Drumbeat: April 21, 2023

World Bank Report: Lights Out? - The Outlook for Energy in Eastern Europe and Central Asia [PDF]

Emerging Europe and Central Asia, the region made up of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), is a major energy supplier to both Eastern and Western Europe. However, the outlook for both primary and derivative energy supplies is questionable, with a real prospect of a significant decline during the next two decades.

Western Europe is heavily dependent on energy imports from this region. It will therefore be affected by declines in primary energy supplies. But Western Europe has the financial capacity to secure the energy supplies it needs (albeit at the expense of others). In contrast, the region’s energy-importing countries are caught between Western Europe, which has increasing import needs, and the region’s exporters, whose exports will likely decline. These countries face the prospect of being squeezed both financially and in terms of energy access.

The Peak Oil Crisis: The Eruption of Eyjafjallajokull

The eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano last week and the subsequent halting of air traffic for five days across Europe serve as a reminder of how vulnerable our civilizations remain to forces of nature despite our seeming mastery of fossil fuels.

Experts Warn of Impending Phosphorus Crisis

The element phosphorus is essential to human life and the most important ingredient in fertilizer. But experts warn that the world’s reserves of phosphate rock are becoming depleted. Is recycling sewage the answer?

Blowout Suspected in Transocean Rig Explosion

The speculation is that something went wrong with the circulation of this drilling mud such that it could no longer control the reservoir pressures. This would have caused what’s known as a “kick” — when oil or gas flow into the wellbore during drilling. It seems likely that this oil and gas came up the wellbore. Once ignited, it fed the fire.

The Energy Policy Morass

For more than three decades American energy policy has mostly been a muddle, and often a farce. But the time for muddling through is over. As the global economy recovers, oil prices will likely head back over $100 a barrel, with $4 gasoline returning to the United States. American oil production continues its needless long-term decline. Our electricity grid is antiquated and vulnerable to disruptions. As the economy recovers, electricity shortages may begin to appear, even in (or especially in) anemic California. New discoveries of domestic natural gas, however, are revolutionizing our energy outlook, but also complicating ambitions to develop more costly non-fossil fuel energy. Polls reveal significant shifts in long-term public opinion about energy, with majorities now expressing support for more domestic fossil fuel exploration and expanded nuclear power. This is no doubt a large part of the reason for Obama’s insincere recent initiatives on oil drilling and nuclear power. But it may be possible to press for more serious steps over the next few years.

Networked Networks Are Prone to Epic Failure

Networks that are resilient on their own become fragile and prone to catastrophic failure when connected, suggests a new study with troubling implications for tightly linked modern infrastructures.

Electrical grids, water supplies, computer networks, roads, hospitals, financial systems – all are tied to each other in ways that could make them vulnerable.

“When networks are interdependent, you might think they’re more stable. It might seem like we’re building in redundancy. But it can do the opposite,” said Eugene Stanley, a Boston University physicist and co-author of the study, published April 14 in Nature.

Debunking Peak Demand

The notion of ‘peak demand’ is often invoked to suggest that the US or global economy is somehow less in need of affordable oil today or that Americans are simply finding car ownership passé. But is this really the case? Are we weaning ourselves from dependence on oil? The statistics paint a more nuanced story. It is fair to say that consumption in most of the OECD countries has peaked. In fact, consumption peaked in Germany, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom in 1979—more than 30 years ago. Per capita consumption also peaked in the United States and Canada in 1979, although total consumption has increased as a function of population growth. So, by some measures, peak demand in the advanced economies is nothing new — it occurred more than a generation ago.

Black Sea fleet key to gas deal

Russia today agreed to cut the price of its huge natural gas supplies to Ukraine in exchange for a 25-year extension of the lease of its Black Sea fleet on Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.

Haiti: Running on fumes

Other than stomach parasites, the one gnawing worry that keeps me up at night here are the gas shortages, which frequently plague Jacmel. We learned this the hard way on our third day on the ground(the upside was that our driver, James, had a rusted out old van with two wooden benches inside of it that runs on diesel if you know how to manually jiggle the battery to get it to start).

The telltale signs of shortages begin with motorbike lineups at the gas pumps that stretch more than 50 vehicles long. That usually happens on the first day or so. By day two or three, the gas stations are empty, the only silent stretches of asphalt in the whole town. Usually, by some miraculous turn of events, a gas truck rolls into town on the fourth day or so. The lineups can last over an hour sometimes. But everyone fills up again, and off we all go.

The future of flight

As oil production goes down – and the US Department of Defense predicts a severe crunch by 2015 – air travel will have to go back to what it was at least two generations ago, if it remains at all. We can get electricity from coal, nuclear, wind and solar, we can warm ourselves with coal, electricity or wood, and we can transport ourselves over land in electric rails or buses. But there are no solar-powered manned planes, no nuclear airbuses and no wood-stoked jets. Planes need petroleum.

Bio-fuels could potentially keep at least some planes flying indefinitely. But ethanol, for example, uses almost as much energy to create as it generates, so the remaining flights might well be mostly military, with a few for wealthy passengers.

Rotting wheat in warehouses threaten price rise

NEW DELHI (Commodity Online): At a time, when wheat production in the country is seen contradicting the higher estimates given by the union agriculture ministry, a large volume of the grain is reported to be lying idle in the government warehouses fuelling the prices.

China reaches out for younger generation to promote low-carbon lifestyle

BEIJING (Xinhua) — China’s Ministry of Land and Resources will hold a ceremony at 10 a.m. Thursday to mark the 41st World Earth Day.

With the theme “Cherishing the earth’s resources, transforming the mode of development and living a low-carbon lifestyle,” the Internet campaign aims to generate new ideas, especially among the younger generation, the ministry said on its website Wednesday.

Are policymakers, economists and peak oilists starting to speak the same language?

A rash of papers, comments and interviews have made us think this recently. It’s not as simple as ‘policymakers are waking up to peak oil’, but that all those groups — and indeed, industry — are increasingly talking about the same issues looming in fossil fuel production, even if they’re using different terminology.

It’s still the rare politician or industry executive who would use the phrase ‘peak oil’. But in the UK, a country for whom domestic oil production decline is very much a concern, the issue has become almost mainstream.

Britain ‘facing electricity blackouts’

Britain faces widespread electricity blackouts within six years, government experts have warned.

Ofgem, the national regulator of gas and electricity, have suggested in a report that power cuts could start in 2016 – three years earlier than previously thought.

…Ofgem’s study warned that demand for electricity and gas could outstrip supply in the future, causing a national energy crisis.

Ofgem said that a worst case scenario would be failing levels of supply at peak times, including the evening and during winter months, by as early as 2016.

Public anger grows over Pakistan’s electricity crisis

Islamabad - Pakistan is considering aggressive measures to ease its energy crisis as growing public anger over prolonged power cuts threatens wider unrest, officials said Wednesday.

“A high-level meeting is taking place today to finalize the measures to overcome the power crisis, and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani will announce the decisions on Thursday,” the premier’s spokesman Zafaryab Khan said.

The government is considering plans to temporarily expand the country’s current one-day weekend to two; advance clocks by one hour; and order businesses to close at sunset.

NPT urges govt to get China, Iran help on power crisis

LAHORE - The 3rd meeting of Nazria Pakistan Trust General Council under the Chairmanship of Majid Nizami here on Tuesday in a joint resolution said that Indian water aggression is leading the region towards war while peace depends upon the end of Indian water aggression. But it was resolved that India would not be allowed to turn Pakistan into desert.

Pakistan: Urgent steps needed to end energy crisis: Shahbaz

LAHORE: Traders from Faisalabad chanted slogans against the federal and provincial governments and boycotted Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s meeting in Lahore regarding energy conservation steps, on Wednesday.

During the meeting, the Punjab Chief Minister said that the current shortfall of electricity stood at more than 6,000 megawatts. He said that all the power generation sources combined were producing 10,300 megawatts of electricity per day. Sharif also apologised for the manhandling by police during protests against load shedding.

Protests against power outages continue

LAHORE - As the energy crisis continue to worsen, hundreds of traders, shopkeepers and local residents Tuesday took to streets and staged strong protest demonstration at Chauburji against massive loadshedding. The protesters mostly shopkeepers rejected the government decision to close down the business activities in the City before 7:00pm.

Aramco mulls Yanbu refinery after Conoco withdraws

KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - State oil giant Saudi Aramco said on Wednesday it was evaluating how to proceed with its Yanbu oil refinery project after joint venture partner ConocoPhillips pulled out.

Saudi Aramco Changes Plans for Ras Tanura Project

Saudi Aramco has decided to move its biggest-ever project, a $17 billion-plus (SR63.75 billion-plus) petrochemicals project with the U.S.’s Dow Chemicals, from Ras Tanura to Jubail. The location change will allow cost savings of up to 40 per cent, as the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu will provide the basic infrastructure needed for the project, including utilities such as power and water. This move will also see the company cancel an $8 billion (SR30 billion) refinery development in Ras Tanura and make major changes to schemes worth an additional $17 billion (SR63.75 billion).

Worker killed in Port Arthur refinery accident

PORT ARTHUR, Texas — An industrial accident at the Motiva (moh-TEE’-vuh) Enterprises LLC refinery in Port Arthur has claimed one life.

CNPC says Iran, Iraq oil projects proceed well

BEIJING (Reuters) - State-owned CNPC, China’s largest oil and gas firm, is progressing well with its oil exploration and development projects in Iraq and Iran, a company newspaper said.

Who Killed California?

The west coast energy crisis represented the first returns from bipartisan deregulation in the energy industry. It was that deregulation that enabled companies like Enron to fabricate shortages where none existed and run up prices to absurd levels that state and local authorities paid to prevent blackouts from crippling the economy. An estimated fifty billion dollars was transferred from California to a handful of Texas based oil and energy companies. Enron would eventually pay a price but the rest got away with the cash. It was – and is – a foolproof business model: Steal billions in profits and pay millions in fines.

Dear Planet Earth, R.I.P.

I’m not exactly sure when the global warming debate crossed the line that separates the sublime from the ridiculous, but it is clear we’ve entered a whole new age of hot air.

Meet Bill McKibben, who many describe as a climate pioneer and whose books and lectures have certainly deposited him at the front lines of the environmental movement. Think of him as America’s David Suzuki, except taller and more amusing. In a recent interview with Salon.com, while promoting his latest work of doom and gloom, he pronounced Earth, as we know it, officially dead.

A New Approach in the Senate To Putting a Price on Carbon

The Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal Act, or CLEAR — sponsored by Senator Maria Cantwell, Democrat of Washington, and Susan Collins, Republican of Maine — has been getting a surprising amount of attention. Instead of a cap-and-trade system, the bill would institute what its sponsors call “cap-and-refund.” Under the bill, the president would, beginning in 2012, set an overall cap on fossil-fuel emissions. That cap would remain in place until 2015, after which it would start declining by a quarter of a percent a year.

Global stability is hallmark of Kingdom’s oil policy

The Saudi energy policy is based on two principles: Maintaining moderate international oil prices to ensure the long-term use of crude as a major energy source and having sufficient spare capacity to stabilize oil markets in the short term. Being a long-term player in the energy world, Saudi Arabia views global energy markets from a very specific prism — it wants stability in the crude markets.

It does not want volatility. Saudi Arabia also boasts the largest proven reserves of oil in the world.

Kingdom realizes that in the long-term, high prices and extreme volatility in the crude markets could be detrimental to both consumers and producers. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has been stressing on fair and balanced prices.

At least seven hurt in oil rig blast

Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser said that as of 5:30 a.m., 15 people that were aboard the rig were still missing, WWL TV reported on its website. There had been reports of a lifeboat seen after the incident and a search was continuing to find it, he said.

Nungesser also told the station that the rig was leaning and could become submerged. “The rig is leaning badly and the Coast Guard commander down here feels like it may go over sometime today,” he said. “It’s still on fire.”

Race for Arctic Energy Riches Heats Up

The race for the Arctic’s energy bonanza is heating up. If you were in any doubt, check out this conference season. Last month, Canada hosted a summit of Arctic Ocean Foreign ministers from the littoral nations, i.e. Canada, the US, Russia, Denmark and Norway. It was billed as Canada finally taking its Arctic initiative seriously. But the conference only hit the headlines when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized the organizers for excluding other interested parties, especially the indigenous peoples and Iceland, Finland and Sweden.

Kurt Cobb: Will Toe-to-Heel Air Injection Extend the Oil Age?

When the oil optimists say that new technology will extend the oil age for at least several more decades, they almost never discuss the limitations of technology, practical or financial. Nor do they like to discuss possible side effects that could render such technology unusable. But the discussion around a new method of heavy oil extraction called toe-to-heel air injection includes mention of both limitations and side effects. For that reason I give the patent holders a much better chance of developing a technique that could make a significant contribution to oil supplies while addressing environmental objections that could doom other methods.

Oil Little Changed Before Supply Data as Dollar Strengthens

(Bloomberg) — Oil traded little changed in New York before a report forecast to show U.S. crude inventories declined last week while supplies of gasoline and distillate fuels rose.

Oil erased earlier gains as the U.S. dollar strengthened against the euro, curbing the appeal of commodities for hedging inflation. The commodity climbed as much as 0.9 percent earlier as European airports including London Heathrow opened, reviving demand for jet fuel after six days of closures caused by ash clouds from a volcano in Iceland.

Gas Companies See Demand Revival as Exporters Avoid Supply Cuts

(Bloomberg) — Natural-gas use in Europe and Asia is rebounding after the recession slashed consumption, two of the biggest gas supply companies said in Algeria, where exporting nations this week decided against curbing supply.

Natural Gas Rises on Speculation Power Demand Will Increase

(Bloomberg) — Natural gas futures rose in New York on anticipation that demand for electricity from gas-fired power generators will increase as coal plants shut for annual maintenance.

U.S. power plants often schedule repairs for April and May, after heating needs decline with the end of winter and before higher temperatures increase demand for power to run air conditioners. About 31 percent of gas demand comes from electricity generators, according to the Energy Department.

Conoco pulls out of Saudi refinery project

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil giant ConocoPhillips said it pulled out of a project to build a new refinery with Saudi Aramco in Saudi Arabia, citing its strategy to reduce its refinery operations.

The planned refinery was to be built by the two oil companies in Yanbu Industrial City and have a processing capacity of 400,000 barrels per day.

Conoco, like other major oil refiners, has seen profits shrink at the plants that turn crude oil into gasoline and diesel fuel as the global economic slowdown has eroded demand.

Vitol Said to Hire Tanker to Store Jet Fuel in Europe

(Bloomberg) — Vitol Group, a Geneva-based commodities trader, has chartered an oil tanker to store jet fuel in Europe as the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano delayed flights and reduced demand for the fuel, according to three brokers familiar with the deal.

The Icelandic Volcano And Quiet Skies Over London

The hiatus in air travel could be a rehearsal for a post-jet age era if the peak oil theory is correct and we are facing a future with insufficient fuel to put into planes.

Ashpocalypse Now

Yet for those with loved ones stuck half a world away, the cascade of cancellations has been a poignant reminder of the frailty not only of our air-travel system, but of a way of life that depends on it. Eventually, the volcanic ash shooting up from Iceland and into the upper atmosphere will dissipate, and those beautiful aluminum tubes in the sky will go back to doing what they do best.

The trouble is that the incredible mobility to which we, or rather to which a privileged slice of we, have grown accustomed might prove unsustainable. Within the next decade, dozens of major airlines will go bankrupt. The biggest names in the business, like American Airlines, United, Delta and British Airways, could easily go the way of TWA, leaving JetBlue and Southwest and perhaps Continental to pick up the pieces.

Volcano provides a chance to digest truths about our food

Eyjafjallajokul – henceforth “the volcano” – has reminded us that the 21st century is a strange place. Things taken for granted turn out to involve fiendishly complex systems devoted, as often as not, to trivial ends. These are vulnerable systems, too, the sort capable of being blown apart by a puff of prevailing wind. They symbolise complacency and unnatural habits. And nothing illustrates the case better than food.

It is not, unless you happen to run a Kenyan packing plant, a big deal in itself. No-one is going to starve for want of an avocado. Odourless roses forced to grow year-round for home-wilting are not, in fact, a deprivation indicator. Britain air-freights only 1% to 2% of its foodstuffs, and few of those count as staples. But the silent skies bring to mind another, contrasting fact: in Britain we grow only 60% of what we eat. Why?

U.S. In the Midst of the Greater Depression, Fourth Turning Generational Crisis

The confluence of events and alignment of generational moods are a perilously explosive mixture. A deepening financial crisis, combined with an impending worldwide shortfall in oil (10 million barrels per day by 2015 according to the U.S. military), and a volatile worldwide military situation will likely lead to a major war. The deteriorating worldwide financial crisis will spur trade wars, currency depreciation and debt defaults. These tensions will combine with the panic of peak oil and Middle East terrorism to cause a World War centered in the Middle East. The spark could be an attack on Iran, a terror attack in the U.S., an overthrow of the Saudi Royal family, a conflict between Pakistan and India, or another conflict not foreseen by anyone. How the leaders of the United States react to such an event will determine the future path of this Crisis.

Iraq Oil Bases Sprout as Halliburton, Schlumberger Seek Profit

(Bloomberg) — The world’s biggest oilfield contractors are building bases in the deserts of Iraq in a bet they’ll profit as the country strives to boost crude oil output to rival Saudi Arabia.

Ukraine Poised to Strike Gas Deal With Russia Today

(Bloomberg) — Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister said his government may strike a gas price deal with Russia today, as the country tries to complete the last milestone needed to resume its International Monetary Fund loan.

Ecuador’s Finance, Energy Ministers Quit, Ahead of Reshuffle

(Bloomberg) — Ecuador’s finance and energy ministers resigned yesterday, clearing the way for President Rafael Correa to announce cabinet changes that may boost support for proposals to grab a bigger share of mining and oil profits.

Mullen Defends Plans to Keep Iran From Getting Nuclear Weapons

(Bloomberg) — Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen defended U.S. planning on Iran, saying President Barack Obama has made it a priority to make sure the Persian Gulf nation won’t gain a surprise nuclear capability.

Cities wring cash out of utilities

Tight budgets and falling revenues are prompting cities across the USA to consider selling municipal water and sewer systems to private companies.

…Selling or leasing water systems isn’t always a good deal, says Wenonah Hauter of Food & Water Watch, a non-profit group. Some cities that do so are “mortgaging their future” by ceding control of a vital asset, she says, and rates often climb.

Spain May Cut Rates Behind $24 Billion Solar Boom

(Bloomberg) — Spain, after spurring more than 18 billion euros ($24 billion) in solar-power investments since 2008 by offering subsidized prices, is studying whether to cut rates retroactively, reducing returns for clean-energy plants.

First Green Supersonic Jet Launches on Earth Day

The twin-engine tactical aircraft is prepared on April 22 to make a supersonic flight on biofuel—its tanks filled 50 percent with oil refined from the crushed seeds of the flowering Camelina sativa plant. The test flight at the Naval Air Station at Patuxent River, Maryland will be a milestone in the Navy’s efforts to reduce its reliance on petroleum, and perhaps, in the elusive search for an alternative fuel for aviation.

The event is meant to showcase the Pentagon’s efforts to increase use of renewable energy, not only as a climate change initiative but to protect the military from energy price fluctuations and dependence on foreign oil.

China’s Rare-Earth Policies Spark Apprehension For Automakers

China’s tight hold on the world’s usable supply of so-called rare-earth elements is fueling one of the bigger challenges for the fledgling green car industry.

TR10: Solar Fuel: Designing the perfect renewable fuel

When Noubar Afeyan, the CEO of Flagship Ventures in Cambridge, MA, set out to invent the ideal renewable fuel, he decided to eliminate the middleman. Biofuels ultimately come from carbon dioxide and water, so why persist in making them from biomass-corn or switchgrass or algae? “What we wanted to know,” Afeyan says, “is could we engineer a system that could convert carbon dioxide directly into any fuel that we wanted?”

Peace still reigns on Walden Pond

Thoreau was very much what you would have expected. He loved to hike and get out on the water in a canoe. But here’s something that may surprise you: He didn’t reject society.

Actually, he embraced both civilization and the untamed world, and deeply felt that both could exist, so long as man realized that he was a part of the larger picture of nature, and not the other way around. With Earth Day approaching, it’s a good time to remember what Thoreau tried to teach us.

The Best Green Choices For Your Life

Everybody wants to save the world. But perhaps the best we can do is not make things worse.

Environmental crises surround us: global warming, hazardous waste, resource depletion, air pollution and many more. But more often than not the so-called “solutions” to these problems simply cause different problems. There are no silver bullets, no panaceas, only Pyrrhic victories.

Bjorn Lomborg - Earth Day: Smile, don’t shudder

Given all the talk of impending catastrophe, this may come as a surprise, but as we approach the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day, people who care about the environment actually have a lot to celebrate. Of course, that’s not how the organizers of Earth Day 2010 see it. In their view (to quote a recent online call to arms), “The world is in greater peril than ever.” But consider this: In virtually every developed country, the air is more breathable and the water is more drinkable than it was in 1970. In most of the First World, deforestation has turned to reforestation. Moreover, the percentage of malnutrition has been reduced, and ever-more people have access to clean water and sanitation.

Sustainability action will benefit future generations

The word sustainability is frequently used in the news, but what does it mean?

Sustainability is about making choices today that don’t compromise the ability of future generations (our children, grandchildren and their children) to meet their needs and enjoy a rich quality of life.

Scientist shares his solutions

In recent years, people in north-central Kansas have been able to hear Google Vice President Vint Cerf talk about the future of technology and the Internet; former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker talk about the threat of ballooning national debt; and writers such as James Howard Kunstler talk about global warming and the looming peak oil crisis.

But Tuesday night may have been the first time they heard all those topics — plus salt-water agriculture, the evolution of the human brain, cell phone coverage in Africa and casual references to the problems zero-point energy poses to quantum theory — in one 50-minute presentation.

Fear of a Hot Planet (inteview with Bill McKibben)

On December 24, 1968, while orbiting the moon aboard the Apollo 8 spacecraft, astronaut William Anders took one of history’s most famous photographs. As the ship rounded the grey, lifeless surface of our satellite, a pale blue-and-white dot appeared against the blackness of space; Anders picked up his camera and snapped its shutter. “Earthrise,” as the photo would come to be known, was the first widely published image of our planet taken from space. Never before had humanity seen such a view of our collective habitat.

But that planet no longer exists. In the forty-two years since “Earthrise” was taken, we have done so much damage to our home that, some say, we need a new name for it. Environmentalist, educator, and author Bill McKibben suggests “Eaarth,” which is the title of his new book.

The New Crack Down On Big Coal

Scott Parkin, an organizer at the San Francisco-based Rainforest Action Network (RAN), is a straight-talking, get-things-done kind of guy, more at ease toiling behind the scenes in environmental struggles than serving as a personification of them. Yet in his fight against the coal industry he has embodied the qualities that define a new-model environmental movement in the United States. In the past four years this reinvigorated, multifaceted movement has chalked up an impressive — albeit frequently overlooked — series of victories against Big Coal, a leading contributor to domestic greenhouse gas emissions and a powerful lobby whose influence stretches from Congress to rural West Virginia courthouses.

The new green diet

When our parents lectured us to eat green, they meant eat more broccoli. Decades later, that same advice is bound to mean something entirely new to the next generation. They’ll associate eating green with being environmentally conscious.

How our food is grown, raised, processed, packaged and transported affects the environment and ultimately our own health and well-being.

White House: Climate bill ‘doable’ this year

WASHINGTON – White House energy adviser Carol Browner said Tuesday she thinks Congress still has time to approve a climate and energy bill this year.

Browner called action on the long-delayed legislation “doable,” because members of Congress increasingly understand the need to develop clean energy that does not emit carbon dioxide and other pollutants blamed for global warming.

Carbon Jumps Most in a Year as E.ON Buys, EU Tightens

(Bloomberg) — The price of polluting jumped 15 percent in Europe this month, the biggest gain in a year, as utilities including E.ON AG amass carbon credits and regulators restrict future supplies.

Carbon offsets: How a Vatican forest failed to reduce global warming

From a scheme to create an algae bloom in the South Pacific to a Vatican forest in the plains of Hungary – how one carbon offset developer’s ideas failed to reduce global warming.

Betting on Climate Change: Corporations Stand to Make or Lose Billions

Beluga is a German firm that specializes in “super heavy lift” transport. Its vessels are equipped with massive cranes, allowing it to load and unload massive objects, like multi-ton propeller blades for wind turbines. It is an enormously expensive business, but last summer, Beluga executives hit upon an interesting way to save money: Shipping freight over a melting Arctic.

Bolivia’s Morales slams capitalist debt to global warming

COCHABAMBA, Bolivia (AFP) – Bolivian President Evo Morales opened a “people’s conference” on climate change on Tuesday with an attack on capitalism’s debt to global warming, before participants booed a UN envoy.

…”Either capitalism dies, or it will be Mother Earth,” leftist Morales said to a crowd of some 20,000 people.

“We’re here because industrialized countries have not honored their promises.”