Energy Policy

Cancun and Bolivia – Dec 12

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– CancĂşn agreement rescues UN credibility but falls short of saving planet
– Cancun climate breakthrough: It’s not perfect, but it’s a deal
– Bolivia’s defiant leader sets radical tone at CancĂşn climate talks
– Medea Benjamin: Reading the Coca Leaves: Climate Change, Cancun and Bolivia
– Evo Morales Speaks on Climate Change and Capitalism

WikiLeaks (energy and climate) – Dec 9

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– Shell boasts it has infiltrated Nigerian government
– WikiLeaks climate change cables
– Wikileaks Reveals Hushed Concern Over Tar Sands Oil in US State Dept.
– Bolivian Ambassador Pablo SolĂłn Responds to Secret U.S. Manipulation of Climate Talks
– WikiLeaks: oil deal executive ‘was paid ÂŁ46,000 a month’

Rethinking resilience

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The word resilience is going the way of sustainability – becoming so over-imbued with meaning that it becomes meaningless. I recently heard a presentation by somebody who was basing a whole research project around meanings of sustainability. It seems to me the time would have been better spent organising a Potato Day like the one we have coming up in Stroud.

The peak oil crisis: the future of government

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A new crowd has descended on Washington vowing to make everything right again by cutting taxes, reducing the size and the role of some parts of the government. Above all the folks are committed to getting government regulation off our backs so that free enterprise, the entrepreneurial spirit, merchant capitalism, or what have you can flourish as it did in the past. What all those calling for reduced government fail to grasp, however, is that 200 years of cheap abundant fossil fuel energy has transformed this country into something completely different.

Why oil shortages may make nuclear a less viable option

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The decline of oil supplies is likely to increase the risk of nuclear accidents, decrease the likelihood that the funds for decommissioning will be available, and increase the likelihood of inadequate uranium supply. An estimate of oil supply at 2080 is provided, based on Collin Campbell’s forecast to 2050 in April 2009.

Reaping whirlwinds: Peak oil and climate change in the new political climate

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Political prognostication is a dangerous game, but one of the certainties of the latest election was that the US will not be enacting any significant federal climate legislation. If inaction is certain on climate change, it may be that all is not entirely hopeless if we reframe the terms to addressing our carbon problem. Peak-oil activism could accomplish many of the goals of climate activists. Unlike climate change, peak oil doesn’t carry the ideological associations with the left that climate change does. Could peak oil provide a framing narrative for political action to address both climate change and peak oil?

WikiLeaks (content) – Dec 5

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– Leaked cables reveal Saudi minister of petroleum helped craft toothless Copenhagen climate accord
– WikiLeaks cables reveal how US manipulated climate accord
– WikiLeaks cables: Seven key things we’ve learned so far
– “We Have Not Seen Anything Yet”: Guardian Editor Says Most Startling WikiLeaks Cables Still to be Released
– Ongoing coverage