Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
What I’d like to do for this post is ask if government policies contribute to the troubles in the food system. I see ways in which we are we working against our own interests, akin to a giant tug of war game, where the work of one only serves to counter the work of another.
Oil prices ended Thursday under $76/barrel following a week of mixed economic and geopolitical news. A surprise announcement at the end of last week that Dubai, that shining symbol of sustainable development in the Middle East, would not pay the interest on some of its massive debts on time, briefly rallied the dollar pushing down oil prices…
-The UK Power Generation Expenditure Forecast 2010-2030
-How many cyclists does it take to power a hairdryer?
-Energy bills could rise to more than £2,000, says Ofgem
-Solar industry ‘in limbo’ as grants dry up
It is looking like the course of China’s economy will have a lot more to do with your life and lifestyle over the next year or so than you had ever imagined possible.
A midweek roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Prices and production
-Iran
In this captivating tale, we accompany Cornucopian Man and his faithful side-kick, Economics-Professor Boy, as they battle the confidence-destroying forces of Biophysical Reality. In today’s adventure, our heroes try to stop the nefarious villains from spilling pure Truth onto (gasp!) the front page of the New York Times. It’s a riveting story rife with rollicking adventure, knee-slapping humor, and some ‘deep thought’ to boot!
-Obama Adds Troops, but Maps Exit Plan
-Iran vows to expand its nuclear program
-A strategy to encourage Afghans and allies alike
-Iran left out in the cold
-Acknowledging the Reality of Peak Oil
-Peak Oil Reality – Production & Depletion Issues
-World Energy Outlook 2009 (Video)
-Can non-conventional oil fill the gap?
With a long-time eye to declining energy resources, Bart Anderson envisions a very different society in five years. The former editor of Energy Bulletin.net offers advice for post-oil living: Understand the problem. Prepare psychologically for big shifts and the unexpected. Find your niche and get good at it. See what your great grandparents did as a model for living well within limits. “Live poor and learn to do it well” as Bart did as a graduate student. Things will be very different, he said, but we’ll make it through.
The first wells of the modern era (there may have been older ones, I don’t know) were six drilled around 1998 in the North Falklands Basin. A sniff of gas and oil was found in two of them. Other wells have since been drilled, and nothing found anything to write home about. The current minor hoo-hah relates to an old well which has been “re-interpreted” to suggest that it did cut oil-bearing reservoir. Since the early wells, FOG and Desire have been at the forefront, raising funds for more seismic and drilling, together with Rockhopper and one or two other minors and special vehicles. A few of the majors have partnered some work.
I’ve gottten literally dozens of emails begging me to weigh in on the East Anglia climate scandal, and for a while, I was reluctant to do so, because ultimately, paying attention to something so inane just gives it credibility. We’re back, again, to the old battles over climate change — attention to trivialities in the absence of the central issue.
Most of us have heard that Dubai World is asking for a six month delay in paying back its debt. The debt was supposedly backed by the Dubai government, so Standard & Poor’s considers this a default of the Dubai government.
