Land Deal Could Open Alaskan Refuge to Drilling

March 26, 2008By Andy RowellBlog Post

A controversial land swap proposal could open portions of an Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling, but the scheme is already dividing native Alaskans. Supporters of the plan to exchange land in the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, which lies just south of the more-famous ANWR, want the plan approved before the pro-oil Bush Administration … Read More

The Ice Shelf Hanging by a Thread

March 26, 2008By Andy RowellBlog Post

It is one of the biggest in Antarctica and, for the past century, the massive Wilkins ice shelf appeared to have escaped the ravages of global warming. But now, enormous cracks have appeared in this floating ice platform the size of an American city. Scientists say it is breaking apart at an unprecedented rate after … Read More

“Nuclear is UK’s new North Sea oil”

March 26, 2008By Andy RowellBlog Post

Isn’t the definition of insanity knowing what you are about to do is wrong but doing it anyway. And then doing it again. And Again. If this is so, this gets pretty close. Britain’s Business Secretary, John Hutton, will call today for a huge expansion of Britain’s nuclear power in what he predicts could be … Read More

Iraq: The Scramble Gathers Pace

March 25, 2008By Andy RowellBlog Post

It seems the Iraqi and American governments are not waiting to pass the controversial oil law to develop Iraq’s oil as things are moving a pace in the oil sector. Last week, General David Petraeus called on “large Western corporations” to invest in Iraq’s energy sector as Iraq looks outside to boost oil, gas and … Read More

The “Insanity” of Biofuels

March 25, 2008By Andy RowellBlog Post

Just days before new legislation in the UK mandating their use, there is yet more trouble for biofuels. Professor Bob Watson, one of the British government’s top chief scientific advisers has said it would be wrong to introduce compulsory quotas for the use of biofuels in petrol and diesel before their effects had been properly … Read More

The Dangerous Legacy of Soot

March 25, 2008By Andy RowellBlog Post

Soot produced by burning coal, diesel, wood and dung causes significantly more damage to the environment than previously thought, according to new research. So-called “black carbon” could cause up to 60% of the current warming effect of carbon dioxide, according to the US researchers, making it an important target for efforts to slow global warming.

Follow the Oil Money

March 24, 2008By Andy RowellBlog Post, Separate Oil and State 1 Comment

Last week, on the 5th anniversary of the Iraq War, hundreds of people stood with Oil Change International in the streets in front of the American Petroleum Institute demanding a Separation of Oil & State. They know, just as we do, that oil was the central motivation of the war in Iraq, that oil money … Read More

Iraq to Pay Big Oil to Boost its Output

March 20, 2008By Andy RowellBlog Post

Well there are going to be some winners in this senseless war after all, and guess who it is… Big Oil. No surprises there, really… The Iraqi government is expected to pay up to $2.5 billion to five top oil companies to increase the country’s oil output by nearly a quarter, a government adviser has … Read More

US Business Groups Campaign Against Climate

March 20, 2008By Andy RowellBlog Post

Exxon may be about to pocket millions in Iraq, but still its lackey’s are determined to derail climate legislation in the US. Energy companies and other business interests in the US have launched a nationwide campaign of misinformation to try and undermine climate change legislation pending in Congress, saying it could cost millions of jobs, … Read More

Shell to Produce Five Times More Oil from Tar Sands

March 20, 2008By Andy RowellBlog Post

Despite the risks to the climate, Shell is gearing up for a huge expansion of its carbon-intensive tar sands operation in Canada at a time when it has been struggling to replace conventional reserves. “Canadian heavy oil, where we have 20bn barrels of resources, is a classical new technology and integration play that Shell can … Read More