Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
– Elizabeth Kolbert in the New Yorker: Uncomfortable Climate
– Report: A Billion People Will Lose Their Homes Due to Climate Change
– UN Issues Severe Climate Warning Ahead of Summit
– Cancun Climate Conference; the US and China won’t play
– Matthieu Auzanneau in Le Monde: Why the Pentagon is pessimistic (the influence of Matt Simmons)
– NYT blog: Is ‘Peak Oil’ Behind Us?
– Kjell Aleklett interview: Peak Oil: Not if but when
– Arab News: Energy world facing unprecedented uncertainty
– New Statesman: The age of cheap oil is over
– Huffington Post:
Peak Oil Finally Piquing Analysts?
– Oil Falls the Most in Three Weeks on Speculation China May Increase Rates
It’s been a long time coming, but the uber-significant Peak Oil issue has finally started to infiltrate the corridors of power. What they’ll do with this information remains to be seen…
– Capitalism and the Curse of Energy Efficiency: The Return of the Jevons Paradox (Monthly Review)
– China pulls back from US Treasuries; buys hard assets instead
– The end of the world. That is, the end of the world we’ve known since WWII
– A New Economics for the 21st Century
– Surging price of oil forces US military to seek alternative energy sources
– Navajos Hope to Shift From Coal to Wind and Sun
– Our aging water systems are long past due for a major overhaul
-German Industry Feels Rare-Earth Metals Squeeze
-China pledges not to use rare earth minerals as weapon
-Revealed: how deep-sea mining could destroy the ‘cradle of life on earth’
-China rare earth quota prices up as exporters jostle
-Rare earths row: some home truths
-News special: Vedanta victory masks threats to indigenous people
Big oil was smiling this week as Q3 profits rose on the back of higher oil prices. Prices are 12% higher than last year, and according to JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs are likely to go higher, even above $100/barrel, by next year. Such a price rise may provide a test of OPEC’s ability to raise production…
– Paul Krugman: Rare and Foolish
– Rare-Earth Furor Overlooks China’s 2006 Industrial Policy Signal
– OPEC: A lifeboat in a turbulent sea
– Bill McKibben: “Let’s imagine…”
– Why Climate Change Matters for California Workers
– Climate Talks Tank, Global South Sinks Further
We have seen a surge of interest and concern from military analysts on the issue of future oil supply, especially during the past five years. Unfortunately, there is very little evidence of concern about peak oil (and therefore no action) from civilian authorities, despite the accelerating trends and increasing warnings from credible military researchers.
– “Disaster on the Horizon” – new book on the Gulf oil spill
– Thomas Friedman: Build ‘Em And They Will Come
– Pentagon going green, because it has to
– US to Probe China’s Green-Tech Trade Policies
The hard news is that there is no “Plan B.” The future is likely to be more chaotic than you probably think. This was the primary conclusion that I came to after attending the most recent Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas (ASPO) in Washington, DC in October, 2010.
