Transportation

The Peak Oil Crisis: Bankruptcy

by

A year ago we were debating the possibility of an economic downturn. Now we are looking for the bottom of a major recession or perhaps something worse. It seems that for the last 30 or 40 years we have been extending ourselves ever increasing amounts of credit. It had to stop somewhere-and it did – just as world oil production was peaking.

Rethinking the Rust Belt

by

The fantasy that historical change can only continue in its most recent direction underlies many of the difficulties we face in making sense of the deindustrial are. Unthinkable as it may seem, the economic map of North America in 2050 might well resemble nothing so much as the equivalent map in 1880 — a possibility that requires reframing many common assumptions about the shape of the future.

Aviation fuel and future oil production scenarios – “Peak Aviation”

by

The industry has put ambitious goals on increases in fuel efficiency for the aviation fleet. Traffic is predicted to grow by 5% per year to 2026, fuel demand by about 3% per year. At the same time aviation fuel production is predicted to decrease by several percent each year after the crude oil production peak is reached resulting in a substantial shortage of jet fuel by 2026. The aviation industry will have a hard time replacing this with fuel from other sources, even if air traffic remains at current levels.