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8 August 2006, Union of Concerned Scientists As BP shuts down eight percent of U.S. domestic oil supply and world oil futures shoot up by about $2 a barrel, our country is again reminded of the vulnerability caused by our oil addiction. According to a Union of Concerned Scientists analysis, the U.S. will spend at least an additional $24 million on oil imports today as a result of the price spike, sending a total of $10 million to OPEC alone. |
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Global freshwater use tripled during the second half of the twentieth century as population more than doubled and as technological advances let farmers and other water users pump groundwater from greater depths and harness river water with more and larger dams. As global demand soars, pressures on the world's water resources are straining aquatic systems worldwide. Rivers are running dry, lakes are disappearing, and water tables are dropping. Nearly 70 percent of global water withdrawals from rivers, lakes, and aquifers are used for irrigation, while industry and households account for 20 and 10 percent, respectively. Pressure on water resources is particularly acute in arid regions that support agricultural production or large populations - regions where water use is high relative to water availability. The Middle East, Central Asia, North Africa, South Asia, China, Australia, the western United States, and Mexico are especially prone to water shortages. |
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20th July 2006, Haider Rizvi, OneWorld Leaders of the world's industrial nations have drawn fire from international civil society groups after they embraced an energy plan that favors continued reliance on oil and other fossil fuels with no hint of any solid steps to deal with the impending threat of climate change. |
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 The outcry over Bolivia's renationalization and the silence over Chad's betrays the hypocrisy of the critics
Civilization has a new enemy. He is a former coca grower called Evo Morales, who is currently the president of Bolivia. Yesterday he stood before the European parliament to explain why he had sent troops to regain control of his country's gas and oil fields. Bolivia's resources, he says, have been "looted by foreign companies," and he is reclaiming them for the benefit of his people. Last week, he told the summit of Latin American and European leaders in Vienna that the corporations which have been extracting the country's fossil fuels would not be compensated for these seizures.
You can probably guess how this has gone down. Tony Blair urged him to use his power responsibly, which is like Mark Oaten lecturing the Pope on sexual continence. Condoleezza Rice accused him of "demagoguery." The Economist announced that Bolivia was "moving backwards." The Times, in a marvellously haughty leader, called Morales "petulant," "xenophobic," and "capricious," and labelled his seizure of the gas fields "a gesture as childish as it is eye-catching."
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14th May 2006, OneWorld With growing concerns over high prices of oil and its adverse impact on the world's poor and the environment, the United Nations is urging policy makers to explore the use of alternative sources for energy.
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2nd May 2006, Bloomberg President George W. Bush, already weakened at home by the soaring cost of oil, is finding that it's also eroding his ability to achieve his foreign-policy goals.
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 One of the more surreal sessions at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos had oil industry experts explaining how the melting of the polar ice cap – which is occurring faster than anyone anticipated – represents not only a problem, but also an opportunity: vast amounts of oil may now be accessible.
Similarly, these experts concede that the fact that the United States has not signed the Law of the Sea, the international convention determining who has access to offshore oil and other maritime mineral rights, presents a risk of international conflict. But they also point to the upside: the oil industry, in its never-ending search for more reserves, need not beg Congress for the right to despoil Alaska.
President George W. Bush has an uncanny ability not to see the big message. For years, it has become increasingly clear that much is amiss with his energy policy. Scripted by the oil industry, even members of his own party referred to an earlier energy bill as one that “left no lobbyist behind.” While praising the virtues of the free market, Bush has been only too willing to give huge handouts to the energy industry, even as the country faces soaring deficits.
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