U.S. drillers are idling rigs at a record pace

The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was down 48 at 1,310 for the week of February 20, 2015. It is 461 rigs (26.0%) lower than last year. The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil was down 37 at 1,019. There are 406 fewer rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil represent 77.8 percent of all drilling activity.

Three months after Saudi Arabia made clear it was going to let oil prices keep tumbling, the strategy is showing signs of working. U.S. drillers are idling rigs at a record pace, gutting investment plans and laying off thousands of workers.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reduced its 2015 U.S. crude production forecast to 9.3 million barrels a day in February from 9.42 million in November. The EIA projects output will fall in the third quarter for the first time in four years.

Oil has rebounded 14 percent in February, following a drop of more than 50 percent since June, in part because of the decline in drilling, which signaled supply growth will slow. Lower prices also spurred demand from bargain hunters, putting European benchmark Brent crude on track for its first monthly gain since June.

The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was down 48 at 1,310 for the week of February 20, 2015.

Greenhouse emissions growing - World not doing enough

Climate change still remains one of the most pressing environmental and social issues and world leaders are yet to do anything meaningful about it. It's sadly all talk and very little action as the latest climate change talks in Warsaw, Poland showed. The disappointing climate conference in Warsaw, Poland ended without laying the groundwork for a global climate agreement in 2015, which was something that was hoped from many environmentalists and scientists from all over the world.

And in the meantime there is the continued growth in emissions of greenhouse gases. Both negotiators and activists confront not only the fact that carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions reached the highest annual total to date, but also a shifting geographic distribution of emissions. The logical conclusion of this would be that the international community should take rapid and decisive action but sadly we do not live in a logical world.

The latest data by the Global Carbon Project shows that carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production reached staggering 9.7 gig tons of carbon (GtC) in 2012, with a ±5 percent uncertainty range, and with the currently expected growth they will likely 9.9 GtC in 2013. In comparison, the 2012 value is 58 percent higher than emissions in 1990, the year often used as a benchmark for measuring the increases in emissions.

Coal (attributing with 43 percent) and oil (attributing with 33 percent) accounted for the majority of these emissions, with natural gas (18 percent), cement production (5 percent), and flaring (1 percent) making up the remainder of the total percentage. The good news in the whole story is that both the U.S. government as well as World Bank is making efforts to limit international financing for new coal projects signal a desire to shift away from this particularly carbon-intensive resource and switch to other, cleaner energy sources.

Regardless of these efforts coal still remains a major culprit behind the increase in CO₂ emissions, accounting for 54 percent of the emissions increase in 2012. Coal use is rising in countries currently undergoing energy sector transitions. Coal-related emissions increased in not only developing countries but also in countries such as Germany (4.2 percent) and Japan (5.6 percent)-both of which are phasing out nuclear power plants. Oil, gas, and cement accounted for 18 percent, 21 percent, and 6 percent of the global increase in 2012 respectively.

Although CO₂ is the primary greenhouse gas emitted mostly through human activities, it is not the only one with negative effects on global warming and climate change. There are bunch of other greenhouse gases that cannot be ignored. They include methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). The total contribution of each of these gases to climate change depends on such factors as the length of time it remains in the atmosphere, how strongly it absorbs energy, and its atmospheric concentration.

Fossil fuel burning when coupled with deforestation and land use change, has pushed the total atmospheric concentration of CO₂ to approximately 393.9 parts per million (ppm) in 2012, an increase of more than 40 percent since 1750 and of 24 percent since the Scripps Institution of Oceanography began keeping detailed records in 1959.

There seems to be a global scientific consensus that the CO₂ concentration will need to be reduced to at least 350 ppm if we hope to maintain a climate similar to that which has supported human civilization to date and avoid worst possible climate change scenario. Atmospheric CO₂ concentration increased by 2.2 ppm in 2012 alone, exceeding the average annual increase over the past 10 years. The bad news is also that the Scripps Institution's measurements indicate an average of 396.2 ppm for the period of January to September 2013, implying an even greater increase this year, and further negative impact on global warming and climate change.

Although the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change agreed in 2010 that the increase in average global temperature since the pre-industrial period must be kept below 2 degrees Celsius, many scientific projections now put the climate on track for warming that is significantly higher than this set mark. For instance, the Global Carbon Project predicts a likely increase in temperature of 3.2-5.4 degrees Celsius while World Bank in its latest report projects an approximate 20 percent likelihood that our planet will get warmer by about 4 degrees Celsius by 2100 if world continues business as usual scenario and fails to mitigate the increase in carbon emissions.

Emissions data also highlight the shifting geographical and historical complexity that makes international negotiations so contentious. The global distribution of emissions in 2012 is very different than it was in 1990, when the Kyoto Protocol was established as the first meaningful global agreement aimed to reduce carbon emissions. In 1990,  industrial countries accounted for 62 percent of emissions; by 2012, that figure had dropped to 37 percent, reflecting rapid industrialization and development in emerging economies such as china and India and shifting patterns in production and consumption.

And despite the fact that the international climate negotiations have focused traditionally on the role and responsibility of nation states new analyses also points to the significant role of different corporations in emitting greenhouse gases. Richard Heede of the Climate Accountability Institute said in Warsaw that the investor-owned corporations have been responsible for 21.7 percent of CO₂ and CH₄ fossil fuel and cement emissions since 1750, with state-owned corporations responsible for an additional 19.8 percent.

The next stop for climate negotiators, experts, and activists after the Warsaw is Paris in 2015, where there will be yet another hope on forging a global deal to tackle climate change and global warming.

Interesting global greenhouse gas emissions facts from latest reports:

• It has been reported that the methane is now the third most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, after CO₂ and water vapor, on a per molecule basis. Although atmospheric methane levels declined during 1983-99 and remained relatively constant during 1999-2006, they have been increasing since 2007. Methane is 21 times more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
• China is currently the world's largest CO₂ emitter and its emissions increased by 5.9 percent in 2012, an increase that accounted for 71 percent of that year's global increase. Another major emitter such as United States and Australia, although both still major emitters, experienced reductions of 0.05 percent and 11.6 percent respectively.
• In 2012, the top four emitters of CO₂ on global level were China (2,626 million tons of carbon, or MtC), the United States (1,397 MtC), India (611 MtC), and the Russian Federation (492 MtC). 

Coal and gas usage continues to grow on global level

The oil is still the world's most important energy source but the use of coal and natural gas continues to grow in significance, according to new study conducted by the Worldwatch Institute. According to recent numbers the global usage of coal increased 5.4 percent in 2011, to 3.72 billion tons of oil equivalent, while natural gas use grew 2.2 percent, to 2.91 billion tons of oil equivalent.

Both coal and natural gas remain primary sources for electricity generation worldwide and they are also often used as substitutes for one other, meaning that in order to get more precise numbers their trends need to be examined together. The large part of total coal consumption is used for electricity generation, with smaller amounts being used in steelmaking industry. The global coal consumption primarily grew because of rising demand in China and India. 

The coal share in the global primary energy consumption was 28 percent in 2011 which represents the highest percentage since the International Energy Agency began keeping statistics in 1971.

China, the fast rising economic giant, alone accounted for nearly half of all coal usage in 2011. India is the second largest contributor to rising coal demand and is the world's third largest coal consumer, after surpassing the European Union in 2009. The United States remains the second largest coal consumer, though it has to be said that U.S. demand decreased by around 5 percent in 2011 and its decline continued in 2012, particularly because of the shale gas popularity and the abundance of cheap natural gas.

Coal production, as well as consumption, is concentrated mainly in China because coal still remains the main fuel behind the China's rapid economic growth.  The United States however still holds the largest proved coal reserves in the world, with 28 percent of the global total, followed by Russia at 18 percent, and China at 13 percent.

Global consumption of natural gas grew at a slower rate than coal - 2.2 percent - to reach 2.91 billion tons of oil equivalent in 2011. Natural gas consumption grew in all regions except in the European Union, which experienced a 9.9 percent decline in natural gas consumption, mostly because of the struggling economy and high natural gas prices.

Natural gas accounted for nearly 23.7 percent of global primary energy consumption in 2011, experiencing a very slight decline from 23.8 percent in 2010. The natural gas consumption increased most significantly in East Asia, primarily in China (21.5 percent) and Japan (11.6 percent).

Natural gas production increased at a higher rate than consumption, by 3.1 percent, reaching 2.96 billion tons of oil equivalent in 2011. The United States and Russia are largest natural gas producers in the world, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the world's output in 2011.

Whether the strong growth in the global coal and natural gas sectors will continue depends on several different factors. Demand for coal would likely decline with the introduction of new technologies in the power sector, or with the adoption of clean energy policies aimed to reduce the environmental and health impacts of coal combustion. Also, the increasing global concern about greenhouse gas emissions and climate change would likely lead to a greater transition from coal to natural gas. In relation to natural gas there have been environmental and other concerns about hydraulic fracturing as well as the possibility that cheap shale gas might prevent the further development of renewable energy sector.

Carbon capture and storage can lead to less CO2 emissions

Burning fossil fuels releases large quantities of carbon dioxide, a harmful greenhouse gas which is held mostly responsible for climate change and global warming. This is the main reason why fossil fuels are labeled as the "dirty fuels", and why so many people around the globe want to see them being replaced with renewable energy source such as solar and wind energy. Fossil fuels are oil, carbon and natural gas.

However, there is still a significant number of energy experts who believe in carbon capture and storage technology (CCS) as the key technology in reducing the amount of carbon emissions from fossil fuel fired power plants, and thus making fossil fuels usage less damaging to our environment. In the ideal scenario, carbon capture and storage technology would even lead to CO2-free power plants, though this scenario is still far from reality.

Carbone capture technology sounds excellent in theory but scientists have plenty of work ahead of them in order to find solutions that would make this technology efficient and commercially viable. Greatly increased operational costs have been the most frequent result of currently tested CCS solutions, and this is something that science will need to improve in years to come before this technology can be implemented on global scale.

Scientists are currently researching several different CCS technologies, and currently most intriguing CCS project is the pilot fossil fuel plant at the TU Darmstadt's Institute for Energy Systems and Technology that is being utilized for investigating two brand new methods for CO2 capture. If successful these new CCS methods will allow nearly totally eliminating CO2 emissions and require virtually no additional energy input and entail only slight increases in operating costs. Both of these methods employ natural substances and reduce the energy presently required for CO2 capture by more than half.

The first method is called "carbonate looping" method, and the working principle of this method is based on utilizing the naturally occurring limestone to initially bind CO2 from the stream of flue gases transiting power plants' stacks in a first-stage reactor. The resultant pure CO2 gets reliberated in a second reactor and can then be stored. The main advantage of the carbonate-looping method is that even existing power plants can be retrofitted with this new method.

The other method is called "chemical looping" method. This method should allow capturing CO2 with hardly any loss of energy efficiency. Under this method, a dual-stage, flameless, combustion yields a stream of exhaust gases containing only CO2 and water vapor. The CO2 can then be captured and stored.

The pilot plant has already demonstrated its ability to bind CO2 in conjunction with initial trial runs. The further investigation of these two methods should be done over the next couple of years.

Energy history facts

From ancient times people use various energy sources. Geothermal energy were used for springs and heating, hydro and wind energy were used for mills, sailing, water pumps and other mechanical devices, solar energy was used for heating, biomass and coal were used for heating, illumination, cooking, and so on.  For example, nearly 2000 years ago the Greeks used water wheels to grind wheat into flour.

Steam engines were first serious “modern” power source in the world. Steam engines were mostly powered by biomass and coal. The first commercial steam-powered engine device was a water pump, developed in 1698 by Thomas Savery. It used a vacuum to raise water from below, then used steam pressure to raise it higher.

Edwin Drake's 1859 well near Titusville, Pennsylvania, is popularly considered the first modern crude oil well. In the 1840s, the process to distill kerosene from crude oil was invented by James Young in Scotland and the first refinery was built by Ignacy Łukasiewicz, providing a cheaper alternative to whale oil.

The world's first power plant consisted of 24 dynamo electric generators which were driven by a steam engine. It was built by Sigmund Schuckert in the Bavarian town of Ettal (Germany) and went into operation in 1878. Power plant is industrial facility for the generation of electric power.

The first commercial power plant in the United States using three-phase alternating current was at the Mill Creek No. 1 Hydroelectric Plant near Redlands, California, in 1893 designed by Almirian Decker.

In 1878 the world's first hydroelectric power scheme was developed at Cragside in Northumberland, England by William George Armstrong. It was used to power a single arc lamp in his art gallery.

The first major hydro-electric power plants were built by Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse in 1895 on Niagara Falls (USA). These Power Plants practically started the electrification of the world.

In 1911 the world's first commercial geothermal power plant was built in Larderello, Italy. Experimental generators were built in Beppu, Japan and the Geysers, California, in the 1920s, but Italy was the world's only industrial producer of geothermal electricity until 1958.

Photoelectric effect was first observed 1839 by Edmond Becquerel, a physicist from France. In year 1876 Adams and Day observed the photovoltaic effect in solid selenium.  Modern solar cell was discovered in 1954. The first 1 MWP solar park was built by Arco Solar at Lugo near Hesperia, California at the end of 1982, followed in 1984 by a 5.6 MWP installation in Carrizo Plain.

On June 27, 1954, the USSR's Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant became the world's first nuclear power plant to generate electricity for a power grid, and produced around 5 megawatts of electric power. Obninsk is in today’s Russia.

About 500 B.C. the Chinese discovered the potential of natural gas. Finding places where gas was seeping to the surface, the Chinese formed crude pipelines out of bamboo shoots to transport the gas, where it was used to boil sea water, separating the salt and making it drinkable. Britain was the first country to commercialize the use of natural gas. Around 1785, natural gas produced from coal was used to light houses, as well as streetlights.

Opened on the 26th November 1966, the Rance Tidal Power Station is the world's first tidal power station and also the world's second biggest tidal power station. The facility is located on the estuary of the Rance River, in Brittany, France.

An early application of wave power was a device constructed around 1910 by Bochaux-Praceique to light and power his house at Royan, near Bordeaux in France. In 2008, the first experimental wave farm was opened in Portugal, at the Aguçadoura Wave Park.

Fossil fuels receive more subsidies than renewables

The fossil fuel lobbies like to point to the fact that renewable energy sources are being heavily subsidized. Though this has been pretty much true in the last decade or so, global fossil fuel subsidies still get most of the money, with estimates from the WorldWatch institute being at between $775 billion and more than $1 trillion in 2012, compared to just $66 billion for renewable energy sources. This really shouldn’t surprise us because fossil fuel have benefited from massive governmental backing worldwide for hundreds of years.

From the general perspective the total subsidies for renewable energy are significantly lower than those for fossil fuels, but if we focus to look at things from the kilowatt per hour equation we can see that renewable energy subsidies are currently between 1.7¢ and 15¢ per kilowatt-hour (kWh), while subsidies for fossil fuels are at around 0.1-0.7¢ per kWh.

Subsidies for fossil fuels are huge.

The difference in this kilowatt per hour equation could soon change because many energy analysts expect decrease in subsidy costs for renewables as renewable energy technologies are becoming increasingly efficient while on the other hand the prices of wholesale electricity and transport fuels continue to rise further.

The latest report from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences says that fossil fuel subsidies cost the United States $120 billion in pollution and related health care costs every year. These hidden costs are however still not reflected in fossil fuel prices and this is what currently gives fossil fuels edge over renewables in terms of total costs.
    
The U.S. president Obama promised to shift official support from fossil fuels to renewables in order for America to make a switch to clean energy economy and enter global clean energy race from a favorable position. This policy would not only help reduce the level of greenhouse gas emissions, but would create prerequisites for long term economic growth, as well as reducing U.S. heavy dependence on foreign fuel import.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that if fossil fuel subsidies were phased out by 2020 this would cause reduction in oil demand by 3.7 million barrels per day, natural gas demand by 330 billion cubic meters, and coal demand by 230 million tons of coal. By 2035, oil demand would decrease by 4 percent, natural gas by 9.9 percent, and coal demand by 5.3 percent, compared with the baseline projection.

Without fossil fuel subsidies carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 4.7 percent in 2020 and by 5.8 percent in 2035. This would be of great benefit to reduce negative consequences of ongoing climate change phenomenon.

No subsidies for fossil fuels would also level the playing field for renewables and allow countries to reduce support for clean energy sources as well.

While some say that no subsidies for fossil fuels is excellent idea others argue that reducing subsidies would disproportionately affect the poor, developing countries. The only real truth in the whole story is that fossil fuel subsidies still heavily outweigh support for renewable energy which makes transition to renewable energy sources lot slower.

Oil spill facts

An oil spill is an unintentional release of crude oil or refined oil products into the environment. Oil spill is a form of pollution. The term often refers to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters.

Main causes of oil spills are deliberate sabotages (wars) and oil drilling accidents. Major oil spill can also occur when transporting oil with huge tankers or tank-trucks. Minor causes of oil spills are boat fuel spills, road motor oil leakage and deliberate dumping of motor oil or other oil products into the environment. Not all spills are consequences of human activity: oil spills can also be caused by tectonic events causing oil escape, especially in the ocean.

Oil spills can be categorized into two main categories: spills on land and spills on sea. Both can result in multiple types of pollution: water pollution, soil pollution and air pollution. A common thing for all mentioned types of pollution is huge impact on living organisms in surrounding area. 

Land oil spills are mainly localized events and pollution usually happens only near the spill site. Main long-term pollution effect from land oil spills is soil pollution which can also lead to underground water contamination. Land oil spill can extend if the spill is located near surface or underground water flows and consequential pollution is in this case much harder to control.

US planes over Kuwaiti oil fires.

 Sea oil spills (or marine oil spills) can contaminate water and oil miles away from main spill cause. This makes marine oil spills hard to control and clean because they are usually spread over vast areas. Marine oil spill may contaminate coasts and coastal soil areas if spill is not stopped offshore and then it is much more difficult to clean contaminated soil.

Offshore (sea or marine) oil spills are much easier to clean because there are special boats equipped just for this task and because of the fact that oil floats on water. Main task is to surround polluted area with oil barriers and then collect floating oil with special boats. If a marine oil spill cannot be controlled with barriers then special chemicals can be sprayed over floating oil for faster oil disintegration.

Oil spills can be controlled by chemical dispersion, combustion, mechanical containment, and/or adsorption. Spills may take weeks, months or even years to clean up.

The largest marine oil spill is Gulf war oil spill (1991) with released approximately 800,000 tons of oil. Iraqi forces opened valves at the Sea Island oil terminal and dumped oil from several tankers into the Persian Gulf.

The second largest (and largest unintentional) marine oil spill in history is the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico. This accident in year 2010 released about 570,000 tons of crude oil into sea. Because this accident was very near to the US coast huge media coverage caused great popularity of “oil safety discussions”. This accident also triggered new safety regulations in oil drilling processes.

Definitely the largest oil spill in history is Kuwaiti oil fires and oil lakes. Kuwaiti oil fires and oil lakes were caused by retreating Iraqi army as part of a scorched earth policy while retreating from Kuwait in 1991 after invading the country but being driven out by Coalition military force. The oil fires caused a dramatic decrease in air quality, causing respiratory problems for many Kuwaitis. This oil spill is classified as land oil spill and the released quantity of oil is more than 300 times the released volume in Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico (around 160,000,000 tons in Kuwait vs. approximately 570,000 tons in the Gulf of Mexico).

Consequences of Exxon Valdez oil spill

The largest unintentional land oil spill is the Lakeview Gusher accident. Lakeview Gusher Number One was an out-of-control pressurized oil well in the Midway-Sunset Oil Field in Kern County, California, lasting 18 months and releasing about 1,200,000 of crude oil.

The largest tanker oil spill is the Exxon Valdez oil spill with about 40,000 tons of spilled crude oil and has occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989. It is considered to be one of the most devastating human-caused environmental disasters.

One gallon of used motor oil can contaminate 1 million gallons of fresh water - a year's supply of water for 50 people. The United States generates a total of 1.3 billion gallons of waste oil each year of which 800 million gallons are recycled and 500 million are disposed of improperly.

Global oil facts - statistics

At the end of 2009, there were 1333.1 billion barrels of proved oil reserves (this number doesn't include Canadian oil sands) according to the BP's Statistical Review of World Energy.

Russia is currently the world's largest oil producer. In 2009, Russia produced in average 9.93 million barrels of oil per day for a total of 494.2 million tons, which is around 12% of world's total oil production.

According to the data from IEA China is currently the world's largest oil consumer. In 2009 China consumed 2.252 billion tons of oil equivalent, which is about 4% more than the U.S., which consumed 2.170 billion tons of oil equivalent. It is also expected that China’s oil demand will likely rise by more than 5% in 2010.

In 2009, China's oil consumption increased by 6.7 percent while US oil consumption declined by 4.9 percent (mostly because of recession).

According to the data from the US Energy Information Administration, approximately 4.1 billion barrels of oil are held in strategic reserves, of which 1.4 billion is government-controlled.

International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that the global oil demand in 2010 would grow by 170,000 barrels a day to 86.5 million barrels, mostly because of developing countries which depend on oil to continue their economic growth.


Besides United States and China, the list of five largest oil consumers in the world also includes Japan, Russia and India.

Saudi Arabia is currently the world’s second largest crude oil producer behind Russia. It is estimated that Saudi Arabia currently produces around 8.5 million barrels of oil per day.

World crude oil demand grew an average of 1.76% per year from 1994 to 2006.

Transportation sector has the highest oil consumption rates, accounting to 55% of oil use worldwide, and for approximately 68.9% of the oil used in the United States.

Saudi Arabia's largest oil fields are now declining at a rate of around 8% per year. The average global rate of field decline is at about 4.5% per year.

In 2005, global oil production reached an all-time high of 73,720,000 barrels per day.

Oil had the largest price on June 30th, 2008 crossing over $143 a barrel.

Top five countries in oil reserves category are Saudi Arabia, Canada, Iran, Iraq, and United Arabian Emirates.

Fossil fuels facts

Fossil fuels are formed by the anaerobic decomposition of remains of organisms including phytoplankton and zooplankton that settled to the sea (or lake) bottom in large quantities under anoxic conditions, millions of years ago.

Fossil fuels are oil, coal and natural gas. In 2006 primary sources of energy consisted of petroleum 36.8%, coal 26.6%, and natural gas 22.9%, amounting to an 86% share for fossil fuels in primary energy production in the world.

Crude oil is a smelly, yellow-to-black liquid and is usually found in underground areas called reservoirs. Scientists and engineers explore a chosen area by studying rock samples from the earth. Measurements are taken, and, if the site seems promising, drilling begins.

Coal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds.

Natural gas is a gas consisting primarily of methane. It is found associated with fossil fuels, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is created by methanogenic organisms in marshes, bogs, and landfills.

Fossil fuels - current US energy picture.

Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources because they take millions of years to form, and reserves are being depleted much faster than new ones are being formed.

All fossil fuels are made of hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons store energy in the form of the atomic bonds. Energy stored in hydrocarbons can be released very easy - we just have to burn them.

When fossil fuels are burned carbon and hydrogen react with oxygen in air to carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O). During this reaction heat is released which further amplifies the reaction.

One of the biggest benefits of fossil fuels is their cost. Coal, oil and natural gas are abundant right now and relatively inexpensive to drill or mine for.

At current usage, the coal supply will last 1500 years. However at a 5% growth rate the coal supply will last only 86 years. We can expect even greater usage as other fossil fuels become scarce.

Coal energy yield depends on how much carbon is contained in it. Two types dominate US reserves. Anthracite is 95% carbon and is approximately 300 million years old. Lignite is 25% carbon is nearly 150 million years old.

An oil refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas.

To run a 100-watt light bulb 24 hours a day for a year we need to use about 714 pounds (325 kg) of coal in coal powered power plant (thermal efficiency of such power plant is typically abut 40%).

Fossil fuels are also overwhelmingly responsible for fueling our transportation system. Petroleum-based fuels are the standard.

One liter of regular gasoline is the time-rendered result of about 23.5 tonnes of ancient organic material deposited on the ocean floor.

The total fossil fuel used in the year 1997 is the result of 422 years of all plant matter that grew on the entire surface and in all the oceans of the ancient earth.

Burning fossil fuels is responsible for environmental issues that are high on the political agenda these days. Examples are greenhouse gas accumulation, acidification, air pollution, water pollution, damage to land surface and ground-level ozone.

Consequence of oil spills. Fossil fuels cause direct and indirect pollution.

CO2 can be turned into methanol

CO₂ is the biggest reason why world today faces very difficult challenge in overcoming the climate change problem caused mostly by excessive CO₂ emissions. These excessive emissions are mostly the result of fossil fuels burning because world needs energy, and energy demands keeps on growing all the time, so fossil fuels are really a necessary evil we need to satisfy our everyday needs.

Carbon dioxide, result of fossil fuels burning is hot topic around the globe, and is described by many as No.1 cause for climate change problem. Scientist believe that we should reduce our CO₂ emissions as much as possible to keep current levels of CO₂ in atmosphere and avoid the worst possible global warming scenario. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that a 60% reduction of global carbon dioxide emissions is needed if carbon dioxide concentrations are to stabilize at present-day levels. But with renewable energy sector still miles away from being competitive on global scale this is very unrealistically to expect, so therefore science is looking for new solutions - like for instance turning CO₂ into methanol or some other useful chemical compound. You think this is impossible? Not anymore, just ask the scientists at at the Singapore-based Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN).

Carbon dioxide into methanol - principle.

These scientific visionaries have made an unprecedented breakthrough in transforming carbon dioxide, a most common greenhouse gas, into methanol, a widely used form of industrial feedstock and clean-burning biofuel. Their secret is in using so called "organocatalysts", organocatalysts were used by researchers to activatee carbon dioxide in a mild and non-toxic process to produce the more useful chemical compound. This really has the potential to be one of the most important discoveries in the energy world.

At the Singapore-based Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, scientists have managed to make carbon dioxide react with a stable organocatalyst called N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) under mild conditions in dry air. As senior lab officer at IBN Siti Nurhanna Riduan said: “NHCs have shown tremendous potential for activating and fixing carbon dioxide and our work can contribute towards transforming excess carbon dioxide in the environment into useful products, such as methanol.”

To do this, scientists require a combination of silica and hydrogen – called hydrosilane – hydrosilane is then added to the NHC-activated carbon dioxide, which is transformed into methanol through the process of hydrolysis. Dr Yugen Zhang, IBN team leader and principal research scientist explained the role of hydrosilane by saying:"Hydrosilane provides hydrogen, which bonds with carbon dioxide in a reduction reaction. This carbon dioxide reduction is efficiently catalyzed by NHCs even at room temperature. Methanol can be easily obtained from the product of the carbon dioxide reaction." He also added that their previous research on NHCs has demonstrated their multiple applications as powerful antioxidants to fight degenerative diseases, and as effective catalysts to transform sugars into an alternative energy source. With this discovery they have shown that NHCs can also be applied successfully to the conversion of carbon dioxide into methanol, helping to unleash the potential of this highly abundant gas.

Similar scientific research have become very important because world seeks all available solutions to fight against global warming and climate change. It has to be said here that primary goal of IBN's research was to make the mass production of methanol more cost-effective, in the process reducing the amount of carbon dioxide released in the earth's atmosphere. As you can see there is double benefit from this scientific discovery: less CO₂ in the atmosphere and real possibility of mass methanol production.

Hopefully there will be more similar scientific discoveries in years to come because only science can save us from global warming. I mean you don't really expect politics to solve this problem, do you?

Oil prices at record levels

Serious oil shortage is to be expected in years to come.

New oil price record (more than $134 for barrel, 05/22/2008, New York Mercantile Exchange - NYME) has been set after US government confessed decrease in crude oil and gasoline stockpiles last week, surprising analysts who were expecting an increase. U.S. Energy Information Administration said that crude stocks fell by 5.4 million barrels last week. According to a survey from Platts, an energy research firm, crude oil stocks were expected to be up 900,000 barrels. Some experts are now saying that serious oil shortage is to be expected in years to come, and that will be beginning of the end of oil era.

New record oil price is increase of 34% in this year, and by investment bank Goldman Sachs estimation in second half of this year average oil price will be around $141 for barrel. Same bank estimates that oil price will break $200 for barrel level in year 2010. Last year’s average oil price was $64.20 with price of $55.43 in May. Just for information: average oil price in year 2002 was $26.61.

New factor in oil price increase definitely are rumors about US – Iran war at the beginning of the next year. An Israeli press report that US President George W. Bush intends to launch a military attack on Iran before he leaves office - Tuesdays Jerusalem Post, cited a report on Israeli Army Radio, quoting Israeli officials who had met with Bush and his delegation during their visit to Israel last week. The report also cited the US official as stating that the hesitancy of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had delayed a decision on military action against Iran.

Weak American dollar is currently the main reason for increasing oil prices, but expected oil shortage and rumors about war with Iran are also big factors in oil prices. Some analysts also believe that China may need to import more fuel to make up for the disruption of other supplies after last week's earthquake.

Tokyo Tower Lights. Is it possible that we're using too much energy? Click on picture for full size.

Fossil fuels - dominant but dangerous

Carbon cycle process. Click on picture for full size.

Fossil fuels are non-renewable energy sources since they need millions of years to form and its reserves are being depleted much faster than new ones are being formed. Fossil fuels category includes oil, coal and natural gas. Fossil fuels when burning release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and carbon dioxide is very harmful greenhouse gas, mainly responsible for the global warming problem.

More than 6 billion gigatons of carbon dioxide is produced per year because of the burning of fossil fuels and natural processes are only capable in absorbing just about half of this amount and so we have every year increase of about 3 billion gigatons of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Fossil fuels currently provide about two thirds of US electricity and about 85 % of all the energy consumed in the US. US dependence on fossil fuels is traditional and therefore dominant because America owes to fossil fuels great deal of its economic power, so it's very likely that this reliance on fossil fuels will continue in the next decades despite some significant progresses in alternative energy sources.

Fossil fuels will not last for eternity and reserves in the ground are very limited (especially the ones of oil and natural gas, better situation is with the coal) while their demand grows significantly every year. Fossil fuel is still "dirty" energy source despite of some technologies that were developed to make their use environmentally cleaner (i.e. coal purification).

Not only does combustion of fossil fuels generate carbon dioxide but it also generates sulphuric, carbonic and nitric acids that result in acid rain. Oil spilling accidents, dangerous coal mining methods are just some of the other negative environmental sides which use of fossil fuels carries.

Cleaner technologies have some potential but their potential is limited only to rich states while other states lack needed funds for this expensive research and stick with that what they already have (which is in many countries coal since it's the cheapest fossil fuel).

Alternative energy sources are getting more attention but reason for this isn't just the ecological awareness of countries' governments; it's more to do with the fact that fossil fuels are limited and so it's necessary to find alternative sources.

And while Earth is warming, world leaders still just debate about global warming and some of them even say "global warming doesn't exist". Who they try to convince? Us or themselves? Fossil fuels really need good alternative and they need it fast. But this alternative must be ecologically acceptable even if this means sacrificing economy.

CO₂ emissions by sector and type in 2005. Click on picture for full size.

Carbon capture technology - Best solution?

Carbon capture technology is technology that tends to reduce negative impact of global warming by capturing carbon dioxide(CO₂) from power plants and subsequently storing it instead of releasing it into the atmosphere. Capturing carbon dioxide means nothing without its storage and the storage of carbon dioxide is still relatively unknown in majority of the world countries.

Carbon capture technology has enormous potential and when implanted in modern power plants it could reduce emission of carbon dioxide by about 80-90% compared to the plants without these technology. However capturing carbon needs significantly bigger amount of energy and would increase fuel consumption in power plants for about 10-40%. Capital costs are significant too which all comes down to increase the costs of energy from 30-60%, which is in many countries simply economically unacceptable because of these high costs.

This picture shows working principles of carbon capture technology. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

The storage of carbon dioxide is also the problem because the carbon dioxide is either stored in deep geological formations, deep oceans, or in the form of mineral carbonates. Risk is especially expressed when storing it into deep oceans and it could greatly increase the problem of ocean acidification. Hence the best solution lies in geological formations which by some estimations have capacity of at least 2000 GT CO₂.

Carbon capture technology has significant impact in Norway where they use the method of trapping carbon dioxide and storing it long-term underground, mainly in mature oil-fields. This technology made its way to the ears of the US oil industry too, because it potentially offers a partial solution to the global warming problem without reducing US traditional dependence on oil or curbing consumption.

But this technology is still really in the development stage and would require massive fonds to become economically viable and some even say this technology lacks necessary safety because the underground storage chamber could rupture which would then release a huge bubble of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, worsening global warming at a stroke, and this is also one thing that must be taken into the consideration when talking about the good and the bad sides of carbon capture technology.

However carbon capture technology is still the step in the right direction and the subject worthy of further researching despite of its need for large investments. Quite frankly any technology that could significantly reduce emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is worthy of further researching cause ecology and environment are begging for new cleaner technologies that could put an end to a well known global warming problem. And carbon capture technology isn't exception.

Oil energy facts

Oil is non-renewable energy source and belongs to fossil fuels, together with coal and natural gas.

Oil was formed more than 300 million years ago.

Oil has been used for more than 5000 years (ancient Babylonians and Sumerians had used crude oil).

Oil can be found under ground in areas of rock that are porous and contain the oil within the rock itself.

Oil is made into many different products like for instance clothes, fertilizers, plastic bottles, pens and lot of other products.

Oil as well as other fossil fuels emits dangerous greenhouse gases which cause the global warming.

Oil consumption is biggest in USA where daily consumption passes 19,5 million barrels.

Oil biggest producer is Saudi Arabia followed by Russia.

Oil won't last forever because its sources are limited.

Oil spilling is often causing major ecological disasters.

Oil needs alternatives in years to come, preferably in form of clean renewable energy sources.

Oil reserves refer to portions of oil in place that are claimed to be recoverable under economic constraints. Saudi Arabia leads the way with 264,3 billion barrels, in front of Canada and Iran.

Oil together with coal and natural gas supply about 88 % of the world's energy needs.

Top 10 Countries with Oil Reserves (click on picture for full size).

Oil could even hit $120 in 2008 if current trend continues.

Oil tankers present great danger to sea pollution because of possible tanker accidents like it was infamous Exxon Valdez incident.

Oil tankers can be real giants even up to 650,000 tons.

Oil has tremendous effect on US economy.

Oil derivatives are releasing C02 during combustion and on the dangerous CO2 lies the biggest blame for global warming.

Oil's most known product gasoline costs in Saudi Arabia about 45 cents a gallon and in Venezuela just a quarter of the dollar.

Oil field that is largest in the world is Ghawar in Saudi Arabia that contains between the 75-85 billion barrels of oil which is six time more than the Prudhoe Bay in Alaska as the largest oil field in US.

SRC - Selective Catalytic Reduction

Selective Catalytic Reduction is one of the most cost-effective and fuel-efficient technologies available to help reduce emissions in passenger cars and heavy-duty trucks. In a high-cost, fuel-dependent society, our goal is to advance the understanding and education of SCR enough so that everyone involved can make informed choices in technology.

DRIVING AMERICANS TO CHANGE – SCR SAVES FUEL & THE ENVIRONMENT

JUNE 4, 2008 - Dependency on foreign oil continues to impact gasoline prices, forcing American consumers away from light trucks and S.U.Vs. This change in consumer behavior is having a dramatic effect on US automakers, causing car manufacturers to increase production of more fuel-efficient car and truck models, including many that will offer clean diesel Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) engine technology.

The shift to more fuel-efficient vehicles forced structural change upon America’s top two automakers: GM and Ford Motor Company. On Tuesday, GM slashed the production of trucks and big S.U.Vs at four North American assembly plants and announced plans to shut down 4 plants by or before 2010.


The high cost of gas is causing Americans to drive less. According to recent EPA data, Americans drove 11 billion fewer miles on U.S. highways and byways in March than they did a year earlier, the sharpest drop since the numbers were tabulated.

As a solution many drivers and automakers are looking at new diesel-powered cars to achieve greater efficiency. Driving a diesel car enables drivers to get up to 40 percent more miles per gallon. Interestingly, these diesels are also good for the environment, putting out 22 percent less carbon dioxide than a comparable gasoline car.

In heavy duty trucks, the clean diesel solution that has been proven in Europe will be offered by the industry’s leading manufacturers in 2010. This technology, called Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR), promises near-zero levels of emissions while providing a 3-5 percent fuel advantage per truck per year. This equates to $3,000 in fuel savings per truck per year (using today’s fuel prices) as well as the elimination of 71+ tons of CO2 over the lifetime of each truck.

The value of this remarkable technology is slowly spreading across North America.

SCR is a technology that injects Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF), an automotive grade urea and liquid-reductant agent, through a catalyst into the exhaust stream of a diesel engine. The DEF sets off a chemical reaction that converts nitrogen oxides into nitrogen and water, which are harmless and simply expelled through the vehicle tailpipe.

As an aftertreatment technology, SCR also allows engines to provide better performance so that drivers can drive with all the power they need and have come to expect.

In a changing economy and with its environmental advantages, SCR makes sense.
SCR meets and, in cases, exceeds standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in passenger cars as well as light and heavy-duty trucks, and it is one of the most cost-efficient and fuel-efficient technologies available to increase mileage while help to reduce our dependency on foreign oil.

While SCR systems have become the technology of choice for many across Europe, it is still fairly new to the North American automotive and trucking industry. If you have any questions or comments about SCR, contact me at mmurray@quixotegroup.com. Coming soon, please visit www.factsaboutscr.com for more news of upcoming events and reports on SCR technologies as well as general SCR information.

By Michael Murray – contributing writer and trend analyst working on behalf of the North American SCR Stakeholders Group and its SCR education and communications task force. The SCR stakeholders group is an ad-hoc industry alliance made up of automotive, light duty and heavy duty OEMs, producers, distributors and governing agencies. Coming soon - www.factsaboutSCR.com will offer news and information related to the use and benefits of SCR, particularly in commercial applications, for the automotive industry and the general public.

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