North Dakota’s oil-rich Bakken region: boom, busts and trouble

http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/05/15/north-dakotas-oil-rich-bakken-region-boom-busts-and-trouble/
In Bakken North Dakota there is a huge oil boom. This year it faced the lowest unemployment rate of 3%. This is because Bakken has large oil fields and thousands of workers working those fields. But even though th large amount of work is good for Bakkens economy, there are problems that come with it. For instance it is very hard to find places to live in Bakken now since so many are taken up by the workers. The crime rate has also largely increased because of the amount of workers that have come. North Dakota has swapped tips with areas sharing similar problems from the oil boom like Saskatchewan and Montana. I hope that they can find a solution to the effect that the workers have in these oil boom regions because they are doing more harm than good.

As Car Owners Downsize, the Market Is Strong for Their Used S.U.V.’s

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/08/business/used-full-size-suvs-are-making-a-comeback.html?ref=business
In the United States, many people are trading in their large S.U.V.'s and trucks in so that they can get more fuel efficient cars, since gas is $4 a gallon in the States at the moment. But as many people as there are btrading in their gas guzzling vehicles, there are just as many people wanting to get used gas guzzlers, because they are larger, and can hold more than a fuel efficient vehicle. Since the price for gas hit $4 a gallon in the U.S., the number of people buying used gas guzzlers has increased by 23%. Most car owners say its hard to hold on to some S.U.V.'s because as soon as they received a used one, someone else wants it right away. This surprises me that so many people still want to buy, non-fuel-efficient vehicles because it feels like they are living in the past.

Geothermal energy in Japan Storm in a hot tub Clean bodies versus clean energy

http://www.economist.com/node/21552207
After the Nuclear disaster in Fukushima last year, 54 of Japan's 55 Nuclear Reactors were temporarily shut
down, and since then, Japan has slowly been losing their Nuclear power. This article talks about how Onsen, which are Japanese hot springs, are very popular in Japan and they want to have more of them, but they just do not have the energy to make more since Nuclear Power made up two thirds of Japan's total energy output. The Japanese are trying to find a new way to power these Onsen with alternative energy sources like the Geothermal kind. Now Japan is lifting bans on Geothermal energy in other areas as well. I think it is great that Japan has found another power source that they can use while their nuclear energy is failing.

BP announces class-action settlement in 2010 Gulf oil disaster

http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/18/us/bp-spill-settlement/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

British Petroleum announced on Wednesday that they have reached a settlement on the class action law suit that was put against them by thousands of attorneys of other businesses that were effected by the Mexican Gulf oil spill that happened almost a year ago. This settlement has been discussed for almost a year as well and now s finally settled. I am happy that they have finally come to a settlement on this event, and that BP did whatever it could to help after the spill that damaged the coral reefs in that area.

Arctic oil rush will ruin ecosystem, warns Lloyd's of London

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/12/lloyds-london-warns-risks-arctic-oil-drilling
Lloyd's of London, which is the world's largest insurance market, is the first major business organization to question the damage of the oil drilling in the Arctic. The oil drilling in the Arctic is funded with an amount of almost one hundred billion dollars. This drilling is necessary for the rest of the world because the Arctic has a huge oil market . But the pollution and other problems being caused in the Arctic by this drilling are serious. If an oil spill were to occur in the Arctic, it would be much more difficult to clean up than a spill in the Gulf of Mexico, because of the amount of ice. I hope that the drilling goes well and that it doesn't damage the Arctic ecosystem too much because the Arctic is already a problem with the melting icecaps.

Sudan’s air forces bombs oilfields in Unity State

http://www.sudantribune.com/Sudan-s-air-forces-bombs-oilfields,42050
On March 26, 2012, the Sudanese Armed Forces or SAF bombed oil fields in South Sudan's Unity State. The
 bombing was a result of clashes between the SAF and the the army from South Sudan called the Saudan People's Liberation Army or SPLA in the oil-rich town of Heglig. Sout Sudan's president Salva Kiir anounced that his army the SPLA took over Heglig, and that the clash was brought on by the SFA's aggression. The clashes in Heglig  and aerial bombings between the SFA and SPLA ended a period of relative peace between the recently-separated countries. The confrontation now makes the possiblity of an all out war more possible. I think that this bombing in Heglig is terrible because this hurts both parts of Sudan, because now the idea of war between them is a greater possibility and I don't think either country needs that right now because they are still trying to establish themselves as separate countries.

Keystone XL pipeline: Obama to oil progress as pump prices rise

This article talks about how Obama is faring with the oil industry in his presidency. He is going on a trip to Mexico and making many stops along the way. In Cushing, Oklahoma Obama announce that he is planning to start work on the Keystone XL pipeline before the presidential elections start. The pipeline will stretch from the Alberta tar sands to Port Arthur, Texas. Obama has been criticized a great deal for the rising gas prices in America by the Republican Presidential Candidates like Mitt Romney. The gas price per gallon in the U.S. has hit $4.00 in some States. I think that Obama needs to do something about the rising oil prices, but he is putting  a great deal of thought into different sources of energy like Solar and Wind powered energy, so I guess that's a good thing.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120302083031.htm

This article talks about the nuclear didaster that happened in Fukushima, and how it has now been almost a year since the disaster occured because of faulty nuclear reactors. Since then, many things have been going on in Japan to ensure that this problem is getting dealt with. The Rebuild Japan Initiative has been started which has gotten alot of suport from people outside of Japan and around the world, and some of them are actors. The Intitiative also did an investigation into how the nuclear disaster happened, and talked with key players like the Tokyo Electric Power Company, to discuss if it could have been prevented. The overall consensus was that they were not prepared for such a disaster to happen. I think that they should have prepared much more than they did since Japan relies heavily on nuclear energy, and a disaster like Fukushima should have been prevented.

The 30-year itch America's Nuclear Industry Struggles to get off the Floor

http://www.economist.com/node/21547803

This article talks about Barrack Obama's current address to the American people. In the speech he talked about all the energy and resources that would produce jobs and fuel the American economy. The only resource he did not mention was nuclear energy, even though it roduces one fifth of all American power. The reason for this is 64% of the American population does not want to use nuclear power as such a big resource beause of all the things that have gone wrong with it like in Japan, and Russia and other places in the world.

European Union to Vote on Canadian Oil Sands Pollution

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17102027

This article from BBC news, talks about an issue that has been going on in Canada for a long time now. The issue is none other than the Alberta Tar Sands, which the European Union is now voting on for a draft legislation that will say if Canadas oil sands are too damaging or energy intensive. This issue is also affecting the Indiginous people of the areas where the oil sands are. Theses people live off the land for food and natural medicines, and they say it is not uncommon to see something wrong with the animals they hunt or the plants they gather because of the pollution that the oil sands are causing. Many of their natural hunting grounds like the Boreal Forrests have been deforested because of the oil sands. Now the indiginous people are starting a legal case about how the oil sands are disrupting their traditional ways of life, even though the oil companies say they are doing whatever they can to clean up the mess they have brought upon the indiginous peoples.

http://www.icis.com/Articles/2012/02/13/9531163/A-five-part-strategy-to-defeat-price-volatility.html

This article discusses the issue of the oil and chemical resource industry in our poor economy today. The article states that with oil going up in price, many other chemical resources are going up too. This, in effect is hurting the people who buy these resources and use them, or distribute them. The Continent of Europe is declining with their investments in the oil and chemical industry, which is no surprise to me with their depleting economy, but Asia is putting more money into these resources because they have a booming industry which has resulted in their rapid growth, economically as a continent.