Fossil Fuels

Come to the largest climate rally ever on the D.C. mall on April 25

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Earth Day Network is organizing a huge event on the Mall in Washington D.C. on April 25. The goal is to demand tough, effective climate legislation and a swift transition away from 19th century energy sources.

Review of presentations from the Climate and Energy Symposium: Imperatives for Future Naval Forces (updated)

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The slide presentations have been posted from the recent symposium on Climate and Energy: Imperatives for Future Naval Forces, sponsored by Johns Hopkins University and the Centre for Naval Analyses (March 2010). This review examines three of the presentations which focused on oil supply problems.

The peak oil crisis: the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull

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The bottom line of the last few weeks is that there will be many more factors shaping the end of the oil age than a simple geologic reduction in the amount of oil that can be pumped. We already know about “above ground factors” such as wars, nationalism, lack of investment, and their affect on global oil production and the price of oil products. It is now becoming apparent that Mother Nature in the form of droughts, earthquakes, hurricanes and erupting volcanoes is likely to have a significant voice in how the oil age ends too.

Reflections on Eyjafjallajokull: let’s not waste another wake-up call

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Last week none of us had ever heard of an Icelandic volcano called Eyjafjallajokull, and still even now, very few of us can actually pronounce its name. The volcanic dust spewn forth across Europe as a result of its spectacular eruption has had a remarkable effect, leading to, among other things, the total grounding of the UK’s aviation fleet for several days until this morning….But perhaps rather than seeing it as the ‘misery’ most news broadcasts labelled it as, we might see it as good practice for the near future.

Tipping point: near-term systemic implications of a peak in global oil production

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We currently live within an integrated complex globalised economy. We have framed the process in which this occurs as a catastrophic bifurcation, driven by a series of reinforcing positive feedbacks. The final point will be a de-globalised (localised) economy of much reduced complexity.

Commentary: Debunking Peak Demand

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The notion of ‘peak demand’ is often invoked to suggest that the US or global economy is somehow less in need of affordable oil today or that Americans are simply finding car ownership passé. But is this really the case? Are we weaning ourselves from dependence on oil? The statistics paint a more nuanced story.

A Miracle In the Marcellus Shale?

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It’s fair to say that lot of people, from shale gas operators to Pennsylvania state revenue collectors, see $$$ every time they think about the Marcellus shale. Only recalcitrant environmentalists worried about polluted drinking water do not salivate at the prospect that many years of U.S. gas supply will come from the Marcellus. Today I will not deal with the environmental issues. Instead, I want to examine the view that resources in the Marcellus are a big part of the shale gas cure-all for America’s energy problems.