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Mother superior: Nuns abducted by Syrian rebels

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Opposition fighters have abducted 12 nuns from a predominantly Christian village near Damascus and taken them to a rebel-held town, the mother superior of a Syrian convent said Tuesday. The statement by Febronia Nabhan, Mother Superior at Saidnaya Convent, came as Syria’s state TV reported that a suicide attacker set off his explosive vest in an unspecified government institution in Damascus, killing four and wounding 17. The TV gave no further details about the blast in the central Jisr Abyad neighborhood. Such blasts in Damascus are not uncommon. Some have killed scores of people in the city. Nabhan said Tuesday that the nuns and three other women were taken the day before from another convent in the predominantly Christian village of Maaloula to the nearby town of Yabroud. Syrian rebels captured large parts of Maaloula, some 60 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of the capital, on […]

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Japan Finds Methane Hydrate in Sea of Japan

Japan has discovered methane hydrate lying over a large area in the Sea of Japan in northwestern Japan, in addition to previously discovered areas in the Pacific Ocean, the trade ministry said. The government plans to spend the next three years trying to determine the nation’s reserves of methane hydrate – a frozen gas known as “flammable ice” – as part of its goal to achieve commercial production within six years. A geological survey in June and July confirmed 225 “gas chimney” structures off Joetsu and Noto Peninsula, which likely contain methane hydrate, the ministry said. The survey also confirmed shallow methane ice forming over a large area within one of the structures. In March, Japan succeeded in producing 120,000 cubic meters of gas over six days from a test tapping of methane hydrate in the Pacific Ocean off Aichi Prefecture in central […]

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Vehicle innovators face fight to win hearts and minds

Ahead of the game: the BMW i3 electric vehicle, made from carbon fibre, is unveiled in London When the most sought-after $1m supercars are hybrids, when hatchbacks are being made from carbon fibre and when manufacturers are promising volume vehicles that can drive themselves, it is clear the world’s car factories and showrooms are geared up for change. Driven by regulations and shifting customer demands, carmakers are pushing the boundaries of how we drive, fuel and interact with cars. Tomorrow’s vehicles will be less polluting, lighter and safer. They will be more intelligent and better connected – less of a petrolhead’s toy and more of an extension of the office or living room. Vehicle sales When this summer BMW launched its i3 model – an electric car made from carbon fibre in a factory powered by wind turbines – Ian Robertson, the carmaker’s head […]

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BP wins battle to limit Gulf payouts

BP won a big victory in its battle to limit the cost of compensation for its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico after an appeals court called for an injunction to suspend payments to businesses that had not suffered losses as a result of the disaster. BP has argued that the compensation settlement over the spill that it agreed last year is being misinterpreted to allow businesses that have not suffered any harm to claim for apparent losses. A majority on a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit appeals court ruled that a lower district court should draw up an injunction “tailored so that those who experienced actual injury traceable to loss from the Deepwater Horizon accident continue to receive recovery, but those who did not do not receive their payments until this case is fully heard and decided”. The decision gave BP the suspension of payments […]

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In Fracking, Sand Is the New Gold

The race to drill for oil in the U.S. is creating another boom—in sand, a key ingredient in fracking. Energy companies are expected to use 56.3 billion pounds of sand this year, blasting it down oil and natural gas wells to help crack rocks and allow fuel to flow out. Sand use has increased 25% since 2011, according to the consulting firm PacWest, which expects a further 20% rise over the next two years. In Wisconsin, the source of white sand perfectly suited for hydraulic fracturing, state officials now estimate more than 100 sand mines, loading, and processing facilities have received permits, up from just five sand mines and five processing plants operating in 2010. And the stocks of publicly traded companies that deal in sand have soared. Shares of Houston-based Hi-Crush Partners HCLP -1.59% Hi-Crush Partners LP U.S.: NYSE $ 31.00 -0.50 -1.59% Dec. 2, 2013 4:04 pm […]

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AAA: U.S. gasoline prices should fall

Following a November spike, AAA said Monday it expects U.S. retail gasoline prices to fall at least 10 more cents by the end of the year. AAA reported a national average price Monday for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline of $3.26. Michael Green, a AAA spokesman, told United Press International the price for a gallon of gasoline has fallen for five straight days. It followed a late November streak of 15 consecutive days where prices increased. “We expect gas prices will continue to fall in the weeks ahead as refineries increase production and supplies build in many parts of the country,” he said. “Prices could drop another 10-15 cents per gallon by the end of the year if supplies build as expected.” Green said last week seasonal maintenance at oil refineries was taking longer than expected to conclude, which explained the mid-November price […]

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Energy companies assessing emerging Canadian shale

CALGARY, Alberta, Dec. 2 (UPI) — It’s too soon to fully assess the Duvernay shale area in Canada but “sweet spots” are being investigated, says an analyst for energy consultancy Wood McKenzie. “There still is a large amount of delineation drilling to do, or basically just appraising and figuring out where the sweet spots are,” Andy McConn said in an interview published Friday by the Financial Post. The Alberta Geological Survey estimates the Duvernay shale reserve area holds more than 440 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and nearly 62 billion barrels of oil. The newspaper reports energy company Encana Corp. plans to spend more than $500 million on exploratory operations in the Duvernay region. Chevron said it was encouraged by its preliminary efforts in Duvernay, which it described as a source of future growth for its Canadian operations. “They [Chevron] haven’t given hard plans yet, but that’s a […]

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Peak Oil as Wishful Thinking

By  Tom Athanasiou – Tom Athanasiou is the director of the Earth Island-sponsored project EcoEquity and a member of the Greenhouse Development Rights authors’ group. His interests focus on distributive justice within the global environmental emergency. Is our civilization doomed? I don’t think so, though I’ll admit that the case for doom is a pretty good one. But I wish to be clear on two points. First, it’s not too late to avoid disastrous climate change. We’re in trouble, no doubt about that, but we have the science, the technology, and the money to save ourselves. Second, we simply won’t do so if we give ourselves up to the habits of pessimism. Is “peak oil” a good way to talk about all this? The short answer is No , and this despite the fact that it draws attention to planetary limits, and to the great resource crunch that’s now […]

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Peak Oil Denial: Nonsense Keeps Rolling Along

Page added on December 2, 2013 [D]enial strategies suppress both facts and emotions, maladaptive coping strategies admit some of the facts and allow some of the emotions, both often in distorted form, and adaptive coping strategies accept the facts and allow the emotions to be felt, thus promoting more positive behaviours. The three groups of coping strategies may be considered to be sequential in the sense that moving from the first to the second and the second to the third requires that obstacles be overcome…. Some people who use denial strategies are likely to remain ‘stuck’ there regardless of the evidence. (links/references in the original quote) [1] Those comments were written as part of a study on climate change denial, but their application is easily and accurately extended to peak oil denial and any number of political issues where too many prefer avoiding contemplation of the consequences of ideological […]

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Robert Rapier: How Alberta’s Oil Sands are Produced

Introduction I spent the first week of November in the heart of the Athabasca oil sands around Fort McMurray, Alberta. I was there as a guest of the Canadian government, which hosts annual tours for small groups of journalists and energy analysts. In the previous two articles, I covered some of the environmental issues arising from the development of the oil sands. In  Oil Sands and the Environment – Part I  I discussed greenhouse gas emissions, impacts on wildlife, and I touched upon water usage. I also detailed some of the work of  Pembina Institute  (PI), which is working to improve the environmental conditions as the oil sands are developed. In Oil Sands and the Environment – Part II  I covered the tailings ponds, water consumption, impacts to water quality, and impacts to indigenous people. Today I want to discuss the actual process of […]

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Let’s Give This Era a Name: The Age of Denial

It’s traditional at this time of year to look back at what we have accomplished or how we have blundered, and to look forward at how we might fix things. So far, we should classify this decade of the 2010s as the Age of Denial . People, and Americans in particular, continue to avoid serious thought about human population growth, the predictable effects of global warming, the degradation of the oceans, and even the depletion of top soil in the Midwest. At this moment, our most critical economic and social problem is something called Peak Oil, and it’s not even getting play in the alternative media, much less on the network news.   About a decade ago, I wrote a series of columns on another internet site about the issue of Peak Oil. Basically, it is the observation that there is only so much easily obtainable oil, and the […]

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Oil Boosted by Upbeat China Data

Oil futures are higher on Monday, boosted by better-than-expected factory data from China and as uncertainty over oil supplies from Iran lingered. China’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index data came in at 51.4 in November–ahead of market expectations and above the key 50-point level that separates expansion from contraction. “Oil is seen extending gains after data from China over the weekend showed industrial activity in the world’s number two crude buyer remained high despite worries the economy is facing a modest slowdown,” Singapore’s UOB Economic Treasury Research said in a note. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at $93.15 a barrel at 0531 GMT, up $0.43 in the Globex electronic session. January Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.41 to $110.10 a barrel. Brent oil is also getting a boost due to easing concerns over the potential return […]

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Oil rises on China's modest manufacturing growth

Oil prices rose Monday as China’s manufacturing growth held steady at a modest pace in November. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, was up 44 cents to $110.13 a barrel at midafternoon Kuala Lumpur time on the ICE futures exchange in London. Benchmark U.S. crude for January delivery added 48 cents to $93.34 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 41 cents to close at $93.68 on Friday. Chinese manufacturing barely expanded in November, growing at about the same rate as the previous month, two surveys showed in evidence that growth in the world’s No. 2 economy was continuing but at a modest pace. HSBC’s purchasing managers’ index released Monday slipped to 50.8 from 50.9 in October. Although November’s reading was little changed, HSBC said it was the second-highest level in eight months, indicating China’s massive […]

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Oil rises on China’s modest manufacturing growth

Oil prices rose Monday as China’s manufacturing growth held steady at a modest pace in November. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, was up 44 cents to $110.13 a barrel at midafternoon Kuala Lumpur time on the ICE futures exchange in London. Benchmark U.S. crude for January delivery added 48 cents to $93.34 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 41 cents to close at $93.68 on Friday. Chinese manufacturing barely expanded in November, growing at about the same rate as the previous month, two surveys showed in evidence that growth in the world’s No. 2 economy was continuing but at a modest pace. HSBC’s purchasing managers’ index released Monday slipped to 50.8 from 50.9 in October. Although November’s reading was little changed, HSBC said it was the second-highest level in eight months, indicating China’s massive […]

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WTI Gains as China’s Manufacturing Growth Beats Estimates

West Texas Intermediate crude advanced for a second day after China ’s manufacturing topped estimates in November, signaling the world’s second-biggest oil consumer is sustaining its economic growth. Futures rose as much as 0.6 percent in New York . China’s Purchasing Managers ’ Index was 51.4, the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said yesterday, a result that exceeded 24 out of 26 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. OPEC will keep its oil-production quota unchanged at 30 million barrels a day at a meeting this week in Vienna, according to a separate Bloomberg News survey. U.S. manufacturing data for November is to be released today. “The oil market doesn’t normally care about PMI numbers unless they are different from the consensus like today,” Bjornar Tonhaugen, senior commodities analyst at Oslo-based Nordea Bank AG, said by phone, referring to the Chinese purchasing managers’ index. […]

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Dubai Oil Premium Reaches Two-Year High as Shell Buys Record

Middle East crude for immediate delivery traded at its biggest premium in two years to later shipments last month after Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) bought an unprecedented number of cargoes. The price gap between the earliest loadings of the benchmark Dubai grade and those for two months later climbed to $2.82 a barrel on Nov. 21, the widest spread since 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The increase coincided with Shell’s purchase of 12 million barrels last month via the Middle East crude price-setting system conducted by Platts, a unit of McGraw-Hill Financial Inc. (MHFI) The premium for prompt cargoes, a market structure known as backwardation , influences the level at which Middle East exporters including Saudi Arabian Oil Co. set official monthly prices for buyers in Asia, according to industry consultants KBC Energy Economics and JBC Energy GmbH. The growing spread shows how deals made in […]

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Iran’s Hard-Liners Keep Their Criticism of Nuclear Pact to Themselves

In a room in which journalists were outnumbered by security agents and paramilitary fighters, the tall Iranian commander stood and issued his judgment. “Our ideology will not be undermined by some negotiations,” Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the hard-line head of the paramilitary Basij force, told the selected group of reporters in a gathering days before Iran signed an interim nuclear agreement with the United States and other world powers. That pact, in which Iran’s moderate government agreed to freeze parts of its nuclear program for six months in exchange for limited relief from crippling economic sanctions, was greeted with wild enthusiasm in most quarters here . A conspicuous exception, however, were Iran’s hard-liners, who mostly maintained a studied silence, unwilling to risk a public confrontation with their patron over the years — the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has cautiously welcomed the deal. But that silence may […]

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Iran Deal Opens Door for Businesses

LONDON—While Western powers have identified a small group of sectors for Iranian sanction relief, a much wider set of European and U.S. companies—from pharmaceutical firms and medical-equipment makers to food companies and traders—also stands to regain lost Iranian trade as soon as relief measures are formally adopted next month. Western governments singled out Iran’s automotive and aviation sectors for temporary sanction relief, while allowing petrochemical exports and trade in gold and other precious metals. But the fine print of the deal also clears the way for GlaxoSmithKline

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OPEC Rift Emerging Over Iraq Output, Possible Return of Iran

Tensions are emerging within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries over which member countries should trim oil production to make room for a resurgence in Iraqi exports and the possible return of more Iranian crude to world markets if sanctions are eased. There is no expectation of a decision to cut back at the OPEC cartel’s meeting in Vienna on Wednesday. The group of 12 of the world’s largest producers, though long riven by squabbling, has kept its overall production ceiling at 30 million barrels a day since December 2011. OPEC expects overall demand for its crude to drop by about 300,000 barrels a day next year and some members are pushing to trim output, according to people familiar with the debate. Members will have to decide whether to cut production as early as the first half of the year, with the risk that short-term global supply might […]

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Yildiz meets Shahristani in effort to mend ties

Yildiz meets Shahristani in effort to mend ties Turkey is trying to repair relations with Iraq’s central government, days after defying Baghdad and signing agreements to solidify its energy alliance with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz met with Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani, Oil Minister Abdul Karim Luaibi, and other Iraqi officials for more than two hours in Baghdad on Sunday. When they emerged, Yildiz and Shahristani struck a conciliatory tone.”The meeting was p… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

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Blasts Kill at Least 12 Mourners at Funeral of Iraq Sunni Leader

Three blasts struck mourners at a funeral in northern Iraq on Sunday, killing at least 12 people and wounding 42, security officials and medical workers said. The mourners in Diyala Province, northeast of Baghdad, were burying Mudher Shalal, a leader of the province’s Sunni Awakening movement, the units of fighters who were paid to switch sides and fight alongside the United States against Al Qaeda at the height of the war in Iraq. Mr. Shalal was killed by a bomb placed in his car on Saturday. Abu Kareem, one of the survivors of the attack on Sunday, said: “We were on our way to bury the martyr, while we were near the gate of the cemetery. Then there was a blast. I saw people who were carrying the coffin wounded on the ground, and the Iraqi flag that was covering the coffin was on fire.” Also on […]

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659 people killed in Iraq's violence in November

A total of 659 Iraqis were killed and 1,373 others were wounded in violent attacks in Iraq in November, according to a statement released by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) on Sunday. The statement said that 565 civilians (including 120 civilian police personnel) and 94 members of the Iraqi Security Forces were killed in terrorist and violent acts in November, while 1,186 civilians and 187 Security Forces members were injured. Baghdad was the worst-affected province with 224 civilians killed and 399 others injured, followed by Nineveh, Salahudin and Diyala, while other provinces of Anbar, Kirkuk, Babil and Wasit reported less casualties, it said. As the bloodshed continues in the country, Nickolay Mladenov, special representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq and head of the UNAMI, urged the Iraqi authorities to make necessary efforts to protect the people, it added. “While indiscriminate […]

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659 people killed in Iraq’s violence in November

A total of 659 Iraqis were killed and 1,373 others were wounded in violent attacks in Iraq in November, according to a statement released by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) on Sunday. The statement said that 565 civilians (including 120 civilian police personnel) and 94 members of the Iraqi Security Forces were killed in terrorist and violent acts in November, while 1,186 civilians and 187 Security Forces members were injured. Baghdad was the worst-affected province with 224 civilians killed and 399 others injured, followed by Nineveh, Salahudin and Diyala, while other provinces of Anbar, Kirkuk, Babil and Wasit reported less casualties, it said. As the bloodshed continues in the country, Nickolay Mladenov, special representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq and head of the UNAMI, urged the Iraqi authorities to make necessary efforts to protect the people, it added. “While indiscriminate […]

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Analysis: Saudis have few options as they push tougher foreign policy

Saudi Arabia seems to have few viable options for pursuing a more independent and forthright foreign policy, despite its deep unease about the West’s tentative rapprochement with Iran. Upset with the United States, senior Saudis have hinted at a range of possibilities, from building strategic relations with other world powers to pushing a tougher line against Iranian allies in the Arab world and, if world powers fail to foil Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, even seeking its own atomic bomb. But alternative powers are hard even to contemplate for a nation that has been a staunch U.S. ally for decades. Russia is on the opposite side to Riyadh over the Syrian war and China’s military clout remains modest compared with the United States’. Robert Jordan, U.S. ambassador to Riyadh from 2001-03, said there would be limits to any Saudi alliances with other powers. "There is no country in […]

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Venezuelan oil diplomacy curbed by economic crisis

he late President Hugo Chavez’s dream of leveraging Venezuela’s oil wealth to spread revolution across Latin America is crumbling under the weight of an economic crisis that is forcing his hand-picked successor to cut back on generous foreign aid. Signs of the country’s waning influence are becoming more apparent. In early November, Guatemala withdrew from the Petrocaribe oil alliance launched by Chavez, saying it didn’t receive the ultra-low financing rates it had been promised by Venezuela when it first sought to join the 18-nation pact in 2008. Also in recent weeks, representatives of Brazil and Colombia have held meetings with their Venezuelan counterparts to collect overdue payment for food, manufactured goods and other imports. While Venezuela has fallen behind on payments before, the latest cash crunch is more severe, and the economic outlook more uncertain, than any time in 15 years of socialist […]

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Beijing must pull off a mix of Mao and markets

The plenum sets out a bold agenda and makes clear who is in charge, writes Robert Zoellick The plenum in Beijing may be a landmark . Most early commentary has focused on its economic reforms. But it has been little noted that the political signal is a mix of Mao and markets. The good news is that China ’s leaders recognise that the country needs to make a structural shift in its growth model – from export and investment-led growth to increased consumption and a stronger service sector. No one should underestimate the plenum’s boldness. After 30 years of almost 10 per cent annual growth, it is no small matter to change plans. Most countries dither until crisis or slowdowns compel change. Of the 101 economies that the World Bank considered middle-income in 1960, only 13 were high-income by 2008. The not so good news is that the previous […]

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BP expects surge in Deepwater payments

BP is expecting a surge in compensation payments over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, after a slowdown that has lasted almost two months. The company revealed in a court filing just before the Thanksgiving holiday last week that it had been told payments for businesses’ economic losses, which had been held up since an appeal court ruling at the beginning of October, were about to restart. It says the expected resumption of payments increases the need for the court to issue an injunction blocking unjustified claims for compensation under the settlement it agreed with plaintiffs’ lawyers last year. BP argues that businesses that appear not to have suffered losses […]

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What is the real cost of shale gas?

US shale gas production has grown from around 4 billion cubic feet (bcf) per day in 2007 to around 26 bcf/day in 2012 US gross natural gas production  has grown from a plateau of 2 trillion cubic feet (tcf) per month in the period 1995 to 2002 to 2.5 tcf per month in 2012 Some believe this is marching the USA towards energy independence while others believe, owing to costs and decline rates, that this may be an energy bubble At the end of 2011, shale gas accounted for 32% of total US natural gas production (EIA data)   Pre 2008 financial crash, there were roughly 400 rigs drilling oil in the USA and 1600 drilling gas. Today it is roughly 1400 drilling oil and 400 drilling gas The fall in US prices to  while in fact over-production caused a crash in the price in US natural gas to […]

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Canada at Crossroads in Bid to Become Energy Superpower

Canada ’s bid to become what Prime Minister Stephen Harper calls an energy “superpower” is at risk as approval delays for new pipelines threaten an industry already hurt by high costs and rival production. The world’s sixth-largest crude producer can’t get its surging crude supplies to markets in Asia where prices are higher than in North America. Decisions in the next year or so on proposed pipelines designed to connect oil-sands production to supertankers on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts may set the tone for the future of the nation’s energy industry. “There’s no doubt that over the next 12 to 24 months, there will be some significant decisions made on pipelines infrastructure in Canada,” Ian Anderson, president of the Canadian division of Kinder Morgan (KMP) Energy Partners LP, said in a Nov. 29 interview in Lake Louise, Alberta. “What’s important about the time frame is, there’s a window […]

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UMD researchers address economic dangers of ‘peak oil’

Team identifies key industries for policy action Researchers from the University of Maryland and a leading university in Spain demonstrate in a new study which sectors could put the entire U.S. economy at risk when global oil production peaks (‘Peak Oil”). This multi-disciplinary team recommends immediate action by government, private and commercial sectors to reduce the vulnerability of these sectors. While critics of Peak Oil studies declare that the world has more than enough oil to maintain current national and global standards, these UMD-led researchers say Peak Oil is imminent, if not already here — and is a real threat to national and global economies. Their study is among the first to outline a way of assessing the vulnerabilities of specific economic sectors to this threat, and to identify focal points for action that could strengthen the U.S. economy and make it less vulnerable to disasters. Their work, “Economic […]

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Study shows bamboo ethanol in China technically and economically feasible, cost-competitive with gasoline

Study shows bamboo ethanol in China technically and economically feasible, cost-competitive with gasoline Bamboo, the composition of which is highly similar to energy grasses used for biofuel production such as switchgrass, is an interesting potential feedstock for advanced bioethanol production in China due to its natural abundance, rapid growth, perennial nature and low management requirements. Now, researchers at Imperial College London have shown that bioethanol production from bamboo in China is both technically and economically feasible, as well as cost-competitive with gasoline. An open access paper on their study is published in Biotechnology for Biofuels . Bamboo2 Bamboo3 China bioethanol pump price for five enzyme loading scenarios in ( a ) 2011 with a 16¢ per liter […]

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