U.S. politics & economics – May 2
As gas prices soar, Democrats ready for political profit /
Congress declares war On Big Oil /
Thomas Friedman: Gas pump geopolitics /
Bush leverage with Russia, Iran, China falls as oil prices rise
As gas prices soar, Democrats ready for political profit /
Congress declares war On Big Oil /
Thomas Friedman: Gas pump geopolitics /
Bush leverage with Russia, Iran, China falls as oil prices rise
If the “Peak Oil” theorists are right, vast patterns of social behavior may be about to change. [Peak oil writer Tom Whipple is interviewed – audio and transcript onlline]
I have in mind the recent war of words between Europe, led by Tony Blair, and Russia about natural gas. Recent news suggest that this new kind of cold war has now expanded to include the Bush administration on the side of Blair and Iran on the side of Russia.
Hirsch and Bartlett peak oil presentation (audio) /
BBC Newsnight mentions peak oil /
Shock at oil prices: the more things change, the more they stay the same /
Julian Darley & Michael Lynch debate peak oil on Democracy Now
Gas prices are on the rise again and news analysts are kicking it around, wondering who is being ripped off this time. But …unlike other gas shortages, this one is the real thing, or at least the beginning of the real thing: production has peaked and the era of cheap oil is about to end. [Analysis of political responses to rising gas prices.]
Pursuing a low-carbon economy is not about denying ourselves opportunities for growth, it is about opening up new opportunities, including new ways of measuring progress and raising public funds. The world will have to go green in the future. [speech by the leader of the UK Liberal Democat party]
So am I “worshipping big government?” No, I am writing about issues of national survival, and by implication, issues of personal survival. Without an aggressive process of planning, policy, and strategy-making in the field of energy, the United States is in all likelihood destined to decline into what President Reagan once called, in another context, “the dustbin of history.”
The leaders of both political parties are not only headed in the wrong direction with respect to gas prices, but also fundamentally misunderstand the factors behind the current situation at gasoline stations around the US. Governments should be focused on helping us cure our “addiction to oil.” The answer does not lie in lowering gas prices, which will only encourage people to drive more and further waste our valuable resources.
When in the course of modern events it becomes necessary for one people to assume greater control of their energy needs through indigenous sources provided by the Creator, a decent respect for humanity impels them to explain the rationale for their decision.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all sources of energy are not created equal, that some are endowed with indisputable flaws, most especially fossil fuels.
Wake up! (Kelpie Wilson interview) /
NYT: Yelling ‘fire’ on a hot planet /
Peak water: Not a drop to drink /
Global warming behind record 2005 storms, U.S. expert says /
RFF’s Bell examines problems with CO2 cap-and-trade efforts
“[The price of oil] is causing concern in every county because everyone is on the receiving end of the same phenomenon, which is oil price is very high because probably we’re not too far short from peak production if we’re not already there.” (audio)
Candidate for governor of Maine runs on peak oil platform /
Kunstler: we’re past denial, now we’re bargaining /
Peak oil and peak gold /
The Oil Drum vs The Economist /
Updating oil price graphs