Reporting from the negotiation room

Last year’s oil price peak, along with the recent oil price increase amidst a severe economic slowdown, have fueled worries about the future availability of oil. Some argue that concerns about peak oil or the end of oil are greatly exaggerated. Lynch (NYT 8/24/09) goes as far to say that such concerns are the domain of fear-mongering environmentalists, or of those without a proper grasp of history and geology.

Albertan Tar Sands: Podcast 1

In terms of oil, we are more dependent on Canada than on Saudi-Arabia. 20 % of our oil imports comes from Canada, and more than half of that is produced from the oil sands in the Albertan boreal forest. We are by far the largest consumer of oil sands and it is our increasing demand for oil that is driving the oil sands developments in Alberta.

Chicago tonight recently ran a report on Canadian oil sands created by Elizabeth Brackett whom we met in Canada last month. She interviewed me too, but I did not make it in. Too bad! Perhaps in the PBS version of this story to be broadcast later this month, but despite the lack of any Dutch accents, this is a nice piece.

A bit of controversy about the numbers. Environmental group interviewed mentions a factor of 3 over conventional oil. This is for extraction and upgrading only. In a wells-to-wheels analysis (so total emissions from production to car driving) it is around 10%.

Sun's barely up when I sip a quick coffee, slip into something a bit more uncomfortable and put up my hair, all to look as much as possible like a serious scientist. After all, I'm getting ready to attend a hearing on the CLEAR act called by the House committee on natural resources with Ken Salazar as first witness and who knows, he might look my way.

This could be interesting. It's Ken's first appearance in the committee as secretary of the Department of the Interior, and my guess is that the committee members will all show up and use their five minutes of questioning to get on their own soapboxes. An excellent way to understand what the main passions and frustrations are.

We created for you a map of all large scale solar projects, existing and proposed, as well as study zones for potential projects, in the Southwest of the U.S.

View Solar in the Southwest of the U.S. in a larger map

ConocoPhillips' Billings refinery is located close to the downtown area of the city of Billings. The plant has therefore come under intense scrutiny regarding its emissions as well as its dealings with local residents.

The American Petroleum Institute invited a group of energy bloggers (paying for hotel and airfare) to see first-hand how this facility has managed itself as a responsible member of the community. SmartEnergy joined the group to learn about the refining process and the politics surrounding the Billings plant.

President Obama's administration certainly sees the energy future of the US different than the last administration. Overall, this is very good news. A few years ago, when I first starting looking seriously at the US energy policies and proposals, I was not very confident about our chances to create a sustainable energy future. I'm much more optimistic now. Of course, this is a day to be optimistic and a day to believe in what we can accomplish if we just put our talents to it. At the same time, it's also the day to start looking more carefully at the proposals. There's much work to be done and the devil is, as always, in the details.