Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
….If not already aware of all this, readers of The Nation should be on notice that both the imminence and the timing of peak oil matters–big time….
If this scenario [of an early peak] is even somewhat credible, American and international leaders should drop whatever else they are doing and devote their full attention to preparing the world for post-peak petroleum.
The Iraqi government plans to phase out slowly subsidies on basic products, such as oil and electricity, which comprise 50 percent of public spending, equal to 15 billion dollars, the planning minister said on Saturday.
TDP turns just about anything into oil and fertilizer. And when I say “anything,” I mean that: animal waste, medical waste, human waste. Used diapers, used computers, used tires. Anything that’s not radioactive can be tossed into the hopper.
The renewable energy expert Harald Rostvik has warned of an imminent collapse in the oil and gas industries as supplies run dry.
The shingles that help to protect you from the elements could soon help to keep your lights on. Solar companies have developed light-absorbing roof tiles as a more aesthetically pleasing alternative to solar panels.
As the world’s known deposits of fossil fuel are being run down, not least because of the growing demand of economies such as China’s, the day may come when the big consuming countries will have to fight – literally, in the worst case scenario – for supplies. But it does not have to turn out that way if the far-sighted in Asia can persuade their countrymen to put aside the past and work together to ensure energy security for all.
Federal Reserve Governor Ben Bernanke said the days of cheap oil are likely over, although he expects the economic consequences of higher energy prices will be “manageable.”
According to a report by the London-based Centre for Global Energy Studies, most members of OPEC are pushing the limits of their oil production capability, and some probably are finding that their sustainable capacity is not as high as originally thought.
Just like rising energy demand, global warming, and racial distrust, America’s population boom is escaping serious attention from both presidential candidates. This is happening —or rather, not happening — even though the United States is growing more rapidly than it ever has before.
The month of November in a US presidential-election year is not supposed to be particularly eventful, but this year may be an exception, in the light of the gathering storm over Iran’s nuclear program, due to be reviewed by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in late November.
China’s Communist rulers have a blunt message for anyone who frets about the planned Chinese takeover of Canada’s biggest mining company: Get ready for more to come.
Short of radically altering America’s driving habits, the United States cannot achieve energy independence without spending billions of dollars on new initiatives. And no political consensus exists to spend those sums despite decades of promises to cut oil imports. But new plans are emerging that might sway lawmakers.
