Oil

Fossil fuels are abundant. So what ?

Last week on Cleantechies, an article caught my attention. Titled ” What if We Never Run Out of Oil? “. The article made me think and I have to say I got quite mad at it as it is promoting fossil fiels just because they they are abundant. They might be, and they can be considered […]

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A primer on our current energy predicament

Years ago I was often reading The Oil Drum, a great website dedicated to oil and other energy issues. Years later, the website still provides great content and I am glad to have read one of their latest posts : Our Energy Predicament in Charts. This post is an excellent introduction to energy issues for

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Global fossil fuels subsidies total $1.9 Trillion

Yes, you read that right. According to a new report from the International Monetary Fund, governments around the world are giving in direct and indirect aids up to 1,900 billion USD ( 1,500 billion euros ) to fossil fuels subsidies each year. This total to 2.5 percent of global GDP. More importantly, ending those subsidies

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Shell stops drilling in the Arctic

In the last few years the ice of the Arctic has been melting increasingly fast. This has increased the willingness of oil companies of all colors and stripes to dig there. Among them, the Royal Dutch Shell. Given how Arctic oil would be difficult to retrieve safely and how little they would ease the pressure

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The huge cost of traffic congestion

Cleantech and sustainability is not only about energy efficiency and renewables, it is also about how we move around. So my latest piece for Cleantechies is about traffic congestion. Here is the introduction : ” According to a new study carried out by the English Centre of Economics and Business, traffic congestion in the United

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Start-stop systems are simple, yet brilliant

A great innovation I have seen on French cars recently is called Stop and start. Peugeot Citroen (PSA) started selling this anti-idling technology as early as 2006. The gains in urban driving are no less than ten percent… Indeed, thanks to start-stop systems, the internal combustion engine is automatically shut down while you are stuck

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Happy and sustainable 2013 ! (starting season 7)

Dear visitors, readers and subscribers. Today, January 2nd, this humble blog turns SIX. As this is the first 2013 post, I would like to wish you and your loved ones a happy, healthy and sustainable year 2012 ! I have tried from day one to bring you a selection of the latest news and best

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7 ways climate change is worse than thought

In case you would haven’t guessed : Climate change is here and it’s even worse than we thought. New Scientist proposes a compelling series of article showing that the IPCC predictions in 2007 were below what we are witnessing. Here are the seven points of their argumentation : arctic warming, extreme weather, food production, sea

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Saudi Arabia to go 100 percent low carbon

I already had mentioned very ambitious plans from Saudi Arabia to jump-start a solar revolution. So the following news aren’t totally surprising me. As The Guardian reported : ” Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil producer, has plans to become 100% powered by renewable and low-carbon forms of energy, according to an influential member of

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