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Interesting

Muhammad Sahimi: McCain's Middle East Policy. Part III: the Only Thing Worse than his Presidency will be Having these Advisors Devise the Policy

from Breaking News and Opinion on The *Huffington Post* by Muhammad Sahimi

In the first two parts of this series, posted on Monday and Tuesday, I described John McCain supposed expertise on and experience with foreign affairs, and the results of the Middle East policy of the Bush administration that he has so strongly supported. In this article - the last of the series - I take a look at McCain's foreign policy advisors and their backgrounds.

As the president, McCain would, like any president, have a national security team that he would appoint to various positions, in the State, Defense, Energy, and Homeland Security Departments, the intelligence agencies and the National Security Council. It is the team that will act as the brain for the McCain administration's Middle East policy. Thus, the question is, how much brain does his team have, anyway? Let us take a look at the "brain."

Stephen Beigun: He is acting as the foreign policy advisor to Sarah Palin. He worked in the National Security Council from 2001-2003, and was an advisor to Bill Frist, the former Republican Senate Majority Leader. He is also a vice president for Ford Motor Company.

Beigun's chief role has been protecting Palin against charges of inexperience when it comes to foreign policy, justifying the inexperience, and supporting the notion that, as Governor of Alaska, she has gained foreign policy experience. He told the Newsweek, "Governors don't have the same opportunities or the same responsibilities that Senators have. They are different, but they're not inferior."

When Palin made the infamous remark about Vladimir Putin "rearing his head" and "coming into the airspace of the United States" through Alaska as her foreign policy credentials and was ridiculed for it, Beigun insisted that Palin's position was correct. He said, "Governor Palin told me that when Russian aircrafts buzz American airspace and U.S. aircrafts are mobilized at Elmendorf Air Force Base, she is informed by her National Guard commander." But a spokesman for the Alaska North American Aerospace Defense Command said that, "She doesn't have any role in that process."

Max Boot: He is a super hawk neoconservative, a senior fellow for national security studies at Council on Foreign Relations, and a military historian. He is the chief cheerleader for McCain, the tough guy. In an article in the Los Angeles Times in February he wrote, "Ask yourself which presidential candidate an Ahmadinejad [of Iran], Assad [of Syria], or Kim [of North Korea] would fear the most..." to which he responded - surprise! - McCain. Yeah right! Say that to commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guards who believe that they should have been killed during the Iran/Iraq war in the 1980s; that they have lived at least 20 years beyond their "natural" life, and thus are ready for anything that the U.S. might throw at them.

Boot has declared with straight face that, "the United States should unambiguously embrace its imperial role." He has forcefully advocated military intervention in the Middle East, has criticized diplomatic efforts there, and has claimed that the U.S. would be fully justified to attack Iran now. He has also favored targeting Saudi Arabia, and has declared that, in the worst-case scenario, the U.S. might end up "occupying the Saudi's oil fields and administering them as a [self-appointed] trust for the people of the region." He has also attacked reputable organizations, such as the Human Rights Watch, and has dismissed protests against torture of war prisoners.

Niall Ferguson: He is a professor of history at Harvard University, and a senior fellow at conservative Hoover Institution. He has consistently advocated war on Iran, saying that, "if we don't attack Iran, there'll be nuclear war."

In a January 2006 article, he predicted a nuclear war between Iran [which does not have any such weapon, is not close to having it, and there is no evidence that it is trying to make it] and Israel [which is known to have at least 200 nuclear warheads] happening in August 2007, which he called the Great War of 2007, and suggested that it would last for four years. It was not clear how a nuclear exchange could last that long!

According to another article of his in October 2007 in the Los Angeles Times, he received a huge number of heated responses from around the world for his prediction. Therefore, he "clarified" himself by saying that, "my aim in writing the column was not to soothsay but to alert readers to the seriousness of the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program - and to persuade them that the United States should do something to stop it." He published this article and "clarification" right before publication of the latest U.S. National Intelligence Estimate on Iran in November 2007 that declared that, Iran stopped its nuclear weapon program in 2003 (although there is no concrete evidence that Iran even had such a program before 2003).

He then went on to once again advocate attacks on Iran. Even worse, he "predicted" - more accurately, he fantasized - that, "one strike, and Iran could be out," if the "safe U.S. bases in Iraq and Afghanistan" are used. I need not say more about Ferguson. The man clearly lives in a parallel universe disconnected from ours.

Robert Kagan: He is a "leading foreign policy advisor," according to McCain's campaign, apparently because he is married to Victoria Nuland, who was the U.S. ambassador to the NATO until July 2. He worked at the State Department Bureau of Inter-American Affairs from 1985- 1988, during the Contra scandal when Elliot Abrams was the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American affairs (Abrams was later convicted for his role in the scandal). He is supposedly a Middle East expert, although he does not speak Arabic or Persian, knows very little, if any, about that part of the world, and has never lived there.

Kagan was a director of the infamous Project for the New American Century, the neoconservative organization that advocated an American empire by declaring that, the United States must "accept responsibility for America's unique [read hegemonic] role in preserving and extending an international order friendly to our security, our prosperity, and our principles." PNAC was a leading force in spreading lies and exaggerations about Iraq, and a forceful advocate of its invasion.

Kagan is a self-styled military "expert," although he has never served in the military. Like Dick Cheney who got five draft deferments during the Vietnam War because he had "other priorities," Kagan is a chicken hawk who is great at sending other people's children to war and death. Let us see whether his own son David will ever serve in the military.

An amusing statement that Kagan made goes to show how much knowledge he has about the Middle East. He claimed that Saddam Hussein "fancied himself the new Saladin." Of course! After Saddam gassed his own Kurdish citizens (and the Iranians) and murdered tens of thousands of them, it was natural for him to fancy himself as the new Saladin, the Kurdish warrior!

Kagan also "predicted" that, "obviously the [Bush] administration intends to publicize all the weapons of mass destruction U.S. forces find [in Iraq] - and there will be plenty." We now know how many WMDs were found.

In November 2006, Kagan declared, with as much certainty as he had about Iraq's WMDs, that the solution to Iran's nuclear energy problem "will have to be invasion, not merely an air and missile strike..." But, presumably after his in-house military expert - his wife - told him that Iran is a large country with a rugged landscape, 72 million people, and lots of experience with symmetric and asymmetric warfares, he changed his mind, became a man of peace, and now only advocates bombing of Iran.

Randy Scheunemann: The best description for this character is that he is a Chalabyist - after his close association with the Iraqi con artist Ahmad Chalabi. He was the president of the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, which was created by the Project for the New American Century (of which he was a board member), which spread propaganda for invasion of Iraq. He promoted Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress as Iraq's "government in exile."

Scheunemann has been a lobbyist for anybody or any entity that pays him well, from governments of Georgia, Macedonia, and Taiwan, to military firms and oil companies. According to an article in theNew York Times in May 2008, before McCain's campaign started, Scheunemann had actually met the Senator many times on behalf of his clients. In July 2008, the Sunday Times of Londonpublished an article that linked Scheunemann to Stephen Payne, a lobbyist who had been covertly filmed while he was offering meetings with Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, and others, in return for donations to President Bush's Presidential library. He has presented himself as a "hawk," accusing many of having a "September 10" mindset.

R. James Woolsey: He was CIA director from 1993-1995. A neocon who claimed that anybody who did not believe in Al-Qaeda/Saddam Hussein connection was "illiterate," he has been advocating "World War IV" with Islamic nations, with "World War III" being the Cold War.

The number of lies and exaggerated stories that he told the public about Iraq's non-existent WMDs is simply too large to repeat them here. According to the website, Ignorance is Futile, at 2:26 am on September 12, 2001, Woolsey was the first person who linked the terrorist attacks of the day before to Iraq (watch him making the claim at http://ignoranceisfutile.wordpress.com/).

Woolsey now speaks with the same certainty about Iran's nuclear weapon program. He told students at Purdue University in November 2007 that, "If you don't think Iran is interested in nuclear weapons, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn I'd be happy to offer you. Of course it's a nuclear weapon program." He had offered to sell the same bridge to his audiences in the run-up to Iraq's invasion. So, all he had to do to make this claim was changing Iraq to Iran in his pre-2003 declarations.

Woolsey also believes in UFOs. In fact, he claimed that he and his wife had seen a UFO in the 1960s. When he became CIA director, he even searched the CIA's secret files, looking for anything about UFOs. The CIA even published a report about this. So, his behavior at CIA was totally odd, which might explain his early departure from the Agency.

John McCain's campaign does list several career diplomats and academics, such as Richard
R. Burt (former U.S. ambassador to Germany and a veteran of nuclear arms negotiation), Kori Schake (who served in the National Security Council and has advocated a relatively realistic approach to Iran), and Richard S. Williamson (who has served three presidents and was the U.S. special envoy to the Sudan). But, with his principal spokesman on foreign affairs being the Chalabyist Scheunemann, and given what Senator Thad Chocran (R-Mississippi) said about McCain,

The thought of him [McCain] being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me,

how much can we trust a McCain administration to keep us out of yet another unjustified and catastrophic war?

Pretty money Election post

The links in this article lead to a tone of money ev

Joseph Romm: Palin shocker: McCain won't regulate greenhouse gas emissions

from Breaking News and Opinion on The *Huffington Post* by Joseph Romm

Voters who care about either global warming or clean energy have only one choice -- and it isn't McCain-Palin.

It's time to stop trying to guess whether the latest McCain campaign gaffe revision on global warming means the Arizonan has walked away from his previous support for mandatory government control of greenhouse gases. He has.

That should have been clear from McCain's repeated rejection of the word "mandatory" to describe his program, his choice of a global warming denier for vice president, and his failure to even mention global warming during his acceptance speech. Most recently, his chief economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin said on Sunday that McCain does not agree with the Supreme Court decision that labels carbon dioxide a pollutant andrequiring EPA to regulate it. He labels Obama's decision to obey the Supreme Court decision "a draconian regulatory approach."

Now the McCain campaign has decided to eliminate the ambiguity entirely in the desperate and erratic final days of his campaign. In her big greenwashing energy speech at an Ohio solar energy company, Palin was as blunt as possible in her prepared (and delivered) remarks:

And we will control greenhouse gas emissions by giving American businesses new incentives and new rewards to seek, instead of just giving them new taxes to pay and new orders that they must follow -- "so says government".

The final three words were ones she added, but the prepared text alone leaves no room for doubt. A McCain-Palin administration will not be issuing new orders that businesses must follow to control greenhouse gas emissions. It will use a voluntary or incentive-based approach, one that has never worked in any country to restrain emissions growth.

McCain and his campaign have made a concerted effort to reassure conservatives he's not going to take strong action on climate, while hoping that moderates would be fooled just like some Bush voters were in 2000 ignore all this talk, which itself is a core campaign strategy of doubletalk (see "Memo to media: McCain doubletalks to woo conservatives and independents at the same time").

The Palin speech was the last piece of the puzzle. For one last time, let's consider the increasingly sorry history of the McCain campaign on climate and clean energy:

• During his career, McCain voted with Senator Inhofe (R-OK) and against clean energy a staggering 42 out of 44 times in the past two decades (see "The greenwasher from Arizona has a record as dirty as the denier from Oklahoma").


• In December, anti-wind McCain skipped a vote to extend tax credits for renewable energy, though advisers say he would have voted against it.


• In January, McCain first boarded his Double-Talk Express on Global Warming when he began to walk away from calling his cap-and-trade "mandatory" -- "voluntary" climate action is of course the core of the Luntz/Bush do-nothing but sound-like-you-care strategy.


• In February, he repeated his failure to show up for a vote to extend tax credit for renewable energy (the only Senator to do so).


• In February, McCain repeated that "It's not quote mandatory caps."


• In March, his senior economic adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, said McCain "might take [new CAFE standards] off the books."


• April, McCain revealed cynicism, hypocrisy with call for summer gas-tax holiday, energy budget freeze. As I noted at the time, "the greatest threat to the success of a cap and trade system is that somebody might artificially limit the carbon price ... because some weak-kneed President (or Congress) walks away from that price the first time the economy suffers a downturn. McCain would appear to be that weak-kneed Presidential hopeful."


• In mid-May, McCain announced the details of his climate plan, which stunningly allowed "unlimited offests" (i.e. phony tons) in place of actual domestic emissions reductions, which is the same as "Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic."


• In late May, he "announced he won't even bother showing up to vote on his friend Joe Lieberman's climate bill."


• In June, he flipflopped on offshore oil drilling and even embraced "more traditional use of coal," an embrace of higher greenhouse gas emissions that is Bush-lite, crude, and not sweet.


• In July, he released his "Jobs for America" plan with so little on energy efficiency that it suggests he would be Cheney's third term!


• Again in July, National Review reported that cap and trade was "eradicated" from McCain campaign, according to comments from a "senior McCain official."


• At the end of July, McCain economic adviser Steve Forbes said, "I think cap and trade is going to go the way of some other things," and it won't "get far" under McCain.


• The 72-year-old McCain named a global warming denying, Big Oil Super-Shill as his Vice President


• His much anticipated acceptance speech never once mentioned the gravest threat facing the health and well-being of the nation and the world.


• He has been running a campaign ad that appears to attack the very idea of cap-and-trade.


• His chief economic adviser said this week that McCain won't obey the Supreme Court decision requiring the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant.


• And in text prepared by the campaign, his vice presidential running mate said today that a McCain-Palin administration will not be issuing new orders that businesses must follow to control greenhouse gas emissions, but instead will be adopting an incentive-based (i.e. voluntary) approach.

Remember, it was Bush's Vice President, Dick Cheney, who called Bush's promised to regulate utility carbon emissions "a mistake" in March 2001, and Cheney is probably the main reason Bush walked away from his commitment.

So perhaps we should start listening to McCain's VP choice, as well as McCain himself, and all of his advisers, on climate and clean energy issues.

If you care about global warming, the gravest preventable threat to the health and well-being of all Americans, and if you care about clean energy, the greatest potential source of new jobs and new industries in the coming decades, then you must vote Obama-Biden.

Good Articles 10-28-08

Power struggles

The general amazement at the power failures that plunged New York and much of the US's north-eastern seaboard into darkness five years ago was perhaps best summed up by Bill Richardson, former energy secretary. He quipped that the US was "a superpower with a third world grid".

Yet the US is far from the only developed country with a shaky power structure. In fact, Europeans have also suffered blackouts as a result of their ageing electricity infrastructure. In 2006, a power failure in Cologne spread through France, Italy, Spain and Austria, with Belgium, the Netherlands and Croatia also feeling the repercussions.

...The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the world must invest $22,000bn (€16,700bn, £13,000bn) in energy, half of that in the power sector. More than $8,000bn will have to be spent by developed nations, with the power sector again eating up half of that budget. Much of the money is needed to renovate and replace existing systems, which were built in the 1960s and 1970s.

[break]

Britain's Brown calls for bigger IMF bailout fund

LONDON (AP) -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on China and oil-rich Gulf states to bolster an enhanced IMF bailout fund for countries rocked by the global economic downturn, saying Tuesday those with the greatest surpluses should do more.

OPEC cannot bail world out

LONDON - OPEC cannot be expected to bail out the world over the current global financial crisis, the secretary general of the oil producers' cartel said on Tuesday.

The United States must take the lead in resolving the crisis, which stemmed from a US-based credit crunch last year, said Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) Secretary General Abdalla Salem El-Badri.

'What is surprising me is everybody looking at Opec to bail out this crisis. In Opec, we are most of us very poor countries, we cannot bail out this crisis,' he told an industry conference in London.

OPEC ready to act again to boost oil

LONDON – OPEC ministers will take further steps to prop up the oil market and could call another meeting before the group's next scheduled talks in December, officials said on Tuesday.

UK: Speculators and government blamed for high fuel prices

The government and speculators should take part of the blame for the excessively high fuel prices that pushed red diesel to 70p/litre earlier this year, according to one of the most important men in the oil industry.

Abdalla Salem el-Badri, secretary general of OPEC, which controls 40% of world oil output, told a briefing in London yesterday that very high prices did not ultimately benefit oil-producing countries because they affected demand. “$147 a barrel was too high,” he said.

Russia, China sign oil cooperation memorandum

MOSCOW (Itar-Tass) - Russia and China have signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the oil sphere, under which the parties will set up a working group to be led by the Russian energy minister and the head of China’s state energy department.

Is Venezuela's oil boom set to bust?

The dizzying collapse in oil prices has started a heated debate in Venezuela about the possible effect on its oil-dependent economy - and the political future of left-wing President Hugo Chavez.

Venezuela is particularly vulnerable to oil prices. It is the Western hemisphere's largest oil exporter. More than 90% of its export revenue and more than half of the government's annual expenditure comes from oil.

President Chavez's right-wing opponents are hoping a sustained drop in the oil price could curb his heavy spending on social programmes and undercut his support.

The Bloom Is Off of T. Boone

In the latest sign of how the financial crisis and steep drop in commodity prices since July have blindsided some of the most prominent investors, energy crusader T. Boone Pickens said he and his BP Capital investment firm have lost some $2 billion since oil and natural-gas prices started tumbling in July.

The information, released on “60 Minutes,” is sharply higher than the most recent estimates of Mr. Pickens’ losses. His funds were previously thought to be down over $1 billion in 2008, with his personal losses pegged at more than $300 million.

Saudi luxury car sales seen rising despite global crisis

Recession fears may be gripping much of the global economy, but in the world's largest oil exporter Saudi Arabia car manufacturers are betting on more big spending.

Traders at a luxury car exhibition in the Red Sea city of Jeddah said sales are holding up and are expected to increase in a country of 25 million, whose economy has boomed in recent years as the oil price soared to record levels.

China's CNOOC announces oil, gas output rise 15.2% for Q3

BEIJING (Xinhua) -- China National Offshore Oil Company Limited (CNOOC Ltd.) announced Tuesday that its net oil and gas output in the third quarter of 2008 rose by 15.2 percent over the same period last year.

The state-owned offshore oil producer said that its unaudited total revenue was 30.9 billion yuan (4.5 billon U.S. dollars) for the third quarter, representing a year-on-year increase of 69.1 percent.

UN atomic energy chief warns of nuclear theft

UNITED NATIONS, New York: Mohamed ElBaradei, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, asserts that the number of reports of nuclear or radioactive material stolen around the world last year was "disturbingly high."

ElBaradei, in his annual report to the General Assembly, said Monday that nearly 250 thefts were reported in the year ending in June.

World Is `Drowning in Oil' (Again) After Drought

The spike in crude oil earlier this year had the support of the popular theory of ``peak oil.'' In a 2005 book, ``Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy,'' investment banker Matthew Simmons argued that oil production by Saudi Arabia, the world's largest producer, is ``at or near peak sustainable volume'' and likely to decline in the foreseeable future.

Just a few years before the peak-oil theory was hot, the world was ``Drowning in Oil,'' according to the Economist magazine's March 6, 1999, cover story.

Oil was trading at $13.50 a barrel at the time. ``We may be heading for $5,'' the Economist predicted. ``Consumers everywhere will rejoice at the prospect of cheap, plentiful oil for the foreseeable future.''

Oil prices took off and never looked back.

Like the world of fashion, trends in markets come and go. Oil is a limited, albeit vast, resource. At some point in the future, we probably will run out of petroleum, at least as we know it.

Man's ingenuity is equally vast. When the time comes, given all the tax incentives that will be thrown in the direction of alternative energy, I have full confidence the world will not return to travel by horse and buggy.

Gas prices drop 26 cents in a week; some areas below $2 a gallon

The collapse in prices has been faster and deeper than forecast.

"It is stunning," says Tom Kloza, petroleum-price analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, a consultant. "I remember saying $2.75 by Halloween. Now, I think $2.50 by Election Day."

Auto parts supplier base teetering in downturn

DETROIT — While the big U.S. automakers lobby the government for some form of bailout, industry watchers are bracing for a major failure of the auto supply base if one or more of the Detroit 3 seek bankruptcy court protection.

Already fragile suppliers would be forced also to seek protection or simply liquidate, as some have done this year. The Center for Automotive Research says a bankruptcy filing by one or more domestic automakers could result in the loss of 2 million jobs.

"It would take the industry down," says David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, who advocates that the government step in to assist the automakers. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. … (A bailout) is a teeny amount compared with the overall consequences if this thing gets away from us."

OPEC members say low oil prices imperil investment

OPEC oil producers warned Tuesday that low oil prices have created a crisis situation that threatens key investment in production, pushing them to seek moderate price increases by cutting output.

IEA concerned about oil project delays - Tanaka

LONDON (Reuters) - The International Energy Agency (IEA) is concerned about potential delays to upstream oil projects as a result of the recent sharp fall in crude prices, its head said on Tuesday.

...Oil industry officials and analysts have said the low price may clog investments in upstream projects needed to maintain world supplies.

"Discussion that price of oil should be high enough and there will not be incentives to sustain upstream investment ... if the price of oil is too low? Yes, we are concerned about it," IEA's head Nobuo Tanaka told Reuters at a sidelines of a conference in London.

"We have seen this financial crisis. The supply side, as well as the demand side, has been hit badly by the financial crisis."

BP third-quarter profits surge on record high oil prices

LONDON (AFP) – British energy giant BP said on Tuesday that third-quarter net profit soared 83 percent to 8.049 billion dollars (6.434 billion euros) on record high oil prices which have since slumped.

Net profit, excluding gains from the value of its crude oil inventories, rose by 148 percent to 10.03 billion dollars in the three months to September, compared with the same period of 2007, BP said in an earnings release.

Jet fuel's down, but surcharges have stuck

Despite lower jet-fuel prices, fuel surcharges on international tickets are much higher than a year ago, according to an analysis of airline fare data for USA TODAY. Surcharges on many tickets have doubled, and many tickets on shorter flights — which often burn less fuel — have higher surcharges than longer-distance flights.

Most round-trip international tickets still have surcharges ranging from $200 to more than $500, even after airlines lowered the surcharges by $20 to $70 on many U.S.-Europe tickets last week. U.S. domestic fares still carry fuel surcharges, too, but international fares have the highest ones.

Congress Skimps on Roads, Providing Little Help for Caterpillar

(Bloomberg) -- The morning rush in Philadelphia ran 30 minutes longer than usual earlier this month when a joint in the Interstate 95 roadway came loose, shutting part of the artery and causing traffic to back up at least two miles.

The U.S. House's transportation panel will hear from 19 witnesses tomorrow on boosting infrastructure spending after Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked committee chairs to suggest contents for a potential post-election economic stimulus package. While the California Democrat hasn't announced a spending target, a plan last month included $12.8 billion for roads. That wouldn't be enough to plug a $19 billion hole projected in the federal Highway Trust Fund next year.

UK: North-east could suffer as oil price slumps to $60 a barrel

THERE were warnings last night that the gloss could be about to come off the north-east economy as the price of oil teetered below the $60-a-barrel mark.

Economists warned of job cuts to come and a fall in house prices as the region loses the cushion of booming oil prices that has enabled it to avoid the savage downturn hitting the rest of the UK.

Iran 'opens naval base' near Gulf

Iran has opened new naval facilities east of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow entrance to the Gulf which is key to oil supplies, state media say.

Naval chief Admiral Habibollah Sayyari was quoted as saying the base in the town of Jask would enable Iran to block the entry of an "enemy" into the Gulf.

China condemns Sudan oil killings

China has condemned the killing of five of its citizens in Sudan, calling it as a terrorist act, but said it would continue to invest in the country.

Beyond the triple crisis: a green new deal

This sequence makes clear that what is at stake is more than a financial breakdown that can be repaired by policy adjustments at the margin. Rather, the excessively indebted global economy is but one aspect of anunprecedented triple crunch, each element of which has contributed to the current crisis:

* an enormous Ponzi scheme of debt

* peak oil

* climate change.

Intel Capital to invest $20 mln in solar venture (AP)

BEIJING - Shrugging off gloom over the economic outlook, Intel Capital on Tuesday announced its first "clean-tech" initiative in China, a $20 million equity investment in Trony Solar Holdings Co., one of China's biggest makers of solar energy and wind power equipment.

"The world economy is in a very difficult position, but innovation is the way to help the companies out of financial crisis. Intel Capital is still committed to investing in innovative companies," Cadol Cheung, managing director of Intel Capital for the Asia Pacific, told reporters. Intel Capital's parent is computer chip maker Intel Corp.

"We have no plans to slow down our investment pace," Cheung said.

EPA may relax power-plant pollution rules

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency is working at the Bush administration's direction on a new rule that would weaken regulations for power plants, allowing them to increase emissions without adding pollution controls.

Study: Smog chops 2 months off Mexicans' lives

MEXICO CITY – Mexicans would live an average of two months longer if they breathed cleaner air, Harvard researchers conclude in a study published Monday. The study found that some 7,600 people's lives were cut short each year by diseases related to air pollution between 2001-2005, representing about 1.6 percent of annual deaths in Mexico.

China's hidden coal cost equal to 7.0 pct of GDP: green groups

A report entitled: "The True Cost of Coal", jointly commissioned by Greenpeace, the Energy Foundation and conservation group WWF, said taking into account the real expense was vital to the nation's future energy security.

The unaccounted costs equate to an estimated 1.7 trillion yuan (249 billion dollars), and would be even higher if the impacts of climate change were included, according to the report.

Climate is the real crisis: Britain's Prince Charles

TOKYO (AFP) – Britain's Prince Charles urged the world Tuesday to fight climate change, saying that while the global credit crunch may be temporary, the effects of the "climate crunch" were irreversible.

Oregon governor outlines climate change agenda

PORTLAND, Ore. – Oregon's governor unwrapped an ambitious 2009 legislative climate change package with proposals for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for homes and buildings by 2030, with benchmarks to be sure the goal is reached.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski also wants to replace the $1,500 tax credit on hybrid vehicles with a $5,000 credit on all-electric cars and to fund energy efficiency for 800 low-income homes a year.

Top economist talks up risks of climate inaction

HONG KONG (AFP) – Nicholas Stern, one of the world's leading environmental economists, said Monday that the global economy will face a more severe downturn than the current crisis if it fails to halt climate change.

Stern, the author of a key climate change report and a former World Bank chief economist, said moves towards a low carbon economy should not be stifled by the fallout from the current economic downturn.

Report: Climate change affects Yellowstone

From Walden Pond in Massachusetts to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, climate change has begun to dramatically affect the flora and fauna of these American treasures, according to two studies in Monday's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The studies show that the warming of the Earth's atmosphere over the past few decades has caused a loss of many of the flowers that Henry David Thoreau recorded in his book Walden and also has contributed to a decline in several species of native animals once common in Yellowstone.

GM Making Case That It's Too Big To Fail

from Breaking News and Opinion on The *Huffington Post* by The Huffington Post News Editors

Is General Motors too big to fail?

Rick Wagoner would sure like us to think so. Mr. Wagoner, the chief executive of the ailing automotive giant, spent most of Friday down in Washington, pressing his case for a government rescue.

Yes, G.M. wants our tax dollars too. Banks are getting billions. Insurance companies are getting billions. Why not G.M.?

Bill Chameides: Global Warming and Predictions of an Impending Ice Age - Part 3

from Breaking News and Opinion on The *Huffington Post* by Bill Chameides

You don't have to search too hard to find a skeptic's blog proclaiming that global warming "stopped" in 1998. Oh happy day if it were true, but sadly it is not. Why do I say this? I've looked at the data.

In my third post in a series on the connection between the sun, sunspots, and climate, I present a graphic, which shows the average global temperatures from 1990 to the present. Here's the graphic (from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory).

World Is `Drowning in Oil' (Again) After Drought

from Peak *Oil* News

(Bloomberg) -- Three months ago, the world was running out of oil.

Seriously. I kid you not. Everywhere you turned, you heard whispers that the day of petroleum reckoning was at hand.

Oil Business Not So Bad: BP Posts 83 Percent Profit Growth

from Breaking News and Opinion on The *Huffington Post* by The Huffington Post News Editors

LONDON — British oil company BP PLC reported a huge 83-percent rise in third-quarter net profit Tuesday on the back of surging energy prices between July and September.

The most important never made argument is....

Link threshold.


This applies in basically every instance and for every argument. Link threshold is the idea that you have to pass a certain bar to trigger the internal link/impact. While difficult to explain in the world where the offense defense paradigm is so dominant that people can't conceptualize spending time on defense, this argument is devastating. Let's look at some examples.


1. The Presidential election disad- the average one of these I saw at St. Marks went like this

Obama leads in all national polls- Some guy from october

Renewable energy is popular- something from 06 or 07

Energy is a key campaign issue for McCain- blog in June


This is not a disad. At no point do either of these "link" cards make the arg that passing an energy policy now would allow McCain to bounce back and overtake Obama's lead. Sometimes people explain this, but they explain it as "Uniqueness overwhelms the link". I think this analysis falls short because generally the neg just reads link magnifiers like "no really, energy is SUPER popular" and then the aff drops it and moves on. A proper link threshold argument would go something like this


"No threshold- even if the plan boosts McCain no evidence indicates it will be enough to swing the election. Their evidence on this point pre-dates thier uniqueness and doesn't assume the extent of of Obama's lead or the way the race has shifted post economic collapse. Providing this internal link is the negative's burden- failure to do so should result in the disad being assigned zero risk. Offense defense on crucial threshold issues is anti educational- it encourages the neg to find obscure improbable disads they can then win on because the aff has no carded offense"


What can the neg say to this? In reality, nothing. But they will say a mix of the following:

1. Our link is really big
2. Swing voters are key
3. Energy is connected to the economy due to gas prices


Now, here is where most aff's wave the white flag of surrender. The 1AR will just say something like "extend no link threshold, they don't have a card, this is a neg burden, they've conceeded it" and move on. This is not an argument. Most 1AR's try and extend way too many arguments and do not take the time to respond to all the negative's answers, thereby guaranteeing they will lose this argument. A proper 1AR would go like this:

The neg has conceeded our meta frame- threshold issues are absolute and a negative burden. If we win no link threshold the disad gets zero risk. They have no link evidence that assumes Obama's current lead or prominence of the economy- their old evidence doesn't pass the test
-the Link is not big- energy was prominent when oil was at 140 a barrel but it is now at half that
-No link uniqueness- off shore drilling and production tax credit should of triggered the energy key link- there is no meaningful distinction between them and the plan that would matter to voters- we can win the debate on this argument alone
-No Swing voters- they now care more about the economy
-Gas prices is answered above

Note the 1AR both explains the aff argument, what it is, what the impact is, and what the framework for evaluating it is. Maybe reading a card on PTC could be added. That "block" should take about 20 seconds max to read. If you only have a minute on a DA its much better to spend 20 seconds on each of 3 arguments then it is to try and extedn 6+ when the 2NC made multiple answers to all of them.



2. The Cap K- or really any "masking" link critique. Here the negative must prove that the degree to which the affirmative props up capitalism is suffiecient to either prevent its collapse or trigger an extinction impact. Here is the outline of a debate I judged.

Aff- PTC exists now, will be extended for 1 year, we should extend it for 10 years
Neg- Cap is collapsing now due to the financial crises, plan props it up, cap = extinction


This is a joke. In order to win this cap DA the neg has to win that there are people out there who are rejecting capitalism due to the bailout, these people are unpersuaded that they should go back to capitalism due to the 1 year extension of the production tax credit, however- if it were extended for 10 years they would jump back into the capitalist fold.


Now with K's it is not usually that simple. The neg will produce a series of other links to obfuscate the issue. These links are most likely things like
-you view nature as a commodity/market mechanisms cause commensurability
-you read an economy advantage, therefore you are a capitalist
-renewable energy is an attempt to consume more and avoid the consequences

The issue of link threshold might not respond to all of these links (although I believe it does) but how to deal with them is beyond the intended scope of this article. So while I acknowledge you probably won't be in a debate where this is the case, for the sake of education lets pretend they only make the masking link.

So how do you debate link threshold on a critique? Well I think we can all agree that there are "degrees" of capitalism. The neg oftentimes will say "capitalism makes extinction inevitable" a terribly stupidly worded argument, but one that basically presupposes that capitalism will facillitate things like militarism/environmental destruction that will kill all life on earth.

This has not happend yet (as I am alive). So, why is that? Well, the only logical explanation is that there is a "tipping point" or link threshold at which point capitalism triggers these catastrophic impacts (while it is possible that the neg could argue "its only a matter of time, not degree" this is dumb- over the last 100 years some countries have gotten more capitalist, others have gotten less capitalist, this accounts for the changes/impact disparities of capitalism, there is no unified capitalism that exists in a homogonized form throughout time, and if there was then the link to the affirmative would be irrelevant).

So the question becomes, does the affiramtive push us over the edge? There are two ways the neg can win this.

1. Uniqueness- this takes the form of commie blog cards that are like "capitalism is collapsing now- tension with russia, financial crises etc all prove!!". If this is the case the neg must win that extending the PTC for 9 more years is sufficient to make people believe they should not abandon capitalism due to the conflict with russia/credit crunch etc. The stupidity of this requires no elaboration, suffice to say the neg evidence will not come anywhere close to saying this.

2. Alternative- the neg will say "withdrawal from capitalism" and claim that this somehow ends capital. Now most teams usually make an argument to this in regards to the permutation that goes something like "if the alternative is able to overcome capitalism of the SQ, it can overcome whatever capitalism exists in the permutation". Not a bad arg. But it could be better.


Neg answers to the perm will be things like "cap is a yes no question" or "the perm coopts the alternative etc". The aff needs to start in the 1AR setting up a framework for how to evaluate these arguments and the way to do that is link threshold. I would say something like:

"Capitalism only triggers thier impacts in its excess- a tiny amount of capitalism is not enough to cause extinction- this is empirically proven by 5k years of history. While the permutation might not result in ZERO capitalism- it certainly results in a tiny amount. An amount less than what exists in the status quo- thus even if the permutation links, it doesn't link ENOUGH to trigger their impacts- their is no meaningful distinction between the alternative and the permutation"

Obviously you would then go on to refute the specifics of thier answers to the permutation as explained above on the politics example.



3. CP Solvency-this is one that many judges implicitly acknowledge but the neg rarely explicitly brings up. The idea here is that even if the CP does not solve AS WELL as the plan, it solves sufficiently to avoid the impact.


Most of the time the neg needs to take advantage of this when they are reading a ridiculous CP like lopez or consult. Here, the affirmative may have evidence that says "now key" or "only congress can solve". However, this evidence in no way assumes the ridiculous fiat of the CP.

Fed key against lopez is a total non starter- the CP creates a new USFG and has the new USFG do the plan, not a single piece of fed key evidence in existence assumes this action of the CP, and thus no warrant could possibly exist to create a solvency deficit to lopez (which is why theory on lopez is an absolute must and pretty easy to win). However negs lose debates sometimes because the aff reads a card that says Fed key to market perception or some such nonsens. In that case the neg should respond:

"If the market is perceptive enough to notice a differance between state and fedearl action, then they will know that the CP solves the case. The reason fed action is key to reassure markets is because businesses percieve state action is impermanent- at any point the Fed can step in and supercede state law. The CP makes this impossible because it eliminates federal authority to do so. There is no concievable world where businesses would percieve a difference between fed and state action and yet they would not percieve this monumental change created by the CP"

Good Articles 10-22-08

Oct 18, 2008 (4 days ago)

Michael Klare: The Crisis and the Environment

from Peak *Oil* News

Given the magnitude and scope of the current economic crisis, the world will no doubt experience a significant economic downturn — of what degree and duration, no one can say — profoundly affecting all aspects of U.S. and international society. Of the many areas that will be impacted by the downturn, the environment stands out in particular. It's closely tied to the tempo of resource consumption, and significant efforts to ameliorate environmental decline will prove very expensive and out of reach for already-stretched budgets. The question thus arises: Will the crisis be good or bad for the environment, especially with respect to global warming?

To put this question in perspective, it is necessary to first look at the environmental situation prior to the crisis.

Brian Beutler

wonders if green jobs are a hoax:

...are liberals and environmentalists being honest when they say green jobs will offset the jobs lost when the fossil fuel industry is forced to downsize, and, if so, why are labor leaders so reluctant to support climate change policies? My own view on this is that it's an extremely narrow, hazy, and unanswerable question.

Nobody really knows what sorts of advancements investment in alternative energy projects will yield in the coming years, or how labor intensive the production of a kilowatt-hour will prove to be a decade or five from now. If a green energy revolution does in fact mean a net job loss in the energy sector, nobody really knows how many jobs will be created when people (who will eventually be saving on energy costs) have more money to toss around in other markets. And nobody really knows if the economic impact of that displacement will be worse than the economic impacts of climate change.

Gas cartel could have a significant impact on Europe

As the secretary-general of Opec flew into Moscow yesterday to talk about oil, Alexei Miller, the chairman of Gazprom, was jetting out of Tehran after concluding talks about gas with Iran and Qatar.

We need not worry that Russia is about to join the oily club. Today's visit by Abdullah al-Badri is a formality, but the talk of a gas cartel is a different matter. A combination of leading gas exporters, no matter how tentative, could pose a serious economic threat to Europe. We should first discount the hoopla from Gholam Hossein Nozari, the Iranian Oil Minister, who proclaimed yesterday that the talks between Russia, Iran and Qatar had reached “a consensus to set up a gas Opec”.

No such thing is likely - we can forget any notion of horse-trading gas production quotas — but what we can expect, and what we ought to fear, is the exchange of information about prices, development schedules and investment plans. Mr Miller said as much: “We have agreed to hold regular — three or four times per year — meetings of the 'big gas troika' to discuss key issues of gas market developments.”

[break]

Why OPEC Won't Get A Bailout

LONDON - With oil prices tumbling below $70.00 per barrel on Wednesday, the pressure is on for the Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries to put a lid on as much production as possible. But even though the 13 member cartel has stepped up efforts to recruit non-OPEC members, such as Russia and Norway, don't expect these countries to offer a bailout with cuts of their own.

OPEC Risks Split on Cuts as Economies Reel, Oil Drops

Bloomberg) -- OPEC, founded five decades ago to unify oil producers, risks dividing members as the group plans to cut output and raise prices just as developed nations face their worst recession since 1983.

ConocoPhillips Profit Rises 41% on Oil, Gas Prices

(Bloomberg) -- ConocoPhillips, the third-largest U.S. oil company, posted a 41 percent profit increase, exceeding analyst estimates, after gains in petroleum prices more than made up for a drop in production.

Third-quarter net income climbed to $5.19 billion, or $3.39 a share, from $3.67 billion, or $2.23, a year earlier, the Houston-based company said today in a statement. Excluding such items as a divestiture gain, per-share profit was about $3.32, 13 cents higher than the average of 14 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Big oil prospect in New Zealand, says Canada firm

Canadian oil explorer Trans-Orient Petroleum Ltd. said Wednesday it has found shale rock with the potential to contain billions of barrels of oil on New Zealand's East Coast.

The "world class source rocks" find in the East Coast basin region are "highly prospective for a fractured oil shale play," Trans-Orient Chief Executive Garth Johnson said in a statement.

McMoRan Discovery May Open `Frontier' of Oil Deposits

(Bloomberg) -- McMoRan Exploration Co.'s South Timbalier 168 oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico may become a catalyst for finds in areas previously deemed too far below the earth's surface to hold large crude deposits.

The field, abandoned two years ago by Exxon Mobil Corp., is yielding crude at depths where only natural gas was thought to exist, said John Rogers Smith, a petroleum engineering professor at Louisiana State University. It's under shallow waters off Louisiana and may be drilled to almost 7 miles (11 kilometers) beneath the seafloor.

Proponents Push Fusion Power as Renewable Energy Source

The International Atomic Energy Agency and ITER, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Organization have signed a Cooperation Agreement, which aims to further the development of fusion nuclear energy.

How to Catch Evolution in the Act

Scientists are planning to take advantage of global climate change and catch evolution in the act. They hope to collect millions of seeds from wild plants over specific time intervals and, for the first time, document how individual plants adapt to changes in the climate.

Report warns of greenhouse gas leap

Beijing - China's greenhouse gas pollution could double or more in two decades says a new Chinese state think-tank study that casts stark light on the industrial giant's role in stoking global warming.

Russia may create oil reserve to influence prices

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia may create an oil reserve to influence global prices, the country's top energy official said on Wednesday, as OPEC's Secretary General prepared for his first ever meeting with a Russian president.

The resurrection of a decade-old idea of inventories comes as another sign of Russia's growing ties with OPEC, which has unnerved global consumers already worried by talks between Russia, Iran and Qatar to create an OPEC-style gas cartel.

"The Ministry of Energy is considering creating an oil production reserve, which would allow it to work more efficiently with prices on the market," said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, who oversees the energy sector.

Oil falls below $70 on US recession fears

LONDON – Oil prices fell below $70 a barrel Wednesday as investors shrugged off a looming OPEC production cut after company forecasts suggested the U.S. may be headed for a severe economic slowdown that would crimp demand for crude.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery dropped $2.63 to $69.55 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by noon in Europe.

The November contract expired Tuesday and fell $3.36 to settle at $70.89. Last Thursday, that contract had declined as low as $68.57 a barrel, the lowest since June 2007.

VTB Says $47 Oil Will Hit Refiners

Russian oil producers that have refining assets are likely to cut their planned investments if the price for Brent oil falls to below $47 per barrel, VTB said Tuesday.

Such integrated oil companies will break even at $28 per barrel of Brent oil, unless they take cost-cutting measures, the bank found in a research.

Petrobras May Extend Pre-Salt Investments on Crisis, Folha Says

(Bloomberg) -- Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil's state-controlled oil company, may extend investments in the pre-salt oil area over a longer period of time because of the financial crisis, Folha de Sao Paulo reported, citing Chief Executive Officer Jose Sergio Gabrielli.

6 pipeline incidents occurred in B.C. in past 3 years

There have been six pipeline incidents involving hydrogen sulphide that meet Level 3 criteria — the highest — in British Columbia in the past three years, a spokesman for the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission said Tuesday.

Those six incidents include two in the Dawson Creek area, the region where police and other authorities are now investigating two recent explosions that appear to have been deliberately set.

ANALYSIS - Iraq spared worst of credit crisis, exposed to oil drop

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - By any measure, Iraq has had a terrible time since 2003. Yet when it comes to the global financial crisis, Iraq may for once be in a privileged position.

Tens of thousands of Iraqis have died in five years of rampant bloodshed. Much of the country's public works and infrastructure has been reduced to rubble. Educated Iraqis have fled the country en masse and reconciliation remains elusive.

But years of sanctions and isolation under Saddam Hussein's rule mean Iraq has not been woven into the fabric of a global financial system that is in the grips of its worst crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. "The good news, perversely, is that Iraq is not that tied into the international economy," an official at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Nigeria says not in its interest to cut oil output

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian Oil Minister Odein Ajumogobia said on Wednesday it would not be in the country's interest to cut oil production as it would eat into badly needed revenues.

Russian Stocks Fall, Led by Lukoil, Rosneft as Oil Prices Slide

(Bloomberg) -- Russian stocks declined, led by oil producers OAO Lukoil and OAO Rosneft, after crude prices fell below $70 a barrel.

The Micex Index of 30 stocks dropped 21.09, or 3.2 percent, to 631.42 AS of 1:15 p.m. in Moscow, heading for the first decline in three days. The dollar-denominated RTS Index slipped 3.5 percent to 692.02.

Gazprom Net Reaches Record $10 Billion on Gas Prices

(Bloomberg) -- OAO Gazprom's first-quarter profit jumped 30 percent, as Russia's largest energy producer reaped record earnings from higher prices and greater natural-gas sales to Europe.

Gazprom Caught In The Crunch

LONDON - Frozen credit markets are making it impossible to borrow funds even for Gazprom, the Russian gas goliath that aims to become the world's largest company. Releasing its first quarter earnings on Wednesday, the Moscow-based company warned that the ongoing global liquidity crisis "could affect the ability of the group to obtain new borrowings and re-finance its existing borrowings," on similar terms to the past.

Jan Lundberg continues campaign against petroleum dependency

Jan Lundberg has been in the oil business a long time. For the last 37 years, the life-long activist -- who called Arcata home for 12 years -- has worked as both an oil industry analyst and in the nonprofit world, championing the campaign against society's dependence on petroleum and what he calls the “synthetic sea.”

”Some things have to change and it's not really about policies or better laws or identifying the criminal, it's more like what is our culture all about? Is it about bowing down to technology?” he said on the phone Tuesday from Portland, where he was scheduled to give a talk on the concept of peak oil.

Kunstler: The end of suburban life is coming

Americans had better get used to the idea that, one day, they'll live more like their great, great-grandparents than their parents.

A powerful combination of depleted oil fields, climate change, population growth and financial crisis soon will conspire to change the American lifestyle drastically, according to best-selling writer James Howard Kunstler.

And any hope offered by the recent dip in oil and gas prices is false hope, Kunstler, author of "The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of the Oil Age, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes," said in a lecture Tuesday in the University of Georgia Chapel.

"Because the price of oil has gone down in recent weeks, the American public is once again going to get the false idea that we don't have a problem," he said. "We do have a problem, and it's a big problem."

Preparing for Peak Oil: Local Authorities and the Energy Crisis

"Global oil production is approaching a peak, followed by a permanent decline. It will radically change the way our societies are run: our transport systems, how we produce food, where we work and live.

There are a great many things that councils must do, and policies that need to be changed, if we are to have any chance of mitigating the economic effects of peak oil. On the plus side, some of these initiatives already exist (recycling, road pricing, etc.) but these efforts need to be significantly expanded, and there remain entire areas of policy that have yet to be addressed... "

Drilling rhetoric: Lifting the veil on four national energy plans

For many of us, conservation was always easy to resent. It represented all the stuff you wanted to do but couldn’t. Tied to land, oceans, and all that natural stuff upstream of the sawmill, conservation tells us to cool our consumption. That our motorbike isn’t welcome in this state park.

By comparison, “efficiency” (as in “marvel of”) is in blinding ascendance. Efficiency is for those of us downstream of the dam, where the power lines faithfully stream into our entertainments, lubricated motors, and chiming gadgetry. Efficiency doesn’t insist on self-denial, it promises technical patches that will allow us to do more with less. (Time will tell how far it actually goes toward shielding us from our high-waste lifestyle.) But the shift in rhetoric is as much to thank for today’s new energy debate as global warming’s conquest of Suburban Mind, the summer’s spike in gas prices, and Repub Swiftboater T. Boone Pickens’ rebirth as a new-style Energy Patriot.

Efficiency forever consigns Cheney’s Vader-like loathing to the afterword of the now-concluding Age of Oil. And it leaves the future open wide.

So, it should come as no surprise that all of the most significant national energy plans before us — those of Obama, McCain, Pickens, and Google — have efficiency, the smartest use of our generated electricity, at their core. Energy innovation is fast becoming our first stop on the road to the New Energy Economy, rather than gathering place of 4-cylinder weaklings. Obviously, the choices before us will require more than simply stopping the anticipated one-percent annual growth in energy demand. To eliminate the release of greenhouse gases, reduce our energy imports, and spur a sagging economy, will require much more than efficiency alone.

Energy: McCain and Obama share goals, if not strategies

WASHINGTON — John McCain and Barack Obama share remarkably similar energy policy goals, but they disagree on how best to achieve them.

Oil sands are model of development, U.S. official says

CALGARY - Canada's oil sands are a great example of responsible development of a natural resource, a senior U.S. energy department official said Tuesday.

Jeffrey Kupfer, acting deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, said he felt "invigorated" after visiting the Syncrude Canada Ltd. Oil sands project near Fort McMurray.

"It's a great example of developing an important natural resource, for Canada, the U.S. and the whole world, and doing it in an environmentally responsible way," he said in an interview.

Why Data Centers Can't Save Energy

The Department of Energy is asking for industry input on where it should place future research and development priorities in reducing data center energy consumption. It has much to learn--and much to teach.

For the immediate future, the DOE should de-emphasize improvements to facility technology as "the" solution. We already know a lot, and users aren't paying much attention. Working to make facility components marginally more efficient, when the driver of data center power consumption is the increasing numbers of servers and storage, misses the root cause of data center energy consumption growth.

Wal-Mart sees shifts in shoppers' buying habits

LOS ANGELES — Financial insecurity is forcing Wal-Mart shoppers to change buying habits, cut credit card use and live more paycheck-to-paycheck, the CEO of the U.S. division of the world's largest retailer said Tuesday.

Economic pain is leading to what Eduardo Castro-Wright termed "disturbing behaviors" among shoppers over the past few months.

...About 80% of shoppers cite "personal financial security" as their top concern in internal surveys, up from 65% just a few months earlier, he said. A year ago, the price of gasoline was the top concern.

Report: Toyota to post first sales drop in 10 years

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. will post its first decline in annual global sales in a decade this year, hit by slowing demand worldwide amid the financial crisis, a Japanese newspaper predicted Wednesday.

Economy rocks China factories

Tao built River Dragon from a start-up with four employees into one of China's biggest textile printing firms in just five years. He had even grander dreams: He wanted to see his company's stock trade on Nasdaq alongside the likes of Microsoft and Intel.

The dreams are dead. River Dragon shut down on Oct. 7. Tao and Yan have vanished, leaving behind more than $290 million in debt and a lot of anger in this city 140 miles south of Shanghai in the Yangtze River Delta. The company's demise put 4,000 workers on the street and jilted hundreds of suppliers and creditors.

Tokyo leader berates countries on climate change

TOKYO (AFP) – Tokyo's outspoken governor on Wednesday berated world leaders for their "foolish" failure to halt global warming as major cities met to plan action on the climate.

Seoul turns to bicycles to combat global warming

SEOUL (AFP) – The Seoul city government has announced plans to build 207 kilometres (129 miles) of cycle paths over the next four years extending to all corners of the South Korean capital, according to officials.

The 120-billion-won (88-million-dollar) plan is based on a "road diet" programme, under which the number of lanes for passenger vehicles in major roads will be cut to create new cycle paths.

Data show U.S. riding out worst storms on record

More frequent and powerful hurricanes from the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico since the mid-1990s have created one of the most dangerous and costliest storm eras in recorded history, a USA TODAY analysis of weather data shows.

Since 1995, there have been 207 named storms in the Atlantic basin, which includes the Gulf of Mexico — a 68% increase from the previous 13 years, according to statistics from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Of those storms, 111 were hurricanes, a 75% increase over the previous period.

Finance, climate crises two sides of same coin: experts

GENEVA (AFP) – The financial and climate change crises facing the world are interlinked and businesses can only tackle them through concerted, coordinated and coherent action, environmental experts said Tuesday.

"They can't be separated, they're two sides of the (same) coin and therefore the solutions have to be coordinated too," said Erik Rasmussen, head of a Danish think tank and member of the Copenhagen Climate Council.

700 billion on unfriendly oil?

False
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27227685/

Last minute Updates

DrumBeat: October 16, 2008 from The *Oil* Drum | Discussions about Energy and Our Future by Leanan Time to banish the god of growth IMAGINE an industry that runs out of raw materials. Companies go bust, workers are laid off, families suffer and associated organisations are thrown into turmoil. Eventually governments are forced to take drastic action. Welcome to global banking, brought to its knees by the interruption of its lifeblood - the flow of cash. In this case we seem to have been fortunate. In the nick of time, governments released reserves that should with luck get cash circulating again. But what if they hadn't been there? There are no reserves of fish, tropical hardwoods, fresh water or metals such as indium, so what are we going to do when supplies of these vital materials dry up? We live on a planet with finite resources - that's no surprise to anyone - so why do we have an economic system in which all that matters is growth (see "Why our economy is killing the planet and what we can do about it")? More growth means using more resources. When the human population was counted in millions and resources were sparse, people could simply move to pastures new. But with 9 billion people expected around 2050, moving on is not an option. As politicians reconstruct the global economy, they should take heed. If we are to leave any kind of planet to our children we need an economic system that lets us live within our means. (Many of the stories in this special report are behind a paywall, but a few are free.) [break] Oil falls to 14-month low on bad US economic data VIENNA, Austria - Oil prices fell to a 14-month low Thursday as bad U.S. economic news stoked fears that a significant global economic slowdown will undermine demand for crude. Concerns over the economy overrode growing expectations that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries could opt to cut back production in an effort to shore up prices. Light, sweet crude for November delivery was down US$2.44 to US$72.10 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by noon in Europe. The contract fell overnight US$4.09 to settle at US$74.54, the lowest settlement price since Aug. 31, 2007. Oil prices are now half of the peak they reached in mid-July. Drill-baby-drill, meet $75 oil NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- "Drill-baby-drill!" With the price of oil falling below $75 a barrel Wednesday - down about 49% from last summer's highs - the industry's battle cry is sounding less and less convincing. But falling oil prices are not the only reason why the air is coming out of the drilling balloon. The credit crunch has hampered oil company's ability to fund big-ticket drilling projects. Meanwhile, the prices that producers pay for raw materials and labor remain high. "Any project that assumed oil would average $100 over the next 10 to 20 years is being seriously reconsidered at this time," said Richard Ward, senior cost analyst at IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA). As recently as July, tapping deep water sources and extracting crude from Canadian oil sands - two very expensive production methods - were seen as economically viable ways to deal with the energy crisis. At that time, the price of oil was above $140 a barrel. Now that the price has fallen below $75 a barrel, and could go even lower, many experts say the future of these projects is uncertain. Positive Outlook Amid Plunging Prices: Industry Forges A Productive Future Despite the U.S. commodity market's financial slump, with both prices and spirits sunk to all-time lows, the petroleum industry is forging ahead to build on its production and operational position to fulfill worldwide energy needs. In fact, the energy industry has helped to buoy the economy throughout recent market meltdowns and has provided its own saving grace in the midst of a sluggish national job sector. According to Reuters, Houston, home to one of the fastest growth rates Russian Stocks Tumble With World Markets as Crude Oil Retreats (Bloomberg) -- Russian stocks fell to the lowest in three years, led by OAO Rosneft and OAO Lukoil, as sinking oil prices hurt the outlook for Russia's economy. U.S. Consumer Prices Probably Tempered By Cheaper Fuel Costs (Bloomberg) -- Plummeting fuel costs probably restrained prices paid by U.S. consumers in September, signaling a slowing economy diminished the threat of inflation, economists said before a report today. The cost of living increased 0.1 percent after a 0.1 percent drop in August, according to the median forecast of 75 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Other reports today are projected to show manufacturing contracted for a second month, and job losses remained elevated. In global crisis, oil insulates Gulf Economists say that Arab states such as Saudi Arabia will feel the pinch, but a year of record oil prices provides a deep cushion. Falling oil prices make Iraq revisit budget BAGHDAD - A steep drop in the price of oil may force Iraq to scale back its $79 billion budget for 2009, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday. Also, a U.S. projection for a cumulative $79 billion budget surplus this year based largely on oil revenues is now unlikely. The surplus projection by congressional auditors brought angry demands from Americans for Iraq to shoulder more of the financial burden of reconstruction. Last month, the ministry set next year's budget at nearly $79 billion based on expectations that the average price per barrel of oil would not drop below $80. But on Wednesday, oil for November delivery was trading around $76 per barrel — far below a record $147 in July. Oil revenues represent more than 90 percent of the national budget. Russia May Need to Cut 2009 Spending Amid Falling Oil Prices (Bloomberg) -- Russia, the world's biggest energy exporter, is facing shrinking government revenue as concern that the global economy may slip into recession pushes down oil prices. The price of Urals blend of crude fell to $68.71 a barrel today, the lowest level this year, after peaking at $142.50 a barrel in July. It has averaged $106.85 a barrel since the beginning of the year, according to Bloomberg data. Credit crisis redirects companies' game plans WHO Encana Corp., Canada's largest independent oil-and-gas producer CHANGE Delaying plans to split into two independent companies due to tightness in credit markets WHO CI Financial Income Fund, Canadian independent mutual fund manager CHANGE Reverting to a corporation from an income fund to take advantage of acquisition opportunities as they arise ACP Leaders Want Global Strategy for Oil Prices African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Leaders have called on the international community to agree on a global strategy to stabilise oil prices at affordable levels in order to protect the growth prospects of the developing countries. India has no immediate plan to cut fuel prices: Govt NEW DELHI: India has no immediate plans to cut fuel prices despite crude oil's fall to a 13-½ month low near $72 a barrel, oil minister Murli Deora told reporters on Thursday. He said a cut in prices would not be considered unless the price of crude oil imported by Indian refiners fell to $61 per barrel. Russia opens up new Siberian oil frontier VERKHNECHONSKOYE OILFIELD, Russia, Oct 16 (Reuters) - It's very cold, very old and rather salty. And that's just the oil. Russian oil major TNK-BP has just brought on stream a pioneering big new oilfield in eastern Siberia, part of a wave of development overcoming huge technical challenges to open up some of this vast country's most inaccessible crude reserves. Kuwait Has `Alternative Plan' If Oil Workers Strike (Bloomberg) -- Kuwait National Petroleum Co., the state-run refiner, has an ``alternative plan'' to ensure the country's three oil refineries and exports suffer minimum impact by a workers' strike planned for Oct. 19. ``We have an alternative plan, or scenario, to ensure the refineries will have the minimum impact,'' KNPC Deputy Chairman Asaad al-Saad said today in a phone interview. ``The impact will depend on how the strike will happen, if it is total or minimum. There will never be a total shutdown,'' he said. Kuwait's Oil Refineries Run at 63% of Capacity After Power Cut (Bloomberg) -- Kuwait's three oil refineries are running at 63 percent of capacity, three days after a power failure halted operations. ``We're now producing 587,000 barrels'' a day, compared with full capacity of 936,000 barrels a day, Kuwait National Petroleum Co. spokesman Mohammed al-Ajmi said today by telephone. ``Shuaiba is running at full capacity and Mina Abdullah is almost at full capacity. Mina Al-Ahmadi is a longer process than the other refineries.'' Russia's antitrust body may take action against five oil giants MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - Russia's antimonopoly watchdog could take new legal action against the country's five largest crude producers unless they cut oil prices within two weeks, the head of the Federal Antitrust Service (FAS) said on Thursday. "I will write letters to the five largest oil companies saying that unless they voluntary cut prices for oil products, the FAS will bring new legal action against them, and the threat of administrative fines," Igor Artemyev said. Omar strengthens into major hurricane SAN JUAN (Reuters) - Hurricane Omar swirled away from the small Leeward islands in the northeastern Caribbean on Thursday after strengthening into a major Category 3 storm and threatening to bring torrential rains that could trigger floods and mudslides. The 15th tropical cyclone of a busy Atlantic hurricane season, Omar formed north of the Dutch island of Curacao on Tuesday, briefly disrupting oil operations in Venezuela and shut down processing units at a refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Pakistan gets help from China for ailing economy BEIJING — Pakistan's president Wednesday won more help from longtime ally China as his country grapples with an ailing economy and chronic electricity shortages, though the prospect of a much anticipated civilian nuclear deal remained uncertain. Chinese Exports Slowed By Global Economic Woes Even China isn’t immune to the world’s economic hangover. The country’s export growth in September is 4.2% less than for all of 2007 and 11.2% less for exports to the U.S., specifically, according to China’s customs bureau. In fact, China will see its economic growth slowed by .3% in 2008, compared to a 2.6% jump in growth in 2007. Economists Jeff Rubin and Benjamin Tal argue that China’s trade slowdown can be attributed to fuel and shipping costs. In their piece titled "Will Soaring Transport Costs Reverse Globalization?" they point out that a standard 40-foot container shipping from Shanghai to the Eastern seaboard of the U.S. cost $3,000 in 2000, when oil was at $20 a barrel. As the price of oil soared earlier this year, the cost to ship that container jumped to $8,000 – and will cost $15,000 should oil ever hit $200 a barrel. Oil prices have since come back down (a little over $80 a barrel at the beginning of the week), but the economic alarm has hurt China in the short-term and portends greater damage in the long-term. "Ultimately," write the CIBC World Markets economists about past oil shocks, "soaring transport costs were borne by consumers, and markets responded accordingly, substituting goods that could be sourced from closer locations than half-way around the world carrying hugely inflated freight costs.” Market crisis to hit R&D spending, says EU R&D investment by the world’s biggest companies rose a torrid 9 per cent last year – but the current financial crisis is likely to hit industrial spending on future research, said the European Union’s top research official. European Oil Companies Plunge as Crude Price Declines (Bloomberg) -- The Dow Jones Europe Stoxx Oil & Gas Index dropped, led by Europe's two biggest oil companies, as crude prices sank to the lowest in more than a year on concern the global economy will slide into a recession. Diesel fuel shortage felt across North America A diesel fuel shortage across Western Canada has many drivers nervous about the supply and whether it will dry up altogether. Prior to 3rd Presidential Debate, World Energy TV Interviews Matt Simmons, Clayton Williams and Others Oil investor Matt Simmons asserted that about half of Obama's comments make some sense, and only about 10 percent of McCain's make sense. Rod Erskine of Erskine Energy, by contrast, believes that "McCain has a little better handle on energy than Obama does, but I don't think either candidate -- or the American public -- really understands what it takes to drill for, find and develop oil and gas." First global crisis of century harrowing Whether we will go through a major recession, long and deep, or even a depression, what might emerge is the realization that our society is much poorer than we had realized. The housing bubble, credit crunch and stock market crash have wiped out trillions of dollars and this will not go unnoticed. This is truly the first global crisis of the 21st century. It is not climate change. It is not pollution. It is not a fresh water crisis. It is not a food crisis, notwithstanding current food security issues in several countries. It is not an energy crisis, although energy prices might have played a major role in bursting the U.S. housing bubble. It is an economic crisis of epic proportions that questions the very economic system we chose to build. The house of cards called Wall Street and banking sector has tumbled. The Ponzi scheme has been revealed. Climate Change, Global Credit Crisis Deepen Poverty and Hunger in East Timor Aid agencies warn that East Timor faces a food crisis and more than half of its youngest children are going hungry as global food prices soar. A new survey reveals that more than 70 percent of households across East Timor are unable to find enough to eat each day for almost half the year. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports. A group of international aid organizations says that East Timor's "hungry season", which usually lasts for a couple of months, now extends for almost half of the year. Billion go hungry as rich countries fail to pay up, Oxfam says Five months after countries pledged to give more than $12bn (£6.9bn) to address the global food emergency, less than $1bn has been given, according to Oxfam. In a report to coincide with World Food Day today, the international aid charity berates rich countries for failing to respond speedily or adequately to soaring food and fuel prices. Richard Heinberg: Food Crisis on the Way A perfect storm is brewing in the global food system, and North Americans and Europeans may not be spared this time. Greening Big Oil?: The Difference Between Changing Image and Changing Actions Chevron launched its “I will” campaign last month in Washington, Houston and cities throughout California. The new ads continue the oil company’s “Power of Human Energy” ad campaign that began about a year ago. Through TV spots, print ads, billboards and a website called Will You Join Us, Chevron says it seeks to raise awareness about energy conservation and efficiency. But exactly how green can an oil company claim to be? And will consumers buy its claims? How to survive the energy crisis Local businesses shared examples of energy saving changes they had made at a practical energy efficient workshop for businesses and institutions, held recently by the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Over 40 people listened to suggestions and ideas that were presented at the workshop. With heating oil costs so high, and electricity costs due to increase shortly almost 30%, we need to increase energy savings in our office buildings, apartment houses, factories and homes. Growing Costs Slow County Road Projects Highway Commissioner Gary Kennedy says this year was the worst of 27 years he's spent with the Manitowoc County Highway Department. He lists a litany of problems. "We had record snowfall, and because of then-record snowfall we had a salt shortage and we used up all our salt, and then came spring, then we had record floods, then came the asphalt prices went up 35 percent, and then diesel fuel prices went up another 35-40 percent." Chrysler shops for options Overall auto sales are expected to be 16% lower this year than last. Sales are expected to fall another 11% next year, according to market analysts at J.D. Power and Associates, as worried consumers continue to put off car purchases. That kind of pressure threatens to kill off at least one of the major Detroit carmakers, Jim Hossack of the automotive consulting firm AutoPacific predicted, and with the steepest sales drops, Chrysler seems to be the weakest of the three. American Airlines to buy 42 jets DALLAS (AP) -- American Airlines says it will buy 42 Boeing 787-9 jets as part of a move to improve the fuel efficiency of its fleet. American said Wednesday it expects to get the planes delivered from 2012 through 2018. Tesla CEO out, layoffs coming Maybe Tesla chairman Elon Musk flipped through the “R.I.P. Good Times” slide deck that Sequoia Capital showed its startup CEOs last week about the tough road ahead. Whether he did or didn’t, Musk pulled a few pages from it, as he announced Wednesday on the Tesla blog that not only would there be layoffs at the electric car startup, he would be taking over as CEO from Ze’ev Drori and delaying the company’s next vehicle. Ryanair refers 'profiteering' BP to UK regulator Ryanair announced today it has referred BP to Britain's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for trying to put up delivery charges for aviation fuel at two airports by 50 per cent. The budget airline accused Air BP of profiteering and using its monopoly position as fuel supplier at Belfast City and Prestwick airports to introduce unjustified increases. Airline chief executive Michael O’Leary said: “Because they have a monopoly, they are determined to abuse it. We can’t get a rational explanation from Air BP so we have asked the OFT to write to them and ask.” Consultant: Green power a real threat to coal MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Solar power plants and other renewable energy sources are real, competitive threats that neither the coal industry nor the state's political and academic leaders should dismiss, a consultant warned Wednesday at the second West Virginia Coal Forum. California releases plan to cut greenhouse gases SACRAMENTO, Calif. - To reach its global warming goals, California must cut greenhouse gas emissions by about four tons per person, which would require cleaner cars, more renewable energy and a cap on major polluters, according to a state plan released Wednesday. It's the first comprehensive effort of any state to reduce greenhouse gases in the absence of federal regulation. The plan to be voted on by the California Air Resources Board in December builds upon an earlier draft on ways to meet the global warming law signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger two years ago. EU leaders maintain climate targets, timetable BRUSSELS (AFP) - European Union leaders maintained Thursday their targets and the timetable for their climate change plans, despite objections from some nations, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said. "I can confirm that the objectives remain the same, the calendar remains the same, now it's up to (us) to find solutions for those countries that expressed concerns," he said, at the close of an EU summit in Brussels. "The climate package is so important that we cannot simply drop it, under the pretext of a financial crisis," Sarkozy, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, told reporters.
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