The missile strikes on targets in Syria showed unprecedented cooperation between Russia and Iran, but they also serve as a wakeup call to Tehran about Moscow’s expanding military profile in the Caspian. On October 7, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that its warships had fired twenty-six cruise missiles from the central Caspian Sea at eleven… Keep reading →
Tropical Storm Bill has made landfall on the Texas coast along Matagorda Island, northeast of Corpus Christi with emergency services preparing for further flooding and infrastructural damage. “The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Tropical Storm Bill had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph Tuesday morning as it came ashore about 90 miles southwest of Houston.… Keep reading →
Peabody Energy yesterday announced plans to reduce approximately 250 corporate and regional positions in coming months to lower costs. “When fully implemented later this year, these reductions are expected to save $40 million to $45 million per year. The reductions represent approximately 25 percent of corporate and regional support positions, and the majority of reductions are expected… Keep reading →
Ankara’s security and political concerns may drive it to establish buffer zones unilaterally, while Washington’s hesitance could cost it a coalition. Since the armed phase of the rebellion against Bashar al-Assad began in summer 2011, Turkey has been intent on setting up safe havens and accompanying no-fly zones in northern Syria to protect areas held… Keep reading →
The American Bird Conservancy is suing the Obama Administration over a rule that would allow wind farm operators to kill a certain number of federally protected eagles for a period of 30 years without threat of prosecution. The group says the rule is illegal because the US Fish & Wildlife Service never had an opportunity… Keep reading →
On Friday, President Obama met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House and seemed to dismiss the notion that Russia would “turn off the tap to Europe” by calling it “unrealistic”. He added that natural gas kept flowing even at the height of the Cold War. Both leaders appeared to be ready and… Keep reading →
General Wesley Clark became the latest recruit to the clean energy industry yesterday with a call to arms for the American solar industry.
Gen. Clark told delegates at PV America West in San Jose yesterday that the solar industry could play a pivotal role in kick-starting the US economy. Keep reading →
The Arab Awakening and Iran’s continued pursuit of a nuclear program dominated the conversation in the Middle East in 2011. But a longer view calls for greater attention to a seemingly obscure but potentially pivotal issue: the discovery of large natural gas deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean, known as the Leviathan Basin. Shared economic interests should compel the nations of the Middle East and Europe to set aside their differences and quickly exploit Leviathan. But as tensions among the United States, Israel, and Iran increase and unrest in the region persists, this valuable resource could become a casualty – or even driver – of an international row, scuttling a key opportunity for European and global energy consumers.
When a US energy company discovered new areas of the Leviathan basin between Israel and Cyprus in mid-2011, regional players weighed in decisively. Turkey deployed a naval mission to explore deposits in the waters off Turkish Cyprus. A demonstration of Turkey’s discomfort with a closer relationship between Israel and Cyprus, this alone nearly sparked a conflict between Israel and Turkey. Iran also weighed in, offering to help Lebanon explore its own waters and supporting Lebanon’s claim that parts of the basin lay within its territory. The US quickly sided with Israel and Cyprus, creating the appearance of further Turkish alignment with Iran and a division between two diametrically opposed camps. Keep reading →
