Natural Gas

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – It seems extraordinary, but in a country where Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) has advanced to within an hour’s drive of the capital, Baghdad, civil politics there has not been paralyzed. Big demonstrations broke out on Friday. #Iraq|is protesting en masse today in Tahrir Square(#Baghdad) calling for better […]

Acidification of Oceans

It’s Getting hot in Here: There never was a Pause in Global Warming: Scientists

contributors

By Jay Lawrimore | (The Conversation) | – National and international studies have shown that the Earth is warming, and with this warming, other changes are occurring, such as an increasing incidence of heat waves, heavy downpours and rising sea levels. In its Fifth Assessment Report in 2013, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found […]

Climate Change

The End of Dirty Coal? Britain CO2 Falls 10% on Coal Plant Closings

contributors

The Tree | — The UK could soon see coal use fall back to levels last seen during the industrial revolution as yet another uneconomical coal plant shuts its doors. On Wednesday, energy operator SSE announced the closure of its Ferrybridge coal-fired power station in West Yorkshire, blaming rising costs, citing the need for the […]

Climate Change

Is Big Oil Finally Entering a Climate Change World?

contributors

By Michael T. Klare | (Tomdispatch.com) Many reasons have been provided for the dramatic plunge in the price of oil to about $60 per barrel (nearly half of what it was a year ago): slowing demand due to global economic stagnation; overproduction at shale fields in the United States; the decision of the Saudis and […]

Education

Bombing Iran: What would Happen if the Hawks got their Way?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Some of those who believe that Iran’s civilian nuclear enrichment program is inevitably dual use (that it can be used to produce a nuclear weapon) are alarmed at the prospect of a diplomatic deal between Washington and Tehran that will allow Iran to continue enriching under inspections. After […]

Climate Change

The “Hindenburg Trap”: Dump Oil, Coal & Gas Stocks if you Want to Retire

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – What is the actual value of the oil, gas and coal fields owned by big energy corporations, which gives them their stock price and allows them to be counted as assets for borrowing purposes? The real value of those hydrocarbon resources is zero. Or actually it is much […]

Energy

Gaza: How the Struggle for Natural Gas drives the Wars

contributors

By Michael Schwartz | (Tomdispatch.com) | – Guess what? Almost all the current wars, uprisings, and other conflicts in the Middle East are connected by a single thread, which is also a threat: these conflicts are part of an increasingly frenzied competition to find, extract, and market fossil fuels whose future consumption is guaranteed to […]

Dissent

Leftist Jordanians protest expected gas deal with Israel

contributors

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Dozens of protesters marched in the Jordanian capital of Amman on Friday to denounce a gas deal with Israel that is expected to be passed by the end of the year. Protesters held signs against the Israeli diplomatic mission in Jordan and against normalization with Israel during the rally, bearing messages such […]

Climate Change

Antarctica Glaciers Melting 3 Times Faster than 10 Years Ago

contributors

American Geophysical Union | — West Antarctic melt rate has tripled “Joint Press Release WASHINGTON, D.C. – A comprehensive, 21-year analysis of the fastest-melting region of Antarctica has found that the melt rate of glaciers there has tripled during the last decade. The glaciers in the Amundsen Sea Embayment in West Antarctica are hemorrhaging ice […]