Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
There are two distinct ways to think about and present the phenomenon of peak oil. It’s easy to describe what peak oil actually is, it’s the global peak in extraction rate of petroleum. The difficulty of course is determining the date and associated extraction rate of peak oil. This is where I see the two camps.
Here the geologists method of Hubbert and Campbell is compared to the analysis’s method of Chris Skrebowski with uncanny agreement.
China on global hunt to quench its thirst for oil /
China’s bold bid for global energy /
Unocal deal: a lot more than $ at issue /
China oil bid to get close scrutiny /
Secretive US panel could block China’s Unocal bid /
Krugman: the Chinese challenge /
World oil giants fighting here, partnering there /
China’s costly quest for energy control
Natural gas appears to be a good replacement for oil. It comes out of the ground easily. It burns cleaner than other fossil fuels, though it does release carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas that causes global warming….The positive spin on natural gas as the preferred replacement for oil given by Forbes and the New York Times is contradicted by Julian Darley’s “High Noon” book.
What will the world do about its use of energy in the next few years – and more specifically, might expensive oil force much more radical changes than at present seem likely?
The U.S. has been based on an orgy of resource appropriation and waste, as in a party with no tomorrow. …The party known as the U.S. is all but over except in the minds of oblivious revelers already being kicked out of the house (of nature and the world community). However, sober heads will start to prevail as the dawn breaks.
If you want to understand the global economy and feel the pulse of capitalism in the early 21st century, look no further than the $19 billion bid by the China National Oil Operating Company – Cnooc – for Unocal of California. Add a large measure of geopolitical tension, and you have probably the single most important corporate event of the young millennium.
During a debate on terrorism legislation in Australia, peak oil was identified as the driving factor behind the US war in Iraq, as well the “war on terror.”
During a debate on terrorism legislation in Australia, peak oil was identified as the driving factor behind the US war in Iraq, as well the “war on terror.”
The real conundrum, in my opinion, is how to destroy demand so as to come in for a soft landing, even if we are heading towards a 1979 to the googol. …
I advocate taxing gasoline now. Abruptly. Quickly. Severely. Better to bend the shit out of the economy now than completely break it later. …
Some insights into how the world might cope with peak oil might be gained by looking back at 1979-82, when world oil production fell by 10 million barrels and stayed down until 1985.
Article depicts the situation of Russian oilfields being auctioned off to the oil companies and coming online. It explains why Russian goverments keeps the size of its petroleum reserves secret, why the Eastern Siberia oilfields will not save the world from the lack of oil, and why the Eastern Pipeline being built to supply the countries of East Asia with Russian oil will never be filled.
Recent research by Las Lianas has brought to light a disturbing process of militarization of the Amazon region and privatization of the control of Ecuador’s military to protect the interests of multinational oil companies.
We have obtained copies of secret contracts and security agreements between the Ecuadorian armed forces and foreign oil companies that reveal a military for hire and oil companies usurping the role of the elected government.
