Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
It is one thing to read about the fight over the environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing or fracking that are associated with natural gas drilling in deep shale formations. It’s quite another to see that fight captured on film. The documentary film Gasland provides a compelling, if one-sided, portrait of the devastation visited on the lives of those who live closest to the drilling.
While awareness of peak oil has advanced light years since ODAC was founded over a decade ago, on the evidence of this week the same cannot be said for the conduct of British energy policy. Back in 2000, Tony Blair’s government was blindsided by petrol protests that brought the country to a standstill in 48 hours. Mr Blair bore the scars, and while there was much to criticise in New Labour’s energy policy—not least the invasion of Iraq—he developed emergency plans and did not allow a serious recurrence…
-Why baseload power is doomed
-For New Generation of Power Plants, a New Emission Rule From the E.P.A.
-Germany’s $263 Billion Renewables Shift Biggest Since War
-Renewables LinkedIn to growth surge
-Japan faces nuclear-free summer, power shortage risks
A midweekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Developments this week
-Saudi Arabia will act to lower soaring oil prices
-Saudi Arabia resorts to Jedi mindtricks
-Saudi Arabia: Paper Tiger?
‘Mobiliser la société face au pic pétrolier’ is a call to French Presidential candidates inviting them to mobilise society in the face of peak oil. It has been signed by renonwed French oil specialists and published in LeMonde.fr. The group is also calling for signatures for their petition.
-France discussing strategic oil release with UK, U.S.
-Oil Futures Spark Debate on $100 Level
-South Sudan oil field “bombed”, Sudan says hopes to avert war
-Tanker drivers’ dispute: Acas invites oil firms and union to talks
-Report: Gulf Oil Spill Killed Life Deep Beneath Sea Level
-Shell Sued in U.K. Over ’Massive’ 2008 Nigerian Oil Spills
-World oil import bill heading for record $2 trillion
-Link builds between weather extremes and warming
-Met Office: World warmed even more in last ten years than previously thought when Arctic data added
-EPA Said to Be Close to Limiting U.S. Greenhouse-Gas Emissions
-James Hansen: Why I must speak out about climate change- Ted talk
-Post Carbon Pathways? Necessary. Possible. Urgent – Report
A weekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Oil and the global economy
-The Iranian confrontation
-Gasoline and the US economy
-Quote of the week
-Briefs
You may say you want a revolution, but generally you don’t. Predictably, fracking—the high-pressure injection of massive amounts of water, sand, and toxic chemicals a mile underground, a technology first developed to unlock Rockies tight gas—has sparked controversy.
In an excellent short essay, “What Hath Fracking Wrought,” Randy Udall discusses the environmental and social consequences of the application of hydraulic fracturing technology to the production of oil and natural gas.
This article was inspired by the disjuncture between a UK government document which reveals the stunning decline in UK oil production, as opposed to British media inattention to this worrisome development.
