Oil

The first peak oil recession: Interview with Steven Kopits

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Steven Kopits, who runs the New York office of Douglas Westwood, was in Denver last week. He talked about his latest paper on peak oil and the economy with Steve Andrews and will share related remarks at the ASPO-USA conference next month. Steve popped a few questions:…

CERA Says World Has Peaked, Buffett Calls Capitalism a Ponzi Scheme

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The trend in media this decade has been for the gritty, non-politically correct analysis and muckraking to be primarily found on the internet. The content of conventional media is largely confined to a narrow band around conventional institutional views…As we live through growing disconnects between perception and reality, the abstract and the concrete, and the aware and the blissful, I thought an imaginary press conference among some conventional luminaries might highlight some truths via its juxtaposition.

Start by Asking the Right Questions – Thinking About the Terms for the Debate on Local and Organic Food

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One of the reasons discussions of whether “organic” and “local” can “feed the world” often founder so badly is the whole set of presumptions that preceed such a discussion. So let’s talk about those – James McWilliams’ book _Just Food_ and others have stirred up a good bit of controversy on this subject, and lots of people seem to know the answers. But the real problem is that most people don’t really seem to understand what the questions are.

Solutions & sustainability – Sept 10

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-Transition Towns project helps kick oil addiction
-Cuban Ambassador visits Cloughjordan
-In a small patch of land, hope reborn for Sudanese refugees
-Community Supported Agriculture thrives around Osceola, Wis.
-Celebrating the abundant growth of the farmers market
-Algae biofuel propels a braves’ new world
-Transition towns

Middle East and Peak Oil – Sept 10

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-Debate about peak oil is misleading
-Saudi provides realistic outlook on energy future
-OAPEC to spend $133 bn on boosting refinery output
-Abu Dhabi to invest $10 bn on green projects
-UNDP Arab Human Development Report 2009

Marshall Auerback: “Many years of economic stagnation” interview: excerpt

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…I don’t know if Baker’s statement reflects an “eternal truth”, but oil is undoubtedly a very important component of the global economy and energy (along with food) is a key non-discretionary essential without which we couldn’t sustain our current standard of living.  Unlike Europe, the US is still addicted to cheap oil, so the impact of price spikes tends to be felt much more acutely here than it does in the EU or UK…