Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, the world’s largest state-owned oil company, has announced plans to double the amount of power it can generate to about 4,000 megawatts by 2015. “Currently we have approximately 2,000 megawatts of generating power internally … we want … to go to 4 to 4.5 gigawatts depending on new facilities that are coming,” […]
Inflation has risen 3.2% over the last year in the U.S., mostly because of increased food and gas prices. This is the biggest 12 month increase since October 2008. The number comes from the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the most widely used measure of inflation. While this may seem like a lot, inflation is even […]
Here’s a nice quick hitter on electric trash trucks in Paris, the City of Love. They’re quiet so you can run your collection routes at night thereby reducing traffic congestion considerably. What’s not to love?
The Iranian nuclear power plant built by Russia at Bushehr is now operating. Atomstroyexport says that a self-sustained fission reaction began on Sunday. “This is one of the final stages in the physical launch of the reactor,” said Vladislav Bochkov, a spokesman for the Russian company. The plant is at “the minimum controlled power level.” […]
The Big Lie – or tired old axiom if you want to be polite – is that renewables can’t get the job done. If you need to believe that, then you might as well believe that ignorance is strength. As I noted here, and many times at this blog, renewables are blowing the doors down […]
Echoing recent warnings by the FAO about a budding global food crisis, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton counseled representatives at a meeting in Rome on Friday about the dangers of rising prices and enduring shortages of food. Now, thankfully, the situation we face today is not yet as serious [as the 2007-2008 global […]
This morning on NHK TV, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku (the second-in-command in Japan’s civil service) said, “Our energy policy is to stick to nuclear power.” Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors are under review for safety in light of the Fukushima disaster, but apart from three reactors at the Hamaoka facility in central Japan, the […]
Yesterday, the price of crude oil dropped about 10%. This will not bring any immediately relief to motorists, nor does it mean that a bear market has started in the trading pits. The sell-off did not come from the killing of Usama bin Laden (or it would have happened on Monday), nor did any survey, […]
When speaking of food deserts, areas that lack access to affordable fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk, and other foods that make up the full range of a healthy diet, many would be surprised to learn that there are Americans who lack sufficient access to such resources. Research has shown that increasing rates of obesity […]
In addition to holding back Muammar Gaddafi’s forces, people in the rebel-held city of Benghazi in eastern Libya are fending off a lack of access to food. The conflict has raised prices of food supplies and suppliers are cutting off Libyan store owners who cannot guarantee payment because of the difficulty in accessing funds. The […]
A new US Energy Information Administration study, World Shale Gas Resources: An Initial Assessment of 14 Regions Outside the US, suggests that shale gas is going to be the game-changer around the world that it has been in the US. A good example is Poland. According to the EIA study, Poland has 5.3 trillion cubic […]
The UN Human Rights Council has authorized a new three-year mandate for Olivier De Schutter to continue as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. The Special Rapporteur’s position was established to “…respond fully to the necessity for an integrated and coordinated approach in the promotion and protection of the right to food,” […]
There have been a number of useful developments recently in which electric power utilities are showing that big-ticket programs are now and are going in the near future to make a difference. TVA – The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has announced that they are going to phase out 18 coal-fired power plants, replacing them with […]
Kenyans protested against high food and oil prices last week, demanding policies to address the rapidly increasing cost of living. “I am here to demonstrate because things have gone high, things like maize flour, sugar and kerosene,” said one protester. The price of maize flour, a staple food for Kenyans, has gone up 27% in […]
Seventeen million children in the U.S., nearly 1 in 4, are at risk of hunger. Feeding America has partnered with ConAgra Foods for a “Child Hunger Ends Here” campaign. Visitors to the campaign’s website can enter the purchase code from ConAgra food brands; including Chef Boyardee, Healthy Choice, Peter Pan peanut butter and more. ConAgra […]