Green Options

That is correct — not million but billion, not in one year but in one month! That is how much the US spent on imported oil in September 2009.

For those concerned about the US economy or national security risks, T. Boone Pickens and data from the US Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) show us that foreign oil imports should be at the top of our list. We rely very heavily on foreign oil and send a good chunk of our money to other countries to supply us with that oil — $25 billion last month alone!

Take a closer look.

In a rare admission of China’s strategic petroleum reserve capacity, a senior industry executive acknowledged that all four state-owned emergency oil reserve tanks – holding a total 100 million barrels – are filled to the brim.

Revealing that China’s current stockpiles have already exceeded the capacity of the first phase of facilities, which the government built over the last two years, China Shipping Group President Li Shaode urged the government to use foreign exchange reserves to finance floating storage capacity in the short term.

Li’s comments come after a string of recent oil- and gas-related events in China. Within the last few months, China has entered into natural gas supply agreements with Myanmar, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, and has already begun construction on needed pipelines. Just yesterday, China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) signed a 25 year gas supply agreement with Qatar.

Want to sell your rice for a cost higher than the government thinks you should? Or slow production to a pace lower than the government’s ideal? Try that in Venezuela, and you’ll have Hugo Chavez’ troops at your company’s doorstep.

On Saturday, Venezuela’s dictator gave orders to the military to “take control” of all rice-processing mills in the country, including some US-owned plants such as the Minnesota-based Cargill.  Chavez has been enforcing price caps on food commodities since 2003, and is angered by the rice companies’ recent decisions to reduce production rates in order to catch up on lost profits.

With growing speculation that electric cars and other energy efficient vehicles will soon dominate markets worldwide, Bolivia is a nation that perhaps stands to benefit (or suffer) more than any other from the energy revolution.

Most electric cars will be powered by lithium batteries, and Bolivia has more lithium than any other nation worldwide. How this development will affect Bolivia is unknown, but will squarely place the South American country at an intriguing and crucial crossroads.

Battered by the fluctuating oil prices Nicaragua seeks to tap its renewable energy sources to build a reliable energy sector and reduce its dependence on oil-based energy to merely 3 percent.

In an ongoing effort to reduce their dependency on oil exports to the United States, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has signed a deal with China that could easily triple the amount of oil exported to that country by 2012.

Below you will find summaries and links to several of the more interesting ecologically-related stories to come out of South American countries in the past month. The list is not meant to be comprehensive or definitive, but hopefully you will find something that teases your interest. Enjoy.

It may sound simplistic, but Israeli President Shimon Peres makes a good point;  “The problem itself (terror and Iran), is like a swamp with mosquitos.  It’s preferable to dry out the swamp than try to kill every single mosquito.”

While meeting with representatives of the students’ village in the town of Dimona, Peres said;

“When the price of oil rises, the terrorist organizations feel better; the feeling needs to be brought

[...]

The word on the street, as posted at Environmental Graffiti, is Cuba and Venezuela are holding a swap meet: zoo animals for oil. In the deal, Hugo Chavez picks up a giraffe named Evo, in honor of Bolivian president Evo Morales, among other animals; the Castros will gain 92,000 barrels of petro a day.

Photo source: Hans Hillewaert, under Click to Continue Reading