Peak Oil Review – Apr 28

By Tom Whipple, ASPO-USA

A weekly update including Oil and the Global Economy, The Middle East & North Africa, China, Ukraine, Quote of the Week, The Briefs.

Kashagan – Back to the drawing board?

By Christopher Stakhovsky, Resilience.org

The recent shutdown of Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan represents one of the most scathing riches-to-rags stories in modern oil history. 

China, choking on growth – headlines

By Resilience.org Staff, Resilience.org

•China cracks down on emissions to combat choking smog •China's first coal-to-gas plant soon to pump gas to Beijing •China's smog reduction plan could add to water stress and boost emissions •China Faces Gas Shortage after Cutting Coal Consumption •China’s oil demand to 2020 •Beijing slashes car sales quota in anti-pollution drive •Shale Gas Revolution Not Coming To China Anytime Soon •China faces a long battle for blue skies

Peak Coal In China

By Big Gav, Peak Energy

Citibank has released an interesting report on "peak coal" in China - referring to peak demand rather than any supply driven peak of production (something I view as quite far off) -The Unimaginable: Peak Coal in China. The limit to coal use appears to be how much pollution the Chinese population is willing to tolerate - a reminder that there is more than one "limit to growth".

Agriculture headlines

By Resilience.org Staff, Resilience

•China's Bad Earth  •Pesticides, fungicides harming bee colonies, UM study says  •Can Agriculture Reverse Climate Change? 

The dragon’s breath

By Courtney White, The carbon pilgrim

Never in my life have I been so happy to see New Mexico’s blue skies...That’s how I felt after a nearly two-week visit to China in May...

Peak oil review – May 27

By Tom Whipple, ASPO-USA

A weekly update, including: -Oil and the Global Economy -Middle East and North Africa -China's Economy -Quote of the Week -Briefs

Peak oil notes – Apr 4

By Tom Whipple, ASPO-USA

A midweek update. Wednesday was a down day with oil, natural gas, gasoline futures, and the equity markets all dropping sharply. NY oil futures were down 2.8 percent, closing at $94.45, as the EIA reported that US crude stocks rose by an unexpected 2.7 million barrels last week to the highest level in 22 years.

The peak oil crisis: The Beijing Syndrome

By Tom Whipple, Falls Church News-Press

As the term “China syndrome” has already been taken, I am terming what is happening in the country these days the “Beijing syndrome,” for China’s capital seems to be shaping up as the epicenter of a great upheaval to come. A “syndrome” is a group of symptoms that, when taken together, point to a more serious underlying disease; which, of course, is what we see emerging in the contention between China’s rapid growth and its environment.

Peak oil review – Mar 25

By Tom Whipple, ASPO-USA

 A weekly roundup, including: -Oil and the global economy -The Middle East & North Africa -China -Quote of the Week  

Wind surpasses nuclear in China

By J. Matthew Roney, Earth Policy Institute

Wind has overtaken nuclear as an electricity source in China. In 2012, wind farms generated 2 percent more electricity than nuclear power plants did, a gap that will likely widen dramatically over the next few years as wind surges ahead. Since 2007, nuclear power generation has risen by 10 percent annually, compared with wind’s explosive growth of 80 percent per year.

Powder keg in the Pacific

By Michael Klare, TomDispatch

Don’t look now, but conditions are deteriorating in the western Pacific.  Things are turning ugly, with consequences that could prove deadly and spell catastrophe for the global economy.