Oil

World Energy Outlook 2009 – (press release and excerpt)

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“World leaders gathering in Copenhagen next month for the UN Climate summit have a historic opportunity to avert the worst effects of climate change. The World Energy Outlook 2009 seeks to add momentum to their negotiations at this crucial stage by detailing the practical steps needed for a sustainable energy future as part of a global climate deal,” said Nobuo Tanaka, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency today in London at the launch of the new WEO – the annual flagship publication of the IEA.

Can we handle the truth?

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The International Energy Agency (IEA) released World Energy Outlook 2009 today. Even before the sham was shipped, it was exposed as a big ‘ol bucket of lies. Seems the current administration thinks Americans can’t handle the truth, so we need to apply some pressure to keep the lid on the facts. If this country’s paragon of transparency (i.e., world’s leading liar) and master of hope (i.e., wishful thinking) actually trusted the American people, perhaps we could avert chaos.

Gasoline Price Causing Big-Vehicle Sales

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The retail price of gasoline in the U.S. is extremely low, not just compared to the summer of 2008. Subsidies both direct and hidden create a true cost at least a few times higher than the visible price. The actual cost is paid largely through income taxes (such as for wars in the Middle East and domestic infrastructure), in the purchase of goods and services associated with “free” parking, and even medical care for car/fuel related mortality and morbidity. When the average gasoline price is $2.66 a gallon, according to news reports on the most recent Lundberg Survey, the message to the consumer is “Buy that big vehicle.”

The Peak of the Oil Age – The Uppsala World Energy Outlook

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A new study, accepted for publication in the journal Energy Policy, analyzes the oil production forecast done by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 2008. It highlights several shortcomings as well as confirms other parts. It concludes: “our analysis points to a world oil supply in 2030 of 75 Mb/d, some 26 Mb/d lower than the IEA predicts… The fact that global oil production has very probably passed its maximum implies that we have reached the Peak of the Oil Age.”

ODAC Newsletter Nov 6

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Tuesday will see the release of the influential International Energy Agency World Energy Outlook (WEO) 2009. Last year’s blockbuster from the report was the declaration that the equivalent of 6 Saudi Arabia’s would need to come online by 2030 in order to meet demand and offset depletion of existing fields.

Decline of the Empire — Now What?

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It is now 4 months since I wrote The Decline of the American Empire. The time is ripe for a follow-up. I will tell a sad story first, talk a little about our precarious banking system, and then relate the lessons learned back to my Decline theme. At the end I will talk about what all this means for the loosely structured peak oil “movement”.