Yves here. I would not underestimate the stupidity of the US, given that our strategy in Venezuela, and potentially in Iran, seems to be based on the same fallacy as our invasion of Iraq: “They will welcome us with flowers.” And John Bolton seems even more than most neocons to […]
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By Frank Ackerman, principal economist at Synapse Energy Economics in Cambridge, Mass., and one of the founders of Dollars & Sense, which publishes Triple Crisis. Originally published at Triple Crisis First in a series on climate change policy The damages expected from climate change seem to get worse with each […]
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Yves here. I have to confess to being not keen about various Green New Deal proposals. They feed the idea that we can largely preserve our lifestyles and still make a big enough reduction in greenhouse gas output soon enough to ward off catastrophic outcomes. There are in my mind, […]
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Yves here. Gail Tverberg hasn’t been posting her carefully argued pieces on energy, particularly “peak oil,” and environmental issues as often as she once did, so I was glad to see this piece. By Gail Tverberg, an actuary interested in finite world issues – oil depletion, natural gas depletion, water […]
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The Wall Street Journal has just published an important, disheartening story, U.S. Push to Oust Venezuela’s Maduro Marks First Shot in Plan to Reshape Latin America. The Trump Administration has apparently decided to embark on a large-scale interventionist campaign to reverse supposed undue influence of Russia, China, and Iran in […]
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By Tim Daiss, an oil markets analyst, journalist and author that has been working out of the Asia-Pacific region for 12 years. Originally published at OilPrice In what would be an early geopolitical win for Moscow, German news agency DW reported yesterday, citing one of the project’s engineers, that the […]
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Yves here. This Real News Network segment with Lawrence Wilkerson is a useful antidote to the impression much of the domestic media is trying to convey, that the US has broad-based support for its coup attempt in Venezuela. PAUL JAY: Welcome to The Real News Network. I’m Paul Jay. On […]
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Yves here. Repeat after me: Elon Musk will not save you. EVs are having a trivial impact on oil use. By Tsvetana Paraskova, a writer for the U.S.-based Divergente LLC consulting firm with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets. Originally published at OilPrice Electric vehicles (EVs) today […]
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Even though readers and members of the public often express their outrage as to what banks have gotten away with, there’s a good case to be made that PG&E has them beat. How many real companies have been the lead bad guys in a movie? And PG&E has decades of […]
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Jerri-Lynn here. This is the latest installment in Justin Mikulka’s excellent series on the fracking beat, Finances of Fracking: Shale Industry Drills More Debt Than Profit. The industry lacks even the excuse of profit to justify the environmental costs it inflicts – yet the mainstream media continue to swallow industry waffle. […]
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Yves here. This Real News Network segment gives some broader context for the gilets jaunes movement. Note that in an address on Monday, Macron apologized and gave some economic concessions, like raising the minimum wage by 100 euros a month and ending taxes on overtime work, but did not reinstate […]
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By Richard Murphy, a chartered accountant and a political economist. He has been described by the Guardian newspaper as an “anti-poverty campaigner and tax expert”. He is Professor of Practice in International Political Economy at City University, London and Director of Tax Research UK. He is a non-executive director of Cambridge Econometrics. […]
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Yves here. While this piece gives a good summary of the underlying dynamics behind some of the big economic conflicts, it’s less precise on the state of play at some points than I’d like. This section from a new story in DW, China vows quick trade deal as Trump sends […]
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Yves here. Some additional overview material on France’s gilets jaune protests: 1. They have overwhelming public support. 2. Even though the flashpoint was taxes and inspections designed to cut greenhouse gasses, the grievances are about austerity and cut in services. Recall that Macron ended the wealth tax when he took […]
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By Lambert Strether of Corrente. I’m going to take the object of inquiry for this (and other) posts as the biosphere (as opposed to “the environment,” ecology, “the planet,” Earth, or a personified Earth, Gaia; possibly even “Nature” (though aren’t the stars part of Nature?). There are probably better definitions, […]
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By Tim Daiss, an oil markets analyst, journalist and author working out of the Asia-Pacific region for 12 years. Originally published at OilPrice President Trump has spent much of the first two years of his presidency at odds with environmentalists over numerous issues, but now that disagreement also includes the […]
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By Julie Appleby, Senior Correspondent at Kaiser Health News. Before joining KHN, Julie spent 10 years covering the health industry and policy at USA TODAY. She also worked at the San Francisco Chronicle, The Financial Times in London and the Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek, California. She serves on […]
Read MoreBy Tim Daiss, an oil markets analyst, journalist and author that has been working out of the Asia-Pacific region for 12 years. I’ve covered oil, energy markets and geopolitics for Forbes, Platts, Interfax, NewsBase, Rigzone, and the UK-based Independent (newspaper) as well as providing energy markets analysis for subscription newsletters. I’ve also authored geopolitical reports […]
Read MoreYves here. Yesterday, in passing, I listed some financial and economic risks that individually might seem manageable on a macro level but if they materialized in close succession, could produce nasty results. A reader in comments added a rise in energy prices to the tally of dangers. This post describes why that could be more […]
Read MoreTrump will meet with Putin this week in Helsinki. But despite talk of a “grand bargain” that enlists Russia in helping the US-Israel-Saudi-UAE front against Iran, don’t expect it to happen, says professor of journalism at the American University of Beirut, nonresident senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, and syndicated columnist Rami Khouri in […]
Read MoreJerri-Lynn here: In this short insightful post, Gaius discusses how the underlying obstacle to solving the problem of plastic emanates from the industry that produces these poisons– and a political system driven by money rather than attuned to public needs. The problem isn’t limited to plastic either: There are half a dozen industries like these, […]
Read MoreBy Nick Cunningham, a freelance writer on oil and gas, renewable energy, climate change, energy policy and geopolitics. Follow him on Twitter @nickcunningham1. Originally published at OilPrice. The Trump administration is trying to replicate the Obama-era strategy of shutting in Iranian oil exports as a way to pressure the regime into making a series of […]
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