Energy Crunch / IPS Inter Press Service

Homepage

Latest News

Languages

About Us

Thursday, September 02, 2010 20:31 GMT

- Mideast &
Mediterranean

Iraq

HIV/AIDS

- Arts &
Entertainment

Environmental Forensics for BP Gulf Spill
By Adrianne Appel*
BOSTON - Stealthy submarine gliders slide through the depths of the Gulf of Mexico with the precision of birds of prey. Robot-like rovers search for droplets of oil thousands of metres under the surface. Powerful computerised analysers send instant results to scientists on board the ship above. All of this to assess the impact of disaster.
MORE >>

ARGENTINA-BRAZIL
Nuclear Safeguards System an Example for the World
By Marcela Valente
BUENOS AIRES - A system of mutual safeguards, created nearly two decades ago by Argentina and Brazil for in-situ verification of the peaceful use of nuclear power in both countries, serves as an international model of transparency and confidence building in this highly sensitive field.
MORE >>

Environmentalists Push For Coal-ash Regulation
By William Fisher
NEW YORK - In what promises to be a contentious, high-profile series of debates, the forces of environmental protection will be lining up against those of the electric power industry over the future status of coal-ash.
MORE >>

Geothermal: Getting Energy from the Earth
By Lester R. Brown*
WASHINGTON - The heat in the upper six miles of the earth’s crust contains 50,000 times as much energy as found in all the world’s oil and gas reserves combined. Despite this abundance, only 10,700 megawatts of geothermal electricity generating capacity have been harnessed worldwide.
MORE >>

CHILE
Coal Plants Under Fire
By Daniela Estrada
SANTIAGO - Controversial plans to build the Barrancones thermoelectric plant near a protected area in the northern Chilean region of Coquimbo were cancelled Friday, but not before reviving the debate on other projects for polluting coal-fired power stations.
MORE >>

ENERGY
Is Fracking Even Worse Than Drilling?
By William Fisher
NEW YORK - With cleanup of the Gulf of Mexico barely underway, energy companies are already assuming a crouching stance in anticipation of a no-holds-barred attack by environmentalists on what the industry says is the next major breakthrough in natural resource extraction.
MORE >>

ENERGY
Brazilian Biofuels Run into EU Obstacles
By Yans Felippe Geckler*
RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil has begun a counterattack on the European Union's measures for certifying crop-based fuels, which could lead to import barriers for this energy source coming from the South American giant.
MORE >>

BRAZIL
Water Abounds in Amazon, But Sanitation Is Scarce
By Mario Osava
ALTAMIRA, Brazil - It might seem a bit strange to adopt, in the Amazon rainforest, a solution developed for drought-stricken northeastern Brazil. But rainwater collected on rooftops and stored in tanks is helping to improve the health, hygiene and overall living conditions of rural communities in the jungle.
MORE >>

MEXICO
Oil Workers at Sea Without a Safety Net
By Emilio Godoy
MEXICO CITY - The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has reawakened concerns about labour conditions on Mexican drilling platforms.
MORE >>

CLIMATE CHANGE
Cancún Conference Holds Out Little Hope in Face of Extreme Weather
By Julio Godoy*
BONN - Unusually warm temperatures and more frequent and intense droughts and hurricanes... you have seen the headlines. As options dwindle for negotiating a global pact to fight climate change, the United Nations is pointing to today's "extreme conditions."
MORE >>

Russia's Agony a "Wake-Up Call" to the World
By Stephen Leahy
VIENNA - A wind turbine on an acre of northern Iowa farmland could generate 300,000 dollars worth of greenhouse-gas-free electricity a year. Instead, the U.S. government pays out billions of dollars to subsidise grain for ethanol fuel that has little if any impact on global warming, according to Lester Brown.
MORE >>

ARGENTINA
Limits to Economic Growth Loom
By Marcela Valente
BUENOS AIRES - The Argentine economy is making a rapid recovery after the impact of the global financial crisis last year, but experts warn about the limits to growth, which will reach a ceiling shortly unless investments increase.
MORE >>

INDIA
End to Fuel Subsidies Brings Damaging Diversions
Analysis by Ranjit Devraj
NEW DELHI - While India's opposition parties are agitating against moves by the pro-reform government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to remove subsidies on petrol and other fuels, experts say the country has laboured too long under price distortions that have not benefited poorer people -- or the environment.
MORE >>

PERU
Transparency a Challenge for Mining and Oil
By Milagros Salazar*
LIMA - Peru is the only Latin American country that has made steps towards joining the international Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), but has a difficult stretch ahead as it tries to overcome industry resistance to reporting profits and the government's own obstacles.
MORE >>

COSTA RICA
Working Towards Carbon Neutrality
By Daniel Zueras
SAN JOSE - With the elimination of certain taxes and the implementation of several green initiatives, Costa Rica is pressing forward in its aim to promote sustainable energy generation with a view to achieving "carbon neutrality" by 2021, the year this country will celebrate two centuries of independence.
MORE >>

Q&A
Clean Energy and Cultural Survival in Nicaragua
Julio Godoy interviews ANNE-CÉCILE MAILFERT, of blueEnergy France*
PARIS - For the past six years, French and U.S. engineers have been installing solar panels and wind turbines in the southeastern Nicaraguan town of Bluefields, promoting clean energy and development among the region's Rama indigenous peoples.
MORE >>

CUBA
Village with English Past, Ecological Present
By Patricia Grogg
COCODRILO, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba - Only hurricanes disrupt the tranquility of Cocodrilo, a Cuban coastal village founded by immigrants from the Cayman Islands in the early 20th century.
MORE >>

As Sanctions Rise, China Steps Deeper Into Iran
Analysis by Antoaneta Becker
LONDON - The European Union's new sanctions against Iran appear to open a new space for eager Chinese companies to expand their investments in a country viewed as a rogue player by much of the western world.
MORE >>

Next >>

	News Feeds RSS/XML
	Make IPS News your homepage!
	Free Email Newsletters
	IPS Mobile
	Text Only

The war in Iraq, fear of one in Iran. Uncertainties in Europe over gas dependence on Russia. Greenhouse gases and the consequent fear of climate change. The battle over sources to power development in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The nuclear option, and its own dangers. One crisis after another round the world is at heart an energy crisis.