Natural Gas

Biden needs an Iran Deal: The US cannot Afford to Sanction both Moscow and Tehran without Risking $300 a barrel Oil

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The United States cannot afford to impose severe economic sanctions and boycotts on Russia and on Iran at the same time. That way lies $300 a barrel oil, global economic retraction, and likely a Democratic Party bloodbath in the midterms as voters protest their anguish at the pump. There is […]

Climate Crisis

Russia’s war Crime in Targeting Nuclear Plant Reminds us Why we Should rush to Wind and Solar

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Russian tank shelling of the massive Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in the city of Energodar, which set fire to the top three stories of a training building behind the complex, raised alarms about the possibility of a nuclear meltdown. At 6:20 AM on Friday Ukraine time, the blaze was extinguished […]

Climate Crisis

Scorching the Earth: When Big Oil and Gas Flare, the Methane traps 80x as Much Heat as C02

Cronkite News Arizona PBS

By Nicole Sadek, Zoha Tunio and Sarah Hunt | Howard Center for Investigative Journalism< When companies flare, they do more than burn natural gas. They burn money ( Cronkite News ) – Every year, U.S. oil and gas companies set fire to billions of cubic feet of natural gas and directly vent an additional unknown […]

Climate Crisis

Conflict with Russia is Raising your Gasoline Bill; an Electric Car is the Answer

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Reporters pressed White House spokesperson Jen Psaki on Wednesday about the likelihood that any Russian military engagement in Ukraine will raise petroleum prices further. Ensuing US sanctions on Russia would keep some of its petroleum off the market, as has already happened to Iran, at a time when demand is […]

Natural Gas

How Russia hooked Europe on its oil and gas – and overcame US efforts to prevent energy dependence on Moscow

The Conversation

By Ryan Haddad | – The Biden administration hopes its threat of “severe economic consequences” deters Russia from invading Ukraine – an event Americans officials say could be imminent. In response, the U.S. said it may ban the export of microchips and other technologies to critical sectors like artificial intelligence and aerospace and freeze the […]

Climate Crisis

Europe is dependent on Russian Gas during Ukraine Crisis because it didn’t Ramp up Renewables Faster

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The growing conflict between the United States and the Russian Federation over the Ukraine has taken an increasingly dark turn, with press reports that US embassy personnel and dependents are being pulled out of Kiev and that President Biden is considering sending US troops to Ukraine’s neighbors. The conflict has […]

Climate Crisis

Keep it in the Ground: We can’t limit Global Heating to Safe Levels unless We Ban all new Oil and Gas Fields

The Conversation

By David Waltham | – As a professor of geophysics, I have spent 36 years training young geologists destined to work in the fossil fuel industry how to look for oil and gas. But now I believe it’s time to stop fossil-fuel exploration and halt the development of all new oil and gas fields. We […]

Natural Gas

A century of Criminality: How the car and gas industry knew about the health risks of leaded fuel but sold it for 100 years anyway

The Conversation

By Bill Kovarik | – On the frosty morning of Dec. 9, 1921, in Dayton, Ohio, researchers at a General Motors lab poured a new fuel blend into one of their test engines. Immediately, the engine began running more quietly and putting out more power. The new fuel was tetraethyl lead. With vast profits in […]

Climate Crisis

Why We Can’t Trust the World Bank to Stand Up to Powerful Fossil Fuel Companies

Inequality.org

By Manuel Pérez-Rocha | – ( Inequality.org) – At the international climate change negotiations in Scotland, the World Bank tried to position itself as a global champion in alleviating the climate crisis. In reality, this multilateral financial institution has been promoting and defending extractive and fossil fuel industries. In a courageous column in the Guardian, […]