Oil to solar: Saudis push to be renewable energy powerhouse

Yahoo – AFP, Anuj Chopra, 3 April 2018

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has unveiled plans to develop the globe's
biggest solar power project for $200 billion in partnership with Japan's SoftBank group

Saudi engineers whip up a simulated sandstorm to test a solar panel's durability at a research lab, the heart of the oil-rich kingdom's multibillion dollar quest to be a renewable energy powerhouse.

The world's top exporter of crude seems an unlikely champion of clean energy, but the government lab in Al Uyayna, a sun-drenched village near Riyadh, is leading the country's efforts for solar power as it seeks to diversify.

A dazzling spotlight was shone on those ambitions last week when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled plans to develop the globe's biggest solar power project for $200 billion in partnership with Japan's SoftBank group.

The memorandum of understanding to produce up to 200 gigawatts of power by 2030 —- about 100 times the capacity of the current biggest projects —- was the latest jaw-dropping statement as the Saudis look to wean themselves off oil.

If built on one site, the solar farm would cover an area twice the size of Hong Kong, according to a Bloomberg News calculation.

While the scale of the plan has stirred some disbelief -- the agreement announced in the US was greeted with determination at the laboratory.

"We can do it," said Adel al-Sheheween, director of the solar laboratory under the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.

"This may take time, but we have all the raw materials —- sunshine, land and most importantly, the will," he added, giving AFP a tour of the facility widely known as Solar Village.

Engineers were working away testing solar panels under harsh conditions.

A miniature sandstorm inside a cylindrical chamber battered one panel. A machine with what appeared to be a large boxing glove punched another.

Electricity from solar sources costs less than half that of nuclear power

'Exporter of gigawatts'

The site, which also includes a solar field that supplies electricity to neighbouring villages, was established some three decades ago.

But the push for renewables only now appears to be gaining momentum.

It is driven by a key incentive —- to free up more oil reserves for export, the kingdom's chief revenue earner.

Saudi Arabia currently draws on oil and natural gas to both meet its own fast-growing power demand and desalinate its water, consuming an estimated 3.4 million barrels of oil daily.

That number is expected to rise to 8.3 million barrels in 10 years, according to the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, eating up the bulk of Saudi Arabia's crude production.

"Saudi Arabia has long had a vision for becoming... an exporter of oil and of gigawatts of power," Ellen Wald, a scholar at pro-Saudi think tank Arabia Foundation and author of the book "Saudi Inc", told AFP.

"That vision requires solar power installations of a massive scale. My understanding is the project will be rolled out in pieces and not as one giant plant."

But the sheer scope of the project, which aims to produce well above the kingdom's own projected requirement of 120 gigawatts by 2032, has prompted scepticism.

"Although Saudi Arabia has more than enough vacant, non-arable desert land... (it) really does not need so much solar power," said Bart Lucarelli, a managing director for power and utilities at advisory firm AWR Lloyd.

Saudi hopes to make Uyayna the centrepiece of a multibillion dollar push to

become a renewable energy powerhouse

"There has been speculation about whether this amount of new solar capacity can even be built in that time frame within a single country. The consensus view is that the 200 gigawatt figure is excessive."

Lucarelli said Saudi Arabia instead "needs a balance" between renewables and fossil fuels -- and pointed out that the solar memorandum is non-binding for now.

To handle the amount of power the project envisions, experts say the kingdom would require huge investments to upgrade its grid and set up large-scale battery storage facilities.

'Giga projects'

The solar push appears to be driven by geopolitics as much as economics.

"Saudia Arabia's problem is that (rivals) Iran and Qatar have the gas reserves it does not," said James Dorsey, a Middle East expert at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

"That is one reason why renewables figure prominently in Prince Mohammed's reform programme, not only to prepare Saudi Arabia economically for a post-oil future but also to secure its continued geopolitical significance."

Saudi Arabia also harbours atomic ambitions, with plans to build 16 reactors over the next two decades for $80 billion, despite concerns over nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.

Shell calls on government to triple wind farms by 2030

DutchNews, April 25, 2016

An offshore wind farm. Photo:
Depositphotos.com 

The government should triple the number of offshore wind farms being planned by 2030 in order to maximise profits from green energy, according to Shell. 

The oil and gas giant included the call in its Shell Election Manifesto, which was sent to MPs earlier this month as the company looks to set the agenda for next year’s general election, AD reports. 

Shell says the next cabinet should provide for the construction of offshore wind farms with a total capacity of 5 to 10 gigawatts between 2023 and 2030, which would require between 1,000 and 2,000 extra windmills using current technology. 

Shell said the IJmuiden Ver region, off the North Sea coast near Amsterdam, had the potential to be turned into a wind farm generating 5 to 6 gigawatts. In the longer term the company said wind energy could be as big a domestic energy source as natural gas.

‘High levels of wind, the available space, the proximity of the market and low seabed depths make the Dutch section of the North Sea a unique unexploited area for generating energy,’ the manifesto stated. 

The manifesto marks a policy change by Shell, which until recently focused almost exclusively on fossil fuels. But the problems in the Groningen gas field, where the government has restricted production because of the growing frequency of earthquakes, have prompted the company to consider other long-term options.

Related Articles:

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Dutch central bank calls for switch to sustainable fuels

ING, Rabobank urged to come clean over investments in Russian coal

#Saudi Deputy Crown Prince: #SaudiVision2030 would’ve been implemented regardless of oil prices.His interview here https://t.co/nFwxI0tsAr

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) April 25, 2016

Saudi Arabia proposes economic reforms
Saudi Arabia reveals plans to be powered entirely by renewable energy
UAE channels oil money into alternative energy

"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“… 4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet; again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much…

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet. 

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four.”

Saudi Arabia proposes economic reforms

Saudi Arabia has run a massive fiscal deficit in 2015, due to low oil prices. Now the Saudi Finance Ministry has announced plans to reduce subsidies on energy, and investments to try to diversify the economy.

Deutsche Welle, 28 December 2015

On Monday in Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Finance released a 10-page report summarizing the state of the Kingdom's finances and economy, with government budget figures and estimates for this fiscal year and next. The report shows a staggaring fiscal deficit of 367 Saudi riyals (SR) for FY 2015 (about $98 billion or 89 billion euros) - nearly 38 percent of the government's total expenditures.

"Oil revenues are expected to reach SR 444.5 billion, representing 73 percent of [the government's] total revenue" for FY 2015, the statement said, highlighting the petrostate's continued extreme dependence on oil exports.

A barrel of Brent crude was trading at $36.73 on Monday, down 3 percent on the day - an 11-year low. The last time the price of oil was anywhere near this low was for a brief time in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008, and before that, in 2004.

Saudi F15 bombers at Khamis Mushayt
airbase in November, whence targets
in Yemen have been attacked

Total Saudi government revenues were estimated at SR 608 billion, of which non-oil revenues such as customs duties, investment dividends, and documents fees totaled SR 163.5 billion. While non-soil revenues remain a small part of the budget, they've increased 29 percent compared to FY 2014, the report said.

Over budget

"Actual expenditure for the current fiscal year is expected to reach SR 975 billion," or 13 percent more than had been budgeted, according to the finance ministry. It attributed much of the overspending to increased expenditures for military and civil service salaries.

A large, unexpected spending contingency arose beginning in March 2015, when Saudi Arabia embroiled itself in an expensive military intervention in neighboring Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country, against members of a non-Sunni tribe, the Houthi, which had launched a successful rebellion against Yemen's contested government.

Running down savings

The Saudi central bank, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), has plenty of money set aside for a rainy day - or more accurately, for a few years of deficit spending. It owns a vast stock of foreign currencies, deposits with banks abroad, and investments in foreign securities, much of it dollar-denominated.

The oil refinery at Ras Tanura
is Saudi Arabia's biggest

SAMA reported the total value of its assets at the end of November as SR 2,441,282 million (about $651 billion). That's a lot of money, but the finance ministry knows it can't carry on spending it down at the current rate of fiscal deficits for many more years. That means it has to start thinking about increasing non-oil revenues and cutting wasteful spending, since oil prices are not expected to recover soon.

Reforms planned

That's why the finance ministry outlined an ambitious set of economic, fiscal and structural reforms in its new report. In addition to collecting more revenue from sources other than oil sales, it aims to become more systematic about controlling government costs - both by increasing the efficiency of major project expenditures and by reining in the growth of wages, salaries and allowances.

The government says it intends to introduce policies over the next five years to "achieve wide structural reforms in the national economy and reduce its dependence on oil," the statement said. This will include a range of privatizations, and efforts to reduce red tape and improve transparency and accountability.

The government also plans to focus spending on development projects and programs that "serve the citizen directly," listing education, health, security, social and municipal services, water and sanitation, electricity, roads, electronic transactions, and scientific research as planned investment categories.

Taxes and subsidies

Saudi Arabia does not collect income taxes, since it takes in so much money from oil sales through the government-owned oil company that it has not felt the need to do so. But Monday's statement suggests that the finance ministry realizes that this cannot go on forever.

Yemen's Houthi tribe follows a version
 of Shiite Islam that many of Saudi Arabia's
 Wahabi Sunni preachers consider apostasy

The statement says the ministry will review current levels of fees and fines, introduce new fees, and complete "the necessary arrangements for the application of the value added tax (VAT)... in addition to... additional fees on harmful goods such as tobacco, soft drinks and the like."

So it appears there are still no income taxes planned, but the general concept of collecting taxes is making headway in Riyadh. The finance ministry also plans to establish a unit responsible for public debt management, in order to improve the Kingdom's ability to borrow both domestically and internationally, "thus contributing to the market for sukuk and local bonds," Monday's statement said.

Another significant category of reforms mentioned in the document is a review of subsidies, including "revision of energy, water, and electricity prices gradually over the next five years, in order to achieve efficiency in energy use, conserve natural resources, stop waste and irrational use."

It's a long overdue acknowledgment of the pernicious effects of supplying petrol and electricity nearly for free to Saudi residents, leading to notoriously wasteful habits such as leaving cars idling for extended periods with air conditioners on while people shop at the mall. Petrol in Saudi Arabia costs around 15 cents per liter - far too little to motivate conservation.

UAE channels oil money into alternative energy

Yahoo – AFP, Wissam Keyrouz, 23 Nov 2015

Workers clean the front of a building in Masdar City, on the outskirts of the

rich Emirate of Abu Dhabi, on October 7, 2015 (AFP Photo/Karim Sahib)

Abu Dhabi (AFP) - Rising from the desert outside Abu Dhabi, Masdar city is laying the groundwork for when the United Arab Emirates' oil wells run dry.

Driverless electric cars shuttle between energy-saving buildings topped with arrays of solar panels.

Traditional Arabic architecture mixes with modern technology, as narrow shaded alleys run between brick-coloured buildings, focusing the wind and keeping temperatures low.

On the edge of the complex, a 10-megawatt solar farm lined with photovoltaic panels provides clean energy.

Rising from the desert outside Abu Dhabi, 

Masdar city is laying the groundwork for

when the United Arab Emirates' oil wells run 

dry (AFP Photo/Karim Sahib)

First announced in 2007, Masdar city in the suburbs of Abu Dhabi has not yet become the city of 40,000 authorities promised, with only a few hundred people, mainly students, in residence.

But the complex -- which hosts the International Renewable Energy Association Agency (IRENA) and the Masdar Institute for Science and Technology -- is at the forefront of the UAE's efforts to focus on renewables.

The company that bears its name has invested huge sums on green energy -- an unusual move for a country better known as an oil and gas producer and exporter.

Sitting on 5.9 percent of the world's oil reserves and 3.1 percent of its natural gas, the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms, is a key player in the global energy market.

The discovery of commercial quantities of oil in the UAE in the late 1950s transformed the area, turning a few pearl-diving towns wedged between the Gulf and the desert into an economic powerhouse.

But its rulers know the oil won't last forever, with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan warning earlier this year that the country's last tanker load will be exported in 50 years.

"We understood that for us to maintain our leadership in the (energy) sector, we have to get into renewable, and we have done that," Masdar chief executive officer Ahmad Belhoul told AFP.

'Leveraging its resources'

Nawal al-Hosany, head of sustainability at Masdar, said the UAE had an "ambitious" plan for "leveraging its resources from the hydrocarbon industry into this new sector."

The UAE says it is expecting to invest $35 billion in non-hydrocarbon energy by 2020, including $20 billion on the Barakah 5.4-gigawatt nuclear power project.

Masdar has joined a number of clean energy projects abroad, Hosany said, investing some of the massive reserves the UAE has built up over the years.

"The UAE became the only OPEC country that not only exports oil but also exports renewable energy around the world," she said.

Masdar is a partner in the 20-megawatt Gemasolar power plant in southern Spain, the world's first solar power station that generates electricity at night.

Emiratis walk in Masdar City, on the outskirts of the rich Emirate of Abu Dhabi, 

on October 7, 2015 (AFP Photo/Karim Sahib)

It also has a 20 percent share in the London Array wind power project, which has a capacity to generate 630 megawatts, enough to power nearly half a million homes in Britain.

At home, Masdar spent $600 million to build the Shams 1 plant, the world's largest concentrated solar power plant, west of Abu Dhabi, with a capacity to generate 100 megawatts.

It also supported the Solar Impulse bid to fly a solar-powered plane around the world in a trip that took off from Abu Dhabi in March but had to be called off in Hawaii due to a battery fault.

In total, Masdar says it is participating in projects that will eventually generate 1.5 gigawatts of power.

"Over the past five years, the UAE channelled $840 million into renewable energy projects in 25 countries," said Thani al-Zeyoudi, the head of energy and climate change at the UAE foreign ministry.

"We look at this from a development perspectives, not just commercial," said Zeyoudi, who is also the UAE's permanent representative to IRENA.

UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei speaks during the Gulf Intelligence

UAE Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi on January 13, 2015 (AFP Photo)

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Warren Buffett Ready to Increase Renewable Energy Investment to $30 Billion

One of the wealthiest men in the U.S., Warren Buffett said Monday
that he would double his renewable energy investments. Video
screenshot: Georgetown University/YouTube

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much.

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet. 

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four. ….”

Killer of Cecil the lion was dentist from Minnesota, claim Zimbabwe officials

Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force alleges trophy hunter shot one of Africa’s most famous lions near Hwange national park

The Guardian, Ashifa Kassam and Jessica Glenza, 28 July 2015

Conservationists in Zimbabwe have accused an American man of being the alleged killer of Cecil, one of Africa’s most famous lions and the star attraction at the Hwange national park.

On Tuesday, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said the man thought to have paid $50,000 (£32,000) for the chance to kill Cecil was not a Spaniard as originally believed, but US citizen Walter Palmer, from a small town near Minneapolis. The man left the lion skinned and headless on the outskirts of the park, the ZCTF’s Johnny Rodrigues said in a statement.

The hunt took place around 6 July. “They went hunting at night with a spotlight and they spotted Cecil,” Rodrigues said. “They tied a dead animal to their vehicle to lure Cecil out of the park and they scented an area about half a kilometre from the park.”

Walt Palmer, left, and one of his many trophies.

The hunter first shot at Cecil with a bow and arrow but failed to kill the lion. “They tracked him down and found him 40 hours later when they shot him with a gun,” Rodrigues said.

A spokesman for Palmer told the Guardian that the hunter was “obviously quite upset over everything”.

“As far as I understand, Walter believes that he might have shot that lion that has been referred to as Cecil,” the spokesman said. “What he’ll tell you is that he had the proper legal permits and he had hired several professional guides, so he’s not denying that he may be the person who shot this lion. He is a big-game hunter; he hunts the world over.”

On Tuesday, Palmer - a dentist and married father of two - became a target as the Facebook page of his dental clinic was flooded with angry comments and threats. An online petition demanding justice for Cecil had gathered more than 12,000 signatures.

Palmer’s love of hunting is well-documented online. In 2009, he was interviewed by the New York Times about his slaying of an elk that was touted as a kill for the archery record books.

Noting that Palmer had learned to shoot at age five and was “capable of skewering a playing card from 100 yards with his compound bow,” the article said Palmer had paid $45,000 at auction to take part in the hunt, with the proceeds being used to help fund the elk habitat. As the hunting season began, Palmer was on probation for lying to authorities over the exact location where he had killed a black bear in northern Wisconsin in 2006.

A 2008 Flickr photo album by Trophy Hunt America and Porcupine Creek Outfitters, a company that leads hunting expeditions, shows Walter Palmer posing next to avariety of slain animals, including a wood bison and a lion. In another online photo Palmer and his bow and arrow sit next to a slain rhino, the captionstating that the photo was taken in South Africa.

The same company advertises trips to Africa, under the name Safari Connection. Photographs to advertise the company’s services show hunters posed next to elephants. Other expeditions show hunters posed next to polar bears amid snowy backdrops.

Two people who accompanied the hunter on his Zimbabwe trip were identified by authorities and arrested earlier this month, including Theo Bronkhorst, the founder of Bushman Safaris Zimbabwe which is believed to have organised the hunt. Both are facing poaching charges and due to appear in court in early August.

Zimbabwe National Parks confirmed the charges. “In this case, both the professional hunter and land owner had no permit or quota to justify the offtake of the lion and therefore are liable for the illegal hunt,” it said in a statement. Bronkhorst’s hunting license has been suspended and efforts were being made to interview another employee of Bushman Safaris who was believed to have also taken part in the hunt.

The 13-year-old lion was wearing a GPS collar as part of an Oxford University research project that had been running since 1999, making it possible to trace his last movements. Rodrigues said the hunters tried to destroy the collar, but failed.

Walt Palmer and a Nevada California Bighorn.

The death of Cecil comes as Zimbabwe, like many countries in Africa, attempts to crack down on illegal hunting and poaching, said Rodrigues. “This has been going on too long. Cecil is the 23 or 24th lion that has been collared and then killed in Hwange. We have to try and stop it.”

Initially his organisation had said the whereabouts of Cecil’s head was unknown, sparking concerns that it would be sent abroad as a trophy. The fear brought conservationists and politicians together this week to call on the European Union to ban the import of lion heads, paws and skins as hunters’ trophies from African countries that cannot prove their lion populations are sustainable.

On Tuesday, Rodrigues said the head of the lion had been located in Zimbabwe and had been impounded to be used as evidence in the investigation.

The ZCTF said on Tuesday that it continued to mourn Cecil. Rodrigues pointed out that the hunter was believed to have paid just $50,000 to kill a creature that would have brought millions of dollars worth of tourism to the reserve.

Conservation authorities said they were also dealing with the likely consequences of Cecil’s death for his six cubs. “The saddest part of all is that now that Cecil is dead, the next lion in the hierarchy, Jericho, will most likely kill all Cecil’s cubs so that he can insert his own bloodline into the females.”

Cecil was a major tourist attraction at Zimbabwe's largest game reserve in

Hwange National Park, due to his distinctive black mane (AFP Photo)

Related Articles:

Another US hunter suspected of killing lion in Zimbabwe - New

Zimbabwe wants US to extradite Palmer for killing Cecil

Trophy hunting 'no help' to Zimbabwean people
Zimbabwe hunter given bail over death of Cecil the lion

Pakistan prepares for Saudi royal to hunt 'protected' birds

Bustard act: Saudi prince accused of slaying 2,000 near-extinct birds while on safari in Pakistan (April 24, 2014)

Hunt: Fahd bin Sultan is said to have killed

1,977 houbara bustards in just 21 days while

on holiday

Tanzania ditches plan to evict Masai for Serengeti 'wildlife corridor'

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Spain's King Juan Carlos poses in front of a dead elephant

on a hunting trip in Botswana, Africa. Photograph: Target

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Spain's king ousted as WWF honorary president
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Kryon Q&A

Question: Dear Kryon: I live in Spain. I am sorry if I will ask you a question you might have already answered, but the translations of your books are very slow and I might not have gathered all information you have already given. I am quite concerned about abandoned animals. It seems that many people buy animals for their children and as soon as they grow, they set them out somewhere. Recently I had the occasion to see a small kitten in the middle of the street. I did not immediately react, since I could have stopped and taken it, without getting out of the car. So, I went on and at the first occasion I could turn, I went back to see if I could take the kitten, but it was to late, somebody had already killed it. This happened some month ago, but I still feel very sorry for that kitten. I just would like to know, what kind of entity are these animals and how does this fit in our world. Are these entities which choose this kind of life, like we do choose our kind of Human life? I see so many abandoned animals and every time I see one, my heart aches... I would like to know more about them.

Answer: Dear one, indeed the answer has been given, but let us give it again so you all understand. Animals are here on earth for three (3) reasons.

(1) The balance of biological life. . . the circle of energy that is needed for you to exist in what you call "nature."

(2) To be harvested. Yes, it's true. Many exist for your sustenance, and this is appropriate. It is a harmony between Human and animal, and always has. Remember the buffalo that willingly came into the indigenous tribes to be sacrificed when called? These are stories that you should examine again. The inappropriateness of today's culture is how these precious creatures are treated. Did you know that if there was an honoring ceremony at their death, they would nourish you better? Did you know that there is ceremony that could benefit all of humanity in this way. Perhaps it's time you saw it.

(3) To be loved and to love. For many cultures, animals serve as surrogate children, loved and taken care of. It gives Humans a chance to show compassion when they need it, and to have unconditional love when they need it. This is extremely important to many, and provides balance and centering for many.

Do animals know all this? At a basic level, they do. Not in the way you "know," but in a cellular awareness they understand that they are here in service to planet earth. If you honor them in all three instances, then balance will be the result. Your feelings about their treatment is important. Temper your reactions with the spiritual logic of their appropriateness and their service to humanity. Honor them in all three cases.

UAE says OPEC will no longer shore up oil price

Yahoo – AFP, 13 Jan 2015

UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei speaks during the Gulf Intelligence

UAE Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi on January 13, 2015 (AFP Photo)

Abu Dhabi (AFP) - The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday that OPEC will no longer move to shore up crude prices, arguing that rising North American shale oil output needs to be curbed.

World prices have been falling since June but the pace of the slide accelerated in November when the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to maintain its production unchanged at 30 million barrels per day.

Analysts say that richer cartel members like the UAE have been ready to accept the price fall in the hope that it will force higher-cost shale producers out of the market.

"We cannot continue to be protecting a certain price," UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said.

"We have seen the oversupply, coming primarily from shale oil, and that needed to be corrected," he told participants in the Gulf Intelligence UAE Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi.

Oil prices continued their slide towards six-year lows in Asian trade on Tuesday after Brent crude closed below $50 a barrel the previous day for the first time since April 2009.

The fall came after Wall Street investment titan Goldman Sachs slashed its price outlook, adding to anxiety about global oversupply, weak demand and soft growth in the key Chinese and European markets.

Brent crude for February delivery fell $1.33 to $46.10 a barrel -- around its lowest point since April 2009.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate shed $1.13 cents to $44.94 -- its weakest level since March 2009.

Mazrouei said the UAE remains "concerned" about balance in the oil markets but "cannot under any circumstances be the only party responsible," in reference to rising output from non-OPEC members.

World prices have been falling since June but the pace of the slide accelerated 

in November when the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

 decided to keep its production levels unchanged at 30 million barrels per day 

(AFP Photo/Alexander Klein)

Oil producers outside the cartel should be rational about their output, he said, adding that current prices are "not sustainable" for them.

"We are telling the market and other producers to be rational, to be like OPEC and look at growth in the market," Mazrouei said.

He said that if OPEC had opted to cut production, other producers would have stepped in to make up the lost output and the cartel would have lost market share without any effect on prices.

Mazrouei said current prices were "not sustainable," particularly for producers outside the Gulf region.

He said that with oil below $50 a barrel, it was uneconomic for shale oil producers to keep investing in increasing production.

"Shale oil brings almost four million (barrels per day) for the United States, and the hope is that it will bring another four million by 2020. That cannot be sustained, produced or invested in at the current oil price," he said.

Mazrouei said he did not expect a swift recovery in prices.

"It is unlikely that we'll see a sudden rise," he said.

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"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much.

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet. 

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four. ….”