Natural Gas

Dilemma and denial

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A couple of weeks ago Jerry Mander and I were discussing the best word to use in the heading for the back cover copy of a new short book being co-published by International Forum on Globalization and Post Carbon Institute, Searching for a Miracle: “Net Energy” and the Fate of Industrial Societies (I wrote the main text, Jerry wrote the Foreword). Jerry liked the word “conundrum,” while I argued for “dilemma.” We were in basic agreement, though, about a word we didn’t want: “problem.”

Climate & environment – Oct 6

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-Arctic seas turn to acid, putting vital food chain at risk
-New Analysis Brings Dire Forecast Of 6.3-Degree Temperature Increase
-Imagining Climate Solutions
-Rich countries ‘must slash living standards’ to fight climate change
-Tipping towards the unknown
-No rainforest, no monsoon: get ready for a warmer world

Linking the past with the present: resources, land use, and the collapse of civilizations

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The human role in extinction of species and degradation of ecosystems is well documented. Since European settlement in North America, and especially after the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, we have witnessed a substantial decline in biological diversity of native taxa and profound changes in assemblages of the remaining species…We have, to the maximum possible extent allowed by our intellect and never-ending desire, consumed the planet.

Norman Borlaug: Saint Or Sinner?

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The father of the “green revolution” in agriculture, Norman Borlaug, recently passed away due to cancer, at the age of 95. Borlaug didn’t approve of the “green revolution” moniker, dubbing it “a miserable term” (what he would have made of “The Agrichemical Revolutionary” isn’t clear) but his work has had a far-reaching impact on the course of human development.

Water and drought – Oct 1

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-World’s river deltas sinking due to human activity, says new study led by CU-Boulder
-Gulf of Mexico ‘dead zone’ to grow dramatically due to federal biofuel mandate
-Dust Storm Blankets Sydney as Drought Bites
-Water worries threaten U.S. push for natural gas
-Alternative Energy Projects Stumble on a Need for Water
-Obama administration wades deeper into Delta mire

Where we really stand with respect to oil and natural gas supplies

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A few days ago, I gave a presentation in Poland that talks about how much difficulty the world is having maintaining its oil production. The presentation was not set up to be a response to Jad Mouawad’s recent New York Times article, Oil Industry Sets a Brisk Pace of New Discoveries, but in many ways it is one. Our recent discoveries really have not been enough to make up for our many production problems elsewhere. We are having problems not only with oil, but with natural gas. The solution the financially distressed world is increasingly considering is…well, read the story to see.

The Himalayan Gas Tango

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Through September 2009, the government of India has issued a variety of statements designed to quell India’s long-lived China bogey. It has done so to contain what it calls panic and scare-mongering about alleged incursions over the India-China border by units of the People’s Liberation Army. The ‘incidents’ (as the Indian media like to call the events) have all occurred over India’s north-western border with China, in the mountainous Jammu and Kashmir state.

Commentary: Mission Critical: Can Shale Gas Save the World?

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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.”…

San Antonio: New Economy Leader or Nuclear Guinea Pig?

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San Antonio’s new Mayor Julian Castro, in office just three months, has inherited a dilemma. The nation’s 7th largest city is suffering from almost 8% unemployment. With limited resources, the Mayor and City Council are searching for ways to create local jobs. At the same time, the City, through its municipal utility City Public Service (CPS), is burning through hundreds of millions of dollars on just paperwork, to prepare to spend billions on a new nuclear power plant project some 200 miles away at Bay City, TX.