‘Peak oil’? It feels more like peak political hypocrisy

Contrary to nearly all received wisdom in Washington, not to mention the rhetoric of the presumptive nominees of both major parties, the scariest moments in American politics are often its most bipartisan. Some would say this was demonstrated in the wake of 9/11, when all those allegedly terrible national security laws were enacted by both […]

The Peak Oil Crisis: The Blackouts Spread

Of the 266 distinct nations or entities on the world today, nearly 100 are now reporting continuing energy shortages, mostly in the form of inadequate electricity supply, but in a growing number of cases, shortages of liquid fuels and natural gas. The actual number of countries affected is probably well over 100 but there are […]

Peak Oil and Energy Imperialism

The rise in overt militarism and imperialism at the outset of the twenty-first century can plausibly be attributed largely to attempts by the dominant interests of the world economy to gain control over diminishing world oil supplies. Beginning in 1998 a series of strategic energy initiatives were launched in national security circles in the United […]

US Airways pilots: We’re pressured to cut fuel

WASHINGTON (AP) The union also paid for a full-page ad in Wednesday’s USA TODAY addressed to “our valued passengers.” The ad accuses the airline of “a program of intimidation to pressure your captain to reduce fuel loads.” Ray said soaring jet fuel prices have sent all the airlines scrambling to find ways to cut the […]

Biofuels producers hit back at Opec over oil price

The global biofuels sector has launched a ferocious attack on the Opec oil cartel by accusing it of deliberately “misleading” the public about who is responsible for soaring fuel prices. An open letter to Chakib Khelil, president of Opec, from the main biofuel organisations in Europe, North America and Brazil accuses him of providing self-serving […]

Costly biofuel support offers few benefits-OECD

Public support for biofuels is costly and has little impact in cutting greenhouse gas emissions so governments would do better promoting lower energy consumption to fight climate change, the OECD said on Wednesday. Governments should also boost the so-called second generation biofuels that do not use food crops, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development […]

Hopes for peace grow as Iran and US hold first high-level talks for 30 years

The US is to send a senior official to talks with Iran on Saturday, the highest level meeting between the two since the 1979 Iranian revolution and a departure from George Bush’s previous hard line. William Burns, an undersecretary of state, left Washington last night en route to Switzerland to hear Tehran’s response on Saturday […]

Airline Crisis Boosts Biofuel Drive

Algae and nuts are among the alternative sources of fuel being considered by an increasingly skittish aviation industry as an alternative to petroleum, whose price rises threaten airlines with bankruptcy. With oil prices poised to break through the US$150 a barrel barrier, biofuels based on sources of energy like these no longer seem far-fetched — […]

Soaring fuel sinks 2000 Qantas jobs

QANTAS will slash about 2000 jobs next week as the national carrier seeks to offset cost pressures caused by the crippling fuel crisis.The belt tightening also will include cutting loss-making flight routes from both domestic and international schedules. The economic situation confronting the airline is so grim senior managers, flight crew, engineers and ground staff […]

Simmons Sees Oil Climbing on `Unbelievably’ Tight Supply

Matt Simmons, chief executive officer of Simmons & Co., talks with Bloomberg’s Carol Massar from Rockport, Maine, about the outlook for crude oil prices. Simmons is a former energy adviser to President George W. Bush. Bloomberg News (video)

Military looks to synthetics, conservation to cut fuel bills

“Aim high” is the current Air Force motto for most things But with the price of jet fuel rising almost as fast as civilians’ gasoline, even in the wholesale quantities of the military, that reaching out costs more every day. “Every time the price of oil goes up by $1 per barrel, it costs us […]

Analysis: Blame the dollar

The US economic power horse is running out of ideas and cash as it jostles with a massive national debt, housing and financial crises, rising inflation, and a depreciating currency. … As America struggles to avoid recession, the world economic order appears to be heading for a drastic overhaul. Despite a trend by some economists […]

Human consumption: Flying in the face of logic

Forty years after dropping his Population Bomb into the environment debate, Paul Ehrlich is still railing at man’s destructiveness In 1968, six years after Rachel Carson published Silent Spring – the book regarded as marking the beginning of modern environmental consciousness – a young American entomology professor at Stanford University, California, published The Population Bomb. […]

Future snowmelt in West twice as early as expected; threatens water supply

According to a new study, global warming could lead to larger changes in snowmelt in the western United States than was previously thought, possibly increasing wildfire risk and creating new water management challenges for agriculture, ecosystems and urban populations. Researchers, including a Purdue University professor of earth and atmospheric sciences, discovered that a critical surface […]

Redesigning Urban Transport

The world Some of the most innovative public transportation systems, those that shift huge numbers of people from cars into buses, have been developed in Curitiba and Bogota. The success of Bogota

FACTBOX – Why unrest in Nigeria’s oil heartland matters

(Reuters) – British Prime Minister Gordon Brown meets Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua in London on Wednesday and is expected to discuss ways to help Nigeria tackle lawlessness in its oil-producing Niger Delta. Below are answers to some questions about the Niger Delta and why it matters to the wider world. WHY IS THE DELTA IMPORTANT? […]

Philippine Army HQ starts ‘carless day’ to save fuel

The Philippine Army, in a bid to curb rising fuel expenses, has instituted a carless day rule at its general headquarters (GHQ) in Fort Bonifacio, Makati City. During carless days, all Army personnel residing inside the camp – generals included – are not allowed to use cars inside the camp. They are, instead, advised to […]

Xcel set to cut power to 47,000

The utility’s estimate of shutoffs in Colorado is a 140 percent rise over the same period in 2005. Xcel Energy estimates that it will shut off 47,000 Colorado customers for delinquent bills during the second and third quarters of this year, a staggering 140 percent increase over the same period in 2005, according to regulatory […]

Marshalls’ Energy Crisis

Marshalls’ Are Going Dark As Funds For Fuel Run Low With no financial reserves and a national fuel bill skyrocketing beyond the financial ability of the country While the Marshall Islands (RMI) government last week announced a ban on local tax- and Compact-funded travel until further notice, ordered street lights turned off at night, and […]

Solving the ‘Enigma’ of Reserve Growth

As a good rule of thumb, when you have a promising model describing some physical process, you might as well put it through its paces. Not only do you shake out some stubborn corner cases, but you often find something new and revealing. We did that in the last post, The Derivation of “Logistic-shaped” Discovery, […]

Oilwatch Monthly – July 2008

The July 2008 edition of Oilwatch Monthly can be downloaded at this weblink (PDF, 1.34 MB, 22 pp). In this edition I have added biofuels, monthly production revision charts and a barrel to BTU conversion section.The Oil Drum: Europe

Rising cost of power, plus growing demand, could lead to blackouts

WASHINGTON – Gasoline at $4 per gallon is blasting a gaping hole in family finances, but more pain is on the way for millions of Americans in the form of skyrocketing electricity rates. It is essential that U.S. policy makers focus on the critical link between increasing electricity demand, power costs and climate change goals. […]

Americans may be losing faith in free markets

Things are hard all over the financial landscape, and politicians and experts are now looking with favor at more, not less, government involvement in the economy. WASHINGTON — For a generation, most people accepted the idea that the core of what makes America tick was an economy governed by free markets. And whatever combination of […]

OPEC’s empty toolkit

The leaders of OPEC says its members have plenty of oil to meet demand. So why aren’t they putting more on the market? …The scary thought – held by observers like peak oil guru Matt Simmons and commodities investor Jim Rogers – is that the cartel can’t do much more than that because the easy […]

Our New Energy Crisis

Almost four years ago, when oil was trading at around $40 a barrel, Paul Roberts wrote a story for Mother Jones on a bleak scenario gaining currency among energy insiders, but not yet in the mainstream consciousness: peak oil, basically the notion that the world’s petroleum resources are nearing exhaustion. If the theory held true, […]

Energy reality starts to bite

When will it end, this crushing rise in the price of gasoline, now averaging US$4.10 a gallon at the pump? The question is uppermost in the minds of American motorists as they plan vacations or simply review their daily journeys. The short answer is simple as well: “Not soon.” As yet there is no sign […]

Heating oil price hike portends a tough winter

When contract customers of Eastham Discount Oil opened their mail this month, they probably shivered. The price quoted to lock in a fixed price for the coming year went up by nearly $2 per gallon, from $2.85 to $4.79. Other Cape dealers report similar increases. Fuel companies say they are squeezed between the rapidly escalating […]

British inflation soars as recession looms

Inflation in Britain quickened more than economists forecast in June to the fastest pace in at least 11 years, keeping pressure on the Bank of England to refrain from cutting interest rates as the threat of a recession looms. Consumer prices climbed 3.8 percent from a year earlier, exceeding the government’s 3 percent upper limit […]

Chrysler readies for hybrid, diesel minivans

Hybrid and diesel-powered minivans are just around the corner, starting with a Dodge Grand Caravan that will almost certainly be built in Windsor. Chrysler could be the first minivan maker to bring a hybrid to market, but it won’t be last, says J.D. Power and Associates – Toyota also has plans to offer a hybrid […]

Farmers to consumers: We’re affected too

While many shoppers may see the rising cost of local produce and think ill of those who grow it, farmers want their neighbors to be aware of increasing production costs. Leolga Wright, Sussex County executive director for the Farm Service Agency in Georgetown, farms a parcel of land with her husband. She said there’s a […]

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