Energy

€‹Flaming water wells? High methane levels in Texas water linked to fracking
Testing of methane concentration in water of Parker County, Texas indicates a link between the dangerously high levels of natural gas in local water supply and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, operations in the gas-rich Barnett Shale, scientists say. [...]
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Eastern energy pivot threatens the US dollar
The "€œPower of Siberia"€ is much more than a 30 year Sino-Russian gas/pipeline deal. Paying for the process accelerates the vogue to reduce dollar pricing. That, not the energy supply, will become the most acute threat to US economic hegemony. [...]
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Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan sign ‘€˜epoch’ Eurasian Economic Union
Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan signed the historic Eurasian Economic Union which will come into effect in January 2015. Cutting down trade barriers and comprising over 170 million people it will be the largest common market in the ex-Soviet sphere. [...]
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China to become Russia’s biggest gas consumer if western route developed
China could replace Germany as Russia's biggest gas consumer, if Moscow and Beijing agree to add a route from Russia'€™s Western Siberia to the one already agreed under a $400 billion contract, President Putin said at a meeting with media in St. Petersburg. [...]
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€‹Russia and China seal historic $400bn gas deal
After 10 years of negotiations, Russia's Gazprom and China's CNPC have finally signed a historic gas deal which will provide the world's fastest growing economy with the natural gas it needs to keep pace for the next 30 years. The total value of the contract is $400 billion, Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller said. However, the price of gas stipulated in the document remains a "commercial secret." [...]
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The birth of a Eurasian century: Russia and China do Pipelineistan
A specter is haunting Washington, an unnerving vision of a Sino-Russian alliance wedded to an expansive symbiosis of trade and commerce across much of the Eurasian land mass - at the expense of the United States. And no wonder Washington is anxious. That alliance is already a done deal in a variety of ways: [...]
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Russia & China: “€˜No to sanctions rhetoric, regime change in other countries”
Moscow and Beijing have rejected the imposition of sanctions as political tools and condemned attempts at "encouraging and financing"€ regime changes in other countries in a joint statement released during President Putin'€™s official visit to China. [...]
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EU, US reaffirm ‘energy independence’ gameplan
US and EU diplomats have said they will help Ukraine cut back on Russian gas, and also promised to help diversify the Russian-dominated European energy market, a difficult long term task for energy-dependent EU countries. US Secretary of State John Kerry, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and other energy advisers met in Brussels on Wednesday for an energy summit. [...]
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UK to run out of oil, gas and coal in five years -€“ report
New research from the Global Sustainability Institute has found that Britain, France and many other European countries have low reserves of fossil fuels, and their home grown energy could be entirely reliant on imports in several years. The study found that the UK has just 5.2 years of oil, 4.5 years of coal and three years of gas before it completely runs out of fossil fuels, said the researchers [...]
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Shale gas and politics: Are Western energy giants€™ interests behind Ukraine violence?
Economic interests, such as untapped shale gas resources, already sliced and diced by Western energy giants, are behind the Kiev government'€™s "€˜anti-terrorist" operation against the pro-federalist regions, foreign policy expert Nebojsa Malic tells RT. [...]
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Energy Bill’s Failure Shows Congress Can’t Agree to Agree
The sponsors of a bill to promote U.S. energy conservation built it to pass in a Congress where almost nothing passes. After businesses complained, the authors deleted mandates for tougher building-efficiency standards. Then they cut provisions that would have increased the U.S. deficit. [...]
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Son of US VP Joe Biden appointed to board of major Ukrainian gas company
Hunter Biden, son of US VP Joe Biden, is joining the board of directors of Burisma Holdings, Ukraine'€™s largest private gas producer. The group has prospects in eastern Ukraine where civil war is threatened following the coup in Kiev. [...]
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Breaking: Fukushima Employee Files Lawsuit over Radiation Exposure
A worker at Fukushima filed a historic lawsuit over radiation exposure, saying TEPCO exposed him to dangerous levels of radiation without his knowledge. Shinichi is asking TEPCO for 11 million yen in compensation for the company’s negligence. That translates to only about $110,000 in US dollars – a small price for a big company to pay after exposing millions of people, animals, soil, and water [...]
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Russia: Historic 30-yr gas deal with China set to be signed next week
A historic, long-term deal for the delivery of Russian gas to China that has been 10 years in the making is 98 percent ready, Russia'€™s Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky has said. All that's needed are the two countries'€™ signatures, he added. [...]
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Fracking’€™s unexpected side-effect: Traffic deaths on the rise
Fracking requires twice or three times as many truck trips per well as older oil and gas extraction techniques. That could be reason for drilling areas in US witnessing a significant spike in traffic fatalities, new analysis suggests. [...]
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Out of control: Fukushima manager admits to “€˜embarrassing failure”€™
The manager of the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant has admitted not having full control of the facility. Contrary to the statements of the Japanese PM, TEPCO's Akira Ono said attempts to plug the leaks of radioactive water had failed. [...]
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North Dakota struggling to deal with radioactive fracking waste
Environmental regulators and North Dakota state officials have expressed concern that the state has failed to adequately adjust to the state'€™s sudden influx of crude oil output, a worry highlighted by the recent discovery of abandoned radioactive waste. Last month, the North Dakota Health Department announced that a large pile of oil filter socks [...]
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Solar energy now same price as conventional power in Germany, Italy, Spain – report
Solar energy now costs the same as conventionally generated electricity in Germany, Italy and Spain, a report has revealed. The research has warned, however, that high installation costs are impeding other countries from achieving grid parity. [...]
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“Japan too proud to ask for Fukushima foreign help”
The nuclear energy industry in Japan relies on unskilled and uneducated daily workers, and even now the country will not invite foreign experts to help with the Fukushima cleanup due to national pride, Alex Kerr, an expert on Japan, told RT. [...]
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