"A large oil spill in northwest China has heavily polluted a tributary of the Yellow River, and threatens to reach one of the country’s longest and most important sources of water.
China’s state-run news media said late Saturday that a “large amount” of diesel oil had leaked out of a pipeline last Thursday in Shaanxi Province.
The government has not explained why the report of the spill was not released until late Saturday. But Xinhua, the official state news agency, said the leak was caused by construction work and that a crew of 700 people was struggling to contain the damage from what Shaanxi officials said was about 150,000 liters, or about 40,000 gallons, of diesel oil."
Link to NYT
Showing posts with label peak oil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peak oil. Show all posts
Ok, here it comes.
I have a $50 bet riding on this (oil reaching $200 by 2010) (yeah, big money- and anyway, if I'm paying more at the gas station, will it really matter?) but anyway...
"The price of oil burst through the $71 a barrel mark today amid revelations that proven reserves had fallen for the first time in 10 years and predictions that the price could eventually hit $250.
The latest high – from lows of $30 only four months ago – came on the New York Mercantile Exchange, where the cost of July deliveries rose by $1.35 to $71.36.
This comes on top of a $2 rise the day before as investors rushed into the market on the back of lower stockpile figures, higher demand estimates and speculation against further falls in the dollar.
"I wouldn't be surprised if we're testing $80 in a week or two," said one analyst, while BP's chief executive, Tony Hayward, questioned whether $90 could be the "right" value."
link
"The price of oil burst through the $71 a barrel mark today amid revelations that proven reserves had fallen for the first time in 10 years and predictions that the price could eventually hit $250.
The latest high – from lows of $30 only four months ago – came on the New York Mercantile Exchange, where the cost of July deliveries rose by $1.35 to $71.36.
This comes on top of a $2 rise the day before as investors rushed into the market on the back of lower stockpile figures, higher demand estimates and speculation against further falls in the dollar.
"I wouldn't be surprised if we're testing $80 in a week or two," said one analyst, while BP's chief executive, Tony Hayward, questioned whether $90 could be the "right" value."
link
Frak. We're so effing stupid.
Unbelievable. WTF, mate? From Discover-
"In preparation for future oil shale mining projects near the Rocky Mountains, six oil companies have gained rights to billions of gallons of water in the American West, potentially jeopardizing water supplies throughout the region, according to a new report by Western Resource Advocates [pdf], an environmental group. It is still preliminary to speculate on the implications of the findings, but many are concerned that if the companies put their rights to use, water will be shifted away from agriculture and community use.
Using public records, the report examines more than 200 water rights held by six energy companies, including Shell and ExxonMobil, which, it is estimated, are collectively entitled to divert at least 6.5 billion gallons of water from rivers in western Colorado, as well as almost 2 million acre-feet of water from the state’s reservoirs, which is enough to supply the Denver metro area for six years. Shale oil production is a water-intensive process: up to five barrels of water are consumed for every barrel of oil produced. This means that projects producing 1.55 million barrels of oil per day would require 378,000 acre-feet of water each year, compared to the Denver metro area’s consumption, which is less than 300,000 acre feet. Should oil shale production hit full stride in the next 15 to 20 years — something the White House under President George W. Bush tried to accelerate by opening up 2 million acres controlled by the Bureau of Land Management to leasing and approving royalty rates and leasing rules — there will be a major political battle over water rights."
LINK to Discover blog, which has further links in it. Amazingly good coverage of this shit.
"In preparation for future oil shale mining projects near the Rocky Mountains, six oil companies have gained rights to billions of gallons of water in the American West, potentially jeopardizing water supplies throughout the region, according to a new report by Western Resource Advocates [pdf], an environmental group. It is still preliminary to speculate on the implications of the findings, but many are concerned that if the companies put their rights to use, water will be shifted away from agriculture and community use.
Using public records, the report examines more than 200 water rights held by six energy companies, including Shell and ExxonMobil, which, it is estimated, are collectively entitled to divert at least 6.5 billion gallons of water from rivers in western Colorado, as well as almost 2 million acre-feet of water from the state’s reservoirs, which is enough to supply the Denver metro area for six years. Shale oil production is a water-intensive process: up to five barrels of water are consumed for every barrel of oil produced. This means that projects producing 1.55 million barrels of oil per day would require 378,000 acre-feet of water each year, compared to the Denver metro area’s consumption, which is less than 300,000 acre feet. Should oil shale production hit full stride in the next 15 to 20 years — something the White House under President George W. Bush tried to accelerate by opening up 2 million acres controlled by the Bureau of Land Management to leasing and approving royalty rates and leasing rules — there will be a major political battle over water rights."
LINK to Discover blog, which has further links in it. Amazingly good coverage of this shit.
Wonder what Edouard will do to gas prices?
"On its projected path, Edouard would hit offshore rigs in the Gulf that produce a 30% of U.S. crude oil and 15% of its natural gas, and possibly the Houston and New Orleans-Lake Charles, La., areas, which combined are home to about 25% of U.S. oil-refining capacity. The Houston refining complex is in the storm's projected path, which has it coming ashore near Galveston.
The Hurricane Center predicted Edouard would move parallel to the coast Sunday night and Monday, then come ashore Tuesday along the Southwestern Louisiana-southeastern Texas coast possibly at hurricane strength, the center reported.
The Hurricane Center said it had issued a tropical storm warning for the Louisiana coast from the mouth of the Mississippi to Cameron, La., and a hurricane watch from Intracoastal City, La., to Port O'Connor, Tex.. ." LINK
The Hurricane Center predicted Edouard would move parallel to the coast Sunday night and Monday, then come ashore Tuesday along the Southwestern Louisiana-southeastern Texas coast possibly at hurricane strength, the center reported.
The Hurricane Center said it had issued a tropical storm warning for the Louisiana coast from the mouth of the Mississippi to Cameron, La., and a hurricane watch from Intracoastal City, La., to Port O'Connor, Tex.. ." LINK
Shipping costs bringing some manufacturing back to America.
"Tesla Motors, a pioneer in electric-powered cars, set out to make a luxury roadster for the American market, it had the global supply chain in mind. Tesla planned to manufacture 1,000-pound battery packs in Thailand, ship them to Britain for installation, then bring the mostly assembled cars back to the United States.
But when it began production this spring, the company decided to make the batteries and assemble the cars near its home base in California, cutting more than 5,000 miles from the shipping bill for each vehicle.
Cheap oil, the lubricant of quick, inexpensive transportation links across the world, may not return anytime soon, upsetting the logic of diffuse global supply chains that treat geography as a footnote in the pursuit of lower wages. Rising concern about global warming, the reaction against lost jobs in rich countries, worries about food safety and security, and the collapse of world trade talks in Geneva last week also signal that political and environmental concerns may make the calculus of globalization far more complex." LINK
But when it began production this spring, the company decided to make the batteries and assemble the cars near its home base in California, cutting more than 5,000 miles from the shipping bill for each vehicle.
Cheap oil, the lubricant of quick, inexpensive transportation links across the world, may not return anytime soon, upsetting the logic of diffuse global supply chains that treat geography as a footnote in the pursuit of lower wages. Rising concern about global warming, the reaction against lost jobs in rich countries, worries about food safety and security, and the collapse of world trade talks in Geneva last week also signal that political and environmental concerns may make the calculus of globalization far more complex." LINK
This is lovely.
Solar power offers some hope.
Thanks B!
"A tiny rectangle superimposed on the vast expanse of the Sahara captures the seductive appeal of the audacious plan to cut Europe's carbon emissions by harnessing the fierce power of the desert sun.
Dwarfed by any of the north African nations, it represents an area slightly smaller than Wales but scientists claimed yesterday it could one day generate enough solar energy to supply all of Europe with clean electricity." LINK
Dwarfed by any of the north African nations, it represents an area slightly smaller than Wales but scientists claimed yesterday it could one day generate enough solar energy to supply all of Europe with clean electricity." LINK
Ah, Hurricane season.
Well, it looks like TS Christobal is going to drench Nova Scotia, but more eyes are on TS Dolly, who might be getting a promotion overnight, and who is headed to celerate in the Gulf of Mexico.
"Tropical Storm Dolly drenched a sparsely populated section of the Yucatan Peninsula on Monday and then plunged into the Gulf of Mexico, where it is expected to grow into a hurricane and move toward the Texas-Mexico border." LINK
In advance of the storm, "Shell Oil Co began flying workers from platforms in the western Gulf of Mexico on Sunday ahead of Tropical Storm Dolly, but said no production was shut, according to a statement issued by the company on Monday.
Fellow energy giant Exxon Mobil said it was making preparations for heavy weather across its Gulf and South Texas operations.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Dolly, which is forecast to become a hurricane by Tuesday night, would likely miss major offshore production areas but could affect the three Corpus Christi, Texas, refineries with power outages and flooding if it makes landfall as forecast on the Texas coast sometime on Wednesday." LINK
Fellow energy giant Exxon Mobil said it was making preparations for heavy weather across its Gulf and South Texas operations.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Dolly, which is forecast to become a hurricane by Tuesday night, would likely miss major offshore production areas but could affect the three Corpus Christi, Texas, refineries with power outages and flooding if it makes landfall as forecast on the Texas coast sometime on Wednesday." LINK
From global to local, bad news all around.
"Starting Tuesday, National Grid customers in Rhode Island will pay 21.7 percent more for electricity and 8 percent more for natural gas, the Public Utilities Commission voted yesterday. " LINK
Ack ack ack.
From the fabulous doom and gloomer, Jim Kunstler. And I have to say, the one thing I've really noticed this year is how often I have NOT been stuck behind someone towing a boat. It's weird.
"Every time I saw a car towing a motorboat this holiday weekend, I wondered what was going through the head of the towee. Did they have a sense that darkness was falling on their careers in motor sports? Did they have an inkling that an oil-and-gas crisis is upon us and just not give a shit? Or were they just going through the motions, following some implacable rote programming induced by, say, forty-odd years of TV addiction and a diet based on corn-syrup byproducts?
The holiday to me was a creepy hiatus from an ever more desperate reality overtaking the nation like a miasma. Meanwhile, the mainstream media's ongoing narrative has gotten stuck in the moronic groove of "drill drill drill." The belief of people like Larry Kudlow of CNBC and uber-mega-idiot John Stossel of ABC-News is that we could go back to $1.50 gasoline if only congress would open the offshore exploration areas and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This view is just plain erroneous. Nothing we get out of these regions will come close to offsetting the ongoing depletion of worldwide oil resources, or even arresting our own losses.
...But to get back to my prior point, things are hitting home anyway, and with force. The US economy is crumbling because the way we conduct the activities of daily life is insane relative to our circumstances. We've spent sixty years ramping up a suburban living arrangement that has suddenly entered a state of failure, and all its accessories and furnishings are failing in concert. The far-flung McHouse tracts are becoming both useless and worthless in the face of gasoline prices that will never be cheap again. The strip malls and office "parks" are following the residential real estate off a cliff. The retail tenants of all those places are hemorrhaging customers who have maxed out every last credit card. The lack of business is now leading to substantial layoffs. The airline industry is dying and will probably cease to exist in its familiar form in 24 months. The trucking industry is dying, threatening the entire just-in-time distribution system of things that even people with little money to spend still need, like food.
...These conditions will now get a lot worse, no matter whether the banks continue to conceal their problems. All of it leads to an inflection point that coincides with the November election. By then, I expect that quite a few banks will be toast, job layoffs will rise spectacularly, foreclosures and bankruptcies will be raging across the land, and homeowners north of the magnolia belt will be shattered by the cost of staying warm this winter.
That said, I will feel a little sorry for Mr. Obama if he gets to the White House. He'll have to find a gentle way to tell the truth to the people who elected him, people who will be suffering mightily, and who will be very sore about their losses. He'll have to tell them that the previous "release" of the American Dream software is obsolete, and the new version will require a whole lot more of them in the way of earnest effort, delayed gratification, and revised expectations.
...There's a whole lot we can do to greet the new circumstances awaiting us, but the one thing we can't afford to do is put all our efforts into keeping the current system running as is. Reality simply won't permit it. We would squander our dwindling remaining resources trying to keep it all going. The next president is going to have to lead us through the awful process of cutting our losses. So far, the debate has been about how to avoid that." LINK
"Every time I saw a car towing a motorboat this holiday weekend, I wondered what was going through the head of the towee. Did they have a sense that darkness was falling on their careers in motor sports? Did they have an inkling that an oil-and-gas crisis is upon us and just not give a shit? Or were they just going through the motions, following some implacable rote programming induced by, say, forty-odd years of TV addiction and a diet based on corn-syrup byproducts?
The holiday to me was a creepy hiatus from an ever more desperate reality overtaking the nation like a miasma. Meanwhile, the mainstream media's ongoing narrative has gotten stuck in the moronic groove of "drill drill drill." The belief of people like Larry Kudlow of CNBC and uber-mega-idiot John Stossel of ABC-News is that we could go back to $1.50 gasoline if only congress would open the offshore exploration areas and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This view is just plain erroneous. Nothing we get out of these regions will come close to offsetting the ongoing depletion of worldwide oil resources, or even arresting our own losses.
...But to get back to my prior point, things are hitting home anyway, and with force. The US economy is crumbling because the way we conduct the activities of daily life is insane relative to our circumstances. We've spent sixty years ramping up a suburban living arrangement that has suddenly entered a state of failure, and all its accessories and furnishings are failing in concert. The far-flung McHouse tracts are becoming both useless and worthless in the face of gasoline prices that will never be cheap again. The strip malls and office "parks" are following the residential real estate off a cliff. The retail tenants of all those places are hemorrhaging customers who have maxed out every last credit card. The lack of business is now leading to substantial layoffs. The airline industry is dying and will probably cease to exist in its familiar form in 24 months. The trucking industry is dying, threatening the entire just-in-time distribution system of things that even people with little money to spend still need, like food.
...These conditions will now get a lot worse, no matter whether the banks continue to conceal their problems. All of it leads to an inflection point that coincides with the November election. By then, I expect that quite a few banks will be toast, job layoffs will rise spectacularly, foreclosures and bankruptcies will be raging across the land, and homeowners north of the magnolia belt will be shattered by the cost of staying warm this winter.
That said, I will feel a little sorry for Mr. Obama if he gets to the White House. He'll have to find a gentle way to tell the truth to the people who elected him, people who will be suffering mightily, and who will be very sore about their losses. He'll have to tell them that the previous "release" of the American Dream software is obsolete, and the new version will require a whole lot more of them in the way of earnest effort, delayed gratification, and revised expectations.
...There's a whole lot we can do to greet the new circumstances awaiting us, but the one thing we can't afford to do is put all our efforts into keeping the current system running as is. Reality simply won't permit it. We would squander our dwindling remaining resources trying to keep it all going. The next president is going to have to lead us through the awful process of cutting our losses. So far, the debate has been about how to avoid that." LINK
Man alive, people are such sad silly animals.
"Steve Burtch bought a Dodge Ram truck last year, when gas cost $3.75, because he thought gas prices had peaked and would start coming down. Instead, he pumped his first $100 tank in June. “I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to keep this up,” said Mr. Burtch, 43, who lives in Marion, Ohio." LINK
Think it's going to be a long, cold winter for a lot of people. Scary.
FIREWOOD
"Mainers who buy firewood are paying more as they stock up this summer and many are finding short supplies, as well.
Pete Lammert of the Maine Forest Service warns that most firewood dealers are hustling just to fill orders from regular customers. He says customers who used to buy one cord are buying two, and those who used to buy two are buying four.
High oil prices are driving the push to heating alternatives including firewood and wood pellets. Prices are topping $200 a cord." LINK
NATURAL GAS
"I'm afraid we're headed for another catastrophic year, in terms of natural gas prices," he said.
Natural gas futures have risen 97 percent in the past year, following crude oil prices. For residential gas customers, "That is going to hit home in December and January," Popowsky said." LINK
HOME HEATING OIL
"New Englanders struggling this summer to pay gas prices topping $4 a gallon should brace for more bad news — home heating oil costs next winter are expected to hit record highs.
One retail heating oil dealer says she expects a typical household delivery that cost $500 last winter will climb to at least $850 this winter.
"It's going to be staggering," said Northboro Oil Co. owner Sandra Farrell in telephone interview with The Associated Press. "It's going to be a real problem going into this winter for everyone unless something changes."
Farrell, whose family has owned and operated the Northborough, Mass., business since 1953, said some dealers are talking about prices in the $4.89 per gallon range for the coming winter, about $2 more per gallon than last winter. An average household usually needs four deliveries from December to March, she said." LINK
ELECTRIC HEAT"Residential customers of Public Service of New Hampshire will see electric rates go up 5.7 percent, due to the skyrocketing prices for energy resources." LINK
SHRUBAnd how is our President addressing this???
"State Sen. Marc Pacheco, a Democrat of Taunton, says "it's really impacting working families dramatically. We're facing a crisis situation."
Pacheco criticizes the Bush administration for proposing a 22% cut in federal home heating assistance this winter.
"We shouldn't be cutting energy assistance for the needy and for the working poor at a time when home heating oil costs are skyrocketing like they've never done before," says Pacheco." LINK
Ok, someone forgot to take their happy pills today. I can't believe this is an AP article!
"Everything seemingly is spinning out of control
By ALAN FRAM and EILEEN PUTMAN Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON—Is everything spinning out of control? Midwestern levees are bursting. Polar bears are adrift. Gas prices are skyrocketing. Home values are abysmal. Air fares, college tuition and health care border on unaffordable. Wars without end rage in Iraq, Afghanistan and against terrorism.
...Recent natural disasters around the world dwarf anything afflicting the U.S. Consider that more than 69,000 people died in the China earthquake, and that 78,000 were killed and 56,000 missing from the Myanmar cyclone.
Americans need do no more than check the weather, look in their wallets or turn on the news for their daily reality check on a world gone haywire.
Floods engulf Midwestern river towns. Is it global warming, the gradual degradation of a planet's weather that man seems powerless to stop or just a freakish late-spring deluge?
It hardly matters to those in the path. Just ask the people of New Orleans who survived Hurricane Katrina. They are living in a city where, 1,000 days after the storm, entire neighborhoods remain abandoned, a national embarrassment that evokes disbelief from visitors.
Food is becoming scarcer and more expensive on a worldwide scale, due to increased consumption in growing countries such as China and India and rising fuel costs. That can-do solution to energy needs—turning corn into fuel—is sapping fields of plenty once devoted to crops that people need to eat. Shortages have sparked riots. In the U.S., rice prices tripled and some stores rationed the staple.
Residents of the nation's capital and its suburbs repeatedly lose power for extended periods as mere thunderstorms rumble through. In California, leaders warn people to use less water in the unrelenting drought. " LINK
By ALAN FRAM and EILEEN PUTMAN Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON—Is everything spinning out of control? Midwestern levees are bursting. Polar bears are adrift. Gas prices are skyrocketing. Home values are abysmal. Air fares, college tuition and health care border on unaffordable. Wars without end rage in Iraq, Afghanistan and against terrorism.
...Recent natural disasters around the world dwarf anything afflicting the U.S. Consider that more than 69,000 people died in the China earthquake, and that 78,000 were killed and 56,000 missing from the Myanmar cyclone.
Americans need do no more than check the weather, look in their wallets or turn on the news for their daily reality check on a world gone haywire.
Floods engulf Midwestern river towns. Is it global warming, the gradual degradation of a planet's weather that man seems powerless to stop or just a freakish late-spring deluge?
It hardly matters to those in the path. Just ask the people of New Orleans who survived Hurricane Katrina. They are living in a city where, 1,000 days after the storm, entire neighborhoods remain abandoned, a national embarrassment that evokes disbelief from visitors.
Food is becoming scarcer and more expensive on a worldwide scale, due to increased consumption in growing countries such as China and India and rising fuel costs. That can-do solution to energy needs—turning corn into fuel—is sapping fields of plenty once devoted to crops that people need to eat. Shortages have sparked riots. In the U.S., rice prices tripled and some stores rationed the staple.
Residents of the nation's capital and its suburbs repeatedly lose power for extended periods as mere thunderstorms rumble through. In California, leaders warn people to use less water in the unrelenting drought. " LINK
No gas for you. Tanker driver's strike already messing up the UK.
"Petrol pumps began running dry within hours of the start of the tanker drivers' strike yesterday.
'Sold out' signs appeared at garages as motorists ignored the Government's plea not to panic buy.
'Sold out' signs appeared at garages as motorists ignored the Government's plea not to panic buy.
People attempting to fill up in more remote areas suffered the worst shortages yesterday but even in London there were garages that sold out.
Experts said up to 1,000 petrol stations could be left without fuel by next week, pushing the price of diesel past the £6-a-gallon mark. " LINK
Experts said up to 1,000 petrol stations could be left without fuel by next week, pushing the price of diesel past the £6-a-gallon mark. " LINK
Americans acting like Swedes? What?
Interesting article about the likely coming of $200 a barrel oil...
"Suddenly, Americans are acting differently; if not exactly like Swedes, then not quite like themselves, either....
Now many (though not all) serious people take $200 oil—and the prospect of another '70s-style oil shock—seriously. Goldman Sachs warned that the $200 barrier could be hit within the next six to 24 months.
That's way too fast for comfort (or should be) even for those who welcome high gas prices as a way to induce energy conservation and fight global warming. Already skyrocketing oil prices are causing real pain for ordinary people, threatening global economic growth, and reviving the specter of inflation." LINK
"Suddenly, Americans are acting differently; if not exactly like Swedes, then not quite like themselves, either....
Now many (though not all) serious people take $200 oil—and the prospect of another '70s-style oil shock—seriously. Goldman Sachs warned that the $200 barrier could be hit within the next six to 24 months.
That's way too fast for comfort (or should be) even for those who welcome high gas prices as a way to induce energy conservation and fight global warming. Already skyrocketing oil prices are causing real pain for ordinary people, threatening global economic growth, and reviving the specter of inflation." LINK
It just gets worse and worse and worse. Shrub plotting further extraction in ANWAR, while Scottish refinery workers strike... Better get gas tomorrow?
Enough to make your skin crawl.
"According to this report by CNN, BP has confirmed that the Forties pipeline system may have to close if the Grangemouth strike goes ahead. 700,000 bpd UK North Sea production may be lost.
In addition to lost oil production, many gas fields may also have to be shut down as liquids produced with the gas will have no export route.
...Unite has said up to 1,200 workers could strike over pension changes. Ineos have said it could take up to one month to get the refinery back to full production if it is completely shut-down, sparking some panic buying of petrol in parts of Scotland." LINK
and Shrub is in New Orleans, calling for expansion in Alaska oil drilling
"President Bush Tuesday said he was concerned about record-high crude oil and gasoline prices, and said the United States needs to tap an Alaskan wildlife refuge to boost supply.
Bush reiterated his call for the U.S. Congress to overturn a long-standing moratorium on drilling for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), home to wildlife like polar bears and migratory birds." LINK
"According to this report by CNN, BP has confirmed that the Forties pipeline system may have to close if the Grangemouth strike goes ahead. 700,000 bpd UK North Sea production may be lost.
In addition to lost oil production, many gas fields may also have to be shut down as liquids produced with the gas will have no export route.
...Unite has said up to 1,200 workers could strike over pension changes. Ineos have said it could take up to one month to get the refinery back to full production if it is completely shut-down, sparking some panic buying of petrol in parts of Scotland." LINK
and Shrub is in New Orleans, calling for expansion in Alaska oil drilling
"President Bush Tuesday said he was concerned about record-high crude oil and gasoline prices, and said the United States needs to tap an Alaskan wildlife refuge to boost supply.
Bush reiterated his call for the U.S. Congress to overturn a long-standing moratorium on drilling for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), home to wildlife like polar bears and migratory birds." LINK
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Rocket attack on Japanese oil tanker in Gulf of Aden.
This is so extra bizarre, and I haven't seen this as a major headline anywhere...
"Retail gas prices reached another new milestone Monday, jumping to an average $3.50 a gallon at filling stations across the country. Crude oil prices, meanwhile, kept setting records of their own, spiking to a record above $117 a barrel Monday after a Japanese oil tanker was attacked in the Middle East.
The attack on the 150,000-ton tanker Takayama came about 270 miles off the Yemen coast in the Gulf of Aden while it was heading for Saudi Arabia, its Japanese operator, Nippon Yusen K.K., said in a statement posted on its Web site.
None of the ship's 23 crew members was injured, but several hundreds of gallons of fuel leaked before a 1-inch hole in the tanker's stern was repaired, the company said. Kyodo News agency reported that the Japanese tanker was fired on by a rocket launcher from a small boat. " LINK to CBS story, April 21
"Retail gas prices reached another new milestone Monday, jumping to an average $3.50 a gallon at filling stations across the country. Crude oil prices, meanwhile, kept setting records of their own, spiking to a record above $117 a barrel Monday after a Japanese oil tanker was attacked in the Middle East.
The attack on the 150,000-ton tanker Takayama came about 270 miles off the Yemen coast in the Gulf of Aden while it was heading for Saudi Arabia, its Japanese operator, Nippon Yusen K.K., said in a statement posted on its Web site.
None of the ship's 23 crew members was injured, but several hundreds of gallons of fuel leaked before a 1-inch hole in the tanker's stern was repaired, the company said. Kyodo News agency reported that the Japanese tanker was fired on by a rocket launcher from a small boat. " LINK to CBS story, April 21
Hey, brother, can you spare a dime?
Spooky headlines everywhere this morning.
"International Monetary Fund shows U.S. sliding into recession and pulling down economic growth around the world" CNN
"IMF says US crisis is 'largest financial shock since Great Depression'" The Guardian
"Crude Surges to $111 Level On Surprise Drop in Supply " CNBC
Yikes.
"International Monetary Fund shows U.S. sliding into recession and pulling down economic growth around the world" CNN
"IMF says US crisis is 'largest financial shock since Great Depression'" The Guardian
"Crude Surges to $111 Level On Surprise Drop in Supply " CNBC
Yikes.
Survivalist cabins with wine storage- the yuppie approach to the Doom.
"Yet in Mr. Biggs’s new book, “Wealth, War and Wisdom,” he says people should “assume the possibility of a breakdown of the civilized infrastructure.”
“Your safe haven must be self-sufficient and capable of growing some kind of food,” Mr. Biggs writes. “It should be well-stocked with seed, fertilizer, canned food, wine, medicine, clothes, etc. Think Swiss Family Robinson. Even in America and Europe there could be moments of riot and rebellion when law and order temporarily completely breaks down.”
“You just can’t help wonder if there’s a train wreck coming,” said David Anderson, 50, a database administrator in Colorado Springs who said he was moved by economic uncertainties and high energy prices, among other factors, to stockpile months’ worth of canned goods in his basement for his wife, his two young children and himself.
With only slight irony, Mr. Steffen, 40, said he and his girlfriend could serve as “poster children for the well-adjusted, urban liberal survivalist,” given that they keep a six-week cache of food and supplies in his basement in Seattle (although they polished off their bottle of doomsday whiskey at a party).
I think of survivalists as being an extreme case of preparedness,” said Ms. Vontourne, 44, “people who stockpile guns and weapons, anticipating extreme aggression. Whereas what I’m doing, I think of as something responsible people do.
“I now think of storing extra food, water, medicine and gasoline in the same way I think of buying health insurance and putting money in my 401k,” she said. “It just makes sense.”
Did you dye eggs this year? Know how much it cost?
"Egg prices have risen steadily over the last few years: nationwide last week, the average supermarket price of a dozen grade A eggs was $1.55, compared with 71 cents during the same week in 2003, according to the Agriculture Department. Most observers blame the rising cost of poultry feed for that price increase." LINK
Yeah, this all adds up to No Good.
A really weird and offhanded part of an article about college applications and admissions - "The demographic changes include sharp geographic, social and economic variations. Experts anticipate, for example, a decline in affluent high school graduates, and an increase in poor and working-class ones." Link to NYT
"U.S. average retail gasoline prices have reached a new high of almost $3.20 per gallon and will likely jump another 20 to 30 cents in the next month, worsening the pain of consumers struggling to make ends meet in an economic downturn...." Link to MSNBC
"On Friday March 7th the Bureau of Labour Statistics announced that the economy lost 63,000 non-farm jobs in February, following a smaller decline in employment in January. Even with all the bearish talk recently, these results were unexpectedly bad; forecasters had projected a small increase, not the largest drop in five years...
On the same day the Federal Reserve announced that it would make additional loans of up to $100 billion available to prevent renewed strains in money markets from hurting the economy....
The worst jobs news is still in the house-building sector, which is reeling from the effects of plummeting home prices. Since an industry high point in 2006 some 209,000 trade jobs (such as plumbers and electricians) and 137,000 construction jobs have melted away. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Thursday that foreclosures are up by 71% from a year ago...." LINK to The Economist
"U.S. average retail gasoline prices have reached a new high of almost $3.20 per gallon and will likely jump another 20 to 30 cents in the next month, worsening the pain of consumers struggling to make ends meet in an economic downturn...." Link to MSNBC
"On Friday March 7th the Bureau of Labour Statistics announced that the economy lost 63,000 non-farm jobs in February, following a smaller decline in employment in January. Even with all the bearish talk recently, these results were unexpectedly bad; forecasters had projected a small increase, not the largest drop in five years...
On the same day the Federal Reserve announced that it would make additional loans of up to $100 billion available to prevent renewed strains in money markets from hurting the economy....
The worst jobs news is still in the house-building sector, which is reeling from the effects of plummeting home prices. Since an industry high point in 2006 some 209,000 trade jobs (such as plumbers and electricians) and 137,000 construction jobs have melted away. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Thursday that foreclosures are up by 71% from a year ago...." LINK to The Economist
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
