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Sunday May 17, 2009

Canada publishes first comprehensive atlas, maps geological riches of Arctic mineral resources

This article belongs to the Polar melting, Arctic mining and mineral resources story arc.

ottawacitizen.com :

Canada has published the first comprehensive atlas of Arctic geology - everything from continental plates to rock types that signal where to hunt for gold, diamonds, gas and oil. The atlas contains $1-billion worth of data from polar countries, and carries enormous implications for contentious Arctic sovereignty claims - based partly on formations under the ocean - and for mining and earthquake forecasting. The map is available electronically and in a poster from Natural Resources Canada, showing the world north of the Arctic Circle.

Already, mining companies are eager for a look, said Marc St-Onge, a Geological Survey of Canada senior scientist. Canada, Russia, the United States, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden all contributed data. The $1-billion figure represents years of field work by these countries combined : icebreakers, helicopter flights, seismic profiles, and geologists trekking on foot. It shows not only the surface, but also deeper layers in 3D "data cubes." He noted that with the economic slowdown, the mining industry has time to digest what the atlas shows, without pressure to rush out and drill right away.

- The irony of all this has already been noted a couple of years ago and it goes like this :

1. Humans burn fossil fuels to release the buried solar energy stored therein
2. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rise and the natural "greenhouse effect" is amplified
3. The oceans warm and ice melts
4. Melting ice opens up new prospective oil & gas provinces for exploration & production
5. Humans burn more fossil fuels ... and back to (2)

The above passage really does point out the absurdity of the situation. But there is nothing particularly funny about it if you also consider the potential global sea level rise, with 7 meters (23 feet) due to Greenland melting and, it has also been said, up to 60 meters (197 feet) if Antarctica were to also melt.

We need to break this cycle of burning fossil fuels. We need to implement solar energy, we need to implement wind energy, and at the same time we also should not rule out nuclear energy - whatever alternative energy sources that are workable and that are deployable. The alternative is for the countries of the world to start fighting resource wars - and there are those who argue that these resource wars have started already. There could be increasingly nasty conflicts over increasingly scarce resources. The Great Arctic Endgame is just one of them.

(2009-05-17 11:08:27 SGT) [Env] Permalink

Thursday May 07, 2009

Singapore electric vehicles : Government agencies EMA and LTA to study EV introduction

channelnewsasia.com :

A multi-agency taskforce chaired by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and Land Transport Authority (LTA) has been set up to study the introduction of electric vehicles (EV's) in Singapore from 2010. Key industry players include auto manufacturers and technology companies. S$20 million will be set aside to support infrastructure development and tests for electric vehicles. The EV test-bed will allow testing of different EV prototypes and charging technologies as well as research into vehicle-to-grid (V2G) power, and is expected to run for three years (2010-2012). The taskforce will then evaluate the scope for larger scale adoption of EV's in the future.

EMA CEO Mr Lawrence Wong said Singapore is well-positioned for the deployment of EVs because of its compact urban environment, robust electrical grid and IT infrastructure. The EV test-bed offers potential economic benefits for manufacturing and R&D, such as in battery technology, power electronics and electric drive systems. Renault-Nissan and Keppel Energy have signed an MOU with the EV taskforce. Renault-Nissan will supply EVs and share knowledge to develop common standards. Keppel Energy will develop charging stations and other supporting infrastructure.

- The timeline of 2010 to 2012 for the EV test program looks great. In fact, it looks like pretty good timing to me, with the likes of Toyota, Honda and Nissan and Mazda already planning PHEV's and EV's, and lithium-ion hybrid car battery manufacturing tie-ups coming up between major players including Honda-Yuasa, Toyota-Panasonic and Nissan-NEC. And on the American side of things, if/when they emerge from the current situation, they have the Chevrolet Volt, while the higher-end folks may start considering the Tesla Model S or the Tesla Roadster.

As an aside, back in Sep-Oct 2006, the Singapore government issued a National Climate Change Strategy call for consultation. My response included this item : "Consider a strategy to implement infrastructure for recharging of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, eg Cashcard-based overnight recharging stations in carparks". Of course technology and standards have evolved since then, with the current thinking as far as I can gather being the adoption of compact, standardized 440V/480V charging stations that can be put nearly anywhere including along roadsides (and hence near shops, businesses and other areas where people will visit), or inside carparks, existing petrol stations and so on, with quick charging times of just 15-20 minutes.

People like myself, whether environmentalists, peakoilers, or just concerned citizens, have been trying to push for something like this since years back. It is good to see the Singapore government starting to look into the possibility of introducing EV's onto Singapore's roads. This is a progressive and forward-looking initiative.

(2009-05-07 07:08:14 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

Monday May 04, 2009

California housing market : No buyers, new homes get demolished instead

peakoil.com :

1. BREAKING NEWS on the Housing Front: SHOCKING! Part 1
2. BREAKING NEWS on the Housing Front: SHOCKING Part 2
3. SHOCKING: EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER-DEPRESSION EDITION PART 3
4. SHOCKING: EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER-DEPRESSION EDITION PART 4
5. VICTORVILLE MODEL HOMES DEMOLISHED - SHOCKING VIDEO: Part 5

- This posting just came in on the peakoil.com forums. Apparently the banks couldn't find any buyers in the depressed California housing market, and got fed up with having to continue paying taxes, maintenance and upkeep for these brand-new homes, so they resorted to destroying them instead.

Talk about literally destroying excess inventory. Truth be told, the peakoiler community is not too surprised, since we did discuss the possibility that this kind of thing might come to pass. But looking at the real-life videos of it actually taking place is really something else. Like a fellow forumer put it, "Anyone else here get the feeling that we're witnessing history - of the scariest kind?"

In the earlier forum threads years ago, we also discussed the possibility that, even destroying the supply of new houses might not be of much help to stabilize housing prices, if the demand is falling faster than the rate at which the houses are being destroyed, all things being relative to each other. After all, if all the new houses were destroyed and prices still kept falling, what could be done next, destroy homes where people are living in?

We also did discuss one more possibility. That, over time to come, everyone would get their money back. After an outright crash (at that time we were still arguing "fast crash" vs "slow crash" - guess which one it turned out to be?), we raised the possibility that everyone who lost money in the markets would get their money back, and then some - when hyperinflation starts to kick in. So while people would get their money back in nominal terms (eg $500K houses falling to $200K and then reverting to $500K, ditto for the stock markets and so on), what that money would buy in real terms would be something else altogether (eg $20 loaf of bread). In this kind of scenario, nobody wins, everybody loses. Let's hope that doesn't happen - but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared.

(2009-05-04 23:29:11 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

Sunday May 03, 2009

GM bankruptcy still likely despite plans to cut 23000 jobs, drop Pontiac brand

This article belongs to the GM, Ford and Chrysler bankruptcy watch story arc.

money.cnn.com :

General Motors announced plans to cut 23,000 U.S. jobs by 2011, drop its Pontiac brand and slash 40% of its dealer network in its latest bid to stay out of bankruptcy. The new restructuring proposal will leave the Treasury Department, and thus US taxpayers, and trust funds controlled by the United Auto Workers union owning 89% of GM.

GM CEO Fritz Henderson warned that a bankruptcy is still very likely unless bondholders agree to the swap. The moves are GM's latest efforts to cut costs and stem losses that have dogged its North American auto operations since 2005. The Obama administration has given GM only until the end of May to reach deals with creditors and unions to cut costs or be forced into bankruptcy. The Treasury Department extended GM an additional $2 billion in loans last week, bringing its total federal assistance to $15.4 billion.

- The moves so far still point very much towards a GM bankruptcy. They can drop all the brands they want and it still probably won't be enough. So why just drop Pontiac anyway? What's the point? And what's with this bond-equity swap deal anyway, who'd want stock that has dropped over 95% in recent years? As long as the crushing debt overhang remains, as long as the healthcare and pension plans remain, as long as the company continues to lose money, it remains headed in the same direction.

(2009-05-03 15:05:58 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

Friday May 01, 2009

Honda may develop plug-in hybrid cars as Obama alters US policy

bloomberg.com :

Honda, which sells the FCX Clarity hydrogen car, may also develop plug-in electric models as US policy shifts to favor battery-powered autos. US President Barack Obama has announced no new federal effort to promote hydrogen. Honda still sees hydrogen as the best long-term alternative that can cut carbon exhaust tied to global warming, Honda President Takeo Fukui said. Still, the company will respond to a push by the Obama administration for carmakers to sell plug-in hybrids. "Oil prices are going to go up. When that time comes, fuel cells, solar panels, hydrogen, those will be the key words," Fukui said. "We will have packages that will be very competitive at that time."

General Motors, Toyota and Nissan, and startups Tesla and Fisker are rushing out plug-in hybrid cars as the US moves to tighten fuel-economy and greenhouse gas rules. Honda has yet to announce plans to sell one, citing high costs for the lithium-ion batteries needed to power them and poor range. Honda last week began building a lithium-ion battery factory with joint-venture partner GS Yuasa to make packs for gasoline-electric hybrid cars. Honda plans to produce the vehicles in late 2010.

- And I was wondering where was Honda's PHEV policy. Now with Honda officially in the plug-in hybrid game, being one of the last major car-makers to announce their PHEV plans, the race for market share is on. Now all we need to change the entire global vehicle fleet and transport infrastructure to run on electric power is around 30 years, $45 trillion, and a lot of luck.

(2009-05-01 12:43:54 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

Chrysler files for bankruptcy, enters Fiat deal

This article belongs to the GM, Ford and Chrysler bankruptcy watch story arc.

news.yahoo.com :

Chrysler filed for bankruptcy, a first by a major US automaker, on Thursday [30 Apr 2009] and announced a deal with Fiat, after being pummeled by sliding auto sales and unable to reach agreement on restructuring its debt. Chrysler has struggled in recent years to compete, hurt by its near total reliance on the US market, poor quality and a truck and SUV-dominated vehicle line-up with the lowest combined fuel economy of any major automaker.

Chrysler entered an alliance with Fiat, which was given an initial stake of 20%. Over time, Fiat could eventually own 51% after Chrysler has repaid its US Treasury loans. Chrysler will also be 55% owned by the United Auto Workers' healthcare trust fund while the US and Canadian governments hold a combined stake of 10%.

- Here we go. The contrarians and peakoilers have been tracking this one for years, and a conclusion of sorts has been reached. But then it did not turn out quite like the community had earlier expected, however. When the news back then was of a "struggling Fiat", it would have taken quite a twist in the plot to turn Fiat into some kind of "white knight" to rescue the ailing Chrysler. And look how fast Daimler of Mercedes fame got rid of its remaining Chrysler stake on 27 Apr, with Chrysler going bankrupt 3 days later. This bankruptcy has been a long time coming, but things certainly move fast, once they really get started moving.

Up next, GM. And possibly Ford. So who are they going to reach deals with, Citroën and Volkswagen?

(2009-05-01 08:41:53 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

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