July | 2006 | The Price of Oil

Posts in July 2006

A Third of Amphibian Species At Risk From Climate Change and Other Factors
Andy Rowell
Jul07
A third of the planet’s 5,700 amphibian species are under threat of extinction, according to fifty of the world’s leading conservation experts who are calling for an urgent rescue mission to save frogs, newts and other amphibians. Up to 122 amphibian species have become extinct since 1980. Climate change, loss of habitat and infectious diseases…
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The Race Is On To Grab World’s Last Oil Hotspots
Andy Rowell
Jul07
The Guardian reports today that “money [is] no object as the big players grab what is left of a diminishing resource”, quoting the recent decision by Sinopec of China to pay $1bn for the right to explore for oil in deep water off Angola. This has “shocked” the west, “which fears it could be left…
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Hot Air But No Action
Andy Rowell
Jul06
The European Emission Trading Scheme has been getting about as much bad publicity as BP recently. The latest hounding comes from Times columnist, Camilla Cavendish, who attacks the ETS in a good old fashioned rant. She says: “Those of us who have been shouting into the wind for years about melting glaciers, wilting polar bears…
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Coal to Oil
Andy Rowell
Jul05
The New York Times reports on the growing moves to convert coal to oil. The paper points out that the coal in states like Illinois have more energy than all the oil in Saudi Arabia. The technology to turn that coal into fuel for cars, homes and factories is proven. And at current prices, that…
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Former British Foreign Minister Helped Oil Giants with Iraq Contracts
Andy Rowell
Jul05
Dramatic new evidence has been released of high-level lobbying for Iraqi oil contracts, on behalf of oil companies BHP Billiton and Shell. New documents show that Malcolm Rifkind, the former British Foreign Secretary, lobbied Dick Cheney for Shell and BHP Billiton to obtain a major Iraq oil contract, just weeks after the 2003 invasion. Rifkind,…
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Airlines Reeling After EU Vote
Andy Rowell
Jul05
European airlines are said to be “reeling” after amazing developments at the EU yesterday over the environmental impact of flying. MEPs voted in favour of the “immediate introduction” of a tax on jet fuel for flights within the 25 member states of the EU. Because the cost of “cheap flights” is so low the charge…
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German Government Caves in to Industry Over CO2
Andy Rowell
Jul04
Germany is gripped by football world cup fever ahead of its semi-final clash with Italy tonight. What is not making the news is the fact that the German government has just allowed German industry to emit millions more tonnes of carbon dioxide. The National Allocation Plan II, that covers policy from 2008 to 2012, and…
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BP Blames Chavez for Production Shortfall
Andy Rowell
Jul04
BP’s woes continue. Hurricanes, explosions, spills, price-fixing and now a production short-fall. BP admitted yesterday that it produced less oil in the past three months than many analysts had predicted, leading some suggesting it could miss its crucial production targets for the year. The company has blamed Venezuelan President Hugo Cavez for the shortfall at…
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Labour Fails Election Pledge on Climate As Airlines Fight ETS Scheme
Andy Rowell
Jul03
Maybe Tony Blair should have changed a few more light bulbs than just the one outside Downing Street, (see blog below), as Labour has admitted it will break a key election pledge to radically cut CO2 emissions. Although the target is a 20 per cent cut by 2010 – Labour has acknowledged emissions will only…
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The Answer is Simple: Change Your Light Bulb
Andy Rowell
Jul03
Sometimes it’s the simple things that are best. By just using low-energy light bulbs and other efficient lighting systems we could prevent some 16 billion tons of carbon from being emitted over the next 25 years, according to a report by the International Energy Agency. Just using widely available technology would save more than £1,300bn…
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