The Costa Rican economy grew nearly 4.13 percent in September, as compared to the same month last year, says the Central Bank’s Monthly index of Economic Activity (IMAE). The index, which is designed to gauge the monthly fluctuations in economic sectors, reports that the economy has marked an average 4 percent growth in five of the last 6 months and has not shown a negative growth figure since July 2009.

Navtej Kohli Costa Rica resident says that the growth in economy has reflected on the business ventures as well. In September, the economic growth was pushed by a 16 percent increase in investment in the national service sector, including back office operations and call centers. Other sectors like transportation, storage and communications sectors also grew by 7.3 percent as compared to September last year. Trade, construction, and industrial sectors also showed a positive growth.

The recent arrival of América Móvil and Telefónica to the Costa Rican telecommunications market, as well as the continued arrival of foreign investment, is expected to bolster economic activity during the final seven weeks of the year

Furthermore, the economy is expected to boost further in the next seven weeks, following the addition of América Móvil and Telefónica to the Costa Rican telecommunications industry, besides the continued arrival of foreign investment.

Price hikes usually creeps up on buyers gradually over a period of months. However, the oil prices saw an increase of the 14 cents in the period of mere one week. The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in the Los Angeles Long Beach region on Thursday was $3.87, up from $3.73 last week.

“It’s just a function of what’s happening across the world,” said Jennifer Coulter, who lives in Hollywood and works in West Covina. “The only place I drive is to work, and I get milage for my job.”

The rise in the prices of oil this year, coupled with a rash of refining problems throughout the country, has pushed pump prices. On Thursday, the national average was $3.63 and the drivers paid more for gasoline this Sept.1 as compared to any other year, expect 2008, when the pump prices rose to $3.69.

What’s more surprising is that even though motorists are buying less, the oil prices are rising in the States.

According to the analysts another key force working behind these rising oil prices is the steady rise in the international gasoline demand.

Navtej Kohli Los Angeles

“We’ve seen that there were some issues with refineries in Washington state and we get some of our gasoline from there,” said Jeffrey Spring, a spokesman for the Automobile Club of Southern California. “We’ve also been told that some of the refineries in California didn’t produce as much as their contracts called for. So they had to go out and buy on the spot market, and that’s competitive bidding, so that pushed up the price of wholesale gas. But we’ve also heard that wholesale prices have since fallen in California, so we might see the benefit of that … it’s been a weird market.”

The cheapest local price for Gas this Thursday was at the Costco wholesale store in San Dimas, which posted regular unleaded for $3.69 per gallon. Comparatively, other parts of Southern California had significantly higher prices.

A Mobil station in Lakewood was selling regular unleaded for $4.69 a gallon, and an Arco station in Long Beach had it for $4.66 a gallon.

The average price in California was $3.85 a gallon.

“Operational Energy Strategy” had been launched by Defense Department which really wants some reforms in the military forces for using the fuel on the battlefield.Accoding to data military sonsumption of oil is 300,000 barrels of oil per day.
The main pupose of this rule si to minimise any casualties in war zones where a number of troops, traiine and contractors for supplying fuel in the war zone. Besaicaly Pentagon’s strategy had been drafted for lomg term basis which includes the uses of fossil fuels and uses of more energy efficient weapons
On the other hand media spokes person had been repoted a number of deaths during milatry operations outside the country or aboad which make the govemnet to think this problem very seriously .
But some goverment bodies also indicate the reflect built-up frustration over the vulnerabilities that dependence on fuel has created for U.S. forces. The Defense Department now consumes 225 percent more fuel than it did a decade ago.

U.S. forces deployed in remote bases in Afghanistan require nearly daily deliveries of fuel to power generators, ground vehicles and airplanes. U.S. enemies have exploited that Achilles’ heel by targeting fuel convoys with bombs and other weapons.

“We have lost many lives delivering fuel to bases around Afghanistan,” Petraeus wrote in the memo, where he announced the creation of a new office under his command that will focus on how coalition forces use energy. “Commanders will make energy-informed, risk-based decisions on aviation operations, vehicle operations, base camp design, power and water generation and distribution,” Petraeus said. Commanders also will push for “rapid technology insertion of new fuel-saving methods” and will take energy considerations into account in the oversight of contracts.

Petraeus also is asking military leaders to instill a culture of conservation among troops. “This includes turning off unused equipment, repairing faulty equipment and avoiding use of heating, air conditioning and lighting in unused or unoccupied structures.”

The Pentagon’s energy strategy calls for reducing fuel consumption, diversify sources of energy and pursue innovation for the future. The majority of those efforts will focus on the fuel that deployed forces consume. Last year, of the Pentagon’s $15 billion energy billion, $13 billion was for “operational” energy, said Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn at a June 14 news conference. The problem is not just Afghanistan, he said. Energy is “always going to present a vulnerability to our forces.”

Pentagon strategists predict that energy “will continue to offer a target for our adversaries,” said Sharon E. Burke, assistant secretary of defense for operational energy plans and programs. “Napoleon said an army marches on its stomach. You might say our military marches on batteries and fuel tanks,” she said at the news conference.

Part of the immediate push to cut fuel in Afghanistan also will involve renegotiating contracts with suppliers, and to offer financial incentives to reduce energy consumption, said Burke. “As of June 15, some of the terms of those LOGCAP [logistics support] contracts will be changing,” she said.

The next step following the release of the strategy is an “implementation plan” that Burke’s office will complete over the next 90 days, she said. By January 2012, she will have to certify that the military services’ budget provide sufficient resources for fuel-efficiency and renewable energy programs.

Energy industry experts have praised the Pentagon for finally developing a long-term energy campaign, but question whether it will have any real teeth.

“You can put out all the bumper stickers you want. But unless you are going to dig down and allocate resources, it won’t have real impact,” said Dan Nolan, a retired Army officer and energy consultant at Sabot 6 Inc. The problem with most of these green-energy efforts is that they are overly reliant on long-term research and development, instead of focusing on rapid acquisition of off-the-shelf products that already exist. “We don’t need to design a better mousetrap,” he said. “Everyone wants solar panels, wind turbines, biomass products, while we really need to focus on energy efficiency and conservation … but that’s just not really sexy,” he said. “The safest, cleanest, most secure electron is the one you don’t use.”

The private sector, meanwhile, is looking to the Defense Department to be a catalyst of innovation in green energy and to spur greater investments across the U.S. government and in industry. According to a new report from Pike Research, military spending on renewable energy technologies will continue to rise rapidly over the next two decades, growing from $1.8 billion per year in 2010 to $26.8 billion by 2030. The majority of this spending will be for “mobility applications,” including portable soldier power as well as land, air, and sea vehicles, the Pike report said. “Energy for facilities operations will represent a significant portion of the market as well.”

Now in the market having buzz to take Gov. Brian Schweitzer bill which want increase taxes on Oil Companies when the Oil market now facing low oil prices. So what be reason behind while if we go sometime back , government had given many assumption and tax benefits to oil industry and the price of Oil in world market going higher and higher .But the debate now start that what be impact of tax increment . Proposed taxes plan is $1 for every barrel of oil drilling in Montana and 8 cents for every 1000 cubic feet of natural gas product .The income of these taxes will be spend on teaches salaries. Many News paper remarked this as “Energy for Education” or “E-Squared,” and it is sponsored by by Rep. Kendall Van Dyk, D-Billings, and got a primetime endorsement from Schweitzer during his State of the State address earlier this year.

While addressing Schweitzer told that its not a tax hike but a partial repeal of tax holidays of oil producers which are running since 1999 and it will helpful to increasing the salary of teachers of Montana.

>There was storm of questionnaires had started after this speech moreover republicans leader also blaming that such move can drove away oil and gas companies form Montana. Senate President Bob Story, R-Park City, argued and suggest that better option for increasing teachers salary to increase oil drilling not tax. Also many businesses personalities comes up with many ideas to replace such tax hike.

Patrick Montalban of the Northern Montana Oil and Gas Association. Told to media
“We do need to pay our teachers more, but you don’t put it all on one industry. That’s bad tax policy,”. Also he quoted that such tax might be higher then all taxes since before which may turns into job cutting into oil industries and many people will became joblessJohnny Brumley of Texas oil company Encore said the bill would send the wrong message to oil producers.

“Producers will be afraid to invest in your state because you’ll be seen as changing the rules,” he said.

But proponents of the bill said oil companies are not as sensitive to taxes as the opponents suggested.

“When you hear in a few minutes that oil and gas taxation is a significant factor in the development of oil and gas resources or the sustaining of the oil and gas industry, I urge you to think critically about that statement,” said Robert Decker of the Policy Institute. “If you question that, you’ll find that there’s lots of evidence it is not true.”

One such study comes from Bozeman’s Headwaters Economics. A study it released in October 2008 suggests that oil and gas companies are far more influenced by factors like access to oil reserves and market price than by tax rates.

Now the oil industry also comes under the threat of Global economy meltdown and the results can easily be seen by lowest crude oil price which had reached $67 per barrel on 22-oct-2008. There are also tow main reason behind that which are most affected that are first is that the demand of the crude oil is reducing that why OPEC had decided to cut the production and second one dollar’s rally cut the appeal of commodities. While the consumption of US gasoline had declined for the past three months and China economy also goes down and financial crises is now story of stock exchanges across the world. China market is also facing slowdown and fall in the financial crises . Near about 40% of OPEC supplier had decided lower output 1 million barrel a day . Now the dollar had reached to highest point in comparison to Euro after 2006.

Demand for oil is the focus of people’s minds at present and it doesn’t get better,” said Robert Laughlin, senior broker at MF Global Ltd. in London. “A lot of eyes remain focused on China, which is currently experiencing a very public economic slowdown.”
Crude oil for December delivery slid as much as $3.70, or 5.1 percent, to $68.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $68.96 as of 9:04 a.m. local time.

The November contract expired yesterday, after declining $3.36 to settle at $70.89 a barrel. Oil futures, which have tumbled 53 percent from July’s record of $147.27, are down 21 percent from a year ago.
U.S. gasoline demand dropped 6.4 percent last week from a year earlier, the 26th consecutive weekly decline, a MasterCard Inc. report showed yesterday.
Negative Data’ We have a lot of negative economic data, especially in the U.S. and also in Europe,” said Andy Sommeran analyst with HSH Nordbank in Hamburg. “These are the negatives that are playing on the market.”
Dollar rose that’s why US had reached at maximum rate $1.28 per euro which be maximum rate since November 2006.
On the other hand The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may disregard pleas from oil-consuming nations on the brink of recession and cut output this week.

Now it will be decided in the Vienna meeting that that OPEC will decide more lower production 1miilion barrel a day. That’s more oil than Australia consumes. OPEC also may signal plans for an additional reduction of at least 500,000 barrels a day by early 2009. Iran OPEC which is the second largest producer are considering to cut production by 2 million to 2.5 million a day also Ministers from Algeria, Libya, and Qatar have said OPEC, which provides 40 percent of the world’s oil, will need to trim supplies. OPEC giant and also leader Saudi Arabia which is also largest producer not commentated yet over that matter. But OPEC also expressed his vision that excess of supply at the end of the  of the year and start of 2009, the group’s Secretary General Navtej Kohli unable to say little a bit over that matter , because this having both good and bad effect . It might be possible that Oil industry will be affected but on the other hand its be good news for the consumer might be they will get fuel for vehicle on cheap rate .

World oil prices rebounded modestly from recent falls since a pipeline carrying crude from Central Asia to the West exploded locking up the oil supply for about 15 days tentatively.

New York‘s main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery rose 1.44 dollars to close at 120.02 dollars a barrel.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for September edged up 0.86 cents to settle at 117.86 dollars per barrel.

A fire that started on Tuesday was likely to continue burning for another two days until the oil remaining in the pipeline runs out, after which repairs would begin.

Despite modest price gains on Thursday, the oil market has dived lower this week on mounting concern that slower economic growth in the United States, the world’s thirstiest energy guzzler, would translate into a decline in global energy demand.

The US government reported Monday that consumer spending, which fuels two-thirds of US output, had cooled in June and inflationary pressures accelerated.

Prices extended their slide on Tuesday as signs of a slowing global economy raised further doubts about demand.

Crude futures also lost ground on Wednesday after news of a surprise jump in US oil reserves, traders said.

The US Department of Energy announced in its weekly report that American crude reserves had increased by 1.7 million barrels in the week ended August 1.

The reading caught the market off guard because expectations had been for a 200,000-barrel decline.

Traders are closely tracking the level of US gasoline stockpiles amid the ongoing peak-demand summer driving season, when many Americans normally take to the roads for their summer holidays.

Oil futures have shed about 20 percent in value since hitting record highs above 147 dollars per barrel on July 11.

“Overall, the market remains at a crossroad. Market participants are torn between persistent fears over slowing energy demand and potentials for further supply disruptions,” said Sucden analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov.

One of the biggest challenges the human race faces today is finding and using alternative energy sources. The push for means of generating electricity has been around for over 100 years, but when oil and coal-fired generators produced power inexpensively, the world put the search for alternative energy sources on the back burner for a number of years.

Finding and using alternative energy sources is one of the biggest challenges for us today. As, our coal and oil reservoirs are depleting, it time to pull our socks and get going in search of some alternate energy source.

I have repeated this thing over and over again in my blog. We cannot procrastinate any longer now!

Since years we have been hearing claims of converting wind, water and sun into renewable energy sources that will replace oil or natural gas. Nothing really promising, however, can be seen till date. Researchers have also seen potential in geothermal energy, but nothing concrete has come up as yet.

For many people the switch to alternative energy sources is a matter of finding the type of alternative power that works the best in their particular geographical location. Persons who live in areas that have limited exposure to the sun for example, may not be too excited about using solar panels to supply power. When the sun goes down for an extended number of days, the town can go dark.

In some of those areas, wind is not a problem as it seems to blow nearly every day. Using wind power to turn turbines to generate electricity can work there, but may not work in other areas that experience less windy conditions. Another of the alternative energy sources, hydropower uses the power of rivers to turn generators, but the cost of the infrastructure to get power to the people from the generator may still be high for long range use.

With the three major alternative energy sources continuing to be researched and advanced, the need for an answer to out problem becomes more evident every time a person receives their electric bill, or fills their car with gas.

The resources that we have left on the planet are running out. Do your part to keep educated on the latest changes in technology and any up to date with the issues at hand to learn what you can do to help solve the energy crisis.

CSIRO says that workers will find new “green-collar” jobs as net employment surges in the long-term.
The report’s findings show that despite the introduction of an emissions trading scheme in 2010, employment will grow by between 2.6 and 3.3 million jobs by 2025.
“Jobs continue to grow strongly,” the report found.
Employment is tipped to drop in some sectors after the introduction of the trading scheme, but is forecast to recover from 2017, and to increase in the long-term to higher levels than the present.
Net job growth was predicted in mining, energy, industry and farming.
New green-collar jobs will be created in renewable energy, constructing green buildings and appliances, and developing alternative transport.
The report urges governments and training providers to develop strategies for skilling green-collar workers.
Australian Greens leader Bob Brown said the report showed millions of green jobs could be created – and they would be good jobs too.
Workers would feel good about their new green jobs and about helping to save the planet.

The green jobs would be better for workers’ health, their incomes, and their “spirit”.
However, federal and state governments would have to develop strategies to help create green jobs.

As glaciers and polar ice are melting, problems like rising ocean levels, too hot/dry weather, huge forest fires, water restrictions, crop failure are becoming more apparent.

Almost all of us have encountered one or the other of these problems every so often. Global warming and climate change are reality now. We are living with it every moment of our life.

It is as huge problem. Now how do you expect to cure a problem, which has gone beyond your control?

It is foolish on you part if you’re expecting some miraculous scientific break-through so they ever-responsible ‘They’ will fix the Earth. Don’t dwell into delusions.

It’s a wake up call; get up before it’s too late.
Our planet is at stake, so are we!
It’s a serious matter, really really serious.

So, is our dream of a healthy planet fading?

Ummm…Maybe, maybe not.

Our planet is changing rapidly. We have great challenges ahead, as now it is too late to stop global warming. Earth has undergone an irreversible change and unfortunately for the worse.

But, there is something that can still be done. We can change the world, united or divided howsoever. Confused? Let me explain…
Remember Darwin’s “Survival of the Fittest” Theory
I think you do
Get Real guys! There is just one way to get out of this mess i.e. Alternative Energy

Yes, you heard it right! We desperately do need to switch to renewable energy sources.

It’s simple and it’s hard work. No way out of that.

Hate it or love it, there is no middle ground.

So better start learning now:

Engage with others to build positive relationship, where you live, work and play

Pay attention to other’s needs and that of the environment

Take responsibility for the situation you’re in

Care for others and the environment competently

Be assertive and use your humour and creativity

Use the ‘regular’ renewable alternate energy sources, and recycle too.

Nothing is under our control, true. But remember, efforts never know waste. At least try before you surrender the fort.