Fossil Fuels

En busca de un milagro: Los límites de la ‘energía neta’ y el destino de la sociedad industrial

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El informe explora alguno de los escenarios de transición de energía propuestos actualmente, mostrando por qué, hasta el momento, la mayoría son demasiado optimistas, ya que no tienen en cuenta todos los factores relevantes que limitan la expansión de fuentes energéticas alternativas.This is a Spanish translation of the Post Carbon Institute and International Forum on Globalization and report ‘Searching for a Miracle’.

The peak oil crisis: technology update

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All this new technology seems to say there may be some hope for life after oil. For now the two biggies seem to be cold fusion and cheap hydrogen, but neither of these are as yet sure for the immediate future. It seems likely we are going to have much more efficient motor vehicle within the next 10 years and probably longer range electric vehicles. There might even be enough biofuels to run our airplanes.

The Way is Shut

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When I first approached the topic of societal energy in 2004, I became aware for the first time that our energy future was not in the bag, and proceeded to explore alternative after alternative to judge the viability and potential pitfalls of various options. I have retraced my steps in Do the Math posts, exposing the scales at which different energy sources might contribute, and the practical complexities involved. My spooky campfire version of the story, a la Tolkien: The Way is Shut.

Will Occupy Wall Street start drilling for peak oil?

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Though there’s been a flurry of books about the Occupy movement in the last few months, few of them have said much about energy and the environment. Predictably, writers have largely focused so far on the core issues that originally filled Zuccotti Park last fall, an unfair economy and politics corrupted by corporate lucre.

Now comes a new title on Occupy that takes ecological overshoot seriously, Occupy World Street: A Global Roadmap for Radical Economic and Political Reform. Refreshingly, the book also zeroes in on the issue that the energy-savvy find behind all our financial and political woes today: peak oil.

Commentary: Of coal stoves and vicious circles

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But what’s most interesting about this brush with crisis is that two solutions for rural dwellers outside the gas lines emerged – and both of them are vicious circles, in that the consequences may be worse than the original problem. The first is the classic woodstove, a common sight in rural parts of the Northeast…The other alternative that emerged was coal. When the fear of cold began to pervade households, stores hung out banners that read “we sell coal!” and local dealers began advertising the merits of coal stoves.

Water – Feb 20

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-Humanity’s Growing Impact on the World’s Freshwater
-Uncharted waters: Probing aquifers to head off war
-Drought summit: Why not pipe the water from north to south?
-Jordan’s Green Fairytale- ‘Once Upon a Water’ Campaign
-Thailand’s economy shrinks 9% after flood disruptions
-Food security v energy security: land use conflict and the law