Roscoe Bartlett and Tom Udall: Going green is patriotic and profitable

The most disconcerting aspect of the climate change debate is that America is missing what could be the biggest opportunity of the 21st century in terms of financial reward, innovation and leadership. Much of the rest of the world aims to wean itself from fossil fuel use. The benefits of America reducing its dependence are abundant. Take a look...

Legislators seek new road-funding alternatives

Georgians currently pay 18.4 cents a gallon to the federal highway fund and another 17.3 cents a gallon to the state.

So far, it has been politically touchy at either level to suggest raising those taxes, especially when motorists are concerned about rising prices at the fuel pump.

State Department of Transportation officials have begun considering a partnership with private road contractors to help get some of the more ambitious projects started around traffic-clogged Atlanta.

Get Americans to drive less by raising gas taxes

Tougher CAFE standards won't make a dent in US oil consumption because those with more fuel-efficient cars tend to drive more.

Don’t Let Government Wreck Free Markets

Widespread shortages of gasoline prompted rioting throughout Iran this week.

The Iranian experience is a clear warning to Americans: Attempts by government to control free markets can have extremely unpleasant consequences.

Two necessities, fuel and food, create spiral of rising prices

While we worry about gas prices, the costs of milk, meat and fresh produce silently soar. So like the end of cheap energy, is the era of cheap food also finally over?

John Michael Greer: Völkerwanderung

German historians of the 19th century coined a useful word for the age of migrations that followed the fall of Rome: Völkerwanderung, “the wandering of peoples.” Drawn by the vacuum left by the implosion of Roman power, and pushed by peoples from the steppes further east driven westward by climate change, whole nations packed their belongings and took to the road. The same thing has happened many other times in the past, though not always on the same vast scale. What makes it important for our present discussion is that we are likely to see a repeat of the phenomenon on an even larger scale in the fairly near future.

Pennsylvania: Fare hike to offset COLT’s growing costs

Increased fares will help the County of Lebanon Transit Authority balance next fiscal year’s budget and avoid a repeat of this year’s operating deficit, according to Executive Director Teri Giurintano.

Fears of 'transport poverty'

etrol prices weigh on the mind of any motorist, but there are predictions that if the cost of fuel continues to rise, the poorest Australians will be forced to quit work because they can't afford to travel back and forth to their jobs.

Researchers are calling it "transport poverty", and it's a concept that'll be presented to a conference in Melbourne today.

Bulgaria opts for higher-than-expected electricity tariff hike

The Bulgarian power regulator Thursday approved a 7.5% upward revision of household electricity tariffs to take effect July 1, citing rising fuel prices on the international and the domestic markets.

The adjustment is higher than the projections made by the regulator himself, in the 1-2% range.

Philipines: Jeepney fare hike stopped

QTV television's Balitanghali quoted Lantion as saying that a new decision on the fare hike would take about 30 days.

Petitioners had cited rising prices of fuel, spare parts, and basic commodities in asking for the hike from P7 to P7.50 .

Peak Oil: Investing in the Apocalypse

According to the United Nations, the world's population will grow to a staggering 9.2 billion people by 2050.

...That's an increase of 2.7 billion people. This is the same amount as the Earth's total population in 1950!

I'm not trying to pick a fight on ways to control the population. Instead, I'm more concerned about how we'll get enough energy to support that massive growth. Because when it comes to future energy supplies, we need to be worried about scale.

Public transit ridership in Canada hits record in 2006

Public transit ridership in Canada increased in 2006 by just over three per cent to set a record for the fourth year in a row.

A cleaner North Sea? Ship fuel suppliers hedge bets

European ship fuel suppliers are hedging their bets ahead of tighter fuel quality rules from November amid uncertainty about demand for the cleaner grade and expectations that some ship operators will ignore the new rules.

Corn crop exceeds already high expectations

Farmers this year planted the most corn since the waning days of World War II, outpacing already high expectations for the crop, according to a federal report issued Friday.

Milk-fired power plants on the horizon

Small power stations could soon burn milk instead of polluting fossil fuels such as coal and gas.

Kurt Alen, chief executive of Belgian sustainable energy generator Thenergo, said that dried milk could be used alongside other agricultural products and waste material in power plants that generate 1-20MW of electricity.

India: A lot of gas

The pricing of gas has become one of the most important economic questions before the government, since it has implications for future energy scenarios. Gas, after all, is the fastest growing source of energy, and the preferred form of fuel for many industries, including power and fertiliser. It could also become the fuel of choice in kitchens, and for transport. This explains the fuss over Reliance Industries’ proposal to price its gas at more than $4.50 per million British thermal units (Btu).

Pemex: Schlumberger Wins Chicontepec Oil Drilling Contract

Petroleos Mexicanos has awarded oil services firm Schlumberger Ltd. a four-year contract to drill 500 wells in Mexico's Chicontepec oil region, a Pemex official said Thursday.

Bill would deny supply of gasoline to Iranian government

Leaders of a bipartisan House panel, seeking economic pressure against Iran, moved Thursday to reduce Tehran’s import of gasoline.

A bill introduced by Reps. Mark S. Kirk, R-Ill., and Robert E. Andrews, D-N.J., who set up a congressional working group on Iran’s nuclear programs two years ago, coincided with angry protests in Tehran against fuel rationing.

Gas shortage frustrates Iraqis, fuels black market

Ali Salman left home at 6 on a recent morning, hoping to beat the crowd to the local gas station.

When he arrived, he found a horrifying sight: Scores of people already were ahead of him, having spent the night in their cars on the street.

$70 Oil: Who Gets Hurt

With oil hanging around $70, and gas likely to move above $3 for all of the summer, it bears looking at who gets hurt...

China CNPC Buys Exploration Rights To Canada Oil Sands

In a sign of the expanding international ambitions of China's oil companies, China National Petroleum Corp. has bought the rights to explore for oil in Canada.

Weekly Offshore Rig Review: Jackup Turning Point

In the previous edition of the Weekly Offshore Rig Review, we examined the future demand for deepwater semisubmersibles and how fleet growth is affecting demand. This week, we continue to provide predictive data and analysis from our RigOutlook reports, this time focusing on the jackup market.

South Korea: Int'l oil prices expected to exceed US$65 per barrel in Q3

International crude oil prices are expected to top US$65 per barrel in the third quarter, spurred by strong demand for refined products, the state-run oil company said Friday.

Global Agenda: Oil's well

Four years ago, a barrel of oil sold for $25. Not coincidentally, at that time the recent American invasion of Iraq had removed nasty Saddam and created the expectation - not a vague hope but a very real expectation - that Iraq's oil production would soon double, in line with its existing capacity, and would eventually rise much further, in line with the country's enormous reserves and potential production.

Vietnam: EVN mulls blackouts for July

Vietnam’s State-run electricity provider is considering rolling blackouts next month when it is scheduled to shut down a major oil field for maintenance, company officials announced this week.

UAE inflation unlikely to be tamed as import costs rise

Manufacturers and suppliers in various sectors, ranging from food to petroleum, want to raise prices of goods and services.

Dems' plan on energy tilts green

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled new Democratic legislation that marks a tectonic shift in the energy priorities in Congress, revoking $16 billion in tax breaks for oil and gas drilling and creating incentives to produce biofuels and boost energy efficiency.

Safety or fuel efficiency?

You get what you pay for. When you build lighter cars with more fuel efficiency, you know that ultimately -- even with the best (let alone Chinese) technology -- safety is compromised. That happened three decades ago when U.S. mileage efficiency rose dramatically in response to the oil shocks of the '70s. It will likely happen again.

New hybrids will help clean up SUVs' act

While Chrysler Group is convinced the love affair many North American consumers have with large SUVs isn't going to fade away any time soon -- even with high fuel prices -- the gas-guzzling reputation those vehicles have earned is about to take a hit.

CN halts rail operations, embargoes all traffic in Toronto-Montreal corridor, following illegal blockade of rail line

CN today halted freight operations and embargoed all traffic on its Toronto-Montreal main line after reportedly armed native protesters erected an illegal blockade on the company's tracks near the eastern Ontario town of Marysville, located approximately 10 miles east of Belleville, Ont.

Guyana: Hike in fertilizer price will see drop in rice production

Production levels for the current rice crop are "seriously threatened" by the high price of fertilizer and the Rice Producers Association (RPA) is lobbying the government for concessions to mitigate the situation.

Charity attacks rush for biofuels

A furious attack on the drive to grow more biofuels has been launched by a charity supporting poor farmers in developing countries.

The charity - called Grain - says their research shows the rush for biofuels is causing much more environmental and social damage than previously realised.

Groups unite to halt EU biofuels rush

More than 30 groups from around the world have come together to demand a moratorium on the EU's move towards sourcing biofuels from large-scale monocultures.

BBC News Player

Biofuels are said to be one answer to global warming but some are not happy with turning crops into fuel.

Helena Paul of Econexus and ex Shell chairman Lord Oxburgh debate their use.

Inside Fusion's Fortress

Two years ago, Cadarache was selected as the site for the world’s biggest nuclear fusion experiment, a $13 billion international project known as ITER. The ground has not yet been fully cleared for the new reactor. Construction is expected to last until 2016. And ITER's partners don't expect to demonstrate commercially viable energy production until 2040 or so. Nevertheless, things are humming around Cadarache: The talk at the dinner table (yes, over a tangy glass of Chateau de Clapier Cuvee Soprano) was about how housing prices are going up, and how rooms at the chateau are getting scarcer.

Society 'needs the right chemistry'

Carbon offsetting schemes are all well and good, but do little to change the way people live day-to-day, argues Stefaan Simons. In this week's Green Room, he says instead of wasting money on short-term solutions, attention should be focused on developments that can really deliver a low carbon future.

Oil price-demand link no longer as simple as ABC

“Never say never. However, it is fair to say that a lot of the easy substitution away from oil has already happened,” said Lawrence Eagles, head of the oil industry and markets division at the IEA, which represents 26 industrialised consumer nations.

“The primary driver of oil demand is GDP growth and not prices. And as world moves towards a more transportation fuel oriented model these rigidities become more entrenched.”

House OKs Interior Bill Forcing Renegotiation Of Oil Leases

The House late Wednesday passed an Interior Department budget for 2008 that could negatively impact oil and gas development.

The Interior appropriations bill - which passed by a 272-155 vote - would force re-negotiation of 1998-99 oil and gas leases that omitted royalty price thresholds, delay planned exploration and production in Bristol Bay, Alaska, and slow oil shale development.

Saudi Aramco delays hydrocracker restart

Saudi Aramco has delayed the restart of its 44,000 barrels per day (bpd) hydrocracker by about three weeks due to technical snags, following routine maintenance at the Ras Tanura refinery in end-April, industry sources said yesterday.

Pakistan buys July-Sept fuel oil at lower premiums

Power shortages: The shortages have been caused by growing electricity demand, expected at 8 percent annually over the next five years, outstripping supply that is anticipated to grow at 7 percent.

Nuclear Power for Bangladesh- Dream Must Come True

Bangladesh is suffering from acute energy crisis. Years of mismanagement, poor governance, corruption has almost brought the energy sector on the brink of collapse. After 36 years of our independence earned through supreme sacrifice of 30 million valiant freedom fighters and innocent civilians only about 30% of our people have access to electricity and even then the quality of supply is poor.

Dominican Shell scandal: fuel figures were hidden since 2004

Shell’s representatives in the Dominican Petroleum Refinery’s (Refidomsa) governing board have prevented the Government’s attempts to know the figures on fuel purchase costs and marketing since 2004.

Petro-Canada Leaving Venezuela

Petro-Canada has decided to pull out of Venezuela and has reached an agreement with the state oil company on compensation for its oil investments, the Venezuelan government said.

Farewell, Venezuela hello, oilsands

Less than five years ago, like many of the country's oil and gas companies, Petro-Canada was so outraged by Ottawa's decision to sign the Kyoto Protocol that it announced minutes after it was signed, on Dec. 10, 2002, that it had purchased a 50% interest in the La Ceiba block in Western Venezuela.

Oil Companies Weigh Risk in Venezuela

ExxonMobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips have decided the profits are not worth the risk of staying in Venezuela and are writing off multibillion-dollar investments in the South American country.

But other major oil companies have accepted the increasingly tough terms posed by President Hugo Chavez's government because they face few appealing alternatives elsewhere. Terms are even tighter in Russia; they're barred from the Middle East, and Africa comes with its own troubles of violence and instability.

Venezuelan Heavy Oil Projects Downgraded, Placed Under Review

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the ratings of Corpoguanipa SA, Hamaca Holding LLC (together the Hamaca project), Petrozuata Finance Inc, and Sincrudos de Oriente SINCOR CA to "B2" from "B1" and placed them under review for further downgrade.

Tensions Rise in U.S.-Russia Relationship

U.S. President George Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin retain outwardly friendly relations. Putin is the only foreign leader to have been invited by Bush to his family's compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, the site of their July summit meeting.

Behind the public smiles, however, there's little sign of an improvement in the downward spiral of U.S.-Russia relations.

The Problem's Not Peak Oil, It's Politics - Go-it-alone governments are choking back output to perilous levels

Some "peak oil" cassandras warn that global energy production will soon fall into permanent decline. But a more immediate danger to world oil supplies may be the tempestuous politics of many producing countries. Witness Venezuela's move to wrest control of key oil projects from global companies on June 26. The move echoes steps taken in other nations that will likely either decrease production or slow its growth in coming years. "The oil is in the ground, but serious doubts are being raised about whether countries have the desire and means to produce it," says Leo Drollas, deputy director of the Center for Global Energy Studies, a London think tank.

Oil prices near ten month highs

World oil prices climbed on Friday, with London and New York futures close to ten-month highs above 70 dollars a barrel on supply concerns in the United States, the world's biggest consumer of energy.

House energy bill rejects car fuel economy boost

A House committee on Thursday approved legislation that would increase the energy efficiency of home appliances and promote plug-in hybrid vehicles, but the measure fell short of a related Senate bill that seeks to increase the fuel economy of cars and trucks.

InterOil shares' crash merits probe, RS says

A sudden crash in the share value of a Canadian oil-and-gas explorer that a year ago said it uncorked the largest natural gas discovery ever in Papua New Guinea warrants an investigation, said insider-trading watchdog Market Regulation Services Inc.

Eni Restores Nigeria Oil Output

Crude oil production from Eni SpA'S (E) Okpoho and Okono fields in Nigeria has returned to its normal 65,000 barrels a day output, traders of West African crude said Thursday.

Production from the fields was shut-in after a militant group attacked May 3 an offshore production ship 55 miles off the southern coast of Nigeria in the Okono field.

Iraq: Bomb damages oil pipeline

A bomb exploded Friday under an oil pipeline south of Baghdad, spilling crude oil and sparking a huge fire, Iraqi police said.

Oil-shale impact studied

Severe environmental impacts would result from any large-scale development of oil shale resources, including those in Utah, conservationists say.

Iraqi Govt Body Rejects Some Oil Law Clauses

The highest Iraqi government jurisdiction body has rejected some clauses of the controversial draft oil and gas law and urged the Cabinet to amend these provisions, according to a recent letter sent by the body, the State Shuraa Council, to the Cabinet and seen by Dow Jones Newswires Thursday.

India, Pakistan, Iran near gas deal

India, Pakistan and Iran are close to signing an agreement on transporting natural gas from Iran to the two South Asian countries via a land pipeline by 2011, Indian officials said Friday.

India and Pakistan appear to be moving forward on the deal despite U.S. opposition to the $7 billion pipeline because Washington fears it would weaken efforts to isolate Iran, which it accuses of running a clandestine nuclear weapons program.

Live Earth concerts to deliver climate SOS: Gore

Former Vice President Al Gore on Thursday urged people worldwide to pressure their governments to cut global warming pollution by 90 percent in developed countries and by more than half worldwide by 2050.

2007 seen as second warmest year as climate shifts

This year is on track to be the second warmest since records began in the 1860s and floods in Pakistan or a heatwave in Greece may herald worse disruptions in store from global warming, experts said on Friday.