Year: 2012

A tribute to Roscoe Bartlett

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Here in the Washington DC area and around the nation, election day was a constant stream of poll results, election updates, and pundit analysis. But missed by many was the contest in Maryland’s 6th district, where Roscoe Bartlett — the second-oldest serving member of the US House of Representatives – was denied his bid to serve his district for an 11th term.

Climate change trumps terrorism as threat to national security

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Climate destabilization eclipses all other security threats to human civilization except for a major nuclear war. But the current global economy gives no signals to investors and consumers about the profound implications of climate destabilization on water cycles, agriculture, and humanity’s ability to grow food for seven billion people.

Does the IMF believe we have a peak oil problem?

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The precise answer is that the IMF is currently studying how constraints in world oil supplies might affect economies around the world in two so-called working papers, "The Future of Oil: Geology versus Technology" and "Oil and the World Economy: Some Possible Futures." We are admonished by the IMF that opinions expressed in working papers are "those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy." But the fact that the organization has produced two papers on the subject this year gives some indication of how seriously it is taking the issue. One of the co-authors for both papers, Michael Kumhof, a senior researcher and deputy division chief for the fund, hasn’t been keeping his concerns secret.

Peak Oil Postponed? – Global Challenge Seminar in Stockholm, Sweden

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Global Challenge: Recently, new data on available oil reserves, new deep-water deposits, oil sands and especially "shale gas" has given rise to concerns about what these resources means from a climate perspective. The seminar "Peak Oil Postponed?" Aims to analyze the importance of these tasks.

European movements share strategies in Madrid ahead of general strike

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Shared problems need shared solutions. That’s why, last May, members of various European social movements met in Frankfurt to protest the European Central Bank in three days of action under the name “Blockupy.” There, they decided that they needed to do more to create joint strategies for fighting the excessive power of the financial sector and the resulting policies of austerity.

A farmer’s 2012 election analysis

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After more than a year of craziness, build up and drama, Election 2012 is now behind us. It was a multi-multi Billion Dollar spectacle. It was a booming time for the media due to all of the spending on ads for the federal and local races. It was an exciting time with lots of interesting rhetoric and promises. Now, we have to sort out what it all means.

ODAC Newsletter Nov 9

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The end of the US election season and a return of the incumbent Barack Obama saw oil markets turn their attention back to the economy. Despite much talk of upside the picture remains bleak with the US showing a huge deficit, and the EU still unresolved on how to deal with its highly indebted members. Oil prices showed their steepest decline of the year on Wednesday before recovering slightly to around $107/barrel for Brent.