George W. Bush and Peak Oil: Beyond Incompetence

While it would be difficult to create an airtight legal case for impeaching George W. Bush based on his ignoring the very real threat posed by Peak Oil, nevertheless I believe that his actions—and inaction—in this regard constitute dereliction of duty on an unprecedented scale.

Other energy – Mar 22

Sen. Lugar: Energy is the albatross of U.S. national security /
Iranian oil exchange unlikely to begin till at least midyear /
Pentagon looks to cut oil use and costs /
Australia: CSIRO warns of local oil shortfall /
Proposed Mackenzie pipeline spurs coal gasification mega-plan /
Trading the Hummer for a Honda

Alternative energy: evaluating our options

We need science-based solutions that can be retrofitted into our existing energy chain. We must continually seek to increase the efficiency of converting energy into heat and power. And we must somehow get our respective governments to get serious about a program of international energy research and development

The oil is going, the oil is going!

Today’s Paul Reveres of “peak oil” aren’t waiting for Washington to save us from apocalypse. They’re already planting gardens and drafting city plans for the days when oil is gone. [Favorable article on the peak oil movement.]

UK: It’s Peak Gas we need to worry about, not Peak Oil…

It seems despite all the talk of peak oil, that the UK’s downfall might actually end up coming about from peak gas. This last week has been quite extraordinary, with the beginnings of a real crisis for the UK energy sector, not that, unless you were reading the Guardian over the last week, you would actually have heard much about it.

Other energy – Mar 21

Schlumberger CEO: energy prices to stay high on demand /
New Zealand – Running out of gas and time /
Ethanol industry braces for growing pains /
Sugar, not oil or stocks, may be best investment /
Companies spend billions in hunt for crude in Gulf of Mexico /
Schwarzenegger’s plan to reduce greenhouse gases sets off culture clash between European and U.S. oil companies

Solutions & sustainability – Mar 21

Post-peak: The change starts with us (energy literacy) /
Latest CSIRO newsletter focuses on personal actions /
In memory of Carla Emery (“The Encyclopedia of Country Living”) /
Brooks once a center of wind power industry /
Why lawns?

Energy: a burning issue for foreign policy

Speech by the British Ambassador to the United States. He concludes: “energy is central to our foreign policy because it is central to national security. Wherever we look, problems are energy driven. The imperative to collaborate may now be as strong as that which forced us to build collective security structures during the Cold War…This is not a problem that can wait ten years.”

Environment – Mar 21

Elizabeth Kolbert: Chilling (global warming and irresponsibility) /
Rewriting the science (NASA’s Hansen and censorship) /
Chilling proof that glacier meltdown is getting faster /
Changing climate threatening development

Environment – Mar 20

Climate science 2005: major new discoveries /
Louisiana faces an exodus from the coast /
Carbon dioxide hydrates could secure sub-sea sequestration /
The false promise of ‘clean coal’ /
Warmer oceans blamed for intense hurricanes /
Storm intensity tied to warming of sea surfaces /
Water forum warns of shortages

Politics & economics – Mar 20

“American Theocracy” by Kevin Phillips: clear and present dangers /
GM: 2005 loss to be $2 billion higher /
India thanks with oil pledge for uranium /
Dubai construction craze (photos)

Can peak oil make you rich? Does it matter?

The peak oil investor who succeeds at making money, while failing to grasp the gravity of our situation, may find that his or her new fortune means nothing to a community that has been forced by circumstances to move quickly beyond a world governed by Wall Street wizards and international finance.