Firms squeeze the workweek

The rise of four-day weeks promises energy savings and more productivity, but only in some cases. Ask Roberta Chinsky Matuson about compressing the workweek into four 10-hour days and her response is enthusiastic. “I would rather work four days than five,” says Ms. Matuson, who once spent nearly nine months on a compressed schedule as […]

Ontario nuclear plant weld failure ”unprecedented,” documents show

OTTAWA — When the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission was struggling last December with a shortage of medical isotopes sparked by the Chalk River reactor shutdown, it was also dealing with another Ontario nuclear plant where there had been an “unprecedented” weld failure on one fuel bundle. In all, 10 defective welds were found on the […]

Mexicans vote ‘no’ on oil reform; turnout far below expectations

Organizers of a nonbinding referendum say Mexico City residents voted against the president’s proposal give private companies a bigger role the country’s state-run oil industry. More than 80 percent of those who voted Sunday in the capital oppose President Felipe Calderon’s plan, according to results from nearly 98 percent of the vote. Results still are […]

Economy hitting the elderly especially hard

Bankruptcies soar as retirees, agencies struggle to keep up with rising costs …Only 21 percent of employers offer supplemental health coverage to retired employees enrolled in Medicare, according to the AFL-CIO, making government and private senior service agencies crucial to keeping America More than 2,000 Meals on Wheels programs nationwide have waiting lists because it […]

The Coming Re-Becoming (Kunstler)

Everywhere you turn in this nation, you see a society primed for implosion. We seem unaware how extraordinary the American experience has been, especially in the last hundred years. By this, I don’t mean that we are a better people than any other society — these days, ordinary people in the USA make an effort […]

The Economics Of Buying A Hybrid

If youDesignNews

NYERS FEEL HEATING-OIL BILL CHILLS

Even as air conditioners hum throughout the city and thermostats soar past 90 degrees, residents are already getting hot under the collar over the cold reality that winter’s heating megabills are just around the corner. With fewer measures now available to help offset soaring costs, New Yorkers are in for a big shock. “We don’t […]

NEPAL: Fuel shortage threat to food security

Nepal’s acute fuel shortage is causing serious concern among local food traders about its impact on food prices. “The shortage of fuel has been affecting the cost of our transportation. We can expect further increases in food prices which could heavily affect poor families,” Ravi Sharma, a local food trader, who supplies rice and other […]

Fishing industry on ‘brink of winding up’ (Fiji)

FIJI’S tuna longline fishing industry is on the brink of winding up with companies likely to go into receivership and boats put on sale if the interim Government does nothing, warns an established exporter. Fiji Fish Marketing Group Ltd managing director Graham Southwick said previous government’s have failed to take heed of the industry’s plea […]

Tradewinds Airlines files for bankruptcy

Tradewinds Airlines has become a victim of rising fuel prices and falling demand. The Greensboro, N.C.-based freight airline on Friday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Southern Florida in Miami. The companyBizJournals

Diesel scarcity hits Blantyre (Malawi)

BARELY two weeks after the country was hit by an acute diesel shortage, motorists are again slowly finding it hard to access the fuel from filling stations in Blantyre. A snap survey by The Daily Times in Limbe and Blantyre over the weekend revealed that most retailers are not selling the product, fuelling speculation that […]

Congress in knots over energy as recess nears

Congress appears unlikely to pass energy legislation before leaving this week for its August recess, even though polls show Americans are worrying more about record high gas prices than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The two parties blame each other. “They don’t want to do anything on energy except talk about it,” said Senate […]

Opec warns oil prices could rocket to $500 a barrel

The nightmare scenario of oil reaching $500 a barrel within a few years was raised at the weekend by a member of OPEC’s governing council. It would mean a fourfold increase from current prices and ends any hope the ECB has of getting inflation under control. Such a rise would also pose a serious threat […]

Cars driving China’s oil demand

China’s escalating demand for oil can be traced to increased auto sales in the country and government subsidies that keep prices low, analysts said. Although subsidies were partly lifted recently, gas now costs $3.40 per gallon in China. SUV sales, meanwhile, rose 43 percent in May this year compared with May 2007 and sales of […]

Fuel Subsidies Overseas Take a Toll on U.S.

JAKARTA, Indonesia

Australia: Supermarkets stockpile fresh food as truckies protest

SUPERMARKETS across Queensland are expected to run low on food tomorrow as angry truck drivers stand firm on their two-week strike. Retailers, fearing the worst yesterday, started to stockpile fruit, vegetables and meat as thousands of truckies joined blockades to protest against low pay rates, new fatigue regulations and soaring fuel prices. In Brisbane, 300 […]

Saudi Aramco denies shortage of fuel to rural areas

DHAHRAN It said it increased diesel sales to its customers in Al-Qasim and Hail by 15 percent this year. It also said its sales to customers in the Al-Jouf region have increased by 31 percent because of increased demand from last year, Al-Hayat reported. Engineer Ahmed Al-Saadi, Executive Director for Distribution at Saudi Aramco said […]

Funds for Highways Plummet As Drivers Cut Gasoline Use

An unprecedented cutback in driving is slashing the funds available to rebuild the nation’s aging highway system and expand mass-transit options, underscoring the economic impact of high gasoline prices. The resulting financial strain is touching off a political battle over government priorities in a new era of expensive oil. A report to be released Monday […]

Oil bogeyman approach won’t reduce emissions

AUSTRALIAN motorists have been frightened into greenhouse submission. A shocking CSIRO report issued earlier this month warns of petrol prices of up to $8 a litre by 2018. There are few buttons hotter than petrol prices to get public attention on the future cost and availability of transport energy. The eye-watering projection of a 500 […]

China’s Cars, Accelerating A Global Demand for Fuel

SONGJIANG, China — Nodding his head to the disco music blaring out of his car’s nine speakers, Zhang Linsen swings the shiny, black Hummer H2 out of his company’s gates and on to the spacious four-lane road. Running a hand over his closely shaved head, Zhang scans the expanse of high-end suburban offices and villas […]

UK: Man hurt in fuel-making explosion

A man blew up his garage attempting to make biodiesel from cooking oil at his Northamptonshire home. The victim received 20% burns when his makeshift garage factory, in Middleton Cheney, exploded on Saturday afternoon. It is understood the man regularly made fuel from used cooking oil, which he got from his local Chinese takeaway. Making […]

Ryanair Profit Falls 85% on Oil; May Post Annual Loss

Ryanair Holdings Plc, Europe’s biggest discount airline, said profit fell 85 percent, missing analysts’ estimates, and may post its first full-year loss since going public in 1997 because of increased fuel expenses. Ryanair dropped as much as 25 percent in Dublin trading after saying today first-quarter net income excluding writedowns fell to 21 million euros […]

My Turn: Life after oil

Humanity is sitting on a railroad track, and a train is speeding toward us. The name of that train is global oil shortages. But, let’s start at the beginning. Oil was discovered in 1859 in the United States. However, we did not appreciate its many uses, so production and consumption began slowly. During the years […]

A Modest Proposal: Eco-Friendly Stimulus

ECONOMISTS and members of Congress are now on the prowl for new ways to stimulate spending in our dreary economy. Here A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT The oldest cars, especially those in poor condition, pollute far more per mile driven than newer cars with better emission controls. A California study estimated that cars 13 years old and […]

Pakistanis go hungry as economic troubles bite

ISLAMABAD (AFP) Spiralling food and fuel prices, power outages lasting at least six hours a day, a plummeting stock market and soaring inflation have all caused mounting anger in the unstable nuclear-armed nation of 160 million people. “We eat bread with tea for breakfast and supper, we cannot afford lunch,” Zaman, 30, told AFP at […]

Customers getting pinched as oil profits go to investors

HOUSTON – As giant oil companies such as Exxon Mobil get set to report what will probably be another round of eye-popping quarterly profits, just where is all that money going? Companies insist they’re trying to find new oil that might help bring down gas prices, but the money they spend on exploration is nothing […]

Gulf oil producers stance appears vindicated

The UK has offered to host another meeting of oil producing nations and consumer countries following the energy summit in Saudi Arabia to assess progress from discussions initiated during the conference in Jeddah. The meeting, if it goes ahead, is likely to be conducted in a less confrontational atmosphere than the conference in June. OPEC […]

Bozeman inventor markets car that uses solar charged batteries

The Solar Bug, a tiny car powered by batteries that can be recharged by solar panels on the roof, drives like a four-wheeler with moxie. Imagine sitting on a motorcycle seat, perhaps with a passenger behind, and steering an ATV chassis to the store or to work and never, ever, having to pay for gas. […]

Stagflation and Peak Oil: How Related Are They?

So, what does well during a period of Stagflation? Not much – but, you can at least protect (and gain somewhat) by changing your portfolio to reflect the times. Earnings will rise dramatically, so at first glance, things don’t look that bad. However, when you strip out the rise in earnings that is directed attributed to inflation, the generic growth of companies slows to a halt, which does a nice job on P/E ratios. Consumer discretionary stocks normally take a beating, as people can barely afford to eat, heat their homes and put gas in the tank…

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Point of Contact: James Howard Kunstler

Our Q&A with James Howard Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency and World Made By Hand. When you published The Long Emergency three years ago, oil was trading at about $50 a barrel, and naysayers wrote off your predictions of peak oil doom as cranky hysteria. What about now? I would answer the naysayers by […]

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LATEST NEWS HEADLINES

• Is It Time To Abandon the Idea of Phasing Out Oil and Gas?
• More than 20% of global refining capacity at risk of closure
• Charles Hugh Smith Blog: Fire, Then Ice Our Deflationary Future
• Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser says energy transition strategy ‘visibly failing’
• 100 million-degree ‘artificial sun’ sets new records in hunt for energy’s ‘Holy Grail’

• China’s peak oil demand bombshell eviscerates Danielle Smith’s energy strategy
• US seeks to buy up to 3 million bbls of oil for Strategic Petroleum Reserve
• Desertification: the world is losing healthy land at an astonishing rate
• US oil production will keep booming in 2024, setting up a possible showdown with Saudi Arabia
• Saudi Arabia piles pressure on UAE to shift COP28 focus away from oil and gas
• US Warship, Commercial Ships Under Attack In Red Sea