I do not claim to be an expert on collapse, but I am quite certain that the custodians of empire are. They have engineered collapse over several decades, and will be essentially unscathed by it—if they can control the resultant chaos. I don’t wish to speculate about what form that control will take, but I don’t need to. They are making it abundantly clear that while they are unwilling to do anything to prevent climate chaos, the devastating consequences of Peak Oil, and economic Armageddon, they are formulating elaborate plans to control and contain an unruly and traumatized population.

The moves into oil sands offer access to oil reserves that rival those of Saudi Arabia and lie outside the volatile Middle East. But Statoil's deal looks expensive and the rewards lie far in the future, analysts say.

Radlein is on the board of directors at Dynamotive Energy Systems, an energy solutions provider based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that is one of several companies pioneering the use of pyrolysis, a process in which biomass is burned at a high temperature in the absence of oxygen. The process yields both a charcoal by-product that can be used as a fertilizer, and bio-oil, which is a mix of oxygenated hydrocarbons that can be used to generate heat or electricity.

So far Japan's Suzuki, Korean Hyundai and India's Tata Motors have dominated the hatchback segment of the small-car market with their Maruti 800, Santro, Wagon-R, Indica and Swift.

However, the market is going to be really crowded now.

The government will vow to rip up red tape delaying major infrastructure projects like roads, airports and power stations and promote a mix of low carbon technologies and energy sources.

Outlining its vision for the future of the armed services to 2030, the force has also foreshadowed an era where crises flare more suddenly while its adversaries, including terrorists and insurgents, become more cunning and capable.

SANTA ROSA, California (Reuters) - The ZAP Xebra is a three-wheeler running on basic batteries, silent and easy to maneuver. It is more than a golf cart and less than a compact car and costs just under $10,000.

"They are cute in their own ugly way. They are the VW of the electric cars. They are the car of the people," said ZAP CEO Steve Schneider said, pointing to a Xebra fleet painted in Kiwi Green, Lipstick Red or Zebra Flash (with stripes).

If you follow the petroleum markets, or you just want to know what is going on in the world of energy, the weekly reports from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) are invaluable. Every Wednesday the EIA releases reports detailing information on petroleum and product inventory levels, imports, prices, refinery utilization, etc. For those who follow this information, the recent run-up in gasoline prices is not a surprise, as you would have seen it coming. The price increase is not driven – as certain politicians and consumer groups have indicated – by a renewed willingness on the part of oil companies to gouge consumers.

Confronted with soaring gasoline prices, a Congress growing more restless by the day about oil dependency and a Supreme Court demanding executive action on global-warming emissions, President George W. Bush stepped before the cameras in the Rose Garden the other day and said, essentially, nothing.

He announced that he had ordered four federal agencies to "work together" to devise regulations reducing greenhouse gases. He also renewed his call for greater investments in alternative fuels. But neither he nor the cadre of designated briefers who followed him provided any detail, so nobody knows whether he will in fact end up asking for more efficient cars or what sort of alternative fuels he has in mind or, more broadly, what sort of reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions he hopes to achieve.

There's always a ladder of blame.

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) said it examined gasoline prices before and after Hurricane Katrina in the fall of 2005, and found that the rules of the game for pricing gas at the pumps had changed overnight.

Frequent power failures due to a daily power shortfall of nearly 1,500 megawatts (MW) cut the country's gross domestic product by around $1.0 billion annually, the World Bank says, and gas reserves are running down quickly as demand multiplies.

Oil refineries are cashing in after years of lacklustre profits

THIS week average petrol (gasoline) prices in America reached a new record of $3.10 a gallon, according to the Department of Energy. Drivers are up in arms and politicians are getting twitchy. Congress is even considering legislation against price-gouging. The culprit is not the oil price, which has hovered above $60 a barrel for months, well below last year's record of $78. Instead the squeeze comes from a shortage of refining capacity. The difference between the price of the crude oil refineries buy, and that of the petrol they sell, has risen above $30 per barrel—a record for this time of year. Refining, long a marginal business, is becoming lucrative.

The mainland average price for gasoline has set a new record almost daily, but Hawaii's statewide average of $3.38 a gallon is well below the post-Hurricane Katrina record of $3.68.

While some are forecasting even higher prices on the mainland, Hawaii's prices are expected to come down if Gov. Linda Lingle signs a bill restoring a general excise tax exemption on ethanol-blended fuel. Lingle has supported the GET forgiveness in the past.

It's a provocative idea that landscape architect Owen Dell, an expert on sustainable landscapes, will discuss at Saturday's fourth annual Alternative Building Materials & Design Expo (Altbuild), at Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Air Center. He is founder of Fossil-Free Landscaping in Santa Barbara, thought to be the first working garden group to explore author and oil expert Richard Heinberg's notion that "if you can't do it without fossil fuel, by definition, it ain't sustainable."