Half-Way to Climate Catastrophe

April 30, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post

Sometimes you wonder if anyone actually heeds the warnings any more. There have been so many of impending doom about climate catastrophe, that people seem oblivious to the warnings. Two scientific reports released today maybe the ones where people sit up and notice.  One of the lead scientists thinks so. “This changes the way we … Read More

Shell’s Tar Sands Operations Make a Loss

April 29, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post

Its been a bad year so far for the oil barons. The oil price has plummeted through the floor and so have their profits. Yesterday BP announced a drop of 62 per cent and today Shell announced a similar reduction of reduced profits of 58 per cent, the first time it has posted a quarterly … Read More

Shell: “A tough year to come in Nigeria”

April 28, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post 1 Comment

Yesterday a campaign was launched, called ShellGuilty. It is intended to stop Shell’s on-going gas flaring in the Niger Delta and to campaign for justice for the Ogoni people. The campaign highlights many of the issues that will come to trial next month in New York, in WiwavShell, including Shell being accused of complicity in … Read More

‘ShellGuilty’ Campaign Launched

April 27, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post

It has been a long fight for justice, but the day that Nigerian writer Ken Saro-Wiwa dreamed of is now just a month away. Saro-Wiwa was hung along with eight others in November 1995, having been framed by the Nigerian military for a crime he did not commit. His only crime had been to take … Read More

“No longer will petroleum be the only game in town”

April 24, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post

California has long liked to set the trend that others follow: whether it be movies, fashion, celebrities or even clean air. And yesterday was another first. It adopted the world’s first regulation to limit greenhouse gas emissions from transport fuels. The State’s Air Resources Board adopted a regulation expected to slash gasoline consumption by 25% … Read More

New King Coal

April 23, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post

Much to the utter dismay of climate scientists, the British Government is to announce a new generation of coal-fired power plants to stave off a potential energy crisis. The plants will also use unproven carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to try and pump CO2 emissions under the sea. Each CCS could cost more than … Read More

The Next Big Thing: Shale Gas

April 22, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post

Most people across the spectrum of the energy industry – from its critics to its most ardent supporters – believe that the days of easy oil are really over. Apart from the abundant deposits in the Middle East, which are not under the control of the international oil majors, oil is becoming harder to find … Read More

Iraq: Politicians Pledge to “Push Shell Out”

April 20, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post

Only last Thursday, the boss of oil company Shell Jeroen van der Veer suggested that the oil giant was interested in joining forces with China on a number of oil projects in Iraq. “We are in the process of forming partnerships for certain bids, and Chinese companies are a part of that,” he said. But … Read More

California says “No” to Offshore Drilling

April 17, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post 2 Comments

It’s not often that US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar delivers a speech to polar bears, dolphins, jelly fish and sea turtles, who all sit intently on chairs in the audience.  It’s not every day that you see surfers covered in chocolate oil spills. Salazar was making the opening remarks to a public hearing … Read More