Oil prices
It’s worth a comment on oil prices which have been collapsing with remarkable speed lately. Firstly, let’s briefly recap the price history of the last five years, which I have divided into eight eras…
Fossil Fuels
Reflections on ASPO 10, Vienna 2012 – Part 1
On my first return visit to Scotland and Europe, I happened to be near the right place at the right time for my first ASPO conference since Pisa in 2006. In two parts, here are my thoughts on some of the energy related themes of the conference.
Video: Jeff Rubin on Peak Oil – May 14, 2012
Jeff Rubin, economist and winner of the 2010 National Business Book Award for his title Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller, speaks at the Toronto Reference Library May 14, 2012. With CBC’s Michael Hlinka.
Thinking in miracles
I saw this cartoon in a comment on a post about optimistic oil supply projections at the oil analysis site The Oil Drum — which is must-visit if you are interested in the future — a rich cluster of technical experts clustered around a single blog. It was relevant to the post — broadly, the projections being critiqued needed good fortune pretty much everywhere, and not a single instance of bad luck — but it also made me think of the role of miracles in futures analysis.
Peak oil review – June 4
A weekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Oil and the global economy
-The EU crisis
-Falling prices
-Quote of the week
-Briefs
Commentary: Why doesn’t the UN take peak oil into account?
In thousands of ways, UN policy helps shape how we respond to emerging crises, from basic poverty to world political events, from food to climate change and population. What is emerging, however, is that UN analyses are increasingly diverging from reality – as they attempt to describe our future, they have failed to adequately (or at all) take into account that most basic of all considerations, material limits on energy resources.
Energy – June 2
-Storytelling our energy future – Chris Nelder
-The Peak Oil Crisis: The Edisonian Approach – Tom Whipple
-Efficiency and Conservation Not Enough to Achieve Energy Security
Without growth, there’s only one ending for Euro debt crisis
European voters are rejecting further fiscal restraint, showing the door to former austerity-imposing politicians in Greece and France. In a similar spirit, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is now calling for a “growth pact” to replace the “fiscal pact” demanded by Angela Merkel’s government in Germany.
ODAC Newsletter – June 1
Fears that Spain may be heading for a bailout, weaker than anticipated US growth, and signs that China is not about to embark on any major fiscal stimulus saw oil prices drop again sharply on Wednesday. May has now seen the biggest monthly oil price drop since December 2008. Should the decline continue we will soon be in territory which makes the marginal, more costly to produce barrel uneconomic.
Oil – June 1
-Brent Oil Falls Below $100 A Barrel For First Time Since October
-Greece Finding Crude Oil Increasingly Hard to Come By
-Dr. Colin J. Campbell discusses changes in world energy supplies [video]
-Was tun, wenn das Öl versiegt? [audio]
Peak oil notes – May 31
A midweekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Developments this week
Burning Desire for Efficiency
Ever wonder how efficient it is to heat water? Of course you have! Ever measured it? Whoa, mister, now you’ve gone too far!
