As much of Europe shivers under unusually low temperatures, it is not only the temperatures that are plummeting. The annual spat over gas supplies and price between Russia and Ukraine has worsened overnight with four countries now reporting a complete halt in supplies.

The government in Kiev has said that Gazprom, the Russian state gas company, had cut the flow by 60 per cent following Prime Minister Putin’s threat yesterday to punish Ukraine for allegedly stealing fuel it is supposed to allow to transit through its pipelines en route to Europe. Continue reading ‘Putin’s Power Games Cause Severe Gas Shortages’

I never have been big on rules.

And neither apparently, is Tim DeChristopher.  He’s the young activist who just completely derailed the Bush Administration’s plans to sell more of our public lands to the oil companies.

He sat in the lease sale in Salt Lake City on December 19th and “bought” 22,500 acres of public lands right out from under the suits from Chevron and Exxon. Continue reading ‘Bailing out Bidder 70′

Welcome to 2009 – which promises to be a pivotal year in the debate on oil, energy and climate.

We have already seen the problems of reliance on foreign oil and gas supplies, with Russia having its yearly spat with Ukraine over payment for gas, and tensions in the Middle East pushing up the price of oil.  Continue reading ‘Welcome to a Pivotal Year’

Here’s a silly story for the festive season. The authorities in America are investigating a Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon who claims that he used the fat he removed from patients in liposuction operations to power his “green” SUV.

California’s public health department has opened an inquiry into claims made by the surgeon, Dr Alan Bittner, that he had turned fat removed from his patients into biodiesel. Continue reading ‘And Finally: Only in America…’

Oil may be at its lowest level for years, but Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has warned consumers that the “era of cheap gas” is coming to an end.

At a meeting to create a new forum of gas exporting countries, Putin said: “The expenses necessary for developing fields are rising sharply, and this means that despite the current problems in finances the era of cheap energy resources, of cheap gas, is of course coming to an end.” Continue reading ‘Putin: “Era of Cheap Gas” at an End’