Energy Policy

The failure of networked systems: The repercussions of systematic risk revisited

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There are those among the Peak Oil community who suspect that we could be facing a failure of our interdependent society that may be sudden, profound, and complete. I have repeatedly said that I am not numbered among them. My opinion is that our way of life will have to change significantly, but slowly. I don’t expect to be clubbing anybody with a femur in any foreseeable future. This opinion is on record in both print and electronic media, and I don’t expect to be issuing a retraction any time soon–but a recent event forced me to admit that I may have to hedge a little.

Peak oil, prices, and supplies – Aug 16

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-Beyond BP: Michael Klare on US Energy Policy
-Scientists Allege Federal Gov’t Tried to Muffle Plume Findings
-Oil sands toxins growing rapidly
-The Triumph of the Amateur: Remembering Matt Simmons
-Peak oil is the villain governments need
-High Oil Prices: Quantification of direct and indirect impacts for the EU)

Embodied energy: An alternative approach to understanding urban energy use

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Everyone knows that it takes energy to produce anything. The energy used in mining, transport, processing, manufacturing, delivery, and disposal is “embodied” in every product we consume, from food to diapers to televisions and insurance policies. Our traditional way of looking at energy, however, highlights only current consumption, traditionally disaggregated into agricultural, industrial, transportation, commercial, and residential sectors.

ODAC Newsletter – Aug 13

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Oil prices dropped back out of the $80/barrel range this week on weak economic news, and stockpile gains. There is growing anticipation that the US Federal Reserve is about to embark on a new round of quantitative easing following Tuesday’s downgrade of the recovery outlook. In China, July figures showed a slowdown in industrial production and retail sales which added to market nervousness…

A gathering in Louisville

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Every year the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) holds a conference where legislators from all over the U.S. gather for updates on major policy concerns. This year the organization found that issues surrounding the future of nation’s energy supply were becoming of such paramount importance to state governments that it set up a task force to study the issues; produced a report on meeting the energy challenges; and devoted a whole day prior to the annual meeting to an “Energy Policy Summit.” … A key unstated issue was completely ignored: resource depletion

The NCSL’s Energy Summit – The good, the bad, the missing

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Every year the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) holds an annual conference where legislators from all over the US gather for updates on major public policy issues facing the nation. This year the organization found that issues surrounding our country’s future energy supply were becoming of such paramount importance to state governments that it set up a task force to study the issues; produced a report on meeting the energy challenges; and devoted a whole day prior to the annual meeting to an ―Energy Policy Summit‖ where some 15 speakers gave presentations on various aspects of energy.

New perspectives on the energy return on (energy) investment (EROI) of corn ethanol: part 2 of 2

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In the analysis underlying our paper “New Perspectives on the Energy Return on (Energy) Investment (EROI) of Corn Ethanol,” we performed four major analyses relating to the EROI of corn ethanol. In this part, we will discuss two additional research areas from the paper.