Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
In this animated dialogue, natural resource analyst Sean Brodrick provides a sharp-eyed perspective on what may be coming in this precarious economy and how to prepare for it.
The bottom line of the last few weeks is that there will be many more factors shaping the end of the oil age than a simple geologic reduction in the amount of oil that can be pumped. We already know about “above ground factors” such as wars, nationalism, lack of investment, and their affect on global oil production and the price of oil products. It is now becoming apparent that Mother Nature in the form of droughts, earthquakes, hurricanes and erupting volcanoes is likely to have a significant voice in how the oil age ends too.
-Are policymakers, economists and peak oilists starting to speak the same language?
-Demand for oil to outstrip supply within two years
-A ‘watershed month for the truth about peak oil’
Last week none of us had ever heard of an Icelandic volcano called Eyjafjallajokull, and still even now, very few of us can actually pronounce its name. The volcanic dust spewn forth across Europe as a result of its spectacular eruption has had a remarkable effect, leading to, among other things, the total grounding of the UK’s aviation fleet for several days until this morning….But perhaps rather than seeing it as the ‘misery’ most news broadcasts labelled it as, we might see it as good practice for the near future.
We currently live within an integrated complex globalised economy. We have framed the process in which this occurs as a catastrophic bifurcation, driven by a series of reinforcing positive feedbacks. The final point will be a de-globalised (localised) economy of much reduced complexity.
We know that emerging issues are emerging because they have a social form. Art gives us clues about the changing meanings of the future.
I’m sure many of you are aware that there’s been an enormous amount of hype accompanying the coming Shale Gas Revolution.
Recent weeks have seen an explosion of information on peak oil – everywhere it seems except in the mainstream media. It may be in the business sections, but not the news pages.
… He was referring to the arguments of ASPO that we have already reached peak oil.
Two years ago the Defense Department announced a major oil shock for 2015, and nobody noticed.
A weekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Prices and production
-Isolating Iran
-Defense turns pessimistic
-Energy stat of the week
-Briefs
The notion of ‘peak demand’ is often invoked to suggest that the US or global economy is somehow less in need of affordable oil today or that Americans are simply finding car ownership passé. But is this really the case? Are we weaning ourselves from dependence on oil? The statistics paint a more nuanced story.
