According to oil company executives, oil is going to be a major energy source to 2100 and beyond. So after hearing an oil man make his case, Chris Goodall went home and crunched some numbers. Money invested in solar power already produces more energy than if it's put into oil exploration and production, and the gap is only going to widen from here. Is this the new 'peak oil'?
… The new 'peak oil'? A dollar invested in solar yields more energy than a dollar invested in oil Chris Goodall | 13th February 2016 News Energy Oil Renewables Finance Economics Climate …
The fracking boom has caused massive vegetation loss over North America's rangelands, writes Tim Radford, as 3 million hectares have been occupied by oil and gas infrastructure and 34 billion cubic metres of water have been pumped from semi-arid ecosystems.
… | 4th May 2015 News Fossil Fuels Fracking Oil USA Water Ecology bakken-oil-cut.jpg The fracking boom has caused … as 3 million hectares have been occupied by oil and gas infrastructure and 34 billion …
New technologies are coming on stream that can turn sunlight and wind into liquid fuels for vehicles, homes or power plants, writes Chris Goodall. And by powering the process using 'free' renewable energy on sunny or windy days, the fuel will be as green as can be, and cost less than petroleum.
… - how renewable fuels will make oil obsolete Chris Goodall | 22nd August 2016 Comment Energy Technology Renewables Oil Fossil Fuels solar-cut.jpg New … caost of gasoline / petrol. Barrel of oil: $49 (August 10th 2016) Number of litres …
78 records didn't come to an end because the world ran out of shellac, writes Chris Goodall. And today's cars won't be made obsolete by a shortage of oil, or even climate change. The transition will be driven by falling prices, long range, clean air laws, and the superb style, performance and driving experience they offer.
… Goodbye oil! Soon all cars will be electric - because … cars won't be made obsolete by a shortage of oil, or even climate change. The transition … as much to power a car with electrons as with oil. (Source: SMMT, New Car CO 2 report 2014, …
Scientists work out how to stop global warming at 1.5°C by the end of the century: junk fossil fuel plants.
… with a marine fuel that isn’t derived from oil or coal. Lifecycle There is a catch. Those … put forward.” The implication is that no new oil wells should be drilled, or mines opened; no more coal-burning or oil-burning power plant commissioned. …
Scientists in the US have established that chemicals used in fracking to extract gas and oil could represent health and environmental hazards, writes Tim Radford. Among the greatest hazards: biocides and corrosion inhibitors.
… chemicals used in fracking to extract gas and oil could represent health and environmental … fracture technique to release gas and oil trapped in underground reservoirs may not …
The world's smart money is piling into renewable energy, solar power in particular, write Tim Radford & Oliver Tickell, as renewables pull away from fossil fuels in terms of both investment and new generation capacity added each year.
… power each year than coal, natural gas, and oil combined, according to an analysis … his keynote address. "Despite the change in oil and gas prices there is going to be a … global warming by releasing carbon stored in soils and living biomass to the atmosphere. And …
The economic impacts of the Brexit vote will very soon make themselves felt to British consumers, writes Chris Goodall - kicking off with higher fuel bills and pump prices. The good news is that nuclear power is now looking increasingly unaffordable. But renewables and green energy research are also likely to suffer, especially if under a right-wing Brexit government.
… Petrol prices will start creeping up The oil price has been gradually recovering after … making it slightly easier for offshore oil and gas rigs to stay in business. Will the rise in the price of oil help the sales of electric cars? It …
A 145,000 sq km area of peatland swamp forest has been discovered in the Congo Basin, writes Tim Radford, and it holds a record 30 Gt of carbon, equivalent to 20 years of US fossil fuel emissions. Now the race is on to protect it from damaging development that would emit that carbon over coming decades.
… being logged, drained, burnt and cleared for oil palm plantations, making the country the … A residue, however, is preserved in the soil, as semi-decayed wood or foliage, or on … of combustion of fossil fuels - because oil and coal and natural gas were also once …
A new GM bacterium can produce bioethanol from coarse switchgrass, rather than using food crops like maize, writes Tim Radford. It does this by 'digesting' the tough cellulose that yeasts are unable to break down.
… team has managed to convert algae into fuel oil. In Finland, meanwhile, researchers are …
VW's pollution cheating has caused thousands of premature deaths, write Mike Berners-Lee & Chris Goodall, creating costs that could destroy the company's entire shareholder equity. But this is no 'Black Swan' event. It is an early example of the existential threat to the fossil fuel economy.
… world speeds up the switch away from coal, oil and even gas. The death of the carbon … world speeds up the switch away from coal, oil and even gas. …
Despite massive clearance of carbon-rich forests for palm oil, cattle ranching, soybeans and other cash crops, writes Tim Radford, a new study finds that the net volume of carbon stored in trees is increasing thanks to their growing numbers on grasslands, on abandoned farmland, and in China.
… clearance of carbon-rich forests for palm oil, cattle ranching, soybeans and other cash …
Log books from British whaling ships more than 200 years ago have given new insights into the history of the Arctic sea ice, reports Tim Radford. A new study reveals that the scale of ice melt in the Arctic over the last few decades is new and unprecedented.
… and the tons of blubber and barrels of oil they brought home. For Matthew Ayre, a PhD …
Feed-in tariffs are a great way to kick start renewable technologies, writes Chris Goodall. But they suffer from a law of exponentially diminishing returns. It's time for governments to move to direct R&D funding to achieve the transformational changes the world needs.
… that had been frightened by the OPEC oil embargo put big sums into R&D, …
The increase in meat and dairy consumption is set to cause huge increases in greenhouse gases, reports Tim Radford. A shift to less animal-based diets would cut greenhouse gases, conserve forests and grasslands - and make us all healthier, with reduced obesity, diabetes and associated conditions.
… diet rich in refined sugars, refined oils, meat and processed foods led to the …
Solar is already the cheapest available power across large swathes of the tropics, writes Chris Goodall - its cost down 99.7% since the early 70s. Soon it will be the cheapest electricity everywhere, providing clean, secure, affordable energy for all.
… us how to take CO 2 and process it to make oils for transportation. These processes … surplus summer power into green gases and oils will give all 9 billion people on the …
Scientists warn that burning up the planet's remaining fossil fuel would cause all Antarctic ice to melt and lead to 58m of sea level rise over 10,000 years, writes Tim Radford. But devastating impacts would strike much sooner, with oceans rising by 3m a century for the next millennium.
… Our study demonstrates that burning coal, oil and gas also risks loss of the much larger …
Germany's Energiewende or Energy Path is leading Europe's dominant industrial power into wholly new territory. Sober bureaucrats see a 100% renewable energy economy by 2050 as technically feasible. Chris Goodall asks - have they all gone mad?
… in Germany and compared it with gas and oil storage networks (see the table below). …
New analysis of the vast body of research shows 97% of climate scientists agree that human activities are fuelling climate change, writes Tim Radford. But thanks to aggressive attempts to convince us otherwise, only 12% of people in the US are aware of this high level of agreement.
… geologists, with expertise in coal or oil deposits. But the outcome, after more than …
Advanced new catalysts are poised to stimulate a clean energy revolution, writes Tim Radford. An organic replacement for the precious metal platinum would allow surplus electricity to be cheaply converted into hydrogen fuel, then burnt in low cost fuel cells to propel 'green' vehicles and generate power on demand.
… way they've been going on, with more and more oil being pumped out of the ground. There will …
Death threats, abuse and torrents of online hatred show how climate change scientists are demonised, writes Tim Radford, in a way without parallel in the history of science. It's all set out in a new book that explores both climate change denialism, and our inaction despite overwhelming evidence: 'Don't Even Think About It'.
… He listens to the sceptics, the worriers, the oil giants, the conspiracy theorists, the …
French energy giant EDF will today give the formal go-ahead for the Hinkley C nuclear power station in Somerset, writes Chris Goodall. But that's no reason for the UK to sign up to a disastrous deal that will cost us over £1 billion per year for 35 years - money that should be used to support the green technologies of the future.
… closing down the nuclear plants on its own soil as fast as it can, with no intention of … them into liquids that can be kept in the oil storage networks. The 'renewable fuel' …