Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
The USGS recently released new EUR numbers for all shale gas plays in the country and the numbers were significantly lower than operator claims. Interestingly, this same phenomenon is playing out in shale oil as well.
This animation sums up the key challenges facing our global society of credit crisis and resource scarcity and describes a path we can take to a happier life, now and in the future!
This animation sums up the key challenges facing our global society of credit crisis and resource scarcity and describes a path we can take to a happier life, now and in the future!
-The energy-water nexus, 2012 edition
-Treading water
-The U.S. Drought and Electricity Generation
-US and EU must change biofuel targets to avert food crisis, says Nestlé chief
The extraordinary hype surrounding this industry has been impressive to say the least. It has clearly been a public relations exercise of disproportionate scale compared to what the wells are actually producing. That should have been our first clue. Methinks they doth propound too much.
Starting next week longtime Energy Bulletin author Kurt Cobb will have his posts regularly featured in The Christian Science Monitor on its new “Energy Voices” blog. The highly respected Monitor has a century-long tradition of reasoned, thoughtful journalism which has earned it seven Pulitzer Prizes and many other awards. Its global reach–it stations writers in 11 countries–will bring a large new audience in contact with Kurt’s work on peak oil.
Today’s post is the first installment of a six-part series which will introduce key concepts and ideas to this new audience. (Hint: good also for forwarding to skeptical friends and family!)
A weekly update including:
-Oil and the Global Economy
-The Middle East
-EU
-Quote of the week
-Briefs
-Shell Wins U.S. Permit To Prepare For Arctic Drilling
-Gazprom puts giant Shtokman Russian Arctic gas project on ice over costs
-Cold Hands, Determined Hearts
-Peak oil returns: the “unconventional oil” bubble may well pop in Arctic waters
-The Demise of the Car
-Yep, High Speed Rail Will Slash Emissions
-Citizen Crosswalks in Paris [video]
-California Cyclists Are About to Get Three Feet of Breathing Room
-With Funding Tight, Cities are Turning to Green Infrastructure
A mid-week update.
As Labor Day nears, a quiet summer seems poised to turn into an autumn to remember. Our concern here, as it has been for many years now, is the price and availability of oil products vital to our civilization. One of the many ways to think about peak oil is the point in time when our gasoline and other petroleum-fueled endeavors, such as air travel, become too expensive for casual use. As the use of petroleum products slows (US consumption is down by 4.4 percent from last year), our economy activity gradually drops to a slower pace.
Nowadays the energy picture is confusing at best as the more information we are shown the more blurred our vision seems to become. Mixed messages, poor reporting and a media hungry to sensationalize anything it thinks can grab a headline have led to many wondering what the true energy situation is. We hear numerous reports on how the shale revolution will transform the energy sector, why alternatives are just around the corner, why advances in oilfield extraction techniques and new finds will help to lower oil prices.
