Peak oil notes – Oct 1
A midweek roundup of Peak Oil news, including:
-Prices and production
-China moves to curb overcapacity
-US Climate bill
Tom Whipple
Norman Borlaug: Saint Or Sinner?
The father of the “green revolution” in agriculture, Norman Borlaug, recently passed away due to cancer, at the age of 95. Borlaug didn’t approve of the “green revolution” moniker, dubbing it “a miserable term” (what he would have made of “The Agrichemical Revolutionary” isn’t clear) but his work has had a far-reaching impact on the course of human development.
Oil and protest – Oct 1
-Ecuador, Indians trade blame for bloody clashes
-Greenpeace protesters target Alberta oilsands again
-Nigeria’s oil rebels name mediators
United States – Sept 30
-Saving the Obama Revolution
-Metropolis now
-Interview with Dr. James Hansen
-US firms quit Chamber of Commerce over climate change position
Germany & Europe – Sept 30
-Merkel gets her ‘dream coalition’ as Social Democrat vote collapses
-Europe’s Socialists Suffering Even in Downturn
-Angela Merkel win ends Turkey’s EU hopes
-Nuclear power? Yes, maybe
Economics – Sept 30
-Stock Market, A Peter Pan Market
-Financial crisis, imperialism and environment — `Socialism is humanity’s best chance'(interview)
-The Blob That Ate Monetary Policy
-G20 Schemes Threaten Democracy, Sustainability
Solutions & sustainability – Sept 30
-Can one woman save Africa?
-Africa doesn’t need a green revolution. It needs agroecology
-Human-made Crises ‘Outrunning Our Ability To Deal With Them,’ Scientists Warn
-The Australian town that kicked the bottle
-Energy executives offer ideas on stimulus
wsRadio Interview with Jan Lundberg on Health Care for a Post-Peak Oil World
As readers know, I’ve written about the difference between healing and today’s petrochemical-drug oriented medical system. The insurance being debated is seldom about true health care, especially not for post-petroleum living. Should Baby Boomers be worried only about government programs, or also some of their modern conveniences taken for granted? Some of these trappings of our troubled civilization hardly work and are toxic.
A Letter from a Friend in Africa
Marc Wegerif is an old school friend of mine from when I grew up in Bristol. After school he moved to South Africa and was very involved in activism there, and he now lives in Tanzania and works for Oxfam. He recently got back in touch and I sent him a copy of The Transition Handbook. Subsequently he sent me a long and thoughtful letter, with his reflections on the book, and on how it might relate to Africa. The whole question of what Transition might look like in a developing world context is something we have rarely explored at Transition Culture, and Marc has given me permission to reprint his letter here by way of initiating that discussion.
Climate & environment – Sept 29
-Ancient glaciers are disappearing faster than ever
-Iraq’s marshes are dying a second death
-“The poor are burdened twice”
-Climate Summit: China Commits, Obama Not So Much
-India could halve emissions growth…but at a price
-Met Office warns of catastrophic global warming in our lifetimes
Web & media – Sept 29
-America’s Teacher
-The Year of the Flood
-The End of Oil?
-The Constant Economy by Zac Goldsmith
Where we really stand with respect to oil and natural gas supplies
A few days ago, I gave a presentation in Poland that talks about how much difficulty the world is having maintaining its oil production. The presentation was not set up to be a response to Jad Mouawad’s recent New York Times article, Oil Industry Sets a Brisk Pace of New Discoveries, but in many ways it is one. Our recent discoveries really have not been enough to make up for our many production problems elsewhere. We are having problems not only with oil, but with natural gas. The solution the financially distressed world is increasingly considering is…well, read the story to see.
