Natural gas « The Cost of Energy

Obama’s non-plan for reducing oil dependence

By Lou, on March 30th, 2011%

Obama aims to cut oil imports by a third:

President Barack Obama will set an ambitious goal on Wednesday to cut oil imports by a third over 10 years, focusing on energy security amid high gasoline prices that could stall the U.S. economic recovery.

…

“He’ll be laying out the goal … that in a little over a . . . → Read More: Obama’s non-plan for reducing oil dependence

A few quick takes

By Lou, on March 1st, 2011%

Thanks to some offline and behind-the-scenes things taking up my time, I’ve been much less productive here than usual. I expect to get back to a more normal schedule soon, but for now let me pass along a few must-see items…

First up is everyone’s favorite technology, hydrofracking.

As I’m sure most you know by now, the . . . → Read More: A few quick takes

Doc pre-alert: The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2030

By Lou, on January 19th, 2011%

ExxonMobil warns carbon emissions will rise by 25% in 20 years (emphasis added):

ExxonMobil, the world’s largest oil company, expects global carbon emissions to rise by nearly 25% in the next 20 years, in effect dismissing hopes that runaway climate change can be arrested and massive loss of life prevented.

According to the company’s annual Outlook for Energy . . . → Read More: Doc pre-alert: The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2030

Emissions still tied to economic performance

By Lou, on November 22nd, 2010%

We’re seeing a lot of commentary on the latest report from the Global Carbon Project, as they’ve just released their report for 2009. A good example is Green Car Congress’ Study finds global CO2 emissions back on the rise in 2010 (emphasis added):

Global carbon dioxide emissions show no sign of abating and may reach record . . . → Read More: Emissions still tied to economic performance

Doc alert: Shale Gas, Hype and Reality

By Lou, on September 24th, 2010%

Report says shale gas uncertainty could discourage low carbon investment:

The ‘shale gas revolution’ – responsible for a 20-fold increase in unconventional gas production in the US over the last decade – is creating huge investor uncertainties for international gas markets and renewables and could result in serious gas shortages in 10 years time, says the report: . . . → Read More: Doc alert: Shale Gas, Hype and Reality

The NG vehicle silliness continues

By Lou, on September 17th, 2010%

Here we go again. People writing about energy and climate issues, who really should know better, continue to overestimate the benefits of natural gas powered vehicles.

The latest example, but surely not the last, comes from Autoblog Green, a truly valuable source that I monitor (along with about 100 other sites) via RSS feed. In . . . → Read More: The NG vehicle silliness continues

US emissions predicted to rise

By Lou, on August 18th, 2010%

The US Dept. of Energy issued their monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook on AUgust 10th, which includes this text:

Forecast economic growth combined with increased use of coal and natural gas is expected to contribute to increases in fossil-fuel CO2 emissions of 3.4 percent in 2010 (U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions Growth Chart). Projected coal-related CO2 . . . → Read More: US emissions predicted to rise

US CO2 emissions by source and sector

By Lou, on June 29th, 2010%

If you’ve spent any appreciable time delving into the minutiae of US energy statistics (and honestly, who hasn’t when perched in front of the computer, sleepless at 2AM?), you’ve no doubt encountered the US Department of Energy’s PECSS diagram (primary energy consumption by source and sector):

(Click here to see the home page for this diagram.)

This is . . . → Read More: US CO2 emissions by source and sector

MIT’s take on natural gas

By Lou, on June 25th, 2010%

MIT will release today the latest in their “the future of …” reports, this time focusing on natural gas. The report isn’t available online yet, as best I can tell, but there’s already copious coverage. The best article I’ve seen so far is from the NY Times (emphasis added):

Natural gas will provide an increasing . . . → Read More: MIT’s take on natural gas

The IEA and the future of carbon capture

By Lou, on June 14th, 2010%

The International Energy Agency has released a new report about CCS (carbon capture and sequestration), a.k.a. coal’s Hail Mary Pass Attempt.[1]

From the press release:

Two years after the G8 leaders’ commitment to the broad deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) by 2020, significant progress has been made towards commercialisation of CCS technologies. Yet the 2008 Hokkaido . . . → Read More: The IEA and the future of carbon capture