Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Last month’s foiled attack on a Saudi Arabian oil installation demonstrated yet again the world’s extreme vulnerability to any check on oil supplies. But what if the Saudi oilfields are running lower on untapped supplies than the kingdom, and the West, have estimated?
While peak oil is an important turn of the tide, we should not forget that net oil for consumption will peak long before peak oil. Possibly it already has.
A round-up of recent articles.
Interview: Former GOP Strategist Kevin Phillips (“American Theocracy”) /
CNN’s “We Were Warned”: the bright side /
Jitters about energy, debt and the housing market /
Anarchism and the peak oil argument /
Food, sustainability, and the environmentalists /
Investments based on peak oil? – yes
While it would be difficult to create an airtight legal case for impeaching George W. Bush based on his ignoring the very real threat posed by Peak Oil, nevertheless I believe that his actions—and inaction—in this regard constitute dereliction of duty on an unprecedented scale.
Sen. Lugar: Energy is the albatross of U.S. national security /
Iranian oil exchange unlikely to begin till at least midyear /
Pentagon looks to cut oil use and costs /
Australia: CSIRO warns of local oil shortfall /
Proposed Mackenzie pipeline spurs coal gasification mega-plan /
Trading the Hummer for a Honda
It seems despite all the talk of peak oil, that the UK’s downfall might actually end up coming about from peak gas. This last week has been quite extraordinary, with the beginnings of a real crisis for the UK energy sector, not that, unless you were reading the Guardian over the last week, you would actually have heard much about it.
Schlumberger CEO: energy prices to stay high on demand /
New Zealand – Running out of gas and time /
Ethanol industry braces for growing pains /
Sugar, not oil or stocks, may be best investment /
Companies spend billions in hunt for crude in Gulf of Mexico /
Schwarzenegger’s plan to reduce greenhouse gases sets off culture clash between European and U.S. oil companies
Speech by the British Ambassador to the United States. He concludes: “energy is central to our foreign policy because it is central to national security. Wherever we look, problems are energy driven. The imperative to collaborate may now be as strong as that which forced us to build collective security structures during the Cold War…This is not a problem that can wait ten years.”
Review: CNN: “We Were Warned: Tomorrow’s Oil Crisis” / The End Of Civilization? / Malaysian Leader: Era of Cheap Oil Is Over / Energy conservation moving up Pentagon’s agenda / Cantarell Peaks – Peak Oil is Now Official / Opec warns of Russian oil export slowdown / Aerotropolis: Peak Oil report crucial before planning approval
Climate science 2005: major new discoveries /
Louisiana faces an exodus from the coast /
Carbon dioxide hydrates could secure sub-sea sequestration /
The false promise of ‘clean coal’ /
Warmer oceans blamed for intense hurricanes /
Storm intensity tied to warming of sea surfaces /
Water forum warns of shortages
In a dramatic turn-around from last year’s meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, G8 leaders have set their sights
on expanding access to fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Last year, G8 leaders focused on mitigating the
impacts of climate change and canceling debt.
