Category:

How the climate change debate got hijacked by the wrong standard of proof

Everyone loves a courtroom drama–especially one that pits a feisty, but a determined criminal defense attorney against the awesome power of a prosecutor who has the resources of the state behind him or her. We see such  David and Goliath  stories every week on television. We cheer as the defense attorney pokes one hole after another in the case of the prosecutor, raising what the audience now perceives as reasonable doubt. But will the jury see it that way? We’ll return after these messages…. This is just the sort of metaphorical setting into which the climate change denial lobby is trying to place the debate over climate change without the public or even most policymakers realizing it. The deniers in the fossil fuel industry and elsewhere are attempting by sleight-of-hand to get both the public and policymakers to abandon the  preponderance of evidence  standard used primarily in civil trials–and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Free fall in oil prices could fuel recession

At $10 a barrel of oil, your gas would be cheap, but your job could be gone. Oil producers would cease operations because they would not be able to turn a profit, which translates to a loss of jobs and a hit to the economy. After all, oil production is a driver of income growth, gross domestic product and economic recovery. “Ten dollars is possible but not for a sustained period of time,” said Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst at Gasbuddy.com. Although gasoline would be about $1 a gallon, DeHaan said it’s a “short-lived win for motorists at the pump.” “It could lead to a recession,” he said, adding that the oil and gas industry would affect all sectors of the economy. Anything is possible, but both analysts and economists consider the possibility of $10-a-barrel oil laughable — even though the cost for a barrel over the past […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Access to water supply will be a defining issue of 21st century

Access to water supply will be a defining issue of 21st century thumbnail Ireland’s recent experience of the politics of water introduces us to a worldwide trend which is set to become one of the defining issues of the 21st century. Water is an essential element of life but it is a scarce resource, under pressure from transboundary conflicts, climate change and capitalist growth policies. In her book Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever , Canadian author Maude Barlow, identifies three major issues in the politics of water: diminishing freshwater supplies; inequitable access between richer and poorer states and peoples; and water justice especially for women and indigenous communities. Several compendiums of contemporary risks put water conflicts at the top of the international agenda. Some 50 per cent of the world’s usable water supply is transnational, running through two or more states. Last year a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil Prices Hold Gains After Data on Drilling Activity

ENLARGE The number of oil drilling rigs has declined for 18 consecutive weeks and now stands at 760, less than half of what it was just six months ago. Photo: Associated Press Oil prices rose for the fourth straight week on expectations that production will soon plateau and amid uncertainty about Iranian nuclear negotiations. Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled up 85 cents, or 1.7%, to $51.64 a barrel Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices rose 5.1% in the week. Brent, the global benchmark, rose $1.30, or 2.3%, to $57.87 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, posting a 5.3% weekly gain. The moves capped a volatile week of trading, as investors continued to assess the global glut of oil that sent prices plunging in 2014. The market is currently oversupplied by between one and two million barrels of oil a day, analysts estimate, but many expect […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil slips further below $57, still heads for weekly gain

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil edged further below $57 a barrel on Friday, pressured by evidence of ample supplies including the biggest jump in U.S. inventories since 2001 and Saudi Arabian output reaching a record high. The market was still heading for a weekly gain, having rallied on Thursday in response to strong German economic data that lifted the oil demand outlook and easing concern about a rapid rise in Iranian oil supplies. Brent crude LCOc1 had slipped 13 cents to $56.44 a barrel by 0552 ET, but remained on track for its third weekly gain in four. U.S. crude CLc1 was down 43 cents at $50.36. "Most of the fundamental factors are still pointing to lower prices," said Eugen Weinberg, analyst at Commerzbank. "At the moment, we have an oversupply of more than 1 million barrels per day." The price of Brent has halved from $115 a barrel in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil prices end week up about 1 percent

Traders assessing industry metrics in week of oil market volatility. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI NEW YORK, April 10 (UPI) — Oil prices held steady Friday ahead of key industry data as markets took a wait-and-see approach on strong Chinese economic momentum. Major oil indices barely moved early in the Friday session, ending a week of volatility sparked by Saudi crude oil capacity commitments and signs of a mid-2015 slowdown in U.S. oil production. Brent crude oil prices for May delivery gained about three quarters of a percent early in the trading day to sell for $56.99 per barrel. For the week, Brent gained about 1 percent despite volatility. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, was relatively flat at $50.79 for the May contract, up about 1 percent for the week. China, one of the world’s leading economies and energy consumers, saw a banner day Friday for its Shanghai Composite […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Iran deal could stumble on sensitive nuclear monitoring

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Beefing up international monitoring of Iran’s nuclear work could become the biggest stumbling block to a final accord between Tehran and major powers, despite a preliminary deal reached last week. As part of that deal, Iran and the powers agreed that United Nations inspectors would have "enhanced" access to remaining nuclear activity in Iran, where they already monitor key sites. But details on exactly what kind of access the inspectors will have were left for the final stage of talks, posing a major challenge for negotiators on a complex and logistically challenging issue that is highly delicate for Iran’s leaders. Securing proper inspections is crucial for the United States and other Western powers to ensure a final deal, due by June 30, is effective and to persuade a skeptical U.S. Congress and Israel to accept the agreement. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, but […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

OPEC’s no-cut strategy is not working, Iran says

BEIJING (Reuters) – OPEC’s strategy of holding output steady is not working and the group’s members should discuss production levels before its next meeting in June, Iran’s oil minister said, a sign of the pain lower prices are causing OPEC’s less wealthy producers. However, Bijan Zanganeh also told Reuters it was up to other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to make way for any extra Iranian crude that reaches world markets if Western sanctions on Tehran are lifted. Oil prices have halved from the $115-a-barrel level hit last June, in a drop that deepened after OPEC refused to cut output, choosing instead to defend market share. Top exporter Saudi Arabia was the driving force behind the policy shift. "It seems (OPEC’s strategy of not cutting output) does not work well, because prices are coming down," Zanganeh told Reuters on Thursday during a visit to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Iran Prepared to Extend Nuclear Deal Talks Over Red Lines

ENLARGE An official picture shows Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, left, and the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi unveiling a nuclear fuel assembly during a ceremony in Tehran on Thursday. Photo: Iranian Presidency/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images DUBAI—Iran would extend talks for a final nuclear deal with world powers beyond a June 30 deadline if need be to satisfy red lines drawn this week by its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a senior Iranian official said. “Iran will work hard to reach an agreement within the specified time of three months or even sooner, but if the deal doesn’t meet the criteria the leader has introduced for a good deal, we would extend the time,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, a member of the Iranian negotiating team, in televised comments reported Friday by the Mehr News Agency. The suggestion of an extension underlines the wide gaps […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Tensions Between Iran and Saudi Arabia Deepen Over Conflict in Yemen

Photo Saudi tanks were deployed near their country’s border with Yemen on Thursday. The Saudis are leading a coalition trying to stop the Houthi rebel group, which is backed by Iran. Credit Fayez Nureldine/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images CAIRO — Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia deepened on Thursday as Iranian leaders lashed out with rare vehemence against the continuing Saudi air campaign in Yemen , even hurling personal insults at the young Saudi prince who is leading the fight. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , the supreme leader of Iran, on Thursday denounced the Saudi airstrikes in Yemen as “a crime” and “a genocide,” while all but taunting Saudi Arabia that its war in Yemen was doomed to fail. A regional coalition led by Saudi Arabia extended its bombing campaign for a 16th night in its effort to stop the Houthi movement and its allies from dominating Yemen. The Houthis […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple