STUFF

Dubai offering citizens gold to lose weight.

Sales of US plug-in V's doubled. Makers expanding offerings.

Ethanol RIN prices up 2,740% year-to-date.

Thailand to add 1Gw solar by '15. New FITs.

So far '13, just 130K full-time jobs added in US. 557K part-time. Since Dec '07, 5.8M fewer full-time jobs, 2.8M more part-time. (Because of Obamacare, I think. Plus low level jobs v. real jobs. "Service" industry. The minions. Reality. Let's deal with that.)

Fed judge ruled against BP suspending oil spill payments while possible recipient fraud investigation continues. Man pled guilty to faking BP claim, faces 20 yrs in prison. Really. 20 years. In prison. Taxpayers may have to feed, house him, give him a life of hell for 20 years. Possibly. What a world. (The saints were tortured, disembodied, quartered, stoned to death, eaten by lions for their belief in Christ and His true church. Oops, digression.)

Agreement between NIST, EC's Joint Research Center to make it easier to cross-market tech.

EPA draft report says fracking should stop at wells where shaking causes earthquakes. But also says other options should be considered first. Like cutting amounts injected. (Common sense or frackin phrisics?)

ND regulators (the werd "regulators" anywhere out in the US west still may have a certain connertation) studying radioactive fracking waste.

DOE: no signs of fracking fluid leakage in PA. (Might be using well condoms.)

UK aims to boost shale gas output with tax breaks.

DOE, Vestas, Sandia Lab, Tex Tech broke ground on wind turbine test site in TX. Focus on how turbines at wind farms affect one another. (All they need to do is communicate nicely, right?)

EC committee voted to cap biofuels from food crops to 5.5% of renewable transport fuel target. Now 10%. Parliament vote in Nov.

Crude stockpiles in OK lowest level since Nov. Near 46M bls. US gasoline demand down 2% 2H13 v. 2H12. But distillate demand up over 4% from increased diesel exports. Ah. Diesel exports. That's where it's going. That's why we're still paying $3.60/gal for gas at the pump. US crude production up 89Kb/d week before last. To 7.5Mb/d.

About 450 people killed in Iraq bombs so far this month. What a nice vaction spot. Speculation it's all from al quaida trying to incite civil war. Go see the hanging gardens of Nebuchanezzer. And the ruins. Just 500 US.

Half of pipeline from Iraq to Turkey resumed flow. Still plenty of holes plugged with wood for the thieves to pluck.

Algeria's oil/NG production, LNG exports continues to slip.

China oil demand up 11% in June to 9.9Mb/d.

New oil field discovery in Kuwait should help push production to 4Mb/d by '20. 2.8M last year.

Wave of civil unrest across Libya in June, July severely curtailing crude production, exports.

Nigeria Parliament commitee said country should revoke Shell/Eni oil rights. Process "highly flawed". Shell/Eni paid $1.1B.

Kazakhstan's giant oil field close to start up. 180Kb/d 1st stage.

Goldman Sachs: price risks for Brent crude in 2H13 now "upside". Production losses in some OPEC nations, political threats to supply. It's an industry. Disrupt, blow up, do whatever you need to do to control the price of oil to make it go up. Is this a mystery? "Doing the work of GOD" I remember the Goldman Sachs quotee. (Just following the Bible.)

Suncor Energy (Canada) ops back to full production after shutdown for floods.

US Gulf of Mex crude production est. to climb 23% to 1.55Mb/d by '15. 1.26 this March.

$160B of bets placed on Australia NG development getting riskier. Labor shortages, higher Aussie dollar.

China railway freight down 2.8% yoy in 1H13.

Cost of enviro degradation in India ~$80B/yr.

30 ship seizures by pirates in Gulf of Guinea in 1H13. 3 worldwide 1H12. (New mission for Navy, you think? ..."From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripolli ...")

DuPont seeks JV partners after $200M investment in Iowa cellulosic ethanol plant. DuPont to supply enzymes.

Chip Energy broke ground on biomass recycling, pelletizing plant in IL. 100 tons/d of pellets. Wood waste, energy crops, ag residue feedstocks.

2 comps to install alt fuel pumps in east Canada.

Navigant: biofuel investment next 10 yrs to top $69B. Revs to hit $7.6B.

Noble Energy set to drill for 1.5B bls deep offshore Israel. Israel now imports 98% of its oil. ~$10B/yr.

Suntech to supply modules for 30Mw farm near La Paz, Mex.

Tata Power expects to finish 28.8Mw solar plant in Maharashtra by Dec. Tata plans to add 50Mw solar every year. 30Mw now online.

DOE announced $30M for solar conversion/storage tech.

Dominion bought 28.6Mw solar from Sunrise Energy Ventures.

Green building leaders declared freedom from toxics.

Industry found BLM vastly underestimated costs of fracking rules.

DOI to auction VA offshore waters for wind in Sept.

NY, NYC set power use records last week.

United Airlines redesigning wings to reduce fuel costs.

TEPCO admitted Fuku radioactive water reaching Pacific.