Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
We are already living on an overloaded world. Our future will be a product of that fact; that fact is a product of our past. Our first order of business, then, is to make clear to ourselves how we got where we are and why our present situation entails a certain kind of future. [Chapter 2 from William Catton’s classic book Overshoot]
The system that is most in trouble is [not Social Security but] the oil-addicted American way of life and all its familiar accessories: the single family home in the suburbs, the multiple millions of cars and trucks running at any time, and the food grown and processed on fossil fuel “steroids.”
To sum up… despite their rosy views on reserves and oil production, the Economist acknowledges that energy is a vital issue and that the current status quo on oil is unsustainable: Western majors are running out of oil and, even if there is enough as they claim in the Persian Gulf countries, it is going to present major geopolitical and economical problems to bring all the oil currently burnt in the US to the consumers.
Transcript of a broadcast advocating tradeable fuel entitlements as the best means of negotiating the peak & decline of oil supply.
As gasoline prices surge to record highs, General Motors teeters on the verge of collapse with a credit rating one step above junk. This is hardly coincidence. GM has willfully ignored fundamental trends in technology and oil.
With the rapid decline of global oil supplies, the United States is heading for an economic crash unlike anything since the 1930s. And the collapse of the dollar will affect every nation on earth. (Heinberg in South Africa)
Congressman Bartlett’s third Special Order Speech, originally scheduled for April 27, was broadcast live on C-SPAN tonight, Tues May 3.
CNN on PO: don’t panic / King Fahd of Saudi Arabia on deathbed? / Iraq’s oil output lagging / State oil companies are in the driver’s seat / US nuclear industry hesitant / Another solution to oil shortages: the ocean depths / New e-journal on sustainability with E.O Wilson / What is New Urbanism? / Restoring old bikes – a labor of love / A life devoted to peaches / Interview with Green Car blogger
Consider President Jimmy Carter’s April 18, 1977 speech….It was the speech that established the strategic petroleum reserve, birthed the modern solar power industry, led to the insulation of millions of American homes, and established America’s first national energy policy. “With the exception of preventing war,” said Jimmy Carter, a man of peace, “this is the greatest challenge our country will face during our lifetimes.”
‘We are going to have to face the fact that we cannot go to Australia or Prague or Florida every year. It’s a luxury the planet cannot afford to sustain any longer if we are to have any hope in tackling our current climate change crisis.’
A report prepared by energy economists at the French investment bank Ixis-CIB has warned crude oil prices could touch $380 a barrel by 2015.
KLARE: …in 30 or 40 years, oil may be gone entirely and we have plenty of time to worry about that. But sooner than then… oil is not going to be as available as it used to be in the past. …the hardships from declining oil are with us now and they’re only going to get worse.
