Between the Broadsheets

A fifth of the Kremlin’s fire-fighting fund has gone before the economic crisis even starts. Would the Medvedev-Putin duo have provoked the West so nonchalantly had they known that global recession would soon cut the price of Urals crude oil to $49.35 a barrel, knocking away the chief prop of Kremlin finance and Russian power? - The Times

Investors who placed summer bets that oil prices would fall below $100 a barrel are set to make huge profits on Monday, with some speculators reaping a return of more than 2,000 per cent in less than six months. - The Financial Times

Government plans for a new generation of nuclear power plants face growing concerns the industry needs another waste repository involving a massive escalation in cost.
Ministers insist they still expect only one high-level geological disposal facility (GDF) will be needed at a possible cost of £12bn but a discussion paper produced by the department of energy and climate change (DECC) indicates a second cannot be ruled out. - The Guardian

A massive incinerator that could burn atomic waste is under consideration by the operator of the Sellafield nuclear complex.
The controversial plan was outlined by an executive at Sellafield Ltd at a local conference to discuss the role of the site, which comes under private management this month.
Barry Watkinson, delivery manager for external innovation at the company, said it was time to move on from the "antiquated" system of burying waste in containers and vaults. - The Guardian

A device that harnesses the power of the sea to push water uphill has been developed to provide cheap renewable electricity. The invention is designed to pump water hundreds of feet above sea level from where it can gush downhill to drive hydroelectric generators. - The Times

British people are markedly more likely to believe that tackling climate change will cost jobs than other Europeans and people in the US, according to the most recent Financial Times/Harris poll.
About 30 per cent of Britons thought efforts to combat global warming would reduce the number of jobs available, compared with 24 per cent who said it would increase job numbers. - The Financial Times