Archive for the 'Energy' Category
Not Confirmed: Gaddafi Has Ordered Security Services to Start Sabotaging Oil Facilities
February 23rd, 2011Note: The source of this information is a Robert Baer, a former CIA case officer. Batteries not included. Your mileage may vary. Monitoring… Via: Time: There’s been virtually no reliable information coming out of Tripoli, but a source close to the Gaddafi regime I did manage to get hold of told me the already terrible […]
Oil Surges 4%
February 21st, 2011Via: CNN: Oil prices surged more than 4% early Monday as antigovernment protests in the Middle East and Africa intensified, raising worries about possible supply disruptions. Crude oil for April delivery gained $3.80, or 3.8%, to $93.51 a barrel after earlier jumping as high as $93.75. U.S. oil prices have been trading in a range […]
Oil Companies Plan Evacuations From Libya
February 21st, 2011Update: Reuters: Gaddafi Fled Libya, on Way to Venezuela [???] Venezuela denies: A senior source in the Venezuelan government denied on Monday reports that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was traveling to the South American oil-producing nation led by his ally President Hugo Chavez. The Caracas government “denies such information,” the source told Reuters. Via: Reuters: […]
Residential Energy Storage with Underground Flywheels
February 16th, 2011Update 2013: Velkess: New Residential Scale Flywheel Design — A reader asked if I knew of a better way of storing energy for an off grid house than the ancient and familiar lead acid battery bank. Knowing that there really isn’t, I thought I’d try to be funny, so I said, “How about a big […]
DOE to Spend $27 Million on ‘Sun Shot’
February 15th, 2011‘Sun Shot’, eh? Ok, let’s look at what was spent on the Apollo program: The final cost of project Apollo was reported to Congress as $25.4 billion in 1973. $25.4 billion in 1973 dollars would equal $123 billion in 2009 dollars (source). So, by allocating $27 million of today’s dollars to this ‘Sun Shot’ project, […]
Austin Considers $50 a Year, Unlimited Electric Car Charging Service
February 14th, 2011Via: Austin Business Journal: Austin City Council members this week will consider charging Austin electric car drivers $50 a year to boot up their batteries from any Austin Energy plug-in. The proposed rate would apply to Austin Energy’s “Plug-in Everywhere” program — a network of public charging stations for electric vehicles. The city would offer […]
U.S. Diplomat Calls African Dictator a Good Guy
February 14th, 2011Via: AP: A U.S. diplomat called Equatorial Guinea’s dictator of 31 years one of “the good guys” in leaked diplomatic cables and urged Washington to engage with its third largest oil supplier or risk endangering energy security. In 2009 cables published by WikiLeaks, Anton K. Smith, the ranking U.S. diplomat at the time, described a […]
White House to Cut Energy Assistance for the Poor
February 10th, 2011In other news: U.S. Spends $20 Billion Per Year for Air Conditioning in Tents in Afghanistan. Oh sure, Obama is serious about budget discipline. Via: National Journal: President Obama’s proposed 2012 budget will cut several billion dollars from the government’s energy assistance fund for poor people, officials briefed on the subject told National Journal. It’s […]
WikiLeaks Cables: Saudi Arabia Oil Reserves Overstated by 40%
February 9th, 2011Via: AFP: THE US fears Saudi Arabia may not have enough oil reserves to prevent prices rising sharply, according to leaked cables. The cables from the US embassy in Riyadh, obtained by WikiLeaks, urge Washington to take heed of a warning from a former Saudi government oil executive that the kingdom’s crude oil reserves may […]
Egypt: Pentagon Moving Warships, Preparing for Possible Evacuations
February 7th, 2011Translation: The Suez Canal will remain open. Via: Los Angeles Times: The Pentagon is moving U.S. warships and other military assets to make sure it is prepared in case evacuation of U.S. citizens from Egypt becomes necessary, officials said Friday. The Kearsarge, an amphibious assault ship carrying 700 to 800 troops from the 26th Marine […]
