Gas Flaring

Gas flaring is a perfect study in wasteful human activity. This practice typically occurs in developing, oil-rich nations which are lacking in infrastructure. Essentially, those drilling for oil hit deposits of natural gas, which are difficult to extract and sell. Rather than investing in the infrastructure to liquefy and harness the gas, the short term [...]

Return of the subcompact car

Is this what is meant by new “green collar jobs” as the economy shifts?  There’s no clear definition of the “green collar job”, but Mexico will be getting 4,500 new jobs as part of a $3 billion investment in the country by Ford as the Ford Fiesta returns to their lineup. 25,000 jobs at direct [...]

Those Barrington residents don’t really know how bad it is

Yesterday, we saw how a lack of awareness led the residents of the suburban town of Barrington, Illlinois to protest an increase in freight traffic through their town.
Today, railway executive Matthew Rose told fellow industry leaders, that the future of the rail network is bleak, unless action is taken.
Maybe now Barrington will reconsider? Probably not. [...]

High fuel prices – help to aquatic ecosystems?

Fuel protests triggered by rising oil prices have spread to more countries across Europe, with thousands of fishermen on strike.
BBC News
The coasts of Portugal, Spain and France are all at a halt as fuel prices have forced the fishermen to campaign for government subsidies to offset rising costs while wholesale fish prices have remained the [...]

Closer look at Nigeria

Nigeria’s President says that his country will not be able to generate enough electricity for its population until 2015.
BBC News
How realistic are the President’s plans, what does the future hold for Nigeria and what are its implications for the rest of the world?

An example of how peak oil awareness is imperative

Many of the peak-oil aware support freight rail as an effective substitute to trucking and method of mitigating the effects of resource depletion. Along with nuclear power, windmills, public transport and hybrids/EVs, freight-rail could be part of a future less dependent on hydrocarbons.
Unfortunately, enacting policies to facilitate a shift towards these alternatives is not as [...]

“A growing unwillingness among chemical producers to function as an energy shock absorber.”

Dow chemical to raise prices by as much as 20%
It seems that the inflationary pressures of higher energy prices are starting to be felt. This can be seen across other industries; airlines are now charging extra for baggage, and the high price of diesel and fertilizer may keep farmers from increasing production despite high [...]

Another example of the Export Land Model

Indonesia to withdraw from OPEC
Currently a producer a 860,000 barrels/day, Indonesia now needs all of that for domestic consumption as exports have fallen to 0.  In recent months, it has been forced to import from Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Sanyo and VW to mass produce Lithium-ion batteries

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Volkswagen is hoping producing cars using Lithium-ion batteries by 2010.  The plans include diesel-electric plug-in hybrids in order to move towards a future “directed more strongly at making electrically powered automobiles alongside ones driven by more efficient combustion engines.”  Nissan is planning on mass-producing the same batteries by 2009.  These are steps in the [...]