Stop the Propaganda / Feed the Truth » Energy & Oil

DrumBeat: October 5, 2008

Leanan — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 14:11:29 +0000

(The Oil Drum) - Reactor shortage to sour India’s nuclear dream In the 1980s, there were about 400 nuclear suppliers and 900 nuclear-certified companies in the US. These have shrunk to fewer than 80 suppliers and 200 certifications. The euphoria of the nuclear deal will soon die down and it will be time to deliver on the [...]

The Impact of the Credit Crunch on Energy Markets

Gail the Actuary — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 14:27:06 +0000

(The Oil Drum - Discussions about Energy and Our Future) - The credit crunch is already having an impact on energy markets. New projects are harder to fund. Highly leveraged companies are sometimes finding it necessary to shed assets. Some players are finding themselves to be the indirect casualties of other players, like Lehman, that [...]

Van Jones: We Can’t Drill Our Way Out of Our Energy Problems

Van Jones, AlterNet — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 07:00:01 +0000

(AlterNet.org: Environment) - In an electrifying speech, Van Jones explains that we have to invent and invest our way out of the economic and environmental crises. The following speech was given at Netroots Nation 2008 in Austin, Texas. I have a little bit of whiplash. Thirty-six hours ago I was in the Arctic with Jimmy Carter. This [...]

Carpooling numbers on the rise

Stop the Propaganda — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:47:33 +0000

(DenverPost.com) - Someplace between Kipling Street and the Mousetrap, somewhere between the driver’s seat where Brian Scarborough sipped hazelnut coffee and the shotgun seat where Brian McCall slurped regular, at some mark on the radio dial between Rush Limbaugh and NPR, a commuting insurgency began. The three people riding from Arvada to Greenwood Village in Scarborough’s [...]

Good news, bad news

Melinda — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:00:09 +0000

I starting reading the news, and following links, and reading a backlog of articles I've been meaning to read, and lo and behold, I noticed a pattern. Our society is changing. We rely so much on oil, that as the price skyrockets, we have no choice but to change. Are you noticing a shift?

Peak caviar

bart — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:59:10 +0000

Once, black caviar from the Caspian Sea was ubiquitous in Russia in its typical blue cans. Now, it has disappeared. "Peak Caviar" has taken place around 1980 in Russia. ... "Peak Caviar" is another confirmation of how common the "Hubbert" behavior is. It doesn't matter if a resource is theoretically renewable, as sturgeons and whales are. If sturgeons or whales are killed much faster than they can reproduce, then they behave as a non renewable resource; just as crude oil.

Per capita US military energy consumption

karbuz — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:42:14 +0000

We all know that energy consumption per capita in the U.S. is amongst the highest in the world. How much is the per capita consumption in the Department of Defense? 25 per cent more than the U.S. average.

Deep Green: peak oil changes everything

Stop the Propaganda — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:45:03 +0000

(Greenpeace UK) - Here’s the latest in the Deep Green column from Rex Weyler - author, journalist, ecologist and long-time Greenpeace trouble-maker. The opinions here are his own. As the era of cheap liquid fuels draws to an end, everything about modern consumer society will change. Likewise, developing societies pursuing the benefits of globalization will struggle [...]

12 Tips for the sustainability shift

Stop the Propaganda — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:14:24 +0000

(The Huffington Post) - These days, most people sense that our world is off balance and that we are sliding steadily towards some dark abyss. It can be hard to keep a cheerful positive outlook when you consider just these three signs of trouble: 1. Recent record high oil prices may be just the beginning of [...]

Russia takes control of Turkmen (world?) gas

Sparrows — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:10:02 +0000

From the details coming out of Ashgabat in Turkmenistan and Moscow over the weekend, it is apparent that the great game over Caspian energy has taken a dramatic turn. In the geopolitics of energy security, nothing like this has happened before. The United States has suffered a huge defeat in the race for Caspian gas. The question now is how much longer Washington could afford to keep Iran out of the energy market. Curiously, the agreements reached in Ashgabat on Friday are unlikely to enable Gazprom to make revenue from reselling Turkmen gas. Quite possibly, Gazprom may now have to concede similar terms to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the two other major gas producing countries in Central Asia. In other words, plain money-making was not the motivation for Gazprom. The Kremlin has a grand strategy. Russia and China have a heavy agenda to discuss in energy cooperation far beyond the price of Turkmen gas supplies. But suffice it to say that Gazprom's new stature as the sole buyer of Turkmen gas strengthens Russia's hands in setting the price in the world gas (and oil) market. And that has implications for China. Moscow would be keen to ensure that Russian and Chinese interests are harmonized in Central Asia. Besides, Russia is taking a renewed interest in the idea of a "gas cartel". Medvedev referred to the idea during the visit of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to Moscow last week. Note: Continuation in the comments section.

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Study: Saudi oil exports may start falling in 2014

Stop the Propaganda — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:18:51 +0000

(PeakOil.com, Bloomberg) - Saudi Arabia’s oil exports may start to fall in 2014 after it reaches maximum production capacity of 12.5 million barrels a day and domestic consumption grows, Chatham House said in a report. “Once production levels off at a plateau, exports will decline” as local demand rises, the London-based think tank said in report titled [...]

Peak Oil - How Will You Ride the Slide?

Stop the Propaganda — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:59:02 +0000

Geopolitics - July 9

Simone — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:51:17 +0000

India left hits out at government
The Iraqi Oil Ministry's new fave five
Iran to "hit Tel Aviv, U.S. ships" if attacked

Matt Simmons (Bloomberg): Peak Oil Now, Oil Perhaps to $300

Stop the Propaganda — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:10:03 +0000

Video analysis from the Bloomberg Report discussing that the world has already reached Peak Oil. This was post in 2007. READ MORE HERE [ Source: Bloomberg Report, YouTube.com ] ©2010 Stop the Propaganda / Feed the Truth. All Rights Reserved..

Oil hits high near $146, then eases _ but not much

Stop the Propaganda — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:03:17 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices briefly soared to a new high near $146 a barrel Thursday, extending the previous day’s record-shattering rally before easing somewhat as the dollar gained ground against the euro. Americans hitting the road for the July Fourth holiday were confronted with an unwelcome record of their own: The average retail price [...]

Potential Iran-Israel conflict sends oil prices up

Stop the Propaganda — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:33:54 +0000

Oil prices climbed above $142 US a barrel Tuesday amid concerns about a potential conflict between Iran and Israel and a weakening U.S. dollar. Also on Tuesday, the International Energy Agency downsized its estimate of how much oil will reach the market. The agency said supply and demand figures will be close through the next five [...]

Behind Skyrocketing Oil Prices

Robert Weissman — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:00:36 +0000

Last month came the news that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is investigating potential manipulation of the oil trading market. That’s a good thing, though the CFTC is not exactly the most aggressive regulator around. (Says Judy Dugan of Consumer Watchdog: “On its face, the investigation smacks of the fox investigating a hen shortage in [...]

Oil prices a speculative bubble? Not so fast!

Pete — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:55:39 +0000

The breathtaking run-up in oil prices is linked to the crisis of world financial institutions. What the U.S. Government should not do.

Peak Oil Review — June 30, 2008

bart — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:02:38 +0000

An executive summary of weekly news from a US peak oil perspective, featuring:
- Production and Prices
- Forecasts
- Shortages
- Energy Briefs

Imagining peak oil - June 30

bart — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:26:36 +0000

LA Times: Envisioning a world of $200-a-barrel oil
The challenges of peak oil
Tammemagi: Civilization's golden era is teetering on collapse
Oil disquiet on the Western front

Nuclear & sequestration - June 30

bart — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:35:08 +0000

ITER costs give partners pause (fusion pricetag jumps)
Nuclear cost estimates may put end to renaissance
Carbon sequestration: bury the idea, not the CO2

Bill Moyers and Michael Winship: It Was Oil, All Along

Justice4alltoday — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 19:05:01 +0000

Four thousand American soldiers dead, tens of thousands permanently wounded for life, hundreds of thousands of dead and crippled Iraqis plus 5 million displaced, and a cost that will mount into trillions of dollars. The political analyst Kevin Phillips says America has become little more than an "energy protection force," doing anything to gain access to expensive fuel without regard to the lives of others or the Earth itself.

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Rachel Maddow on Bush’s War for Oil

protect_democracy — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 18:20:01 +0000

"If you don't want to be seen as a colonial power, you stop acting like one." Rachel Maddow says that the occupation of Iraq is all about the oil. permanent link: http://www.alternet.org/blogs/waroniraq/89746/

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Citing Need For Assessments, US Freezes Solar Energy Projects

sacredsage — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:30:02 +0000

Faced with a surge in the number of proposed solar power plants, the federal government has placed a moratorium on new solar projects on public land until it studies their environmental impact, which is expected to take about two years. The Bureau of Land Management says an extensive environmental study is needed to determine how large solar plants might affect millions of acres it oversees in six Western states - Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.

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Why the Oil Industry Benefits from Bottled Water Sales

protect_democracy — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:05:02 +0000

The process of producing PET plastic bottles involves a number of different stages using multiple producers in the supply chain. Some of the corporations are widely recognizable, while others are more obscure. The important point in this analysis, however, is that the bottled water manufacturers are the end point of a supply chain that contains some of the biggest polluters on the planet.

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Extra water, wind strain Northwest power grid

Nomen — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 10:45:02 +0000

The Northwest is awash in electric power this spring. Rivers are swollen. Columbia River dams are running full bore. Wind farm blades are spinning. That should be good news for the Northwest, where hydropower is cheap and wind is a leader in renewable energy. And it should be good news for California, a huge electricity consumer that often sucks up Oregon's springtime surplus. But a doubling of wind-power supplies and an unusually concentrated surge in water levels have challenged this season's power operations like never before. The result: wasted power generation, excessive spill through the dams and a sometimes frenzied juggling of dam and transmission schedules. Oregon and Washington can't use all the electricity that's available. And southbound transmission lines that are at capacity can't take the extra power California consumers otherwise would eagerly devour.

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Prices & speculators - June 28

bart — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 10:00:43 +0000

Paul Krugman: Fuels on the Hill (blame speculators?)
6 myths about oil speculators
Henry Liu: Flat-earther Thomas Friedman blind to oil facts

Hemp Ethanol Saves the World

justseeit — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 23:25:02 +0000

I was searching the internet for the link between Henry Ford's invention of the automobile and all the wars that have seemed to follow..and the connection to oil. I came across this interesting site. I don't know how accurate some of his claims are about the oil industry asking for Prohibition, because people were making their own fuel from hemp and alchohol, but I found it intriguing.

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Oil: The Weapon of the New World Order

fontleroy — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 11:40:03 +0000

For China, the biggest prize in the Middle East is Saudi Arabia, home of a quarter of the world’s reserves. Since September 11, tension in U.S.-Saudi relations has provided the Chinese with an opportunity to win the heart of the House of Saud. To Washington’s dismay China has also set its sights on Iran, announcing that it will not support sanctions against Iran in the UN Security Council. No doubt that as China’s oil demand grows, so will its involvement in Middle East politics. China is likely to provide the region’s energy exporters not only with diplomatic support but also with weapons, including assistance in the development of WMD. NOTE: Aside from some "propagandistic" language, this article does a good job of explaining the whole oil picture.

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How Bush Helped Establish a Corporate ‘New World Order’

vaquero — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 08:10:02 +0000

'Terrorism' is merely the pretext cited by George W. Bush to begin a series of oil wars that John McCain says may last '10,000 years'. Bush has helped his corporate 'base' create a 'New World Order' in which robber barons of big oil, assisted by 'big media', rule the world and plunder its resources. Bush is their tool!

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