Archive for February 12th, 2012

Canada: Shine light on money for oilsands debate

Edmonton Journal: The oilsands are Alberta's advantage, and while no further proof is needed, it's right there in a provincial budget that predicts unrivalled revenue and royalties for the industry and the province respectively. And it's in the national census that proves Canadians from other provinces are flocking to Alberta, no doubt for the promise of jobs and prosperity. It's there in a report from TD Economics that projects a country-leading 2.5-per-cent increase in Alberta's GDP from 2016 to 2021. It's there...

Drilling deeper on talk of U.S. energy independence

Seattle Times: If you're like me, you've been reading about a renaissance in American fossil-fuel production. Not just that, but that the United States is on course to gain "energy independence" and even become a significant exporter of natural gas. "The transformation ... could see the country become the world's top energy producer by 2020," Bloomberg recently reported. Drill, baby, drill, would seem to have succeeded. Big talk is as old as the Oil Patch. Reality often disappoints. The gusher of cheerleading...

Fukushima reactor readings raise reheating concern

Guardian: Concern is growing that the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan is no longer stable after temperature readings suggested one of its damaged reactors was reheating. The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), said the temperature inside No 2 reactor – one of three that suffered meltdown after last year's earthquake and tsunami – may have reached 82C on Sunday. Tepco said there was no evidence that the melted fuel inside had reached criticality. The utility reportedly increased...

Central African rainforests disappearred from climate change

Economic Times: Climate change combined with human activity caused the disappearance of tropical rainforests in central Africa 3,000 years ago, a study has found. According to the Prensa Latina news agency, an analysis of marine sediment of the Congo river shows that at that time there was the influence of a strong chemical erosion. Experts from the French Research Institute for Marine Exploration ( IFREMER) said this deterioration occurred with the arrival of tribal communities that brought agricultural and...