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We’re running out of water to grow food, Lester Brown warns

Page added on November 5, 2013 Forget peak oil. It’s peak water we should worry about, says Lester R. Brown. “Water is far more important than oil,” according to the prolific author, founder of the Worldwatch Institute, and now president of the nonprofit Earth Policy Institute. Brown, whose early warnings about the dangers of climate change and resource overuse have made him a respected elder of the environmental movement, focused on the looming water shortages while promoting his memoir, “Breaking New Ground: A Personal History,” the latest of his 50-plus books. He spoke Friday at the Harvard University Center for the Environment. His point: It’s not that we will run out of water to drink; it’s that we won’t have enough to grow the food to feed the world. “Water supply may be the principal constraint on the production of food. There’s a lot of land to produce food, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Unfortunately, peak oil is not at hand

Consumption A Citi Research report on so-called peak oil demand has been drawing a lot of attention lately . Understandably: what could be bigger news for anyone concerned with climate change, energy security, etc.? The report comes out hot right from the start, suggesting “The End is Nigh” and we are “Approaching a Tipping Point” on global oil demand. Unfortunately, though, it’s less than persuasive. The first thing that ought to raise an eyebrow or two is how wildly Citi’s analysis diverges from that of established data information centers like the International Energy Agency and the US Energy Information Administration —not to mention our own Roadmap Model , or Exxon Mobil , or really anyone else at all—on the demand for oil from transportation and other global activity, based on known business-as-usual practices, vehicle ownership and activity, technology trends, and adopted policies. One explanation for that divergence is that […]

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Oil Trades in Narrow Price Range; WTI Under $95/bbl

By Eric Yep Crude-oil futures traded within a tight price range in Asian trading hours on Tuesday as rising U.S. oil supply weighed down Nymex crude and markets waited for more macroeconomic indicators. On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at $94.74 a barrel at 0647 GMT–up $0.12 in the Globex electronic session. December Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.20 to $106.43 a barrel. Brent is supported by uncertainty over Libyan supply and the premium of Brent crude over West Texas Intermediate remains around $12 a barrel. Libyan protesters continue to block the country’s main oil facilities cutting production to 250,000 barrels a day–down from 1.5 million barrels a day before the demonstrations, news reports citing Libya’s National Oil Corp. said. Estimated unplanned production losses from OPEC countries in October were around 2.3 million barrels a day–almost half […]

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WTI Crude Fluctuates Near Four-Month Low on U.S. Supplies

West Texas Intermediate swung between gains and losses near the lowest price in more than four months amid speculation crude inventories increased for a seventh week in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Futures fluctuated after rising 1 cent yesterday from the lowest close since June. Crude stockpiles expanded by 2.2 million barrels to 386.1 million last week as production climbed to a 24-year high, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts before data from the Energy Information Administration tomorrow. Libya prepared to resume crude exports at its Hariga terminal amid protests involving armed guards. “What’s happening with fresh U.S. supplies coming onstream seems to have caught the market a little by surprise,” David Lennox , a resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney, said by phone. “We saw WTI react to that with a fairly sharp fall, and now it’s stabilized somewhat.” WTI for December delivery […]

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Average Retail Gasoline in U.S. Falls to Lowest Price This Year

The average price of gasoline at the pump for U.S. drivers fell to the lowest level of the year as wide spreads between U.S. and European oil benchmarks have driven American refiners to produce more fuel than ever for this time of year. The average retail price fell 2.9 cents to $3.265 a gallon in the week ended today, the lowest level since Dec. 4, the Energy Information Administration reported on its website. Prices are 22.7 cents below a year earlier. U.S. refineries produced 9.434 million barrels a day of gasoline the week of Oct. 25, the highest seasonal level in weekly EIA data going back to 1982. The discount of Light Louisiana Sweet, the U.S. Gulf benchmark crude, to European Brent, the internatonal benchmark, averaged $6.54 a barrel in October, the widest on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “The U.S. has finally let go of wanting […]

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Natural-Gas Futures Slip on Forecasts for Warmer-Than-Usual Weather

–Natural-gas futures fall for sixth straight day –Futures settle down 6.8 cents, lowest settlement price since Aug. 20 –Warmer-than-average weather forecasts weigh on prices By Nicole Friedman NEW YORK–Natural-gas futures declined to their lowest settlement price since August as weather forecasts for unusually warm temperatures lowered expectations for gas-powered heating demand. Natural gas for December delivery settled down 6.8 cents, or 1.94%, at $3.445 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, sinking to their lowest price since Aug. 20. Natural-gas prices have fallen for three straight weeks as traders digest the bearish weather outlooks. About half of U.S. households use the fuel as their primary heating source, according to the Energy Information Administration. MDA Weather Services, a Gaithersburg, Md., weather forecaster, said earlier Monday that temperatures will be warm in the eastern and central U.S. through mid-November. “Over the weekend, a few different weather models […]

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EIA: U.S. Weekly Retail Gasoline Price Down 2.9c, Still Lowest in Nearly 13 Months

By Brett Philbin NEW YORK–The national average retail price of regular gasoline fell 2.9 cents to $3.265 a gallon in the week ended Monday, the Energy Information Administration said. That is second straight week that prices have hovered at the lowest level since Dec. 24, 2012. The drop follows a slide of 6.6 cents a week earlier, which was the steepest in a month. Retail gasoline prices are 22.7 cents, or 6.5%, below what they were a year ago. The decline in pump prices comes as gasoline futures fell to their lowest level since Dec. 19, 2011 on Monday. The sharp drop comes on higher supplies and weak gasoline demand. Fewer Americans are taking trips during the winter months, and refiners continue to earn fat profits from the high use of diesel fuel in Europe and Latin American countries. Current gasoline prices are 21% below the record national average […]

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Ethanol’s Discount to Gasoline Tightens on Exports, Lower Stocks

Ethanol’s discount to gasoline tightened on speculation that export demand is preventing the highest production rates in 16 months from refilling stockpiles of the gasoline additive. The spread between December contracts narrowed 1.02 cents to 88.62 cents a gallon as the most recent Energy Information Administration data shows stockpiles declining and the pace of foreign deliveries, as of August, at the highest since March. “We have seen stockpiles hit a record low,” said Chris Krukowski, an ethanol broker at SCB & Associates LLC in Chicago. “In general we are seeing tightness.” Denatured ethanol for December delivery fell 0.7 cent, or 0.4 percent, to $1.642 a gallon on the Chicago Board of Trade. Prices have fallen 21 percent this year. The November contract, which expires tomorrow, slumped 5 cents to $1.72. Gasoline for December delivery slipped 1.72 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $2.5282 a gallon on the New York Mercantile […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple