Israeli Minister of Energy and Water Uzi Landau, who is visiting India, met with Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Jaipal Reddy to discuss the possibility of Indian government energy companies taking part in developing Israel’s massive offshore Mediterranean natural gas fields, Leviathan and Tamar. According to an Israeli energy specialist familiar with the negotiations, “During his visit, Minister Landau held many important meetings with key Indian government figures. They included meetings with the minister of petroleum and natural…

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The British government announced that overall energy production last year was down 14 percent from the previous year. Oil and natural gas production both declined while low-carbon energy production grew. While the United Kingdom is making gains in the renewable energy sector, the crude oil numbers suggest there’s still work to be done in decarbonizing the regional economy. The British government released statistics for all sectors of the energy market for 2011. The provisional data showed overall petroleum production was down 17 percent and…

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Which of the following can we count on to act as a “bridge fuel” to a renewable energy economy? A. OilB. Natural GasC. CoalD. None of the above The correct answer is: D. None of the above. Mark Twain is reported to have said: “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” What most environmentalists think they know for sure is that oil, coal and natural gas are all abundant—so abundant, in fact, that many environmentalists believe they are forced to…

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As foreign energy companies increasingly circle Africa seeking energy deposits, it would seem that the Magreb countries of northern Africa have the most developed natural gas deposits and western Africa, particularly Nigeria, the most exploitable oil reserves. Eastern Africa, which has suffered through chronic energy shortages, now has reason to celebrate, as both Norway’s Statoil, and U.S. energy firm Exxon have announced finding natural gas in energy-starved Tanzania’s Indian Ocean waters in their Zafarani exploration well in…

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War against Iran seems imminent as both the US and UK military commands ask for more funding to increase the preparation and deployment of military arms and personnel in the Persian Gulf. The US has already added to the number of aircraft carriers it has stationed in the area, sending both the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Carl Vinson, along with a number of warplanes and tens of thousands of troops. The warships will be modified with antitank weapons and rapid fire machine guns, all specially designed for dealing with the Iranian fast attack…

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So far on Do the Math, I’ve put out a lot of negative energy—whatever that means. Topics have often focused on what we can’t do, or at least on the failings or difficulties of various ambitious plans. We can’t expect indefinite growth—whether in energy, population, or even growth of the economic variety. It is not obvious how we maintain our current standard of living once fossil fuels begin their inexorable decline this century. And as I’ve argued before, achieving a steady-state future implies approximate equity…

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This week the Energy Department’s program for long-shot technologies, ARPA-E, is hosting a convention in Washington where teams of inventors can display their ideas to potential investors and government officials. The technologies are not currently market ready, merely prototype ideas hoping to intrigue the right person and receive funding for more research. One of the most interesting prototypes shown was a flying wind turbine being developed by Makani Power of Alameda, California. The machine resembles a wing made from black carbon fibre…

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