Resilience

Peak oil notes - May 23

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:03:00 GMT

A mid-week update. Oil prices have fallen $2-3 a barrel this week on weaker demand, increased US production, rising product stockpiles, and a stronger dollar. At the close on Wednesday, NY oil settled at $94.28 and London at $102.60 with the WTI-Brent spread climbing to $8.32. The weekly stocks report showed stocks at Cushing, Okla. increasing to by 450,000 barrels to 50.2 million last week. The report also showed US gasoline consumptionover the last four weeks at 8.5 million b/d, the lowest level in ten years.

Rooftop Revolution: How Solar Energy Is Putting Power Back in the Hands of the People

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:04:37 GMT

The sun is waiting to be tapped for clean, cheap energy if we can get our heads out of the sand.

Difficult Truths about 'Difficult Oil'

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:28:10 GMT

As we work down the hydrocarbon pyramid, energy gets messier and much more costly. Latest in a series.

Energy Return on Investment

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:50:00 GMT

EROI studies for most energy resources show a decline, indicating that depletion has been more important than technological improvements over time.

For Africa’s Solar Sisters, Off-Grid Electricity Is Power

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:45:00 GMT

U.S. businesswoman Katherine Lucey is working with a network of women entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa to sell inexpensive, household solar energy systems. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, Lucey explains how solar electricity can transform lives, particularly those of rural women and girls.

Earth Trek: The Journey Home

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:03:00 GMT

Lurking behind the cover story of terrorism and modern unease is an even more troubling development: the endgame of fossil-fueled civilization, and hence, the end of space travel.

Shale gas, tight oil, and fracking - May 21

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:49:00 GMT

•At margins of shale oil boom, a tempered euphoria •Fracking envy •Radioactive fracking debris triggers worries at dump sites •Poland’s shale gas hopes suffer blow •Poland Shale Boom Falters as State Targets Higher Taxes •The fight for North Dakota's fracking-water market

Half of oil burnable in 2000-2050 to keep us within 2 degrees warming has been used up as we hit 400 ppm

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:25:05 GMT

We have a race between peak oil and global warming. Symptoms of these complex processes pop up every now and then.

Warrior Writers

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:27:00 GMT

How can reporting on energy, presented as opportunity or catastrophic risk, compete against grumpy cat memes and economic woes? Is there a secret to breaking through the flood of information to make a meaningful impression on the public?

So Much Wasted Energy - Rethinking food waste

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:01:00 GMT

Regardless of terminology, one point is writ clear: the most technologically and economically advanced cultures in the world have the highest rates of food waste on the planet

Peak oil review - May 20

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:52:00 GMT

A weekly update. Including:
-Oil and the global economy
-Middle East
-China at a turning point?
-Quote of the week
-Briefs

Will the International Energy Agency's oil forecast be wrong again?

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:33:00 GMT

The famous Danish physicist Niels Bohr once humorously observed, "Predictions are very difficult, especially about the future." And so, as the world considers yet another rosy oil supply forecast, this time from the Paris-based International Energy Agency, it is worth reviewing the agency's record.

Peak oil - May 17

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:50:00 GMT

•Supply shock from North American oil rippling through global markets •The IEA Says Peak Oil Is Dead. That’s Bad News for Climate Policy •Saudis welcome US shale boom •China Seen Boosting Emergency Oil-Storage Capacity, IEA Says •Peak oil, climate change and pipeline geopolitics driving Syria conflict •Avoiding the 'Energy Abyss' •Shell Targeted With BP in EU Price Fixing Probe for Oil

Unburnable: Risky Fossil Fuel Investments & Climate Crisis

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:40:00 GMT

Two new reports say climate change could cause the next financial crisis. From London, Bob Ward, LSE lead author of "Unburnable: Carbon 2013: Wasted capital and stranded assets." Australia's Climate Institute, John Connor on coal's risky future. Plus Nancy LaPlaca: why sunny Arizona burns coal.

Peak oil notes - May 16

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:58:00 GMT

A mid-week update. While oil prices are little changed this week, there has been considerable news concerning the energy markets. Bad economic reports from Europe, the US, and China have helped keep pressure on the markets and raised fears of lower demand for oil in the months ahead. The worse-than-expected economic news, however, pushed the S and P to a new high Wednesday on the hope that Federal Reserve will continue quantitative easing. The increase in equities helped oil prices to recover from losses earlier in the week. At the close, NY oil was $94.30 a barrel while London had climbed to $103.68 thereby widening the WTI-London spread to $9.38 from Monday’s close of $7.65.

Counting the Calories and calories

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:54:00 GMT

As soon as we step out of our homes in pursuit of food, we cross an energy threshold that is worth considering.

What if there is Peak Oil?

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:16:00 GMT

So here is the dirty little secret of our civilization: It runs...energy per unit time...In other words, having one billion dollars in your checking account does not help you with purchasing a Rolls Royce with cash if your daily withdrawal limit is 100 dollars.

Reexamining Rationing

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:23:00 GMT

Recent interviews with Stan Cox author of Any Way You Slice It: The Past, Present, and Future of Rationing and book excerpt.

Conventional Wisdom About Clean Energy Is Still Way Out of Date

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:36:00 GMT

“We’re fifteen to twenty years out of date in how we think about renewables,” said Dr. Eric Martinot to an audience at the first Pathways to 100% Renewables Conference held April 16 in San Francisco. “It’s not 1990 anymore.”

South African Anti-Fracking Activist Calls for Global Alliance

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:14:00 GMT

With no prior experience in grassroots organizing, Deal orchestrated a campaign against fracking in South Africa to protect the Karoo, a semi-desert region of the eastern Cape that he had come to know and love.

Rethinking hot dinners and cold drinks

Mon, 13 May 2013 15:21:00 GMT

Data sometimes hurts, especially when it hits home. Just when it seemed like we could blame the farmer, the processor, and the distributor for our food energy woes, lo and behold, our constant culinary vacillations between hot and cold have conspired to put the American kitchen in the crosshairs of our food energy hunt.

The speech Obama needed to make

Mon, 13 May 2013 13:50:00 GMT

I’ve stayed away from politics pointedly in posts, because voting for either party is still just voting for growth, with different labels applied. I do not believe that the current corporate giveaway that we call a political system is fixable unless we elect a leader who is ecologically and energetically literate. I doubt that will happen. That said, here is an earth day wish for real servant leadership which would fix our problems. The post is directed at a specific leader, Obama, since the United States is the worst offender in terms of extreme behavior and unsustainability.

Peak Oil Review - May 13

Mon, 13 May 2013 13:43:00 GMT

A weekly review including: Oil and the Global Economy, The Middle East & North Africa, China, Quote of the Week, The Briefs

The Obama Administration's Natural Gas Policy Is Tragically Misguided

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:19:00 GMT

The Obama administration has come out in support of the idea of exporting U.S. natural gas. This stance is counterproductive and shortsighted, and if followed, it will prove harmful to domestic manufacturing (i.e., value generation) and to future generations of Americans.

Why the renewable energy industry ought to support U.S. natural gas exports

Sun, 12 May 2013 14:44:00 GMT

There is one segment of U.S. industry that ought to be cheering for expanded U.S. natural gas exports--though I doubt that its leaders will be offering their support in anything above a whisper. The renewable energy industry would benefit from higher natural gas prices.