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British fracking takes early steps

British shale pioneer Cuadrilla Resources gets environmental permits needed for early gas work. Photo by Steve Oehlenschlager/Shutterstock PRESTON, England, Jan. 16 (UPI) — British shale pioneer Cuadrilla Resources was granted the environmental permits necessary to carry out at shale work in Lancashire, the government said Friday. "After completing a rigorous assessment of Cuadrilla’s application and the public consultation responses, we are confident the permits issued will ensure people and the environment are protected," Steve Molyneux, environment manager for Lancashire, said in a statement. "The right controls are in place to manage waste and the flaring of gas safely, and protect local water resources." Cuadrilla in June deposited 21 chapters of environmental studies with the Lancashire County Council associated with plans for up to four shale gas exploration wells. The council said initially it would make a determination by early November, but said more time was needed to study the […]

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2014 was Earth’s warmest year on record

The graph depicts global surface temperature through 2014, with the 10 warmest years highlighted in dark red. (Climate.gov) Earth’s average surface temperature was the warmest since record-keeping began in 1880, according to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. December also was the warmest month ever recorded, and was among five months that set records, the agencies reported Friday. The combined land and ocean surface temperature was 1.24 degrees above the 20th century average of 57 degrees, according to NOAA. December’s average global temperature was 1.39 degrees above that 20th century average. The four other months that set records were May, June, August and September, NOAA said. October tied for warmest, according to the agency’s report. The data add to a two-decade string of record warmth planetwide. Except for 1998, the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 2002, according to NOAA. The increase in global average […]

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U.S. scientists call 2014 Earth’s hottest year on record

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – Last year was Earth’s warmest on record, bolstering the argument that people are altering the planet’s climate by relentlessly burning fuels that belch greenhouse gases into the air, two major U.S. government agencies said on Friday. Separate studies by the U.S. space agency NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed that the 10 warmest years on record have taken place since 1997. The scientists said the record temperatures were spread around the globe, including most of Europe stretching into northern Africa, the western United States, far eastern Russia into western Alaska, parts of interior South America, parts of eastern and western coastal Australia and elsewhere. "While the ranking of individual years can be affected by chaotic weather patterns, the long-term trends are attributable to drivers of climate change that right now are dominated by human emissions of greenhouse gases," said Gavin Schmidt, […]

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Renewable Resources Reach Their Limits

Renewable Resources Reach Their Limits thumbnail Can the world continue expanding its use of renewable resources at an increasing rate? Most likely not. Using a data set of over 25 resources researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Yale University and Michigan State University demonstrate that several key resources have recently passed, at around the same time, their “peak-rate year” — the maximum increase year. A potential implication is that as substitution becomes arduous, global society’s expanding needs will be harder to fill. They explain this in an article published in the latest issue of the international journal Ecology and Society, and featured in the journal Nature’s Research Highlights this week. Landscape ecologists Prof. Dr. Ralf Seppelt, Dr. Ameur M. Manceur and plant ecologist Dr. Stefan Klotz from the UFZ analyzed the production and extraction rates of 27 global renewable and non-renewable resources together with economist Dr. […]

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Population: Not Leveling Off

Population: Not Leveling Off thumbnail When it comes to the party that is planet Earth, we might need to plan for a few extra guests, according to scientists. A new statistical projection concludes that the world population is unlikely to level off during the 21st century, leaving the planet to deal with as many as 13 billion human inhabitants—4 billion of those in Africa—by 2100. The analysis, formulated by U.N. and University of Washington (UW), Seattle, researchers, is the first of its kind to use modern statistical methods rather than expert opinions to estimate future birth rates, one of the determining factors in population forecasts. “The U.N. in the past has been criticized for not doing complete statistics on their data and now they’ve done it exactly right,” says demography researcher John Bongaarts, vice president of the Population Council in New York City, who was not involved in the […]

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Oil Stable in Asian Trade but Speedy Rebound Unlikely

By Eric Yep Oil futures took a breather from a selloff in Asian trade Friday as investors sought for signs of tighter supply that could stem further declines in oil prices. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in February traded at $46.56 a barrel at 0419 GMT, up $0.31 in the Globex electronic session. March Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.25 to $48.52 a barrel. Oil prices had fallen again in the last trading session, with Nymex WTI crude now down by around 13% year-to-date and Brent crude down by around 17%. James Hubbard, head of Asian oil and gas research at Macquarie Group, said that prices below $40 a barrel would make it difficult for producers to break even, prompting them to begin limiting production. "Once WTI goes below $40 a barrel and thereabouts you’ll start to see headlines […]

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Oil Heads for Longest Weekly Losing Streak Since 1986

Oil advanced in New York , paring an eighth weekly decline, as the International Energy Agency lowered forecasts for supplies from outside OPEC and said prices could recover. West Texas Intermediate futures climbed as much as 3.6 percent. The grade’s loss of 1.3 percent this week caps the longest run of weekly declines since March 1986. Non-OPEC oil producers will increase output this year at a slower rate than previously forecast, aiding a recovery in crude prices, the IEA said in its monthly market report. “The market is very over-sold and has been looking for signs for a pick-up,” Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at consultants Energy Aspects Ltd., said by phone from London. “The IEA has very clearly come out and said there will be an impact from price. They’ve lowered Canada , Colombia production-wise, they’ve talked about shale as well.” West Texas Intermediate for February delivery climbed […]

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Crude Oil Erases Advance on OPEC’s Reduced Demand Forecast

West Texas Intermediate oil fell for the fourth time in five days as OPEC said it expects weaker demand for its crude and U.S. output climbed to the highest in records dating to January 1983. Demand for oil from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will average 28.8 million barrels a day this year, about 100,000 barrels less than forecast last month, the Vienna-based organization said in a monthly report. U.S. output surged to 9.19 million barrels a day last week, the Energy Information Administration reported yesterday. Crude slid almost 50 percent last year, the most since the 2008 financial crisis, as OPEC resisted calls to cut its output ceiling amid the U.S. shale boom, exacerbating a global surplus. WTI crude will decline to $32 by the end of this quarter, Bank of America said. “Nothing fundamental has changed,” said Tariq Zahir, a New York-based commodity fund manager at […]

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Natural Gas Prices Slide Lower Despite Larger-Than-Expected Stockpile Drain

By Timothy Puko Natural gas futures slid Thursday as traders took profits, despite federal data showing gas stockpiles dropped more than expected last week. Storage levels shrank by 236 billion cubic feet in the week ended Jan. 9, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. It was the 15th largest storage draw in EIA records dating through 1994, indicating especially strong demand. It was five bcf greater than the 231-bcf consensus average of 18 forecasters surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. But most of the buying probably happened Wednesday, when gas gained nearly 10% in advance of the report. By anticipating the move, many were able to sell and lock in their gains on Thursday after prices touched a nearly four-week high for intraday trading. "It ran too far too fast," said Scott Gettleman, an independent trader in New York. Natural gas for February delivery settled down 7.5 cents, or […]

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Welcome to ‘Normal’ Crude Oil Price, Trading at 100-Year Average

The theory goes that commodity prices move in “supercycles” or bursts of phenomenal surges, followed by longer, less-exciting periods. As such, a barrel of oil at $50 is, well, normal. Many people think the oil price has crashed, but it has just gone back to its long-term historical trend, according to Ruchir Sharma at Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. That makes a barrel of oil at around $50 just about right based on a 100-year inflation-adjusted average, said Sharma, who manages $25 billion as head of emerging markets . “The price of oil is returning to normal in its long-term 100-year history,” Sharma said in an interview from New York . “We tend to have a short memory and we tend to forget that the price of oil breached the $50 a barrel level only a decade ago.” Brent crude oil futures, which trade in London and are used […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple