Saturday filled an avenue in Moscow to protest against the alleged rigging […]

Rosneft challenges ExxonMobil as a number one in oil output

Rosneft has become the world biggest oil production company as it beat rival ExxonMobil with the results of its output in the first nine months of 2011. Rosneft reported it has extracted 88.6 mln tonnes of oil meanwhile ExxonMobil extracted 87.0 mln tonnes. Its share in the Russian oil extraction industry expanded from 23.7% in […]

Russia’s Rosneft – World’s largest oil producer

Russia’s state-run Rosneft oil company has become the world’s largest producer after surpassing American ExxonMobil. The difference in their volumes of production is about one million tons, a small amount compared to their total production. Not only the Russian company is planning to preserve its position, it also intends to improve its key indicators. Rosneft […]

Planting Seeds for a New Society

Peak Moment 207: “We’re a conduit and a packager of important cutting edge material that people need to do the work that they’re engaged in.” Judith Plant and the New Society Publishers (NSP) team are social change agents bringing emerging ideas and authors to the forefront. They converse about the need for women’s voices in […]

Fuke Nuke’s Spooks and Kooks

In January 1976, at a meeting at the Washington Sheraton, Ralph Nader introduced us to a spy who had come in from the cold. His name was David Comey and during the Second World War he had worked in OSS, trying to head fake the Third Reich about where the landings would come for the […]

Five Rare Earth Elements in ‘Critical’ Supply: U.S. Energy Department

Five rare earth elements fundamental to creating new technologies such as wind turbines, electric cars and efficient lighting are facing critical supply levels over the next few years, the U.S. Department of Energy warns. The DOE, in its “2011 Critical Materials Strategy” report, said provision of rare earth elements dysprosium, terbium, europium, neodymium and yttrium […]

‘Secret’ Environment Canada study warns of oil sands’ impact on habitat

Contamination of a major western Canadian river basin from oil sands operations is a “high-profile concern” for downstream communities and wildlife, says a newly-released “secret” presentation prepared last spring by Environment Canada that highlighted numerous warnings about the industry’s growing footprint on land, air, water and the climate. The warnings from the department contrast with […]

China replaces Iran oil with Mideast, Africa, and Russia

China has bought enough spot crude from the Middle East, Africa and Russia in January to replace lost Iranian oil supply, trade sources said on Friday, putting it in a strong position as it tussles with the Islamic Republic over payment terms for 2012 contracts. China will load an additional 12.43 million barrels of crude […]

China warns EU of carbon tax ‘trade war’

China has warned the European Union to abandon its controversial carbon tax on airlines or risk provoking a global trade war. Adding weight to the warning, an industry insider told the Financial Times that the Chinese government was seriously considering measures to hit back at the EU if it insists on charging international airlines for […]

Iraq Oil Output Has Reached a 20-Year High

Iraqi crude oil production jumped to the highest level in at least 20 years, or more than 3 million barrels a day, said Hussain al-Shahristani, deputy prime minister for energy affairs. Iraq’s government, which takes complete control of the country this month after the withdrawal of U.S. military forces, will acquire unmanned drone aircraft to […]

Monsanto: U.S. Farmers are Ready to Feed the World with GMO

More than seven billion people inhabit planet Earth, and about two billion more will join within 40 years, according to the United Nations Population Division. While many decision makers express concern about sustaining the population, often they forget to ask an important question: Are U.S. farmers ready to produce the food needed to feed the […]

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