STUFF

In '16, 78M US retirees will be required by '87 law to start liquidating their IRA's. Yea, those that still have IRA's left.

Goldman cut Brent outlook to $120 for '12 from previous $130 and expects spread w/ WTI to close to $6.50 from $25 now. Huh. Thanks Meester Goldman.

EV's considered by just 4% or fewer of buyers. O. That will change.

Paris testing short-term EV rentals. Aim to have thousands available in '12. Electric car racing next?

Consensus emerging that decades of suppression of small forest fires is leading cause of recent huge fires.

Loan guarantees harder for nuke because borrower has to pay govt's risk-comp fee.

Putin pledged to follow EU antitrust inquiry into Gazprom.

U of TX researchers hoping their project will lead to commercial use of algae as fuel source.

Molycorp to announce rediscovery of "forgotten" rare earths deposit in S. Calif.

Industry, Admin wrangling over waterway maintenance.

IG report: green job labor training falling short. Funds should be returned. When have we ever seen crap like this?

Dorgan: manage fracking boom or face new regs. . . France w/drew shale gas permits on fracking concerns.

Fed govt should begin climate geoengineering research said a panel of somebodys. And new tools to measure C footprints released.

Ameren to shutter 2 IL coal plants.

Fossil fuel subsidies to balloon by '20: EIA. What's ballooning? Is that like bubbling?

A 4-seat electric plane took top prize and $1.35M in NASA/Google contest.

EPA to issue new permits for spraying pesticides near water by end of month.

Economists saying coal emissions may be under-regulated. What's the opposite of uber?

Study found financiers prefer long-term renewable energy policies.

Colder stratosphere produced large Arctic ozone hole.

Record US exports of gas/other refined products poised to eliminate glut of idle ships next year and will drive freight rates to 3-year highs. Shipments in 1st 9 months of '11 up 24% yoy. Led by cargoes to Latin Am. Costs for medium-range tankers to gain to $14k/d next year. But BW Maritime (Singapore-based owner of 15 supertankers) temporarily idled 2 and mothballing a 3rd. Earnings lowest since '97.

Enbridge to spend C$120M on 2 pipelines to expand eastward flow of crude from west Canada.

Supreme Court chose to reject OPEC price-fixing suits brought by gas retailers, the court citing "defense and foreign policy".

Every energy source has been subsidized by the US in the last 400 years. Renewables far less in early years than any other. Why the hell is that?

Iberia launched commercial flights Madrid to Barcelona with 25% biofuel blend.

BP aims to be world leader in biofuels, upping ante in Brazil.