Iraqi oil: Violence, wrapped in mayhem, inside chaos

Iraq cannot increase its production or expand its capacity since its oil infrastructure has been hobbled by crime and sabotage. Northern Iraq is rich in oil, but exports via a pipeline through Turkey have been effectively halted for years.

To make matters worse, Iraqi legislation to set ground rules for the country's oil policy has stalled. “It looks like everything is stalling regarding the constitution and other legislations, like the Iraqi oil,” Muhammad-Ali Zainy, senior energy economist and analyst with the Centre for Global Energy Studies in London, told New Europe on June 13.

The Impact of Climate Change Measured as a Percent of GDP (Flash)

Bangladesh importers scramble for older cars

Bangladeshi car importers have urged the country's army-backed interim government to allow older vehicles in to keep them affordable to buyers, the head of the vehicle importers' association said on Sunday.

U.S. subsidy for ethanol could shift

The change is designed to encourage production of fuel from crop residue.

Call for Spain to switch fully to renewables

Some 4,000 environmental campaigners gathered in Barcelona on Saturday to press the government to commit Spain to switch fully to renewable energy sources by 2050, Greenpeace said.

Qatar plans to invest $20bn in oil and LNG projects abroad

QATAR PETROLEUM (QP) will invest or is negotiating investments abroad worth $20bn, including a $7bn oil refinery in Panama with Occidental Petroleum, Qatar’s deputy prime minister has said.

Power firms 'overcharge us by 25%'

A TOP academic has accused energy companies of profiteering, saying they have hiked prices by over 25% more than can be justified by increases in the wholesale market.

America's love affair with the pickup stumbles

In March, Bucky Hacker traded his 2002 Dodge Ram Quad Cab pickup for a subcompact car, the Mazda 3. Hacker, a student from Oak Ridge, Tenn., originally bought the Ram to tow a boat, and thought its macho appearance would help him attract girls.

But there were drawbacks. "Gas was ridiculous," Hacker, 24, said. "The thing got 13 miles per gallon." His Mazda averages twice that, or 26 mpg in city and highway driving, and it will be easier to fit into tight parking spaces at the University of Tennessee, where he plans to study political science this fall.

Experts: Gas prices can't slow down pickup sales in Alabama

Industry watchers and auto sellers say rising gas prices aren't going to stop Alabama drivers from lining up to buy trucks despite national trends showing declining truck sales.

Hybrids draw interest, but few local sales

From January through June 3, hybrids accounted for 2.8 percent of all new vehicles sold, according to the Power Information Network, which tracks auto data. In all of 2006, hybrids made up 1.9 percent of new vehicles purchased.

During May, hybrids represented 3.4 percent of all new U.S. vehicle sales, their highest monthly percentage ever, according to Power Information Network data.

Higher gas prices fueling the demand for scooters

Chris Carr is used to people coming into his showroom and kicking the tires of the highmileage scooters he has for sale.

But this year's customers at Fresno Motorsports are different, he said.

They're not just looking at scooters, they're buying them.

"They say, 'Gas prices are killing me, and I have to do something right now,'" he said.

Consumers must lead way to curb energy appetite

Tom Bloch knew exactly what he wanted when he arrived at Lowe's home improvement store in Epping on Thursday afternoon.

The Derry man made Lowe's salesman Derrick Cantrell's job easy as he looked over a stainless steel, Bosch dishwasher that bore the federal government's Energy Star label. The dishwasher was selling for $998, but Bloch said he knows it will pay for itself in the long run.

Tackling Ohio's electric rates - Experts work to keep prices under control

Homeowners and businesses better brace themselves: The cost of electricity in northwest Ohio after next year is likely to rise, but whether it will be shocking is unclear.

A good idea whose time has not yet come

What if the United States were to tap a major domestic source of energy to create transportation fuel that would help break our dependence on imported oil and might last centuries?

Refineries not meeting demand

Some experts blame gas prices on oil companies, which invest in stock buybacks instead of expanding.

Give Ethanol a Chance: The Case for Corn-Based Fuel

In the last few years, the environmental community has begun attacking corn-derived ethanol. Although imperfect, there are reasons to give ethanol a fair trial.

Great con job by ethanol industry

For close to two years, this column has inveighed against ethanol as a solution to energy dependence on the Middle East, Russia, Nigeria, and Venezuela, all weak reeds on which to lean.

At the same time, we have been strong advocates of the conversion of coal- to-oil, which has proven a reliable alternative to conventional crude for almost a century.

Eating disorder

Consumers have responded to higher fuel prices by grouping trips or leaving the car home, and economists predict Americans similarly will tweak their food habits - reallocating some food dollars from eating out to buying groceries, choosing to eat less meat and cooking smaller portions to reduce waste.

Janet and Sam Nelson just purchased a stand-alone freezer so they could buy in bulk on sale. On a recent trip to the grocery store, the St. Paul couple stocked up on $1 frozen dinners. Janet Nelson, a veterinary technician, said they eat fewer meals out now because of small increases on many items, even ramen noodles.

Oil dependence spells economic disaster for Ireland

Ireland is on course for an economic recession in the coming years if we do not reduce our dependence on oil, according to warnings from a new RTE television programme.

The programme, Future Shock: End Of The Oil Age, explores the challenges that Ireland faces when global oil reserves have been depleted. The central message of the programme, which is presented by RTE’s chief economics correspondent George Lee, is that it is only a matter of when, not if, oil reserves run out.

Gasoline refinery expansions scaled back

With Congress and the White House pushing to increases the use of ethanol, the oil industry is scaling back its plans to expand refineries - which could keep gasoline prices high, possibly for years to come.

Gaza civilians fear isolation, supply shortages

Many of Gaza's residents have begun hording supplies of fuel and basic foodstuffs. Nonetheless, the city's merchants say that sales have plunged, possibly because many are turning to aid organizations to supply their needs.

"I haven't sold a thing all day," said a store owner in Gaza. "There's no one to sell it to. People are afraid the shooting will resume any minute and since no one has any money, things can only get worse."

Fuel scarcity bites as Nigerian strike looms

Kolawole Adeosun slept overnight in his minibus waiting to buy petrol in Nigeria's largest city Lagos, but he supports the strike which has caused the fuel scarcity across Africa's top oil producer.

The strike by fuel tanker drivers, which was in its fourth day on Sunday, is a prelude to an indefinite general strike due to start on Wednesday in the world's eighth largest oil exporter to protest against rising prices and privatisations.

Battles brewing on Capitol Hill over U.S. energy policy

President George W. Bush’s immigration plan may have hogged the headlines, but the real wrangling in Congress last week was over the direction of U.S. energy policy.

Democrats Think You’re Too Stupid To Figure Out Which Cars To Drive

When given a choice, Americans are overwhelmingly choosing the luxury and convenience of less fuel efficient vehicles over the fuel savings of more efficient vehicles like hybrids. And as for America being in a fuel crisis? It’s not much of a crisis when Americans are actually driving more during these times of high gas prices rather than less.

Peak Oil Short - a peak oil video

The Government Attacks Biodiesel And Its Users!

There have been a few different stories in the news recently showing how the government is giving biodiesel and its users a very hard time, from actually banning it all together in one state to giving out $2000 in fines to biodiesel users.

U.N. head links climate change, Darfur

Climate change is partly to blame for the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, where droughts have provoked fighting over water sources, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in an editorial published Saturday.

Curly bulbs are bright spot in conservation effort

At more than $10 a piece, there was no way a CFL could ever pay for itself despite using less than one-quarter the electricity of an incandescent bulb. And the technology was still primitive. The bulbs were slow to respond when the switch was thrown, slower still to reach full illumination, and seldom lasted as long as promised. The light did not have the warmth of an incandescent bulb.

Some — horror of horrors — interfered with TV remote control signals.

But the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance saw their potential, and paid manufacturers $3 per bulb to encourage additional production and lower the cost to consumers. When the 2000-2001 energy crisis hit, the region was ready.