Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
-Not your average peak oil theory, from Macquarie
-Total issues oil shortage warning
-Would You Know How to Survive After the Oil Crash?
-Squeezing the last bit of oil from Mother Earth
-UK at risk of global energy shock, says MPC’s Andrew Sentance
-Let a thousand eco-documentaries bloom!
-Six Questions for Peter Maass on the Violent Twilight of Oil
-Yes Men Hoax: “Special Edition” of NY Post Warns of Climate Change Threat
-Barack Obama Must See Michael Moore’s New Movie (and So Must You)!
A few months ago, I had an email exchange with Bill McKibben about the commonly perceived but, we both agreed, false distinction between lifestyle changes and political acts. Those of you who have read _Depletion and Abundance_ know that I spend a good bit of time on just this subject – on the idea that our ordinary daily activities are not political acts, or that we can resolve our problems in a way that isn’t whole, that doesn’t include our personal way of life *along* with our political and community activism.
The oil sands are an issue of global importance. As conventional sources of crude oil are depleted, unconventional sources of oil, such as the bitumen found in oil sands, play a larger role in offsetting declining conventional production. The Canadian oil sands are the second largest proven oil reserve after Saudi Arabia.
The conundrum we call human nature readily rises to the occasion of a crisis and as readily slacks off when the living is easy. During its decade of prosperity based on precarious financial schemes, Iceland grew politically apathetic and a little dull and demoralized. When its mismanaged economy crashed spectacularly in October 2008, furious citizens took action and a vibrant civil society emerged; it was the best and worst of times as the country lost its economic wealth and social poverty…
In late August the Vancouver Sun ran an article on the bullish prospects for Canadian shale gas. The piece began this way: “What energy crisis? Despite what you may be hearing about a global peak in oil production, waning reserves, and $100-plus oil prices, North America is suddenly awash in fossil fuel.”…
In our history, the American nation committed obvious sins against select groups of people, and we’ve paid bitterly for some of that. But now it’s our sins against the land itself that threaten to sink the USA as a viable enterprise.
A weekly review including:
– Production and prices
– The crack spread
– Ominous forecasts
– Quote of the week
– Briefs
Many Oil Drum readers imagine what is ahead as a slide down the net energy curve, as the amount of oil and natural gas available gradually decline. Somehow, business as usual will continue, but at a lower level, as resources deplete. But what if a better model for what is ahead is overshoot and collapse?
Crop To Cuisine spends time with James McWilliams – Author of a new highly provocative book, Just Food: Where Locavores Get it Wrong, And How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly. McWilliams shares his thoughts on on food dogma, global population, and sustainability.
-Supply constraints to push oil up to $105 a barrel by 2012
-Peak oil expected in 2009: Macquarie
-Oil strikes not enough to quench demand
-Thomas Paine Would Have Loved Van Jones
-If Obama can’t defeat the Republican headbangers, our planet is doomed
-Good Billions After Bad
-Big Step Forward Lost in Shuffle
