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Report: Climate change stunting fish

Climate change may be stunting fish growth, a new study  said. Fish sizes in the North Sea have shrunk dramatically, and scientists believe warmer ocean temperatures and less oxygenated water could be the causes.  The body sizes of several North Sea species have decreased by as much as 29 percent over a period of four decades, according to the report published in the April issue of Global Change Biology. The report presents evidence gathered as researchers followed six commercial fish species in the North Sea over 40 years. Their evidence showed that as water temperatures increased by 1 to 2 degrees Celsius, an accompanying reduction in fish size was observed. It is generally accepted among scientists that decreased body size is a universal response to increasing temperatures, known as the ‘temperature size rule,’ the report said. But before this report, led by scientists at Scotland’s University of Aberdeen, there […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ukraine crisis: Russia faces fresh sanctions over Crimea

Crimean pro-Russian forces seized two naval bases on Wednesday European Union leaders are due to meet in Brussels to discuss further targeted sanctions in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. It comes as UN chief Ban Ki-moon visits Russian leaders in Moscow to urge a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Tensions remain high in Crimea – pro-Russia forces seized two bases on Wednesday, including Ukraine’s navy HQ in Sevastopol. Ukraine’s navy commander was detained, but has now been released. Crimean leaders signed a treaty with Moscow on Tuesday to absorb the peninsula – an autonomous republic in southern Ukraine – into Russia, following a disputed referendum on Sunday. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the political process was expected to be completed this week, Russia’s Interfax news agency reports. The lower house will vote on ratifying the Crimea treaty on Thursday, and the upper house on Friday. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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UK urges EU to cut energy reliance on Russia

The British government is pushing EU leaders to back a new energy security plan to wean Europe off Russian energy over the next 25 years by ramping up imports from new sources, including shale gas from the US and natural gas from Iraq. The proposal, distributed to European capitals ahead of a summit in Brussels beginning on Thursday, also calls for speeding up development of a pipeline route through Azerbaijan and Turkey that would bring gas to Europe from the Caspian Sea, avoiding Russian territory. “ Crises in Ukraine in 2006, 2009 and more recently have repeatedly illustrated the need to ensure Europe is not over-reliant on a limited number of sources of energy or vulnerable to external pressure,” reads the paper, referring to the current stand-off with Russia as well as previous crises where state-owned Gazprom cut off supplies to Ukrainian pipelines over pricing and unpaid debts. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Shell Pulls Out of Ukraine Deal Near Crimea

Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Wednesday that it withdrew from negotiations over an offshore exploration deal in the Black Sea, west of Crimea. Shell made the decision to pull out in January, a spokesman said. The Anglo-Dutch energy major was part of a group of companies including Exxon Mobil Corp. that struck a deal with the Ukraine government to develop the offshore Skifska oil-and-gas field. "In the Ukraine, we maintain our interest in the Skifska license, but it is on hold due to current circumstances," Exxon Senior Vice President Andrew Swiger told analysts at a meeting earlier this month. The Ukrainian government announced the deal in 2012, but a Shell spokesman said Wednesday that Shell still hadn’t signed the agreement at the time it pulled out in January. The spokesman said Shell is still pursuing other Ukraine projects, including exploration for "tight" natural gas in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Peak Oil Depletion Scenarios

In 1972, the Club of Rome attempted to shock stakeholders, politicians and policy makers with its Limits to Growth study forecast of All Liquids Peak Oil:  117-Mbd in 1995.  They attempted to promote awareness natural resources are finite, but in jeopardy with growing global population.  This was underscored in 1974 with M K Hubbert’s similar prediction:  111-Mbd in 1995 (excluding NGL, deep sea, polar, Orinoco & tar sands). Because OPEC manipulation truncated both these predictions, Colin Campbell attempted to update the long-term prospects for All Liquids .  The Irish geologist stunned many when in 1989 he declared present All Liquids flow (65.5-Mbd) would never again re-attain its 1979 pre-crisis Peak of 67-Mbd ( ) .  Well, he was very wrong (88-Mbd today).  This episode made it quite clear the uncertainty & price volatility caused by such pessimistic reports (even by well-intentioned professionals) required formal addressing by the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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The global Transition tipping point has arrived

Last Friday, I posted an exclusive report about a new NASA-backed scientific research project at the US National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (Sesync) to model the risks of civilisational collapse, based on analysis of the key factors involved in the rise and fall of past civilisations. The story went viral and was quickly picked up by other news outlets around the world which, however, often offered rather misleading headlines. ‘Nasa-backed study says humanity is pretty much screwed’, said . ‘Nasa-funded study says modern society doomed, like the dodo’, said the . Are we doomed? Doom is not the import of this study, nor of my own original research on these issues as encapsulated in my book, A User’s Guide to the Crisis of Civilisation: And How to Save It . Rather what we are seeing, as I’ve argued in detail before , are escalating, interconnected symptoms of the unsustainability of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Rangebound in Asian Trade Ahead U.S. Stockpile Data

Crude-oil futures moved in a narrow price range in Asian trading hours Wednesday ahead of the weekly U.S. oil inventory report and the conclusion of the Federal Reserve policy meeting. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April traded at $99.48 a barrel at 0537 GMT, down $0.22 in the Globex electronic session. May Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.06 to $106.73 a barrel. Oil markets were calmer after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow has no interest in Ukraine’s remaining territories after annexing Crimea. Nymex WTI maintained its price level above $99 a barrel after rising overnight on reports that the capacity of the Seaway pipeline will be expanded by May-June to further lower stockpiles in the delivery hub of Cushing, Okla. This amounts to further downward pressure on Cushing stocks and the market is still […]

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Oil slightly lower ahead of US stockpiles report

The price of oil was down slightly Wednesday as energy markets waited for the latest figures on U.S. crude and fuel stockpiles. Benchmark U.S. crude for April delivery was down 20 cents at $99.50 a barrel at 0605 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $1.62 to $99.70 on Tuesday after strong U.S. factory data and an apparent easing in tensions over Ukraine. Investors are awaiting fresh information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products, which give a weekly indication about the strength of demand in the world’s biggest economy. Statistics for the week ended March 14 are expected to show a rise of 2.6 million barrels in crude oil stocks and a decline of 1.6 million barrels in gasoline stocks, according to a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. Brent crude, used to set prices […]

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WTI Crude Rises on Seaway Expansion as Brent Gap Shrinks

West Texas Intermediate crude rose, narrowing its discount to Brent to the least in a week, after Enterprise Products Partners LP said it would more than double the capacity of its Seaway pipeline as early as May. Prices increased as much as 1.4 percent. The expanded line will be able to move more than 850,000 barrels a day of oil to Houston from Cushing, Oklahoma , the delivery point for WTI futures. Cushing stockpiles tumbled to a two-year low last week and are expected to drop again in a government report tomorrow, according to analysts’ forecasts. Brent gained less than WTI on speculation sanctions on Russia won’t disrupt oil shipments. “The Seaway news is the trigger,” said Tom Finlon, Jupiter, Florida-based director of Energy Analytics Group LLC. “This story clearly explains why WTI is firmer than Brent. Seaway expansion will draw more crude away from Cushing.” WTI for April […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Natural Gas Sags on Demand Uncertainty

Natural gas slipped Tuesday as traders weighed forecasts for colder-than-average weather against expectations that robust demand for the heating fuel would subside once spring arrives. Natural gas for April delivery settled down 8 cents, or 1.8%, at $4.456 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Unusually cold temperatures, which have fueled record demand for natural gas this winter, are projected to continue in the next six to 10 days. About half of U.S. households use natural gas as their primary heating fuel, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. But with natural-gas stockpiles already at 11-year lows, analysts question how much lower supplies could fall this month before temperatures rise and demand subsides, allowing producers to begin refilling inventories. As of March 7, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple