Some of the consequences of rising petrol prices are actually quite positive, including less traffic congestion, reduced pollution, improved health and fitness, and, saving the best for last, possibly even four day work weeks: [US] Companies, colleges and governments are moving to four-day weeks. Brevard Community College in Cocoa, Fla., went to four days for the 2007 summer session and saved $268,000 in energy costs. There were unforeseen ... Read full entry

Apparently Earth's oil reserves are twice the size of published estimates, according to Richard Pike, CEO of the UK Royal Society of Chemistry, who says the inaccurate reporting of the capacity of multiple reservoirs is distorting the overall figure. Oil companies produce a bell-shaped probability distribution for how much each oil reservoir might hold, and then quote as an indicator of the reservoir's capacity a figure they are 90 ... Read full entry

How petrol is putting Sydney under the pump Of course it's not just Sydney, or even Australia, that's feeling the pinch from the ever rising cost of oil, and far from just biting into our bank balances, increasing fuel prices could bring about a radical realignment in the way we live. Further rises in petrol prices could see the end of urban sprawl, with people leaving their houses in the suburbs, ... Read full entry