T. Boone Pickens and Charles Koch Spar Over U.S. Natural-Gas Subsidies

Investor T. Boone Pickens has a vision of American highways in which trucks are powered by natural gas—and nudged along by government subsidies. Charles Koch, one of the richest men in the country, is gunning hard to block taxpayer money from boosting his fellow billionaire’s dream. The oil-patch titans are brawling over a congressional bill […]

Saudi Arabia, UAE funded jihadi networks in Pakistan: Wikileaks cable

Islamic charities from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates financed a network in U.S. ally Pakistan that recruited children as young as eight to wage holy war, a local newspaper reported on Sunday, citing Wikileaks. A U.S. diplomatic cable published by WikiLeaks said financial support estimated at $100 million a year was making its […]

British Government Faces Up To Peak Oil

The UK Secretary for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne, has committed to establish an “Oil Shock Response Plan” to cope with some of the consequences of peak oil. While there remains dissent as to the facts of peak oil, a growing body of experts think that the phenomenon will occur at some point during […]

Once upon a time a peak oil aware candidate ran for president of the United States

The unsavory collection of clowns, hucksters, frauds and charlatans currently running for president makes me long for a time when serious-minded people who care about the long-term stability and sustainability of their country actually had a viable candidate to support. The fact that it has been over three decades since there has been such a […]

UK Government to develop Oil Shock Response Plan

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne yesterday agreed to develop an ‘Oil Shock Response Plan’, following a meeting with the UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security (ITPOES). The group, which was formed by Arup, B&Q, Buro Happold, Solarcentury, SSE, Stagecoach and Virgin, and campaigns for greater awareness of the economic threat […]

US quietly expanding defense ties with Saudis

Despite their deepening political divide, the United States and Saudi Arabia are quietly expanding defense ties on a vast scale, led by a little-known project to develop an elite force to protect the kingdom’s oil riches and future nuclear sites. The U.S. also is in discussions with Saudi Arabia to create an air and missile […]

WikiLeaks cables show that it was all about the oil

In 2006, three years after the Russian government had charged Mikhail Khodorkovsky — then the country’s wealthiest businessman — with fraud and moved to break up his Yukos oil company, U.S. diplomats had had enough. Gazprom, which grew out of the former Soviet Union’s state gas ministry, had been busy buying up Yukos’ far-flung empire, […]

Oils of War: Pentagon Cementing Iraq Footprint?

Publicly, the US’s backing of the pro-democracy uprisings in the Middle East often consists of a statement saying that people must determine their own future. Behind the scenes, though, it is widely acknowledged there is a lot more interference.

The Arab Spring’s second wave

Unlike the current uprisings, Tunisia and Egypt were characterised by quick transitions and the successful mobilisation of mass protest movements [GALLO/GETTY] With the Arab Spring stretching toward summer, the feel-good memories of Egypt and Tunisia are receding into the distance. Marred by ugly sectarian violence in Egypt and on-going scuffles between police and protesters ahead […]

Blackwater founder builds mercenary force in UAE

The crown prince of Abu Dhabi has hired the founder of private security firm Blackwater Worldwide to set up an 800-member battalion of foreign troops for the United Arab Emirates, the New York Times said Sunday. The Times said it obtained documents that showed the unit being formed by Erik Prince’s new company Reflex Responses […]

Japan’s Hamaoka nuclear plant suspends operations

The operator of Japan’s ageing Hamaoka nuclear power plant, located near a tectonic faultline southwest of Tokyo, suspended its operations Saturday, officials said. The plant’s number-five reactor stopped generating power at 10:15 am (0115 GMT) and was due to be shut down a few hours later with workers inserting control rods, Chubu Electric Power Cp. […]

China suspends exports of fuel

China is suspending exports of diesel fuel to help counter shortages likely to worsen during the peak summer months. The National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s planning agency, on Friday urged oil companies to help “maintain social stability and promote economic development” by increasing refinery output and stepping up new projects to ensure stable […]

NATO hits Gaddafi compound

NATO bombed Muammar Gaddafi’s compound on Thursday, hours after the Libyan leader ended doubt about his fate by making his first television appearance since another air strike killed his son nearly two weeks ago. The leader of the rebels seeking to end Gaddafi’s 41-year rule visited London to drum up aid for his movement. The […]

Sunni Monarchies Close Ranks

Reports that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is considering some form of membership for two non-Gulf states – Jordan and Morocco – confirm that the conservative Sunni monarchies of the Middle East are closing ranks against Iran, Shiite-led Iraq and the democratic wave sweeping the region. GCC secretary general Abdullatif al-Zayani made the announcement Tuesday […]

Noam Chomsky: “The U.S. and Its Allies Will Do Anything to Prevent Democracy in the Arab World”

Speaking at the 25th anniversary celebration of the national media watch group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, world-renowned political dissident and linguist Noam Chomsky analyzes the U.S. response to the popular uprisings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa. “Across the [Middle East], an overwhelming majority of the population regards the United States as the […]

Is Portland prepared for peak oil?

Jim Jackson, adjunct professor of geology at Portland State, delivered a lecture last month for the Yachats Academy of Arts and Sciences titled “Peak Oil: All Geology is Local,” which covered the history and future of oil production, the many estimates of how much oil remains and the fact that global analysis of these issues […]

Obama administration floats draft plan to tax cars by the mile

The Obama administration has floated a transportation authorization bill that would require the study and implementation of a plan to tax automobile drivers based on how many miles they drive. The plan is a part of the administration’s Transportation Opportunities Act, an undated draft of which was obtained this week by Transportation Weekly. The White […]

Japan wants to halt 3 nuclear reactors

Officials at a Japanese power company were finalizing a decision Saturday following a government request that it suspend all three reactors at a coastal nuclear plant while steps are taken to prevent a major earthquake or tsunami from causing another radiation crisis. Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Friday that he had asked Chubu Electric Power […]

Thousands rally in Japan against nuclear power

Thousands of people rallied in Japan Saturday to demand a shift away from nuclear power after an earthquake and tsunami sparked the world’s worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl a quarter-century ago. Braving spring drizzle, thousands of demonstrators gathered at a park in Tokyo’s Shibuya district, many holding hand-made banners reading: “Nuclear is old!” and “We […]

Putting on Blinders – the EIA Budget cuts

If you read many of the pieces that I write here, you will soon notice that I am convinced that this country and most of the civilized world has a problem with future oil supply. That problem is getting worse rather rapidly, and this is causing the price increases that you have noticed every time […]

European Commission: Act now on peak oil or curtail mobility

The European Commission’s director-general for transport and mobility policy has warned at a conference on peak oil that it would be a “fatal mistake” for the EU to postpone measures to reduce oil dependency. “If action is delayed, in the not-too-distant future we may be forced to drastically reduce all our mobility and import technological […]

EU Times: Bin Laden’s corpse has been on ice for nearly a decade

Hameed Gul is a retired Pakistani Army three star general known for heading the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the premier Pakistani intelligence agency, after the Soviet-Afghan War. The timing was incredible! By mid May 2011, the US Army was set to be thrown out of Pakistan by the Pakistani government and just weeks before that, bang! […]

The New Global Food Wars

In the United States, when world wheat prices rise by 75 percent, as they have over the last year, it means the difference between a $2 loaf of bread and a loaf costing maybe $2.10. If, however, you live in New Delhi, those skyrocketing costs really matter: A doubling in the world price of wheat […]

John Perkins: Libya’s Not About Oil, It’s About Currency and Loans

World Bank President Robert Zoellick Thursday said he hopes the institution will have a role rebuilding Libya as it emerges from current unrest. Zoellick at a panel discussion noted the bank’s early role in the reconstruction of France, Japan and other nations after World War II. “Reconstruction now means (Ivory Coast), it means southern Sudan, […]

Did Libya Just Invade Tunisia?

Sounds crazy but, “Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi crossed into neighbouring Tunisia and fought a gun battle with Tunisian troops in a frontier town as Libya’s conflict spilt beyond its borders…Pro-Gaddafi forces fired shells into the town of Dehiba, damaging buildings and injuring at least one resident, and a group of them drove into the […]

How close is peak oil?

It seems politicians everywhere are suddenly waking up to the implications of peak oil. When will it arrive? Has it already passed? What does it mean for prices? And what do those prices mean for economic growth, and geopolitical risk? Most are finding that whatever action they are thinking of taking now, they should have […]

Immediate Reductions in EIA’s Energy Data and Analysis Programs

The final fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget provides $95.4 million for the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), a reduction of $15.2 million, or 14 percent, from the FY 2010 level. “The lower FY 2011 funding level will require significant cuts in EIA’s data, analysis, and forecasting activities,” said EIA Administrator Richard Newell. “EIA had already […]

Noam Chomsky: Is the World Too Big to Fail?

The democracy uprising in the Arab world has been a spectacular display of courage, dedication, and commitment by popular forces — coinciding, fortuitously, with a remarkable uprising of tens of thousands in support of working people and democracy in Madison, Wisconsin, and other U.S. cities. If the trajectories of revolt in Cairo and Madison intersected, […]

Venezuela imposes tax on windfall oil prices

Venezuela is imposing a windfall profits tax on royalties from oil projects when crude prices are above $40 a barrel, seeking to squeeze as much as $16 billion mostly out of foreign oil companies, the government said Tuesday. Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said the tax, which was decreed by President Hugo Chavez last week, will […]

Russia proposes global nuclear safety plan

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has proposed a plan to tighten the safety standards in nuclear power plants of the world and sent it to world leaders on Tuesday. It will be discussed by the Group of Eight at a summit in Deauville, France, on May 26 and 27. Mr. Medvedev was speaking at a memorial […]

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