Oil Sands

Andromeda Interfaces has launched its Electric Vehicle Interface Controller (EVIC), which displays and allows the user to visualize various vehicle systems. Users can monitor their EVs battery usage, motor controllers and vehicle charging. The EVIC gathers various data - voltage, cell temperatures, amperage, etc. - from the car and displays it in a user-friendly way using easy-to-understand graphics. The EVIC is currently available through A

The next-generation Porsche 911 could use hybrid power, according to Porsche CEO Matthias Muller. "There is no reason against it and we will see if we have some reasons to do it," Muller says of the model due around 2018. He also suggests that hybrid technology could eventually make its way into all Porsche model lines, but that the John Beltz Snyder

It's pretty common knowledge - especially if you're the type to regularly visit sites such as AutoblogGreen and its ilk - that it's simply cheaper to drive a mile on electrical power than on gasoline. We also know that it is inefficient to convert oil sands into usable fuel relative to other sources of oil. Yet the demand for gasoline remains high, mining the tar sands of Canada remains profitable and it has also undeniably created

Apparently, the oil companies strip mining Alberta, Canada for its bitumen don't have money for a green-washing PR campaign. Lucky for them, the Harper government is ready to spend $22 million on their behalf this year. We guess the savings that were realized by destroying libraries full of environmental data will come in handy. (Yes, Domenick Yoney

Just because gas prices have been steadily declining since March doesn't mean we should all get comfortable with the idea of lower refueling costs and a dependable fuel supply. In fact, a University of Maryland study titled "Economic Vulnerability to Peak Oil" pushes the panic button a bit.

At least one author is warning consumers not to be fooled by relatively steady gas prices and prognostications of plentiful petroleum. Richard Heinberg, in his book Snake Oil: How Fracking's False Promise of Plenty Imperils Our Future is warning people that any prediction that the world has staved off the prospect of diminishing returns on continued oil drilling is inaccurate, and that the recent increase in

The idea behind the politically contentious Keystone XL pipeline is to bring oil from Canada through the Midwestern US and then on to Texas for export throughout the world, mostly Europe and Latin America. A January 2012 report by NRDC and Oil Change International pointed out that the pipeline "will not increase America's oil supply (PDF

The controversial Keystone XL pipeline that would deliver tar sands oil mined in Alberta, Canada to Texas for cleanup and then return it to Canada has a number of serious issues and points of contention. Among the debates going on in Washington are which route would be us

Another round of fighting has started over whether E15 – a blend of ethanol (15 percent) and gasoline (85 percent) – should be adopted nationwide. The latest jab comes from Scott Faber, a lobbyist for Environmental Working Group, who says that, as far as greenhouse gasses go, ethanol is "Jon LeSage

After spending several years carefully reviewing the application from TransCanada for the permit necessary to run its Keystone XL pipeline from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada to the refineries and ports along the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Department of State has finally announced a decision. It has decided not to decide right now, saying it will wait until 2013 to decide, so it can spend more quality time examining routing options around certain environmentally sensitive parts of the S

Oil sand samples obtained from the Yousha Mountain in the Qaidam basin located in the northwestern region of China have been sampled, tested and deemed "feasible" for further development and exploration. As the China Petroleum Daily reports, samples contain a high percentage of clean oil that should make the process of extraction and refinement a relatively low-cost operation.

Earlier this year, the EPA criticized ethanol because it has a negative environmental balance of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions when compared to gasoline obtained from crude oil (read their report here). As there's rarely an attack without pushback, the Renewable Fuels Association has decided to interpret that report from their point of view and has found that certain sources of oil do indeed have a worse negative impact than corn ethanol. That is, when lighter and more easily refined crude

Just in case you needed another reason to cut back on your gasoline consumption, you might consider the pollution catastrophe we are creating in Canada, America's main oil supplier. A new report (PDF) released by Environmental Defense, using industry figures, estimates that tailings ponds created by oil sands projects may be leaking 2,750,000 gallons of contaminated water every day. While that

The recent drop in oil prices, in combination with the failing economy, is taking a toll in the development of Canadian oil sands. Because of low labor productivity and increasing costs, the Canadian-based industry is finding it increasingly difficult to compete in the global marketplace. Poor environmental practices and an "uncertain regulatory picture" are, according to a recent report by c

Saudi Aramco's core area in Dhahran city

Oil sands mining transforms the landscape Photo: David Dodge, Pembina Institute

All sorts of people have been weighing in on the price-of-oil situation lately. Could the current price be a bubble waiting to burst or is it reflective of flat production levels mixed with the rising demand from India and China? If former Saudi Aramco executive, Sadad Al-Husseini, is righ