Consumption & Demand

Cut energy demand to meet shortage

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Between April last year and March this year, the world was struck by three Black Swan events that ‘everyone’ knew would happen, yet, strangely, seemed unprepared for when they did. The Gulf of Mexico oil leak, the political upheavals in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region and the earthquake-tsunami-nuclear tragedy in Japan are already inflicting history-altering impacts, not the least, because they have significantly and immediately reduced the world’s supply of cheap energy.

‘Malaise’: The last time a president told the truth about energy

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The anniversary of Jimmy Carter’s “Malaise” speech this month begs the question, Can a president talk to the public honestly about energy and survive? I say yes. The speech itself was brilliant. And the public loved it. If many other things hadn’t gone wrong, that speech could’ve saved Carter’s presidency and put America on the path to a sane energy policy while we still had time. Carter’s case offers a strong lesson for today.

Review: The End of Growth by Richard Heinberg

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In the several years or so since peak oil began generating significant literature and debate, it has attracted a diverse array of thinkers. To name a few, there are insiders like Colin Campbell and Ken Deffeyes who sounded the first warnings; a clinical psychologist in the field of “peak oil blues,” Kathy McMahon; an archdruid practiced in nature’s less readily perceptible energies, John Michael Greer; and a couple of highly engaging social critics, Jim Kunstler and Dmitry Orlov. Richard Heinberg’s distinction is that he’s hands-down the most prolific peak oil author, now having written half a dozen books on the subject and a few others touching on it tangentially. His latest, The End of Growth, is yet another grand performance.

ODAC Newsletter – July 22

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Thirty days on from its decision to release reserve oil stocks, the IEA announced Thursday that it will take no further action for the moment. This, along with positive news from the latest European emergency summit, and signs from Washington that the US may avoid its looming self-inflicted default, saw oil prices strengthen to more than $118/barrel.

Salvaging resilience

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In recent discussions in the peak oil blogosphere, the term “resilience” has taken over much of the space once occupied by “sustainability.” Both these words have implications that conflict sharply with the conventional wisdom of our time, but resilience in particular points toward a strategy that, though unwelcome, offers one of the few effective responses to the crisis of our time.

Nuclear delusions

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The heating of Earth remains the most urgent symptom of humanity’s mismanagement of our technological civilization. Desperately seeking answers for a low carbon energy regime, some observers propose a “nuclear renaissance” to replace hydrocarbons. Nuclear companies, nations, and advocates offer nuclear as a possible “low-carbon” energy path. However, the evidence in hand shows that nuclear energy is not the solution to humanity’s energy needs that many hope for. Here are the reasons…

Failure and Heroism at the IEA

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On June 23rd, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the US government announced the intention to tap strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs) of the US and other countries, with an eye to reducing oil prices. The US was to provide 30 million barrels (mb) and other countries a similar amount, for a total draw of 60 million barrels.