Peak oil review – May 31
A weekly review including:
– Oil and the Global Economy
– Deepwater Horizon
– Quote of the Week
– Briefs
Oil
Lost leaders
It is embarrassing to be lost. It is even more embarrassing for a leader to be lost. And what’s really really embarrassing to all concerned is when national and transnational corporate leaders attempt to tackle a major disaster and are found out to have been issuing marching orders based on the wrong map. Everyone then executes a routine of turning toward each other in shock, frowning while shaking their heads slowly from side to side and looking away in disgust.
Deepwater drilling going ahead despite eco disaster
The desperate ongoing operation to contain the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster is not deterring the Canadian government from “soliciting bids” for offshore drilling, according to press reports.
A sense of home and a sense of place
Louisiana leaders have not only been voicing the anger and frustration of their constituents over the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but late last week they began to mourn the place they call home.
Three Chinese curses
I’m writing a book about the dire nature of our predicaments and I mention the high likelihood of a global economic collapse within a decade or so. The naturalist doesn’t bat an eye before responding: “I hope I’m around to see it. I don’t want my son to have all the fun.”
ODAC Newsletter – May 28
Good and bad news from the Gulf of Mexico. Operation ‘top kill’ appears to be holding the hydrocarbons down, as ODAC News goes to press, but officials estimate the leak was much bigger than BP claimed and now ranks as the worst in US history…
The Gulf Of Mexico before the oil spill
The oil leak on Mississippi Canyon seafloor of the Gulf of Mexico proceeds apace. It is not clear that recent actions have succeeded in plugging the leak. The widely dispersed petroleum is a great disaster, but I get the distinct impression that this oil is seen as despoiling a pristine environment. Nothing could be further from the truth. I get this impression because, to my knowledge, the sorry state of the Gulf of Mexico before the oil spill has not been discussed.
Toward sustainable travel: breaking the flying addiction
Flying dwarfs any other individual activity in terms of carbon emissions, yet more and more people are traveling by air. With no quick technological fix on the horizon, what alternatives — from high-speed trains to advanced videoconferencing — can cut back the amount we fly?
Peak oil notes – May 27
A midweekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Prices and production
-Deepwater Horizon
Deepwater horizon update: Obama’s speech, Tony Hayward yelling, and will “top kill” work? – May 27
-President Obama: Fed Gov’t in Charge of Efforts to Contain Oil Spill, Not BP
-BP and the Annals of the Tin Ear
-‘Top kill’ method ‘slows BP oil leak’ in Gulf of Mexico
-Setback Delays ‘Top Kill’ Effort to Seal Leaking Oil Well in Gulf
Gulf oil slick ‘worst in US history’
Early reports are indicating that BP’s risky bid to plug it’s Gulf of Mexico well appear to be working – but the subsequent oil slick may be far greater than anyone dared fear.
Some Transition thoughts on the energy bits of the Queen’s speech
So the Queen’s Speech has set out the policy priorities for the new government, but were the policies announced a cop-out or do they set out a wartime mobilisation scale of response to climate change and peak oil? These reflections are based on the article about the speech that appeared in yesterday’s Guardian.
