Nuclear doesn't have power to halt global warming

Nuclear power would only curb climate change by expanding worldwide at the rate it grew from 1981 to 1990, its busiest decade, and keep up that rate for half a century, a report said this week.

That would require adding on average 14 plants each year for the next 50 years, all the while building an average of 7.4 plants to replace those that will be retired, the report by environmental leaders, industry executives and academics said.

Wildfire, Walleyes, and Wine

Considering how much trouble two people have deciding what movie to see, the most remarkable thing about a new set of global-climate predictions may be that it exists at all. More than one hundred nations belong to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and for the panel to speak, the representatives of all those nations have to agree.

Industry siphons roadwork funding

Alabama’s road projects are funded by a 5-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax, which means the total amount each year goes up only if motorists buy more fuel.

The state transportation department doesn’t receive enough gasoline tax revenue in any fiscal year to both keep up with regular highway work and fund mega-industrial projects.

And in a year of high gas prices, motorists are driving less and choosing smaller vehicles for better mileage, which shrinks the gasoline tax fund.

China wants food first, not fuel

Disturbingly, this is the second time in seven months that the Chinese leadership has had to resort to the country's strategic reserves to stave off politically dangerous increases in food prices. In December, Beijing ordered the auctioning of some of the state wheat reserves to halt the rise in crops prices and prevent panic among the public.

Energy plan's surprising impact

Dick Morse, a feed dealer in southeast Iowa, has something in common with the Coca-Cola Co. Both are concerned about a push in Congress to increase the production of fuel ethanol and what that's doing to their business.

Lawmakers "are so giddy about getting away from foreign oil that I'm not sure they're looking at the whole picture," says Morse, who worries that ethanol-fueled increases in corn prices may force many of his customers to quit raising hogs.

The Rising Tide of Corn

The nation's unquenchable thirst for gasoline -- and finding an alternative to what's been called our addiction to oil -- has produced an unintended consequence: The cost of the foods that fuel our bodies has jumped.

California Takes Action to Increase Use of Ethanol in Gasoline

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) at their June 14th meeting in Fresno voted on a new reformulation of California gasoline that will allow an increase up to 10 percent of the amount of renewable, clean-burning, low carbon ethanol into California's gasoline blend.

Illinois' great energy hunt - Corn, coal and me-first politics

It adds up to an all-too-common capital conundrum: Nearly everyone says there's agreement on the goal, but the details could derail everything.

"It's going to be very difficult to hash out a compromise," said Rep. Dan Lipinski, an Illinois Democrat who traces his energy interest to an 8th-grade science project on solar power. "I predict that it's not going to please a lot of environmentalists, a lot of people who want to impact global warming."

Hawai`i: Pump prices could plummet by July

Disputed legislation now on Hawai‘i Gov. Linda Lingle’s desk could drop soaring gasoline prices 11 to 14 cents per gallon starting July 1 and create transparency in the petroleum industry, state lawmakers said Friday.

House Bill 1757 would forgive the general excise tax on alcohol fuel and require gasoline retailers to pass any savings on to the consumer.

A Most Profitable Farce

I hope you’re watching the debate right now over the sprawling S.1419/H.R.6,12 ball of energy legislation in Congress, because if you aren’t, you’re missing some real comedy.

You can almost figure out which state a Congressman is from just by reading what he or she is saying.

The inconvenient truth about the carbon offset industry

Greenhouse gas credits do little or nothing to combat global warming

Recycling Is Not Enough; We Need To Consume Less, Experts Urge

Recycling rates have risen, and the UK is on schedule to meet EU targets, but the key to dealing with our escalating waste problem lies in changing our buying habits and our attitudes to consumption, according to the authors of a new Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) publication.

Nigeria Militant Group Coalition Says it Will End Oil Attacks

A coalition of militia groups in the Niger Delta Friday said it was ending attacks it has waged on the oil industry, following the release Thursday of its detained leader, Mujahideen Dokubo-Asari.

The Gorilla Is Unmasked

A secretive project dubbed "The Gorilla" by inhabitants of Elk Point, S.D., turns out to be a planned 400,000 barrel-a-day oil refinery. That's right. Do not adjust your computer monitor. A refinery. If actually built, it would be the first new one in this country since Marathon Oil opened its Garyville, La., plant in 1976.

Indonesia Gas Field Shut Down Due to Fire

The Pangkah gas field located offshore Indonesia in East Java has been shut down following a fire that broke out overnight on the rig. Production has been shut down and well activities have been stopped Amir Hamzah, a BP Migas spokesperson said to Reuters via text message. It is not known at this time how long the field will be shut in.

Putting Energy Hogs in the Home on a Strict Low-Power Diet

I THOUGHT I was pretty good about energy conservation, but it turns out that I’ve been a bit of a hypocrite. I drive a reasonably fuel-efficient car, I work at home so I don’t use fuel to commute and I am replacing incandescent bulbs in my home with energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs.

But I am also a prodigious computer user, and it looks as if that makes me an energy hog.

Oil Market Under Pressure, Supply Not Able to Counter Demand

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Western consumers seem to be heading towards a conflict.

In recent weeks, statements made by both parties, OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA), the statistical arm of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), have shown increased tension based on growing concerns of consumers about the oil supply situation.

Aramco ups Yanbu output

Saudi Aramco has upped the petrol refining capacity at its Yanbu refinery, according to a statement on its website. The increase will see an additional 8,000 barrels per day of 95-octane petrol produced at the plant in the west of the kingdom. The hike is part of its plan to expand its refining activities and also meet local and international demand.

Valero seeking bonds to expand refinery

Valero Energy Corp. is taking another step toward expanding its Norco refinery by seeking approval of $1 billion in Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds from the St. Charles Parish Council.

Company officials stressed that they have not committed to the project to expand the refinery's capacity from 220,000 barrels of crude per day to 380,000 barrels, but the company is lining up permits and financing before making the decision.

Fuel costs hurt business: Small firms squeezed, especially on retail deliveries

Australia: Car lobby calls for road-use charging

ALL motorists should carry a GPS-type transponder in their vehicles and, instead of paying fuel taxes, they should pay for every kilometre they drive, in varying amounts depending on what time they use the road.

...Motorists would be rewarded for driving at off-peak times or in cars that used less petrol. Instead of the various taxes imposed on fuel, people would be charged on either their use of roads or on carbon emissions.

Strike Causes Fuel Shortage In Lagos

THE strike called by Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), which commenced on Friday took its toll on fuel supply in Lagos State as several filling stations ran out of petrol stock.

It also resulted in long queues at the filling stations. Transport fares rose by 50 per cent with commuters stranded at major bus stops.

...The strike is in protest the fuel price hike and non increase in freight levy for transporters.

A cathedral of power that has become the dirty dinosaur

Welcome to Drax Power Station: carbon dioxide central, "Draxosaurus" to the Greens, and the biggest single producer of the global-warming carbon dioxide gases in Western Europe. Drax - even its James-Bond-villain name sounds sinister - is Biblical in scale: a Brunelian, brutal, orgy of pig iron, roaring flames, clanking conveyors, steam and whirling turbines.

Like a vast ocean liner beached on the Yorkshire flatlands, this power station is the last gasp of old, steam-powered Britain - and it is still going strong. Yet most environmentalists believe that the time has come when Draxosaurus must be made extinct.

Monument Unveiled by Raul Castro and Hugo Chavez

Chavez spoke about the possibility of building a regasification plant on the island. “That wouldn’t have been possible before,” he said, “because of the neoliberal contracts that were managed by US corporations in the period when sovereignty was handed over to attract investment without thinking of the supply needs of Venezuelans.”

He said the idea of gas is cheaper and less polluting, and could be brought to Cuba in ships.

Doubt over climate change forecasts

For the past year, [Bogi Hansen]'s sonar has been pinging the Gulf Stream, the warm ocean current that has kept this subpolar archipelago unfrozen for centuries. His findings are of big interest because they contradict one of the most catastrophic predictions linked to global warming: that Arctic melting will strangle the Gulf Stream, thrusting Europe into a new Ice Age.

In fact, Hansen's research and recent climate models raise a tantalizing possibility: Can the slight weakening of the Gulf Stream expected over the next century actually help to offset the effects of global warming in northern Europe?

Museveni says climate change a modern attack on Africa

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Friday called global warming a form of external aggression against Africa as the impact of the phenomenon is felt more acutely on the continent than elsewhere.

The Hot Spot Contest

This is your chance to take make your case to the nation's next president. Send us a 30 second video with your best message to compel the next president to make global warming a priority.

The winning video will receive two tickets and airfare to the hottest show on the planet - the Live Earth concert in New York on July 7th!

Family takes climate change personally

SYDNEY, Australia - From the street, Alicia Campbell's house looks no different from the others in her suburban cul-de-sac. But it has a secret: It's green — very green.

The four-bedroom home she shares with husband Jason Young and their two sons sucks no water from Australia's drought-stricken reservoirs, recycles everything from food scraps to sewage, and even pumps electricity back into Sydney's power grid.

Green energy – Why small can be beautiful

Localised power generation, including companies’ own projects, could be the future of environmental energy production.

Russia steps up efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission

Russia is to intensify efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in order to stay in compliance with the Kyoto treaty as its economy rebounds from the economic collapse of the early 1990s, the country's deputy economic development minister said.

Betting On Oil? Pay Close Attention To The Facts

Nothing loses you money like aphorisms. “This time it’s different” is a favorite, but another good one is “Buy the rumor, sell the news.” Well, in the case of oil, you may want to stick to it.

Oil, unlike, say, gold, is a commodity of utility; not only do we need it to keep warm at night, but it’s not hyperbole or penmanship to say that it fuels most of the world’s economies. Nobody except OPEC and Hugo Chavez really thinks this is a good long-term plan for the human race, but it’s the real world.

Peak Oil Passnotes: The Name Is Bonds, T-Bonds

One of the main factors in maintaining high energy prices is the fact that high costs are already delaying new production coming onstream. There is a choking point in the energy complex that may be further exacerbated by any fear of a recession. A combination of high current costs, delayed projects and fear of investment due to uncertainty will only bolster prices. All of this is backed up by the fact that the cheap and easy to access oil and gas has gone.

Blessedly Unrestful

Globalization has created this sense of loss that went so far and has gone so far that I think you're starting to see it come back. And it's being driven very, very much by the threats that peak oil pose. But there's not just peak oil, there's peak soil, there's peak water. There's a lot of peaks coming and they're all related. And so people are starting to you know to sniff the wind, feel it and starting to create again, alternatives to this in their communities.

Global pro-poor biofuel revolution now possible

The pioneering project to produce ethanol from sweet sorghum , being implemented jointly by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and Rusni Distilleries, has achieved a significant milestone with the first batch of ethanol flowing out of the distillery at Mohammed Shapur village in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Biofuel Condemns the Poor to Starvation Says UN Rapporteur

"The development of biofuels poses a great danger for the right to food," said the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Jean Ziegler at a press conference on the sidelines of the UN Council on Human Rights.

Ziegler accused the United States, the European Union and Japan of encouraging alcohol production to reduce their dependence on imported oil, reported Granma newspaper.

Exxon Says it Never Doubted Climate Change Threat

Oil company Exxon Mobil Corp. never in the past decade doubted the risk from climate change, its global spokesman Kenneth Cohen said on Thursday, in a latest attempt to improve its green credentials.

Exxon had simply firmed up, or "evolved", its understanding of the threat, said Cohen, the company's head of public affairs.

Study: Energy Prices, Not Corn, is Raising Food Prices

Ethanol critics and many in the media charge that the rising price of corn due to growing ethanol demand is the major culprit for moderately rising consumer food prices. Conspicuously absent from the discussion is the chief reason for increasing food costs: escalating energy costs.

According to a new analysis of food, energy and corn prices conducted by John Urbanchuk of LECG, LLC, "rising energy prices had a more significant impact on food prices than did corn." Rising energy prices have twice the impact on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food than does the price of corn, according to the report.

5 foreigners kidnapped in Nigeria

Gunmen abducted five foreigners Friday in Nigeria's restive southern oil heartland, with at least three of them seized and spirited away in a speedboat, officials said.

Argentine energy crisis leaves industrial customers idle

To avoid residential blackouts the Argentine government imposed stricter electricity consumption restrictions plunging some industrial customers to an indefinite supply cut off as demand again peaked when temperatures plunged to freezing levels.