Consumption & Demand

Interview with geologist Art Berman – Part 2

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“I don’t know where it’s going. It seems inevitable to me that it is sort of a bubble phenomenon; but bubbles can go on for 25 years or so, even though everyone knows that’s what’s happening. As long a capital markets continue to fund these things it’s going to keep on going. I’m not saying that’s even a bad thing, though I wouldn’t put any money in it, that’s for darned sure.”

Peak oil and gas prices and supplies: drilling and fracking fallout – July 26

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-Tony Hayward’s departure follows that of his mentor
-Researchers Confirm Subsea Gulf Oil Plumes Are From BP Well
-Proceed with caution on shale gas
-Siemens warns growth could fall 7.5pc if energy prices rise
-Is Matt Simmons Credible?

Asymmetrical accolades: Why preventing a crisis almost never makes you a hero

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If a catastrophe of sufficient magnitude to get the public’s attention were to occur–a sudden rise in sea level or a rapid, persistent decline in world oil production–then those in the sustainability movement would move from being prophets to being emergency responders. Maybe this would finally give them the recognition and respect they deserve. Only by then it will be too late to avert the worst.

A Deutschland disconnected from its Volk

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As elsewhere in western Europe, the advanced liberal consumer democracies are ever more unable (politically unwilling) to implement genuine change. Deutschland’s rulers in Berlin firmly believe that techno-managerial innovation (and a hefty dose of financial risk-taking) will continue to provide cures for current ideas of what is unsustainable. As has happened time and again in Europa’s history of nations, from the mid-19th century onwards, the costs of such ‘revolutions’ will be externalised elsewhere (east and south), and the ecological sustainability that Germany’s admirable network of communes have long been admired for will remain out of reach of the country’s policy and practice.

ODAC Newsletter – July 23

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As dozens of ships at the BP spill site are forced to head for harbour by the approach of Tropical Storm Bonnie, work to plug the well permanently could be delayed by up to two weeks. But eight days on the temporary cap is still holding, and officials are now ‘encouraged’ by the results. Earlier this week they were concerned that seepage near the well might be evidence of damage from the disaster that could lead to a further leak…

It’s a race to failure between rogue states and global oil output

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Dwindling global oil supplies are leaving the world ever more reliant on a group of unstable countries – many of which are themselves facing major domestic problems right now.
Believe it or not, many of the world’s major oil exporters cannot maintain their own domestic energy requirements. Venezuelan consumers endure electricity blackouts of “seven or eight hours a day,” but less well known is the situation in the Middle East, where residents are facing rolling power outages just as summer temperatures soar, and with it, the demand for air conditioning.

Revisiting the Fake Fire Brigade Part 2: Biomass – A Panacea?

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In many resource discussions, biomass emerges as a solution that allows us to continue many activities currently powered by fossil fuels: First, to move cars, trucks, machinery and planes when oil runs out or becomes too expensive. Second, to provide flexibility in electric power generation, i.e. when other sources are stochastic and inflexible, biomass would provide the necessary gap-filling power. Third, to heat our homes, after natural gas production declines. There are many estimates of future uses for biomass, and many new technologies that are making their first baby-steps, quite a few of them promising and worth trying.

Economics – July 22

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-Outpacing U.S., China now the world’s largest gorger of energy
-The Big Picture according to TAE: An updated primer guide
-The Food Bubble: How Wall Street Starved Millions and Got Away With It
-Interview: How Our Economy is Killing the Earth
-Part 5A. What Happens If Things Go Really Badly? $15 Trillion of Sovereign Debt in Default