Imagining a world without oil

Dismantle the oil rigs and stack them in a pile. Radio the tankers and order them back to port. Pull out the drills and cement up the wells. What would happen next? How would we live in a world without oil? First, there’s transportation. With the overwhelming majority of the oil we produce and import […]

Massive two-day anti-U.S. protest begins in Pakistan

Thousands of people in northwest Pakistan Saturday started a two-day sit-in against the U.S. drone strikes in the country’s tribal regions, blocking main supply route for NATO troops in the neighboring Afghanistan. Anger runs high in Pakistan against the U.S. drone strikes in the Waziristan tribal area, which CIA considers as the base for al-Qaeda […]

In Saudi Brokered Deal, Yemen President Is Next To Offer To Step Down In Exchange For Immunity

UPDATE: Yemeni presidential aide says Saleh has accepted a GCC proposal that would lead to transition of power. The WSJ reports that another very likely casualty of the not so velvet revolution in MENA, and of increasingly heated (and more desperate) backdoor deals with Saudi Arabia the UAE, is Yemen’s president Ali Abdullah Saleh who […]

Assessing the energy implications of political intervention

Energy is back in the public consciousness and perhaps higher up political priority lists than at any time since the summer of 2008. Disruptions in Libya, leaked cables about Saudi Arabia’s creative accounting, and rapid growth in worldwide understandings of resource depletion make dodging future energy supply problems increasingly difficult. A few symptoms of this […]

Post-Mubarak Egypt may cut gas to Israel

Former Egyptian Oil Minister Sameh Fahmy has been arrested with five associates on charges of supplying Israel with natural gas at below-market prices, indicating a possible cutoff of supplies that could prove to be costly for Israel politically and economically. It could, in particular, bode ill for the historic 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and […]

Syrians hold ‘Great Friday’ protests

Protests come as activists demand an end to Baath Party monopoly on power and the establishment of a democratic system. Thousands of people have reportedly taken to the streets in Damascus for rallies on what activists have dubbed “Great Friday”, hoping to see the largest protests in Syria to date against Bashar al-Assad, the president. Rallies were […]

The Future of Oil: Peak Prices, Peak Production, Piqued Consumers

The Future of Oil: Peak Prices, Peak Production, Piqued Consumers – Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming – 2008-06-11 – WASHINGTON (June 9, 2008) – As prices at the pump reach record levels on a daily basis, many consumers and analysts are asking the same questions: How bad could prices get? And what […]

We must halt the explosion in population to offer decent life for all, says Sir David Attenborough

Sir David Attenborough has warned that population growth must be stopped in order to offer a ‘decent life’ for all. The wildlife broadcaster said people were shying away from accepting that the world’s resources cannot sustain current levels of population growth. ‘There cannot be more people on this Earth than can be fed,’ he writes […]

Secret memos expose link between oil firms and invasion of Iraq

The Independent has a report on discussions between the British government and BP in the lead up to the Iraq war – Secret memos expose link between oil firms and invasion of Iraq. Hands up if you are surprised by this. More at Empty Wheel and Patrick Cockburn at The Independent – They denied it […]

France, Italy and Britain sending military ‘advisors’ to Libya

France, Italy and Britain will send officers but do not agree to a rebel request for ground troops. France will intensify airstrikes and says NATO should consider the ground forces. In the wake of a plea for help from besieged rebels in the Libyan city of Misurata, three Western powers have announced that they will […]

Jeremy Leggett: The Comming Energ Crisis

Jeremy Leggett talks about Peak Oil and energy security at Greenlinks event 8 Feb 2011. He is part of the Industry Taskforce on Peak OIl and Energy Security and is advising the UK Government on the action needed to mitigate the impending energy crunch.

Latest military activity in Libya

* Libyan rebels made a renewed effort to push toward the oil port of Brega Saturday while Muammar Gaddafi’s forces pounded besieged Misrata to the west with rockets and mortars, insurgents said. * Six were killed and 16 wounded when Gaddafi loyalists fired rockets at a group of insurgents driving along the exposed coastal highway […]

Dave Meslin: The antidote to apathy (TED VIDEO)

Local politics — schools, zoning, council elections — hit us where we live. So why don’t more of us actually get involved? Is it apathy? Dave Meslin says no. He identifies 7 barriers that keep us from taking part in our communities, even when we truly care. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the […]

US govt to review plans to develop oil shale, tar sands

Green groups oppose tar sands, oil shale as polluting * About 1.9 mln acres opened for oil shale development (adds BLM comment, opposition to tar sands) WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) – The Obama administration said on Wednesday it will “take a fresh look” at plans issued under the prior Bush administration to develop commercial oil […]

U.S. Keeps Quiet over Repression in Bahrain

If President Barack Obama wanted to place Washington “on the right side of history” during the ongoing “Arab Spring”, his reaction to recent events in Bahrain will likely make that far more difficult, according to a growing number of analysts and commentators here. While his administration has become ever more outspoken against repression in Syria […]

Saudi unemployed graduates protest to demand jobs

Dozens of unemployed university graduates and teachers staged rare protests in two Saudi cities on Sunday to demand jobs and better wages in the biggest Arab economy, which is struggling to reduce joblessness. Saudi Arabia, the world’s No. 1 oil exporter and a U.S. ally, is an absolute monarchy that does not tolerate public dissent. […]

Is China Overtaking America?

The twenty-first century is witnessing Asia’s return to what might be considered its historical proportions of the world’s population and economy. In 1800, Asia represented more than half of global population and output. By 1900, it represented only 20% of world output – not because something bad happened in Asia, but rather because the Industrial […]

CIA Whistleblower: Libya “Vampire War” is About Oil and Heroin

Susan Lindauer is a former CIA Asset who covered Libya at the United Nations from 1995 to 2003 [see more background below]. Who are we kidding? The United States, Britain and NATO don’t care about bombing civilians to contain rebellion. Their militaries bomb civilians every day without mercy. They have destroyed most of the community infrastructure of Iraq […]

Saudis ‘So Unhappy’ With Obama They Sent Emissaries to China, Russia Seeking Enhanced Ties

Reporting from Baghdad, Iraq yesterday, NBC’s Tom Brokaw said the Saudi Arabian monarchy is “so unhappy with the Obama administration for the way it pushed out President Mubarak of Egypt” that it has sent senior officials to the Peoples’ Republic of China and Russia to seek expanded business opportunities with those countries. After remarking on the difficulty […]

Kunstler: Obama Blowing Green Smoke

“We also have Secretary Steven Chu, my Energy Secretary. Where is Steven? There he is over there.” – President Obama at Georgetown U last week Blame Steven Chu, then, because when it comes to America’s energy predicament, the president has been woefully misinformed. Mr. Obama pawned off a roster of notions and proposals already product-tested […]

French forces take over Abidjan airport

French forces have taken over the airport in Abidjan as forces loyal to Cote d’Ivoire’s presidential rivals continue to battle for control of the West African country’s main city. Reporting the French intervention, state television urged the city’s residents to mobilise and protect Laurent Gbagbo, the incumbent president. The channel also accused Nicolas Sarkozy, the […]

Libyan rebels ‘receiving covert training’ from US, Egyptian special forces…

US and Egyptian special forces have reportedly been offering covert armed training to rebel fighters in the battle for Libya, Al Jazeera has been told. An unnamed rebel source related how he had undergone training in military techniques at a “secret facility” in eastern Libya. He told our correspondent Laurence Lee, reporting from the rebel-stronghold […]

Battles rage in Libya amid defections of key Gadhafi allies

As Moammar Gadhafi’s inner circle showed possible signs of cracking Friday, heavily armed forces loyal to the Libyan leader continued pounding cities that were once some of the country’s most prosperous places. Officials and analysts said the surge in firepower from the Libyan government sends a message: Gadhafi is determined to prevail, and defections of […]

Bahrain Shia leader says Saudi force must go

Ali Salman says he does not want Bahrain to “turn into a conflict zone” between Saudi Arabia and Iran. More than 60 per cent of Bahrainis are Shia, and most are campaigning for a constitutional monarchy [AFP] Bahrain’s Shia opposition leader has demanded that the Saudi-led force that was invited into the country to help quell anti-government protests […]

Obama will say the U.S. must find a way to cut U.S. oil imports by one-third.

President Barack Obama, under pressure to respond to rising gas prices, will outline Wednesday a series of initiatives to cut the nation’s reliance on foreign oil, including new initiatives to expand oil production, increase the use of natural gas to power vehicles and increase production of ethanol. Mr. Obama’s latest attempt to take the initiative […]

Hirsch : Restrictions on World Oil Production

Restrictions on world oil production can be divided into four categories: 1. Geology 2. Legitimate National Interests 3. Mismanagement 4. Political Upheaval Consider each in reverse order: Political upheaval is currently rampant across the Middle East, resulting in a major spike in world oil prices. No one knows how far the impacts will go or […]

New Jersey proposal to outlaw fracking

As the Delaware River Basin Commission works to establish a set of rules governing the natural gas drilling that is expected to boom in northeast Pennsylvania in the coming years, environmentalists are concerned that mining companies may find reason to cross the river and set up shop in New Jersey as well. Critics say wastewater […]

Rebels push Gaddafi back as NATO provides aircover

Forces loyal to Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi have been pushed back by Benghazi rebels after coalition airstrikes grounded both the Libyan airforce and tank columns. The rebels yesterday retook the oil export towns of Brega and Ajdabiya in the country’s east, the latter 30 miles from the refining station at Ras Lanouf. Spokesperson for the […]

US CBO: Taxing mileage a ‘practical option’ for revenue enhancement

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) this week released a report that said taxing people based on how many miles they drive is a possible option for raising new revenues and that these taxes could be used to offset the costs of highway maintenance at a time when federal funds are short. The report discussed the […]

Endgame: Divide, rule and get the oil

Without cutting through the fog of war it’s impossible to understand what’s really going on in Libya. Odyssey Dawn is only happening because the 22-member Arab League voted to impose a no-fly zone over Libya. The Arab League – routinely dismissed in Western capitals as irrelevant before this decision – is little else than an […]

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