Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Natural gas appears to be a good replacement for oil. It comes out of the ground easily. It burns cleaner than other fossil fuels, though it does release carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas that causes global warming….The positive spin on natural gas as the preferred replacement for oil given by Forbes and the New York Times is contradicted by Julian Darley’s “High Noon” book.
At some point — maybe 10 years from now, maybe 20 — the energy bill currently wending its way through the Senate will be seen as an enormously significant lost opportunity…any politicians who care about the future economic, environmental and political stability of this country should right now be seeking to end the de facto subsidies for the oil and gas industries, aggressively promote research into new forms of ethanol and biofuel, limit automobile fuel consumption, and tax or cap the carbon emissions created by the burning of fossil fuels, which most scientists believe to be an important cause of global warming.
What will the world do about its use of energy in the next few years – and more specifically, might expensive oil force much more radical changes than at present seem likely?
There has been a lot of media focus on the $18 billion in tax incentives contained in the Senate energy bill, but almost nothing about PUHCA repeal, even though the latter is by far the greatest prize: according to Lynn Hargis the value of all regulated utilities exceeds one trillion dollars. [PUHCA = Public Utilities Holding Company Act, a cornerstone New Deal financial reform]
The real conundrum, in my opinion, is how to destroy demand so as to come in for a soft landing, even if we are heading towards a 1979 to the googol. …
I advocate taxing gasoline now. Abruptly. Quickly. Severely. Better to bend the shit out of the economy now than completely break it later. …
Strongly reasoned case put for biofuels as the solution to decline of fossil oil supply. Dr Chia (cardiologist) calmly lays out the Hubbert/depletionists case, dismisses any central role for nuclear energy, and goes on to advocate bioengineered phyto-fuels (for biodiesel etc) and the development of artificial photosynthesis.
Article depicts the situation of Russian oilfields being auctioned off to the oil companies and coming online. It explains why Russian goverments keeps the size of its petroleum reserves secret, why the Eastern Siberia oilfields will not save the world from the lack of oil, and why the Eastern Pipeline being built to supply the countries of East Asia with Russian oil will never be filled.
Report considering European energy transition scenarios, four story lines connecting plausible global developments in world energy markets and climate change policies consistently with European energy regime changes and related national innovation pressures. It includes explicit consideration of anti-globalisation arguments and climate change scenario’s, setting a new standard for integrated analysis.
If the Earth were a car, its gas gauge would be approaching E. Some argue that we have miles to go before we hit the empty mark. Others say we’re running on fumes.
But nobody disputes that the world’s oil supply is finite and that some day the wells will run dry.
What we do between now and then will determine the quality of life for generations. Do nothing – or do something lethargically – and the consequences are catastrophic
Report on the ASPO conference in Lisbon, a national energy conference in Cleveland and an E.F. Schumacher Society training seminar.
A new Yale University research survey of 1,000 adults nationwide reveals that while Americans are deeply divided on many issues, they overwhelmingly believe that the United States is too dependent on imported oil.
The survey shows a vast majority of the public also wants to see government action to develop new “clean” energy sources, including solar and wind power as well as hydrogen cars.
Kick-off article for the Plain Dealer’s coming series on “the end of cheap oil, the search for new energy sources and the implications of both.”
