Washington DC (RIA Novosti) May 17, 2007 - U.S. Senator Richard G. Lugar said Russia is aspiring to take control over potential energy reserves in the Arctic Ocean at the expense of U.S. interests. The senator, known for his anti-Russian statements, urged the U.S. authorities to join the struggle for the polar oil and gas resources by ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Sydney (AFP) May 17, 2007 - New technology harnessing wave energy could be the holy grail for providing electricity and drinking water to Australia's major cities, Industry Minister Ian MacFarlane said Thursday. The technology, developed with the help of more than 770 million dollars (636 million US) in seed funding from the government, works through fields of submerged buoys tethered to seabed pumps.
New York (AFP) May 16, 2007 - Former US president Bill Clinton on Wednesday announced a five-billion-dollar program to make buildings in 15 of the world's largest cities more energy efficient and help combat global warming. The so-called energy efficiency building retrofit program involves Clinton's private foundation, four of the world's largest energy service companies and five of the biggest banks.
Nottingham UK (SPX) May 16, 2007 - It's a cooker, a fridge and a generator in one - and it could have a huge impact on the lives of people in the world's poorest communities. The 2m pound SCORE (Stove for Cooking, Refrigeration and Electricity) project brings together experts from across the world to develop a wood-powered generator capable of both cooking and cooling food.
Waco, TX (SPX) May 16, 2007 - As cellulosic ethanol becomes more and more a front-runner to help reduce the country's addiction to oil, the high cost of producing it still stands as one of the major hurdles. But now, Baylor University researchers have identified about 40 different compounds created in the pre-treatment step when making cellulosic ethanol that could be responsible for restricting the fermenting process, which ultimately leads to higher production costs.
Moscow (RIA Novosti) May 16, 2007 - Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov has signed a resolution on merging the state-controlled crude pipeline operator Transneft with the state-run oil product transit company Transnefteprodukt, the government's press office said Tuesday. Analysts say the merger is likely to raise the companies' efficiency and cut independent producers' expenses on oil and petroleum product transportation.
Beijing (AFP) May 16, 2007 - China's leading coal miner Shenhua Group and US-based Dow Chemical Company have signed an agreement for a clean coal plant in China, state media said Wednesday. The project will use clean coal technologies that convert coal to methanol to produce ethylene and propylene, the building blocks of various plastics and chemical products, the China Daily reported.
Moscow, Russia (RIA-Novosti) May 15, 2007 - Last Thursday, Russia's President Putin arrived in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, for the start of a week-long visit to Central Asia, which will focus on energy. But the visit is not just about oil and gas. Electricity generation and transmission and atomic energy were also on the agenda, with Moscow and Astana agreeing to establish an international uranium enrichment center originally proposed in 2006.
Washington (AFP) May 14, 2007 - President George W. Bush, facing mounting disquiet about global warming and sky-high fuel prices, Monday ordered his government to slash America's dependence on foreign oil. Bush said his directive to cut gasoline usage by 20 percent in the next 10 years will make the United States more secure for generations to come, help economic growth and safeguard the environment.
Valetta (AFP) May 14, 2007 - A high-tech business park, modelled on Dubai's Internet City, is to be established in Malta under a deal struck by the government and a joint venture known as SmartCity Malta. The project is the largest-ever foreign investment in Malta, amounting to around 300 million million dollars (221 million euros), and is expected to generate more than 5,600 new jobs.
Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 14, 2007 - Environmental scientists at UC Riverside have discovered that the Rancho La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles, Calif., house hundreds of new species of bacteria with unusual properties, allowing the bacteria to survive and grow in heavy oil and natural asphalt. Trapped in soil that was mixed with heavy oil nearly 28,000 years ago, the bacteria are uniquely adapted to the pits' oil and natural asphalt, and contain three previously undiscovered classes of enzymes that can naturally break down petroleum products, the researchers report.
Paris (AFP) May 14, 2007 - Privately-funded technology will do more to curb dangerous global warming than the mandated capping of carbon emissions favored by the European Union, a senior US official said Monday. It is the president's view: technology is the solution, said US Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman while attending a meeting of the International Energy Agency in Paris, referring to George W. Bush.
Caracas (AFP) May 14, 2007 - The Venezuelan government of firebrand President Hugo Chavez said Monday it was taking control of oil rigs from multinational firms, in the latest of a wave of nationalizations. Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez, who also heads the state-owned energy company PDVSA, said the firm had in the past ceded control of 18 offshore drilling platforms to foreign giants.
Johannesburg (AFP) May 13, 2007 - China is not the only investor motivated by self-interest in its pursuit of closer ties with Africa, a continent in dire need of generous new friends, South African observers believe. Human rights concerns raised as China and Africa bond economically and politically, while not to be dismissed, come mostly from economic rivals whose own democratic records leave much to be desired, they say.
New Delhi (AFP) May 13, 2007 - Environmentalists, alarmed by surging demand for consumer gadgets in India, are pushing manufacturers to tackle mounting piles of hazardous . India's 300-million strong middle class is grabbing gadgets as global competition pushes down costs of electronics which a decade ago were beyond the reach of many households.
Geneva (AFP) May 11, 2007 - Coal-fired power stations in Greece, Germany, Poland and Spain rank as Europe's dirtiest electricity plants, the environmental group WWF International said Thursday. In its latest survey of the worst power station pollution in the European Union, WWF said the dirty 30 in seven countries pumped out 393 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2006, or 10 per cent of all EU CO2 emissions.
