Fracking and quaking: They’re linked
Although the Canadian Gas Association calls methane a versatile, abundant and safe fuel, its unconventional cousin, shale gas, has been shaking the ground all the way from Lancashire, England to Dallas, Texas.
Fossil Fuels
Energy – Nov 18
-Onshore wind energy to reach parity with fossil-fuel electricity by 2016
-Gas Companies Caught Using Military Tactics To Overcome Drilling Concerns
-EU biofuel target seen driving species loss: study
-New study suggests EU biofuels are as carbon intensive as petrol
-Local Power: Boulder Considers Moving Off the Grid
Peak oil notes – November 17
A midweekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Developments this week
2011 ASPO-USA Conference: Day 2
Day 2 of the ASPO-USA Truth in Energy conference continued the wide ranging discussion about our current energy predicament, the reasons society isn’t talking about it, and potential ways to begin preparing for a world with increasingly scarce liquid fuels.
Climate & environment – Nov 17
– Investment firm to encourage Arctic drilling
– Climate change: there is no plan B
– Battle to Save an Unsung Fish Critically Important to Ocean’s Ecosystem (menhaden)
– Obama Re-election Strategy Is Tied to a Retreat on Smog
– BBC drops Frozen Planet’s climate change episode to sell show better abroad
Energy – Nov 17
– Libya Seeks UK Firms to Develop Oil Sector and Construction Industry
– The push is on to discredit clean energy investment
– Tom Whipple on cold fusion
Peak oil – Nov 17
– Peak oil conference in London Dec 6: Assessing PO’s economic impact on global oil supply
– N. American oil output could top 40-year-old peak
– Peak oil and significant change for rural Australia
Selling the oil illusion, American style
US production of crude oil peaked in 1970 at 9.637 mbpd (million barrels per day) and has been in a downtrend for 40 years. Recently, however, there’s been a tremendous amount of excitement at the prospect of a “new era” in domestic oil production. The narratives currently being offered come in the following three forms: 1) the US has more oil than Saudi Arabia; 2) the US need only to remove regulatory barriers to significantly increase production; and 3) the US can once again become self-sufficient in oil production, dropping all imported oil to zero.
The Paris-Berlin-Moscow axis back again
To minimal serious coverage in the media and on the internet, the Nord Stream was inaugurated in Lubmin on Germany’s Baltic Coast on Nov. 8 in the presence of Pres. Medvedev of Russia and the prime ministers of Germany, France, and the Netherlands, plus the director of Gazprom, Russia’s gas exporter, and the European Union’s Energy Commissioner. This is a geopolitical game-changer.
What is Nord Stream? Very simply, it is a gas pipeline that has been laid in the Baltic Sea, going from Vyborg near St. Petersburg in Russia to Lubmin near the Polish border in Germany without passing through any other country. From Germany, it can proceed to France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Great Britain, and other eager buyers of Russia’s gas.
Peak oil review – November 14
A weekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Oil and the global economy
-The IEA’s November Oil Market Report
-The IAEA’s report on Iran
-The Keystone pipeline decision
-Quote of the week
-Briefs
Climate and the XL pipeline – Nov 14
– U.S. to Delay Decision on Pipeline Until After Election
– Is the Pipeline Victory a Turning Point for the Climate Movement
– Bill McKibben on pipeline delay: We won, you won
– Depressing climate-related trends – but who gets it? (bad trend in arctic sea ice)
Charles Hall on the biophysical economy & Bill Schubart on resiliency in hard times
Professors Charles Hall and Kent Klitgaard’s new book is Energy and the Wealth of Nations: Understanding the Biophysical Economy. Hall explained what the biophysical costs of energy are, and why they’re more important than the price. He revealed how his understanding of peak oil helped him plan in 1970 a successful retirement investment strategy that paid off in 2008. This Wednesday, November 16 is the fall conference of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, with the them, “Resiliency in Uncertain Times.” VBSR executive director Andrea Cohen talked about why they chose the theme even before Tropical Storm Irene hit the state, and author and entrepreneur Bill Schubart discussed his take on resiliency. Schubart will moderate a panel on the theme Wednesday morning.
