Now – you might start thinking we have it in for BP, especially in the Arctic region. No, this is not true. The company seems to be doing enough damage to its corporate reputation and the environment without us. But now it faces further criticism for its operations. This time from the head of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

BP has admitted that it has found yet another pipeline break caused by corrosion on the North Slope, at the same time it faces a criminal investigation into its management of pipelines and six weeks after the company caused the worst spill on the North Slope. “We are at the point where there is so much damage to the lines from corrosion, we don't know where another leak will occur," says Marc Kovac, a BP worker. Well that is reassuring - especially given the other news today (see above).

During his tenure as one of the world’s most powerful oilmen, Lee Raymond who retired as Exxon’s Chief Executive last December, was vilified by environmentalists for his stance on climate change. Over the last decade Exxon has led the way to derail any action on the issue. The consequences of Raymond’s actions will be felt by the world for decades  to come.

A quarter century ago, when I began purchasing cigarettes and gasoline in significant quantities, a pack of smokes and a gallon of gas went for about the same price – 65 or 70 cents.

Last week, a gallon gas was selling for about $2.65 in Vermont and while I was filling up, I noticed a pack of cigarettes now sells for $4.80. Some addictions are more expensive than others. I quit smoking years ago, but it was not the price of cigarettes that changed my behavior, I was just done smoking.

Not that this is news on its own, but an ABC/Washington Post poll, released yesterday, shows that a whopping 74% believe he's mishandling "the situation with gas prices". Thanks to Greenpeace for the heads up.

Now that Sy Hersh has exposed the administration's plans to attack Iran (call it "reverse stovepiping"), civic leaders like Jesse Jackson are calling for a halt to the madness of would-be king George.

Revealing comments from Christophe de Margerie, head of exploration for Total and heir presumptive to the leadership of the French energy multinational. Interviewed by the Times earlier in the week he argued that the world lacks the means to produce enough oil to meet rising projections of demand for fuel over the next decade
He told the Times that the world is mistakenly focusing on oil reserves when the problem is capacity to produce oil. Forecasters, such as the International Energy Agency (IEA), have failed to consider the speed at which new resources can be brought into production, he believes.  “Numbers

One of Britain’s biggest private banks, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), has been criticised by UK research group, Platform for positioning itself as 'the oil and gas bank' and for providing the finance that is driving worldwide oil and gas projects. These projects will be at the expense of the communities and climate change.

A Norwegian independent energy company - DNO- plans to produce oil in Iraqi Kurdistan early next year after successful initial drilling. If further tests are also positive, it could lead to the first barrels produced by a foreign oil operator in Iraq and raise the question over who controls Iraq’s vast petroleum resources.

Tens of thousands of animals and plants could become extinct within the coming decades as a direct result of climate change, according to a new study. Scientists believe that if atmospheric levels of CO2 double - as expected by 2100 - then biodiversity will be devastated, leading to a "catastrophic" loss of species.