Ron Kirk faces a tough balancing act Source of Picture: United States Mission – Geneva “The rebuilt American economy must be export-oriented and less consumption-oriented,” said Larry Summers, Director of the US President’s National Economic Council, earlier this month. But, as The Economist says in this article, this will be a little like turning a […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Another Opinion: China and Recycling
Source of Picture: The Earth Institute at Columbia University I was speaking to a Singapore-based trader this morning over the reasons behind the polyolefin price rally. PPPEPrices2006-Aug09.ppt Here are his views: “A maor factor has been a lack of availability of recycled material. This is because people in the West are buying less durable consumer […]
It’s fun to be miserable….
LyondellBasell, Woody Allen, Dow Chemical, PIC, K-Dow, Kuwait, financial meltdown, carbon footprint,
The new frugal and greener consumer
Trendspotting, green conscience, eco-buying, recycling, environmental footprint, cost saving, greed-guilt
Will the US dinosaurs ever learn?
yet-more US dinosaurs, dinosoars, carbon capture and storage, Alberta tar sands, shale sands, renewable energy, wind power, solar power, second-generation biofuels
Obama’s impact on Asian petchems
The new energy New Deal, death of the Asian export model, new types of growth, bankers,
Would you pass the Koala Bear test?
carbon footprint, Yanchep National Park, Perth, Western Australia, globalisation
The big challenges
As delegates gather for this year’s European Petrochemical Association meeting in the unreal world of Monaco (unreal for the 99.9 per cent recurring of us who don’t own Ferraris), I thought it was worth summarising some of the issues discussed on this blog over the last few months. We’ve dealt with: *Oil-price volatility and the […]
Changing nature of demand
green homes, the Economist, Peak Oil, speculators, changing demand growth
The world is round after all
Thomas Friedman, globalisation, global warming, Peak Oil, Hot, Flat and Crowded, climate change, SABIC