Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
The public’s understanding of oil supply issues has not been enlightened by media coverage. From my perspective, the media does a terrible job of providing factual information concerning oil supply and oil price issues. Aspects of these issues appear to be taboo even for a media outlet such as National Public Radio which supposedly has the objective of educating the public about important societal issues.
-Behind Veneer, Doubt on Future of Natural Gas
-S.E.C. Shift Leads to Worries of Overestimation of Reserves
-Insiders Sound an Alarm Amid a Natural Gas Rush
Global leaders are now implementing another stimulative measure that they hope will prevent the economy from teetering over into recession once again: lowering oil prices through the coordinated release of 60 million barrels of oil into the market from government-run strategic petroleum reserves. The move seemed to have the desired effect as oil prices fell more than 5 percent after the announcement. The question is: Why did they wait until now?
There has been a lot of commentary within the peak oil movement as of late noting that the concept seems to be creeping ever closer to mainstream acceptance. While we should be heartened that the logic of our arguments is finally beginning to shine through the fog of denial and obfuscation, we also need to remind ourselves that we still have a long way to go before any major political leader will be willing to come out and flatly acknowledge the truth. So how will we know when that happens? I suspect it will be when we hear this phrase uttered in connection with peak oil: “Nobody could have predicted…”
The oil market was plunged into turmoil as the IEA announced it will tap its strategic reserve for only the third time ever. The agency had hinted in the past months that it might be prepared to release stocks to offset the shortfall in production from the Libyan crisis, to calm prices and avoid a “hard landing” for the global economy.
We must be honest with the public. Oil prices are headed much higher over the next 5 to 10 years unless we jumpstart the transition to low-cost alternative fuels, something even oilman T. Boone Pickens has said.
So, now, here we are in late June, four months later, after a lot of the negative economic consequences have occurred, and the IEA has now decided to release 30 days worth of extra oil, until certain unnamed oil producers, presumably mainly Saudi Arabia, can increase production.
“Today, for the third time in the history of the International Energy Agency, our member countries have decided to release stocks.” Mr. Tanaka said. “I expect this action will contribute to well-supplied markets and to ensuring a soft landing for the world economy.”
A midweekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Developments this week
When an international peak oil celebrity comes through Totnes, Rob Hopkins often posts a brilliantly insightful interview with carefully crafted questions and thoughtful interchanges. Last week, Nicole Foss (pen name “Stoneleigh”) came through Los Angeles. Rather than sitting down for an hour or so of focused interview like it sounds Hopkins does, ours was a multi-day visit unfolding amid the stark realities of our Transition operations.
Last week it emerged that the Department of Energy and Climate Change, whose official position remains that “we do not have any contingency plans specific to a peak in oil production”, was actually stating in internal documents released under the Freedom of Information Act that “it is not possible to predict with any accuracy exactly when or why oil production will peak”.
“Because money talks and BS walks, if the hydrogen economy was an apprentice working for Donald Trump, it would’ve been fired in the first season.” This is just one of the pearls of wisdom from Transition Voice’s new “Snarky Guide to Peak Oil.” It’s got the facts you need to debunk energy myths and the attitude you need to defuse a heated discussion with a smile.
