Tag: US

China moved to the top in 2010 with 40,8% percent of global coal consumption A new report says that China has overtaken the United States as the world's biggest consumer of energy.Oil company BP said Wednesday that China moved to the top in 2010 with 20.3% of global demand, ahead of the United States at 19%.The report says China's consumption rose by 11.2% last year compared with 3.7% in the United States. China's surge led a 5.6% increase in global energy demand, the biggest one-year jump since 1973.China was by far the world's largest consumer of coal, taking 48%. The United States remained the largest consumer of oil with 21% of global demand, double China's consumption.Source: Associated Press

Hurricane season: June 1 - November 30 U.S. government forecasters announced Thursday they expect three to six major hurricanes from an above average Atlantic storm season.No major hurricane has made a U.S. landfall in five years, but the forecasters warned U.S. coastal residents that odds are diminished that they can't expect a sixth straight year without a major landfall on either the Atlantic or Gulf coasts.As many as 18 named tropical storms may develop during the six-month Atlantic hurricane season that begins June 1, according to forecasters at the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration. Six to 10 of those storms could strengthen into hurricanes with top winds of at least 74 mph, the agency said. Three to six could become major hurricanes, with maximum winds of 111 mph and up.Last year's hurricane season was one of the busiest on record with 19 named storms, including 12 hurricanes. The 2011 season was not expected to be as extreme, partly because ocean temperatures were only two degrees warmer than normal, instead of four degrees warmer as they were last year, said NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco."We still expect that to support an above average hurricane season," Lubchenco said.Also, a Pacific Ocean weather phenomenon ...

6 years in prison THOMAS J. POOLE, IV, age 45, a resident of Foley, Alabama, was sentenced today in federal court by U. S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon to over six (6) years (78 months) in prison for killing fishing boat captain Michael Holman while aboard a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Mexico, announced United States Attorney Jim Letten. In addition, the defendant was ordered to serve three (3) years supervised release during which time he will be under federal supervision and risks additional imprisonment should he violate the terms of his release.According to court documents, on October 7, 2009, Michael Holman, also a resident of Alabama, was killed while captaining a fishing vessel, the M/V MISS SHARLOTT. At the time of the incident, the vessel was on a week-long fishing voyage and was located in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately eighteen miles off the coast of Louisiana. In the early morning hours of October 7, 2009, a heated argument erupted between POOLE, who was a crew member, and Holman.Source: US Department of Justice