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Iran’s Khamenei Warns Over Military Strike, Oil Embargo Threat

February 4, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday the Islamic Republic would not yield to international pressure to abandon its nuclear course, threatening retaliation for sanctions aimed at Iran’s oil exports.

“Threatening Iran and attacking Iran will harm America … Sanctions will not have any impact on our determination to continue our nuclear course … In response to threats of oil embargo and war, we have our own threats to impose at the right time,” Khamenei told worshippers in a speech broadcast live on state television. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Foreign Policy, Government ·

Greenpeace Urges Government To Halt ‘Reckless’ Arctic Oil Rush

January 19, 2012 by ·

At a special House of Commons hearing, ministers will be asked to reconsider support for Cairn Energy drilling in the far north

The government will be urged on Wednesday to help build a more sustainable world by putting a brake on the oil industry’s “reckless” race to the Arctic.

At a special House of Commons hearing, Greenpeace will tell ministers to reconsider their support for Cairn Energy and other companies drilling in the far north unless they attach the most stringent operating conditions. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Environment, Nature ·

Iran Warns Gulf Arabs On Oil

January 15, 2012 by ·

Iran warned Gulf Arab oil producers against boosting production to offset any potential drop in Tehran’s crude exports in the event of an embargo affecting its oil sales, the latest salvo in the dispute between the West and the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program.

The comments by Iran’s OPEC governor, published Sunday, came as Saudi Arabia’s oil minister was quoted the same day denying that his country’s earlier pledges to boost output as needed to meet global demand was linked to a potential siphoning of Iranian crude from the market because of sanctions.

World oil markets have been jolted over concerns that Iran may choke off the vital Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for sanctions hampering its ability to sell its oil. Saudi Arabia and other key Gulf Arab producers have recently said they are ready to provide stable and secure supplies of oil. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Foreign Policy, Industry ·

All Eyes On German Renewable Energy Efforts

December 29, 2011 by ·

This tiny village of 37 gray homes and farm buildings clustered along the main road in a wind-swept corner of rural eastern Germany seems an unlikely place for a revolution.

Yet environmentalists, experts and politicians from El Salvador to Japan to South Africa have flocked here in the past year to learn how Feldheim, a village of just 145 people, is already putting into practice Germany’s vision of a future powered entirely by renewable energy.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government passed legislation in June setting the country on course to generate a third of its power through renewable sources – such as wind, solar, geothermal and bioenergy – within a decade, reaching 80 percent by 2050, while creating jobs, increasing energy security and reducing harmful emissions. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Industry, Technologies ·

Geologists Study Energy Source Underground

August 29, 2011 by ·

Geologists and energy experts say that using heat from the earth as a power source, and to heat and cool houses and businesses, might prove to be a clean-energy alternative for Ohio and other states.

To determine whether it will work, state geologists are using a $21.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to look for geothermal prospects throughout the country. Exploration efforts include studying underground temperatures, heat flow and thermal conductivity of rocks to determine whether geothermal energy is the right answer.

“Every state has potential,” said Lee Allison of the Arizona Geological Survey, who is principal investigator for the three-year study. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Ecology, Energy, Environment, Research & Study ·

Natural Gas Cars Get A Push

August 15, 2011 by ·

The state’s natural gas industry is pushing ahead with a strategy to promote cars powered by compressed natural gas.

PSNC Energy, the Triangle’s natural gas utility, this week asked regulators to approve a rate PSNC would charge to motorists filling up at PSNC-owned filling stations. The Gastonia company is planning to open three stations in the state this year.

PSNC would compete with electric utilities promoting electric vehicles that recharge from public charging stations and home-charging stations.

The cost of compressed natural gas fuel fluctuates with market conditions but is generally less than half the cost of gasoline. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Economy, Energy ·

BP Disaster One Year Later

August 4, 2011 by ·

When news of the disastrous BP oil well explosion reached the residents of Jean Lafitte, Louisiana last April, Mayor Tim Kerner did the only thing he could think of to stop the oil from destroying his community. He encouraged everyone in his town to join him on the water, working day and night throughout the disaster to clean-up the spill.

Now, one year after BP managed to cap the runaway well that fouled the Gulf of Mexico with an estimated five million barrels of oil, most of those people are ill.

“I’m afraid my neighbors will come to me and say, I wouldn’t have listened to you and kept my job if I knew it would kill me,” Kerner said. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Environment, Oil Spill ·