July | 2008 | The Price of Oil

Posts in July 2008

‘Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter’
Andy Rowell
Jul10
And so begins George’s long walk into the history books. He has months left in his Presidency. He has finished his farewell tour of Europe and finished his final G8 meeting. In his final few months, he may be responsible for yet another foreign policy disaster if the US attacks Iran, but when the dust…
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T. Boone to the Rescue…
Andy Rowell
Jul09
After a meeting today of the G8 and leading developing countries, the two groups finally said they shared a “joint vision” for action on climate change. But the statement made no mention of any specific target for cutting emissions, and gave no baseline date from when the cuts might begin. Yesterday the G8 called for…
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G8 Agrees Deal to Halve Emissions by 2050
Andy Rowell
Jul08
Its tough being a world leader. Imagine turning up at the G8 Summit in the midst of a one of the worst crises over food prices in many years and having to discuss the issue over an eight-course, 19-dish dinner prepared by 25 chefs. Whilst agonizing over the poor, they had to endure amuse-bouche of…
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BP Using “Bullying Tactics” in Russia
Andy Rowell
Jul07
This fight is getting nasty, and when it is all over, the future of one of Britain’s biggest companies could have been decided. The dispute between BP and its Russian partners took a turn for the worse over the weekend when it was announced that the oil giant was suing the Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR) consortium for…
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India to Invest up to $10 Billion in Tar Sands
Andy Rowell
Jul04
As oil creeps towards an unprecedented $150 a barrel the Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora has denied that India and China were responsible for the recent oil rise. Deori said that the growth in consumption in India was less than in many nations: “I take this opportunity to set the record straight….
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How Your Flat-Screen Fries the Climate
Andy Rowell
Jul03
Enjoy watching that movie last night on your new flat-screen TV? Well think again. Sorry to be a kill-joy, but the rising demand for flat-screen televisions could have a greater impact on climate change than the world’s largest coal-fired power stations, according to scientists.
Bush’s Iranian legacy
Andy Rowell
Jul02
Poor old George. He doesn’t quite get it. He doesn’t quite understand that what he does with his right hand impacts what he does with his left. Take the thorny issue of Iran. There is increasing speculation that Bush wants one major shot at Iran before he leaves office. Writing in the New Yorker this…
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“We are holding ourselves hostage to the weather”
Andy Rowell
Jul01
Such has been the race to embrace biofuels that in the rush we forgot about the risks. We conveniently forgot about how food going to fuel would exacerbate food shortages and hence push up food prices. We conveniently forgot that peat-lands would be drained and forests cut down to make way for monocrops to fill…
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