Peak Oil: The Eventual End of the Oil Age

We cannot be lulled into a false sense of security: though oil prices have declined from their historic highs, there is little doubt that peak oil is real. A 2008 research project completed at Washington University in St. Louis found strong evidence in support of the theory. Please feel free to circulate this academic document as a primer on peak oil.

Response to George Will: “There is still no alternative to oil”

George Will had quite a few figures in his commentary “There is still no alternative to oil” that suggested there are no supply problems concerning oil. I think there are a few more figures that should be added to assess the oil supply situation.

Renewables & efficiency – Nov 6

-A Plan to Power 100 Percent of the Planet with Renewables
-Farms going green to save and survive
-Solar power from Sahara a step closer
-Nearly 200 Organizations and Companies Urge Senate to Adopt Key Energy-Efficiency Provision in Climate Bill
-Report Argues for a Decentralized System of Renewable Power Generation

Nations & resources – Oct 16

-India’s quest for uranium
-Putin’s China Visit Helps Russia Become Global Energy Supplier
-Iraq cuts foreign deals for major boost to oil output
-The U.S. military’s battle to wean itself off oil
-What’s yours is mine
-Big Oil Front Group Fights for Tar Sands
-Saudis Seek Payments for Any Drop in Oil Revenues

Resources and anthropocentrism

Evolution demands short-term thinking focused on individual survival. Most attempts to overcome our evolutionarily hardwired absorption with self are selected against. The Overman is dead, killed by a high-fat diet and unwillingness to exercise. Reflexively, we follow him into the grave.

Renewables and Efficiency – Oct 5

-Oil and Solar Do Mix
-Plugged-In Age Feeds a Hunger for Electricity
-Americans Are Still Buying Gas-Guzzlers, But Here Are 7 Signs That the Market for Green Transport Is Exploding
-Passive Solar Design Overview – Part 5: Distribution, Ventilation, and Cooling
-Google working on “smart” plug-in hybrid charging
-10p to create a solar power sector in UK
-Saving BIG on electricity costs: chest refrigerators

Jeremy Leggett Interview—Culture Problem in the Oil Industry?

What follows is four questions from an interview recently filmed in London by ASPO-USA’s Dave Bowden and Steve Andrews…“So I worry about peak oil. I worry about climate change. And I need no persuasion of the power of the alternatives to do something about both problems.”

San Antonio: New Economy Leader or Nuclear Guinea Pig?

San Antonio’s new Mayor Julian Castro, in office just three months, has inherited a dilemma. The nation’s 7th largest city is suffering from almost 8% unemployment. With limited resources, the Mayor and City Council are searching for ways to create local jobs. At the same time, the City, through its municipal utility City Public Service (CPS), is burning through hundreds of millions of dollars on just paperwork, to prepare to spend billions on a new nuclear power plant project some 200 miles away at Bay City, TX.

Middle East and Peak Oil – Sept 10

-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