Energy articles from September 2000

Energy archives from September 2000

The Handwriting Is on the Wall.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Considering the various effects of all of the de facto "experiments" in human intervention into the environment, growing global emissions from consumption of fossil fuels may turn out to be at or near the pinnacle, that is if scientists'...

Assuring Energy Security (1).
September 22, 2000... A new United Nations report examines the issues in oil, gas, coal and nuclear. Of all the forms of energy, crude oil and its products are still the most important for energy security, due to oil's versatility and because it is the...

Assuring Energy Security (2).
September 22, 2000... Traditionally, international gas trade has been conducted on the basis of long-term (several-year) take-or-pay contracts. Under these contracts, designed to manage risk, the buyer agrees to take a certain volume over a period of time and to...

Up Against the Wall.(oil prices will rise as production decreases)(Statistical Data Included)
September 22, 2000... OPEC capacity is winding down. In a couple of years, oil prices will explode. With only about two million barrels of spare OPEC capacity left, the global economy is hurtling towards an oil supply wall at alarming speed. Even with the...

The Limits to Growth.(limits to increasing the supply of natural gas and oil)
September 22, 2000... This is more than an oil shock. We are in the early stages of a true energy crisis. This article addresses the physical limits to increasing the supply of either North American gas or worldwide oil: limits at the wellhead, limits at the...

The Color of Oil (1).(war, colonialism and access to oil)
September 22, 2000... The authors of The Color of Oil make their case. Oil is black and this, in contrast to the crystalline transparency of water, contributes to the great mystery associated with finding and producing oil. But, it can also be said that the...

The Color of Oil (2).(war, colonialism and access to oil)
September 22, 2000... Eventually, the Soviet army would push into Germany and all the way to Berlin. Although the atrocities against captives and the Jewish people in the conquered lands defy all presumed norms of human behavior, the years of war between Germany...

Suddenly, It's Synfuels.(coal-derived synthetic fuels)(Statistical Data Included)
September 22, 2000... Coal-derived fuels have become a pressing issue in the coal industry. Despite the fact that there are a number of reported benefits of synthetic fuels, until recently, such fuels have been largely ignored or considered unimportant by...

Experts Forecast Top Energy Innovations.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... A panel of energy experts from Battelle Memorial Institute and the national laboratories that it manages and co-manages for the U.S. Department of Energy (including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Oak...

Bush's Energy Plan Misses the Point, Analyst Says.(George W. Bush's proposed energy plan)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Recently, Jerry Taylor, director of natural resource studies at the Cato Institute, took a look at Gov. George W. Bush's proposed energy plan. He offered the following comments to Energy. "George Bush's call for increased domestic oil...

Venture Fund Attracts Players.(Nth Power Technologies, Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Nth Power Technologies, Inc. (http:// www.nthfund.com), a venture capital firm operating in the energy and power industries, has completed raising $120.5 million from new and existing investors for its second venture capital fund. Nth Power's...

AEC Response on TMI 21 Years Later.
September 22, 2000... Twenty-one years after Public Citizen petitioned the federal government to declare the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear generating plant an extraordinary nuclear occurrence, the atomic agency has finally responded. According to the...

Nuclear Research Initiative Underway.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... The U.S. Department of Energy, Oakland Operations Office has issued a Solicitation and a Program seeking applications/proposals for innovative scientific and engineering research and development in the field of nuclear energy as part of the...

Household Radwaste Still Under Scrutiny.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... U.S. Senators Lott, Daschle and Lincoln should keep their word to safeguard public health by prohibiting radioactive "recycling" and to ensure that radioactive material is not put into products used by consumers, said a coalition of public...

Ford Donates to Mitigate Carbon.(Ford Motor Company donating $5 million to Princeton University's Environmental Institute)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Ford Motor Company is donating $5 million to Princeton University's Environmental Institute for research on carbon and greenhouse gas issues. The donation was announced in a joint media conference with representatives from Ford, Princeton and...

Study Probes Air Pollution Effects.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Scientists with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) revealed preliminary findings from a two-year, $7 million, state-of- the-art study on air quality and human health at the Air Quality II conference in McLean, VA. EPRI cosponsored...

Mapping Underground With Radar.(ground-penetrating imaging radar)
September 22, 2000... Scientists with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Schlumberger have developed a radar system that can accurately detect, locate, and create three-dimensional images of underground features. The Gas Research Institute (GRI) also...

Dives May Uncover New Resources.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... During the last two weeks of October, a team of scientists sent the Deep Submergence Vehicle Alvin on numerous research dives to the depths of the Gulf of Mexico on a mission that may unlock clues to new energy resources. The scientists'...

Call Options.
September 22, 2000... You've reserved an advanced turbine and now payment is due. What do you do? Many project developers originally paid a $4 million deposit for the right but not the obligation - a call option - to take delivery on a combustion turbine at a...

SMES Order Opens New Era.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... American Superconductor Corporation (Two Technology Drive, Westborough, MA 01581-1527; Tel: 508/621-4307; Fax: 508/366-4106; E-Mail: jhowe@amsuper; Website:http://www.amsuper.com) and GE Industrial Systems, a business of General Electric...

Forget Atoms for Peace.
September 22, 2000... Weapons are replacing energy as the driver for nuclear plant construction. When the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) was negotiated and entered into force in 1970, peaceful nuclear power was viewed as a technology with great...

Changing Outlook for Coal.
September 22, 2000... Not boring any more, coal is now part of the fast moving energy industry After years of decline, by 1973 seaborne trade in coal had declined to around 21 Mt. However, starting in 1974, seaborne trade in coal has experienced growth with...

Dead or Alive?
September 22, 2000... The Global Climate Coalition aimed to fend off carbon emission rules. What's happened? Here are two views. Whatever Happened to the Global Climate Coalition? By Lester R. Brown, Chairman & Founder, Worldwatch Institute In August...

EMF Issue by No Means Decided.
September 22, 2000... Published research of James E. Trosko, a professor of pediatrics and human development at Michigan State University, and colleagues (see the October issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, the journal of the National Institute of...

There Is No Free Energy.
September 22, 2000... The government is spending big on worthless demonstraton projects. The title of this column is taken from a Biblical proverb. Like many other proverbs, it may have seemed true in the days when it was formulated. During long periods...

Transporation Sector Fuel Consumption and Efficiency.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 22, 2000... U.S. transportation sector petroleum consumption accounts for fully one-quarter of total U.S. energy consumption, with ground transportation (i.e., motor vehicles) accounting for the vast majority of that. With regard to motor vehicle fleet...

The Handwriting Is on the Wall.(how energy industry can help reduce demand of energy to prevent energy crisis)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Considering the various effects of all of the de facto "experiments" in human intervention into the environment, growing global emissions from consumption of fossil fuels may turn out to be at or near the pinnacle, that is if scientists'...

Assuring Energy Security.(energy industry overview)(Industry Overview)
September 22, 2000... A new United Nations report examines the issues in oil, gas, coal and nuclear. Of all the forms of energy, crude oil and its products are still the most important for energy security, due to oil's versatility and because it is the...

Up Against the Wall.(supply and demand for petroleum products)
September 22, 2000... OPEC capacity is winding down. In a couple of years, oil prices will explode. With only about two million barrels of spare OPEC capacity left, the global economy is hurtling towards an oil supply wall at alarming speed. Even with the...

The Limits to Growth.(production of petroleum products)(Industry Overview)
September 22, 2000... This is more than an oil shock. We are in the early stages of a true energy crisis. This article addresses the physical limits to increasing the supply of either North American gas or worldwide oil: limits at the wellhead, limits at the...

The Color of Oil.(how oil has affected countries since the 1800s)(Industry Overview)
September 22, 2000... The authors of The Color of Oil make their case. Oil is black and this, in contrast to the crystalline transparency of water, contributes to the great mystery associated with finding and producing oil. But, it can also be said that the...

Suddenly, It's Synfuels.(synthetic fuels industry)(Industry Overview)
September 22, 2000... Coal-derived fuels have become a pressing issue in the coal industry. Despite the fact that there are a number of reported benefits of synthetic fuels, until recently, such fuels have been largely ignored or considered unimportant by...

AEC Response on TMI 21 Years Later.(Three Mile Island)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Twenty-one years after Public Citizen petitioned the federal government to declare the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear generating plant an extraordinary nuclear occurrence, the atomic agency has finally responded. According to the...

Household Radwaste Still Under Scrutiny.(radioactive waste recycling)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... U.S. Senators Lott, Daschle and Lincoln should keep their word to safeguard public health by prohibiting radioactive "recycling" and to ensure that radioactive material is not put into products used by consumers, said a coalition of public...

Study Probes Air Pollution Effects.(Aerosol Research Inhalation Epidemiological Study)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Scientists with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) revealed preliminary findings from a two-year, $7 million, state-of- the-art study on air quality and human health at the Air Quality II conference in McLean, VA. EPRI cosponsored...

Dives May Uncover New Resources.(search for energy resources in Gulf of Mexico)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... During the last two weeks of October, a team of scientists sent the Deep Submergence Vehicle Alvin on numerous research dives to the depths of the Gulf of Mexico on a mission that may unlock clues to new energy resources. The scientists'...

Call Options.(combustion turbine purchasing options)
September 22, 2000... You've reserved an advanced turbine and now payment is due. What do you do? Many project developers originally paid a $4 million deposit for the right but not the obligation - a call option - to take delivery on a combustion turbine at a...

SMES Order Opens New Era.(Distributed Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... American Superconductor Corporation (Two Technology Drive, Westborough, MA 01581-1527; Tel: 508/621-4307; Fax: 508/366-4106; E-Mail: jhowe@amsuper; Website:http://www.amsuper.com) and GE Industrial Systems, a business of General Electric...

Forget Atoms for Peace.(nuclear weapons drive nuclear plant construction)
September 22, 2000... Weapons are replacing energy as the driver for nuclear plant construction. When the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) was negotiated and entered into force in 1970, peaceful nuclear power was viewed as a technology with great...

Dead or Alive?(views on the Global Climate Coalition, and environmental efforts taken by specific corporations)
September 22, 2000... The Global Climate Coalition aimed to fend off carbon emission rules. What's happened? Here are two views. Whatever Happened to the Global Climate Coalition? By Lester R. Brown, Chairman & Founder, Worldwatch Institute In August...

EMF Issue by No Means Decided.(indications that electromagnetic fields can have an effect on human cells, which may contribute to cancer)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Published research of James E. Trosko, a professor of pediatrics and human development at Michigan State University, and colleagues (see the October issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, the journal of the National Institute of...

There Is No Free Energy.(history, and prospects of, energy development)
September 22, 2000... The government is spending big on worthless demonstraton projects. The title of this column is taken from a Biblical proverb. Like many other proverbs, it may have seemed true in the days when it was formulated. During long periods...

Transporation Sector Fuel Consumption and Efficiency.(motor vehicle fuel efficiency trend has been reversed with the introduction of larger vehicles, such as sport utility vehicles)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... U.S. transportation sector petroleum consumption accounts for fully one-quarter of total U.S. energy consumption, with ground transportation (i.e., motor vehicles) accounting for the vast majority of that. With regard to motor vehicle fleet...