Our tangled web – March 26
– Obama administration announces massive coal mining expansion
– Leading German climatologist on Fukushima
– How to Boil a Frog video excerpt – “Exponential Curves”
– Carolyn Baker interview (audio and transcript)
Fossil Fuels
ODAC Newsletter – March 25
Bombing raids began on Libya this week as western powers combined to enforce the UN mandated no fly zone. The offensive has succeeded in its initial aim of slowing down Gaddafi’s forces, but the precise remit is unclear and a protracted conflict in the country is still highly likely.
Force Multipliers
Instead of waiting for a crisis to force these changes upon us, kicking and screaming, could we use social force multipliers – new attitudes, expectations, and behaviors – to transform these “unthinkable drastic measures” of conservation and efficiency into positive social ideals?
Peak oil notes – March 24
A midweekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Developments this week
-Falklands
Nukes are scary, but don’t forget about coal
While riveted to Fukushima, we should remember that good old fashioned coal kills 4,000 times more people per kWh than nuclear power. As George Monbiot puts it, “While nuclear causes calamities when it goes wrong, coal causes calamities when it goes right, and coal goes right a lot more often than nuclear goes wrong. The only safe coal-fired plant is one which has broken down past the point of repair.”
Energy – March 24
– Science magazine: Peak Oil Production May Already Be Here
– Japan’s nuclear crisis has silver lining (NEW)
– Bulletin of Atomic Scientists: In this nuclear world, what is the meaning of ‘safe’?
– A global energy war looms
– International Crises Boost Russia’s Energy Posture
After Fukushima: a new dash for gas? Really?
The final outcome and cost of the nuclear accident at Fukushima are yet to be determined but the obituary of the nuclear industry has already been written, and one competing source of power has already been declared the absolute winner by the Serious People: natural gas. Renewables are nice, but unSerious (not “reliable,” too expensive) so we need to rely on the big boys. Coal is a bit too dirty to be pushed openly, so gas is it. Cheap, abundant, clean and quick to be ramped up. Case closed.
Or is it? Let’s take all of these arguments in turn.
Five lessons from a month in hell
On the surface, the nuclear crisis in Japan and the political crisis in Libya (along with at least five other countries in the region) might seem unrelated. But when it comes to our self interest here in the United States, there’s one thing that binds them together: our unquenchable need for energy and the price we pay for that addiction. And there are a few lessons I think would behoove us to learn from this month in hell…
Won’t Innovation, Substitution, and Efficiency Keep Us Growing?
While efficiency, substitution are key to our efforts to adapt to resource limits, they are incapable of removing those limits, and are themselves subject to the law of diminishing returns>
What tangled webs – March 21
– Bill McKibben: Japan’s Horror Reveals How Thin is the Edge We Live On
– Nicholas Stern: Climate inaction risks a new world war
– Monbiot: We won’t trouble Saudi’s tyrants with calls to reform while we crave their oil
– Learning from Japan about Resilience
Peak oil review – March 21
A weekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Oil and the global economy
-Conflict in the Middle East
-The global oil balance
-Quote of the week
-Briefs
On baby harp seals, coal plants and nuclear power
One of the things I’ve been arguing for years is that most people in the developed world, given a perceived lack of alternatives and no narrative to explain change and sacrifice, will do almost anything to keep their present way of life. I point out that if they become cold enough most people would shovel live baby harp seals into their furnace to keep warm, while carefully justifying why this is reasonable and necessary and probably convincing themselves that baby harp seals like to be burned alive.
