Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Large and complex systems, particularly in remote and environmentally challenging environments such as wind farms, especially off shore, will probably be early renewable energy casualties of the decline in oil supply.
The cover of the current Atlantic promises to tell “why the future of clean energy is dirty coal,” but the article is necessarily sparing with evidence that emissions from burning coal can be economically “sequestered” (or kept out of the atmosphere).
-UN issues severe climate warning ahead of summit
-Avoiding catastrophe
-UN: Greenhouse gases at highest level since pre-industrial times
-Sipping Margaritas While the Climate Burns
-The Warming of Antarctica: A Citadel of Ice Begins to Melt
This year I’m giving thanks for petroleum. Yes, it causes pollution. It’s a big inequity factor between cultures. And leads to wars. But oil has helped Americans live like kings and it’s helped save lives. Now it’s running low. As we plan for a world beyond oil, we should be thankful for what it’s done for us, and think about how to conserve it for our most important needs going forward.
Last week we asked for your help with the YouTube/See3 DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards. Thousands of organizations participated and four were awarded the top prize. THANKS TO YOU and your support, Post Carbon Institute secured the Best Video in the Small Nonprofit category. For this we are grateful and proud.
– “Nature” journal: Questioning economic growth
– Chemical & Engineering News editor: Sustainable Growth Is An Oxymoron
– ALBA nations declare: Nature has no price
In order for humankind to resolve its ecological predicament, capitalism must be historically superseded. People who are aware of the system’s growth compulsion and the environmental destruction that results may well suspect that this statement is true. But carrying this train of thought forward is difficult. Why? Because currently the only well-known model for moving beyond capitalism is that of the socialist tradition. This model, however, arose in the context of class struggles rather than overshoot, and in my view it incorporates several grave errors. I therefore believe that an alternative model for the post-capitalist transition must be developed.
The Gulf of Mexico oil disaster has increased the risk of an imminent global oil crunch — so says the UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Insecurity (ITPOES). The group, whose members include Virgin and Stagecoach among others, called on the government to speed up adoption of renewables and energy efficiency measures…
This week, science journal Nature says the world is on the verge of exhausting its cheap coal supplies. With rising demand and dwindling supplies of high quality usable coal, prices could be much higher by the end of the decade. The finding could also have implications for the controversial technology, carbon capture and storage. ABC (Australia) reporter Greg Borschman interviews Richard Heinberg.
For those addicted to more roads, airports and the sweet smell of gasoline, the IEA’s 2010 World Energy Outlook includes some pretty sober reading.
A weekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Oil and the global economy
-World Energy Outlook 2010
-China
-Briefs
-Quote of the week
“The energy world faces unprecedented uncertainty”, so begins the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook, released on Tuesday. The annual report from the energy watchdog guides the energy policies of OECD member countries including Britain.
