peak oil

Scientific viewpoint or ‘religious’ belief: My cat explains energy optimism

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Some ideas find their basis in fact, while others fall under the category of faith. But, then there is a vast sea of ideas parading as facts, when really, these ‘facts’ are nothing but ideology based on ideas that are empirically false or at least suspect.

Oil crunch and Eurozone crisis

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We are three and a half years into the Eurozone crisis that kicked off in October 2009 when Greek minister of finance George Papaconstantinou made it apparent to the outside world that his country’s budget was essentially a gaping hole. The recent bailout (or bail-in where depositors and creditors have to pay their share) of the Cyprus banks is just the latest chapter in this ongoing story of recession, austerity measures, high unemployment, strikes, protests, credit rating cuts, financial reforms and leadership resignations. But what if, on top of all of this, the price of oil was to spike at over US$200 a barrel? Would that mark the end of the Eurozone?

3 steps to raise a happy peak oil kid

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Your baby absorbed so many early-learning podcasts in utero that when she’s born she doesn’t know if she’s supposed to be Baby Einstein, Baby Mozart or Baby Bill Gates. Your husband or wife had to call in some big favors to reserve little Emma or Alessandra a place in a top preschool. After that, you’ve got her future all planned out: a decent gifted program, Yale undergrad, Wharton MBA, partner at Goldman Sachs.

Should the last few years have updated your idea of peak oil?

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Nate Hagens draws my attention to this recent interview with Dennis Meadows, lead author of the famous Limits to Growth series of books. Meadows is very pessimistic. I was particularly interested in his views on oil production and peak oil, in which he states positively that peak oil is in the past (which is very arguable at best, given that oil production is still making new monthly highs), and also that "Oil production will be reduced approximately by half in the next 20 years, even with the exploitation of oil sands or shale oil."

The death of peak oil

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"Peak oil is dead," Rob Wile declared last week. Colin Sullivan says it has "gone the way of the Flat Earth Society"…These comments inspired me to revisit some of the predictions made in 2005 that received a lot of attention at the time, and take a look at what’s actually happened since then.

Peak oil – Mar 29

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•Oil majors are whistling past the graveyard •Peak Oil Is Dead [Global Oil Demand Growth – The End Is Nigh] •The Reward for Being Right About Peak Oil: Scorn Heaped With Derision •Russia Lets China Into Arctic Rush as Energy Giants Embrace

The Illusion of Invincibility

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One of the wry amusements to be had from writing a blog that routinely contradicts the conventional wisdom of our time is the way that defenders of that same conventional wisdom tend to react. You might think that those who are repeating what most people believe would take advantage of that fact, and present themselves as the voice of the majority, speaking for the collective consensus of our time. In the nearly seven years since I started this blog, though, the number of times that’s happened can be counted neatly on the fingers of one foot.