Counting the Hidden Costs of War
IT’S often said that truth is the first casualty of war. During a presidential campaign, that may be more apt than ever. Consider a seemingly simple question: What is the cost of the Iraq war to the United States?
Fossil Fuels
Crude Awakening (essay/book review)
….If not already aware of all this, readers of The Nation should be on notice that both the imminence and the timing of peak oil matters–big time….
If this scenario [of an early peak] is even somewhat credible, American and international leaders should drop whatever else they are doing and devote their full attention to preparing the world for post-peak petroleum.
Oil and gas industries set to struggle
The renewable energy expert Harald Rostvik has warned of an imminent collapse in the oil and gas industries as supplies run dry.
A Rebuttal of Thomas Gold’s Claims for Abiotic Oil (summary only)
Thomas Gold, before his death, proposed that the origins of oil may be abiotic (non-biological) – arguments now repeated by many to suggest that there is no danger of oil peaking. The following is a scientific dialogue critiquing Gold’s work, not easy reading for the layperson, but important nonetheless.
Iraq oil recovery effort costing lives
Scores of Iraqi oil workers have been killed or maimed since last year’s invasion after they defied death threats and remained in their posts, Oil Minister Thamir al-Ghadhban says.
Swimming in oil, Iraqis still made to wait hours at gas stations
Pressed for time, Ahmad Hussein refuses to spend hours queuing for petrol at one of Baghdad’s teeming gas stations so he takes his car to a street vendor where it costs six times as much to fill up.
Boone Pickens doesn’t expect drop in oil prices
Crude oil prices are likely to stay near the record $55.33 a barrel reached this week in New York because global supplies of the raw material are peaking, Dallas oil investor Boone Pickens said.
LNG boom needs terminal sites
In a rush to take advantage of high gas prices and low importing costs for liquefied natural gas, U.S. energy companies have been working to open LNG facilities on the nation’s East, West and Gulf coasts.
Will oil woes lead to Asian EU?
As the world’s known deposits of fossil fuel are being run down, not least because of the growing demand of economies such as China’s, the day may come when the big consuming countries will have to fight – literally, in the worst case scenario – for supplies. But it does not have to turn out that way if the far-sighted in Asia can persuade their countrymen to put aside the past and work together to ensure energy security for all.
Fed. Reserve Governor Says Days of Cheap Oil Are Over
Federal Reserve Governor Ben Bernanke said the days of cheap oil are likely over, although he expects the economic consequences of higher energy prices will be “manageable.”
CGES: OPEC pushing limits of oil production capacity
According to a report by the London-based Centre for Global Energy Studies, most members of OPEC are pushing the limits of their oil production capability, and some probably are finding that their sustainable capacity is not as high as originally thought.
NZ Greens query oil price forecasts
The Green Party’s two co-leaders grilled [New Zealand] Government officials yesterday about grossly inaccurate forecasts made last October about future oil prices.
