Often when I am flying, I think about the amount of fuel that the airplane is burning. Then when I am off the plane, I usually forget about it. I have heard mixed opinions on […]
Son of Xethanol Goes Bankrupt
I have written several essays on Xethanol over the past few years. If you recall, they were a poster child for the theme of “overpromise, boost your stock price, and get rich quick” on biofuels. […]
Potential Markets and Benefits from Ocean Thermal Energy
Happy Thanksgiving to those who will celebrate it tomorrow. I plan to spend the long weekend with my family, and probably won’t be on here much. In the interim, two things. First is that it […]
Catching Up
Back home now, just trying to catch up on the energy news of note. Four stories that I want to highlight. First was POET’s announcement on their progress on cellulosic ethanol: Poet hits ‘long shot,’ […]
CNN on The Long Recession
One of the themes I have been hitting during my recent presentations concerns the oil price risk hanging over our heads. My hypothesis goes something like this. The days of huge supply excesses in the […]
Slides from the Pacific Rim Summit
I am hopping on a plane again today, this time bound for the Orlando Energy Conference. The topic I will present is An Overview of Global Energy Issues. Good thing they asked for something easy […]
Book Review: Oil on the Brain
Oil on the Brain by Lisa Margonelli was recommended by Paul Sankey at the 2009 Energy Information Administration Conference as a book that provided great insight into the oil industry. I have had it on […]
Algal Tidbits from the Pacific Rim Summit
My presentation is tomorrow, but I have sat through some very interesting presentations over the past couple of days here at the Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy. They have five panels going […]
These Engineers Still Need Jobs
Once again, I am asking for help in placing some of my former engineers who lost jobs in July. As you know, this is a difficult job market across most sectors. Unemployment numbers were released […]
Merica Acquires Majority Stake in Choren
Today it was announced that my new company, Merica International, has acquired Shell’s stake in Choren Industries. This is something we have been actively pursuing for some time. This transaction gives Merica a great deal […]