Breathing Room Economics

When I graduated from college, I was trapped underneath a mountain of debt. I had no money in the bank, $25,000 worth of student loans, and an interesting, but low-paying job doing research on economic and environmental policy…After adding up rent, food, loan repayment, and other basic expenses, I didn’t have any money left at the end of each month. It became obvious very quickly that I was stuck – I didn’t have something that I truly desired: breathing room.

Non-OPEC Oil Production Hits the Wall

In the last year I’ve read several articles expounding on the many non-OPEC* oil discoveries that have been made in recent years and how large the oil resource is within the non-OPEC sphere of the world. The objective of these articles is to reassure the reader that all is well for non-OPEC oil production, now and in the foreseeable future. If all is so well outside OPEC, one must ask why the non-OPEC oil production rate has not exceeded the level achieved in 2004 in spite of the elevated price of oil since then.

Web & media – Mar 22

-A road not taken
-Our Obsession With Stuff Is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities and Our Health
-Richard Heinberg Lecture Peak Oil Pt 1
-Q&A with Chef Dan Barber: Can organic farming feed the world?
-The Global Food Market (VIDEO): Why Do Some Eat Well While Others Starve?

Renewables & efficiency – Mar 22

-Throwing the Race for Green Energy
-A Rising Green-Tech Tide Will Lift All Boats
-The war of words over home-produced electricity feed-in tariffs could cost dearly
-Wind resistance
-Marine energy projects approved for Scotland

Tipping Point: Near-Term Systemic Implications of a Peak in Global Oil Production – Part 1 – Summary (report excerpt)

This paper talks about the likely systemic impacts of peak oil, including the possibility of collapse. With a long publication such as this, it is difficult to know how to present a reasonable subset of the material. In this post, we are publishing the Summary as Part 1. Our tentative plan is to publish three additional excerpts from the paper later. Those who wish to read the paper now can download it from the link above.

It’s time to deal with Peak Oil

The “Peak Oil” concept — that the world’s petroleum-production rate will soon reach its maximum and commence an inevitable decline, with negative economic consequences — has been around in scientifically articulated form at least since 1998; long enough to see it confirmed in significant ways.

A Conversation About Energy with Howard Lindzon

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to do a freewheeling, videotaped chat with StockTwits founder Howard Lindzon on the present and future realities of energy…Topics included peak oil, the end of economic growth, reversing globalization, oil prices, alternatives, and lots of other topics.