Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
This week saw riots on Britain’s streets and in world markets. The IEA monthly oil report referred to the oil market as a ‘big dipper ride’ as Brent oil dropped below $100 for the first time since early February, before regaining some of the losses later in the week. Pundits compared the turmoil with 2008, but in some ways it looks far worse…
In their recently published book ‘Beyond Oil Bust’ two researchers of the University of Nicosia [Cyprus], James Leigh and Predrag Vukovic analyze the dramatic changes in the supply and demand of one of the most important sources of energy, oil, and they point to possible negative repercussions for the geopolitical map of the world. The authors first of all analyze the role of oil in the world economy starting from the first years of the twentieth century till today.
Energy derived from oil reaches, quite literally, every aspect of our lives. From the clothes we wear, to the food we eat, to how we move ourselves around, without oil, our lives would look very differently. Yet oil is a finite resource. While there is no argument that it won’t last forever, there is debate about how much oil is left and how long it might last.
In the several years or so since peak oil began generating significant literature and debate, it has attracted a diverse array of thinkers. To name a few, there are insiders like Colin Campbell and Ken Deffeyes who sounded the first warnings; a clinical psychologist in the field of “peak oil blues,” Kathy McMahon; an archdruid practiced in nature’s less readily perceptible energies, John Michael Greer; and a couple of highly engaging social critics, Jim Kunstler and Dmitry Orlov. Richard Heinberg’s distinction is that he’s hands-down the most prolific peak oil author, now having written half a dozen books on the subject and a few others touching on it tangentially. His latest, The End of Growth, is yet another grand performance.
Thirty days on from its decision to release reserve oil stocks, the IEA announced Thursday that it will take no further action for the moment. This, along with positive news from the latest European emergency summit, and signs from Washington that the US may avoid its looming self-inflicted default, saw oil prices strengthen to more than $118/barrel.
A weekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Oil and the global economy
-the Middle East
-Global energy shortages
-China
-Quote of the week
-Briefs
A weekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Oil and the global economy
-Venezuela
-China
-Pakistan
-Quote of the week
-Briefs
Since Congressman Fred Upton has become the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee the U.S.-Canadian border seems to have vanished when it comes to energy.
A chart in the World Economic Forum’s “Global Risks 2011” sets out all the risks they see in the world on a matrix which positions the various risks by their perceived impact on the global economy and by the perceived likelihood of their happening. What you might expect to be at the top, given recent media reports, would be the threat of terrorism or perhaps some hideous computer virus that knocks out nuclear power station. But no. There at the top, leading the pack, are climate change, ‘extreme energy price volatility’ and fiscal crises.
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.
Today, the world we live in might be thought of as one big telegraph system composed of computer chips, telephone lines, fiber optics, cellphone towers, satellites, undersea cables and an electrical grid that supplies energy to the terrestrial parts of that system. An event as severe as the 1859 solar storm–called the Carrington Event after the respected British astronomer Richard Carrington who detected it as it developed–could cripple vast areas of the world, shutting down entire national grids not just for days, but possibly for months or years.
As nations compete for currency advantages, they are also eyeing the world’s diminishing resources—fossil fuels, minerals, agricultural land, and water. Resource wars have been fought since the dawn of history, but today the competition is entering a new phase. From Richard Heinberg’s new book ‘The End of Growth’.
