Depletion Has Changed The PR Script
It’s time to end the cornucopian spin when it comes to oil’s future, writes guest cultural economist
Solutions and Sustainability Headlines – Jan 18
Institute for Urban-Style Family Living: Advocating mixed-use, transit-friendly neighborhoods /
CSIRO Sustainability Network Update /
The Simpler Way (new format)
Politics and Economics – Jan 18
Iran issues stark warning on oil price / Russia reports $300 million net inflow / UK Union pushes clean coal and nuclear / Food as commodity / A Gas Gobbler That’s Worth Keeping / Rocky road for auto companies / Interview with oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens / Limit fertilizer to control costs, farmers urged
The Proposed Iranian Oil Bourse
The proposed Iranian Oil Bourse will accelerate the fall of the American Empire.
Other Energy – Jan 17
Doubts over ‘clean’ nuke power / Corn farmers smile at ethanol prices / Startup hopes to tap electricity from trees / Natural gas: the next energy crisis? / Canada, the US, and the Tar Sands / Power companies predict return of coal [2]
Environment – Jan 17
The boiling point is coming for the fight against climate change / No More Mr. Nice Guy / Earth is too crowded for Utopia / Palin’s globe-trotting compromise green transport pressure group? / Canadians create a huge footprint
Lovelock: ‘We are past the point of no return’
Thirty years ago, the scientist James Lovelock worked out that the Earth possessed a planetary-scale control system which kept the environment fit for life. He called it Gaia, and the theory has become widely accepted. Now, he believes mankind’s abuse of the environment is making that mechanism work against us. His astonishing conclusion – that climate change is already insoluble, and life on Earth will never be the same again.
Business deal or bright idea?
To insiders, the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate is a real world, mature-person’s solution to climate change. No economic pain, no mandatory targets, no international commitments and no need for open, accountable negotiations. To other observers, it’s an empty vessel; a fig-leaf to cover the embarrassment of George Bush and John Howard, the only western leaders to have reneged on commitments their predecessors made at the UN Kyoto conference in 1997.
Peak oil – Jan 16
Petrotheism (animation) /
Peak oil summary for Australia /
Irish Times on unsustainable consumption /
Oil output will depend on investment, not reserves: CGES /
Dave Room (GPM) & Kirstin Miller (eco-cities) on KPFA /
Peak oil advocates shoot themselves in foot
Politics & economics – Jan 16
Venezualan oil market analyst issues dire warning /
Oil prices are gushing but could soon plunge /
Bolivia’s oil and gas…and the new president (3) /
A change in the weather: predictions for 2006 revolve around energy /
Dubai between oil and consumerism
Environment – Jan 16
Bill McKibben: the coming meltdown /
China’s pollution and the threat to domestic and regional stability /
Frog killer is linked to global warming /
The lungs of the planet are belching methane /
Global warming to speed up as carbon levels show sharp rise
Solutions & sustainability – Jan 16
Worldwatch: China, India set stage for environment-friendly world /
Doomsday vault to avert world famine /
Personal responsibility in an era of imminent depletion /
Green marketing and the ‘4/40 Gap’ /
Kipchoge Spencer of Xtracycle and Worldbike
