Aug 21 2007

Over 21 percent of publicly traded companies that outsource functions have added "green policies and performance" demands to their vendor contractual arrangements in 2007, and over 94 percent plan on adding clauses or including "green" in their renegotiations processes, according to a recent study by Brown-Wilson Group, authors of The Black Book of Outsourcing. In private companies, 36 percent of executives are currently considering greener outsourcing service agreements in 2008.

August 20, 2007

August 6, 2007

While parts of the Middle East are racked with turmoil, other areas are peaceful and inviting. Private interests are becoming major suppliers and building new power-related facilities. Though incremental, the openness is essential if countries there are to meet their expected future need for electricity.

August 8, 2007

Eastern Europe is experiencing growth but is still struggling to reform its energy markets. Poland is no different. But, alarmists are firing warning shots, saying that in five years it may run low on electricity.

July 20, 2007

Getting that Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline built has been a daunting process. The political and financial impediments have kept the project delayed for years. But now, Gov. Sarah Palin submitted a new plan that she says could prompt construction by next spring.

Will nuclear energy's progression be slowed by an inability to get uranium to feed the reactors? Some say that underutilized mines have taken a toll and will lead to hardship. Others disagree, saying that the mines can gear up and the free market can respond to changing conditions.

A recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says that the nuclear industry has lived off commercial and government uranium inventories that are nearly depleted. Globally, uranium production now meets only 65 percent of current reactor requirements, which has led to uranium prices rising from $7 a pound in 2000 to as much as $120 per pound just recently.