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 … Read More
nuclear
A New Chapter but Same Old “Solutions” (maybe)
American President-elect Barack Obama sent a video-taped message to a conference on climate change in Los Angeles yesterday that, under his administration, he would to promise a “new chapter in America’s leadership on climate change”, leading to a “new era of global cooperation” on the issue. In his message, Obama pledged “a new chapter in … Read More
“Nuclear is UK’s new North Sea oil”
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
UK Plans “Significant” Increase in Nuclear Power
The UK’s reliance on nuclear power will increase “significantly” over the next two decades, the business secretary, John Hutton, has admitted. Hutton says he expects a new generation of nuclear power stations to be built to supply much more of the country’s electricity than the 19 per cent the existing ones deliver. He also said … Read More
BP: We’re Not Going Nuclear
Things may be bad for BP, but at least the company is not going to go nuclear. The oil major has confirmed it will not enter the nuclear power business, despite a dearth of opportunities in conventional oil and gas pushing rivals into alternative energy sources including nuclear.
UK Goes Nuclear
After years of dithering by the government and a slick PR campaign by the industry, the UK government is set to approve a new generation of nuclear power stations today. The business secretary, John Hutton, will tell MPs that new stations must be built to ensure future security of supply and help produce a balanced … Read More
US Urged to Act on Energy
The US should adopt the toughest possible fuel economy standards for motor vehicles and join a global framework for managing carbon dioxide emissions. These are the findings of a Bush administration-commissioned study of the energy industry, led by Lee Raymond, the former chairman of Exxon.
Brown Goes Nuclear
He has not even become Prime Minister, but already Gordon Brown is following in the familiar footsteps of his predecessor. Later this week, Britain’s Prime Minister-elect will give the green light to plans for a dramatic renewal of the nuclear power programme that will see the building of up to eight new stations, possibly within … Read More
Five Minutes to Midnight
The clock is ticking. Yesterday the “Doomsday Clock”, devised by the Chicago-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 1947 at the dawn of the nuclear age, was moved forward from its present seven minutes to midnight, where it has stood since 2002, to five minutes to the Domesday hour. The scientists have decided to move … Read More
Indian PM Asks for Alternative Energy
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for his country’s scientists and engineers to develop alternative energy sources. Addressing the Indian Science Congress he said “India must find alternative sources of energy supply. We will need bio-fuel, solar energy, photo voltaic, nuclear and almost all sources, which do not burden the conventional sources of energy … Read More