Peak oil and Transition in the media – Sept 5
– “How to Boil a Frog” TV premiere in Canada next Wednesday!
– Peak oil and happy cows (interview with IEA’s Fatih Birol)
– Voices of the Transition
Fossil Fuels
Fossil fuel follies – Sept 5
– Kurt Cobb: Fossil Fuels vs. The Public Interest
– Is Fracking Even Worse Than Drilling?
– Canada tar sands industry ignoring toxic river pollution
Nations & resources – Sept 3
– China Cuts Rare Earth Export Quota 72%
– Rare earth minerals from China are rarer
– Why the world is running out of helium
– Time to close the global energy gap
– Putin opens Russian section of Siberian-Pacific oil pipeline
ODAC Newsletter – Sep 3
A report by the German armed services (the Bundeswehr) on the implications of peak oil on national security was leaked to the internet this week and picked up by Der Spiegel. The report, which was produced by the Future Analysis department of the Bundeswehr Transformation Centre, acknowledges that peak oil will happen, and that while estimates of the timing vary it could be any time from 2010 with the impacts on security likely to be felt 15 to 20 years later.
Exponentially on purpose: a century-and-a-half of ignored warnings
The peak oil debate is a case of history repeating itself: people have been ignoring warnings about exponential use of finite resources for a century and a half. No-one wants to hear the argument. Even International Energy Agency forecasts of record world oil demand, and warnings that the “era of cheap oil is over” made barely a ripple in the media.
Peak oil is history (excerpt)
…now does seem to be an auspicious moment to hold forth with a new piece of Peak Oil theory, because this is the year when, for the first time, just about everyone is ready to admit that Peak Oil is real, in essence, though some are not quite ready to call it by that name.
Post Carbon Exchange #3: Richard Gilbert & David Bragdon
RICHARD GILBERT and DAVID BRAGDON discuss the future of transportation systems as we near the end of cheap oil. What are the solutions? How will we get there? Are we facing the end of the internal combustion engine?
German military study warns of potential energy crisis – English translation of main points
This week a study on peak oil by a German military think tank was leaked on the Internet. The document shows that the German government is closely studying the issue of peak oil, and is aware of the potential for serious consequences as oil production declines. The study is reminiscent of the Hirsch Report, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy, that warned of the risks posed by peak oil. … Below is a friend’s translation of the major points in the report.
Peak oil notes – Sept 2
A midweekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Prices and production
-China continues to grow
German military study warns of a potentially drastic oil crisis
A study by a German military think tank has analyzed how “peak oil” might change the global economy. The internal draft document — leaked on the Internet — shows for the first time how carefully the German government has considered a potential energy crisis. (excerpts)
Update: English translation of table of contents and lead paragraphs.
The Peak Oil Crisis: Prospects for China
Although climate change, decreasing exports, and depleting mineral resources will all eventually impact China’s ability to grow economically, the availability and affordability of oil is still likely to impact first.
A peak oil reference
Despite the volumes of material that have been written on peak oil, there still did not exist (to the best of my knowledge, anyway) a single online reference that presents this very complex topic in a form that’s both accessible to newbies, and that links to the deeper data and theory. So I built one, on contract with ASPO-USA, based on some of their existing material and my old “Peak Oil Media Guide” from 2008. It’s still a fairly skeletal first draft, comprising only 16 web pages, but hopefully it will grow, and serve as a useful guide to the public, the media, and others.
