John Michael Greer: The Myth of the Machine

The strategy discussed in last week’s post—that of walking away from energy-intensive lifestyles before the waning of the age of abundant energy brings them grinding to a halt—is a viable response to the crisis of our age, but it’s also a great way to poke a stick at some of the most deeply entrenched of […]

Oil prices, exhaustible resources, and economic growth

Abstract This chapter explores details behind the phenomenal increase in global crude oil production over the last century and a half and the implications if that trend should be reversed. I document that a key feature of the growth in production has been exploitation of new geographic areas rather than application of better technology to […]

ITER Fusion Project Funded in 2012

Following the 13 December 2011 agreement between the two branches of the budgetary authority (Council and Parliament), the Commission has adopted a draft amending budget to meet part of this year’s financial needs for the ITER project (€ 650 million) without asking Member States for additional contributions. The break down of the extra €1.3 billion […]

The Demise of the Petrodollar

Tehran Pushes to Ditch the US Dollar The official line from the United States and the European Union is that Tehran must be punished for continuing its efforts to develop a nuclear weapon. The punishment: sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, which are meant to isolate Iran and depress the value of its currency to such […]

Waning Support for Wind and Solar

Assisted by technological innovation and years of subsidies, the cost of wind and solar powerhas fallen sharply — so much so that the two industries say that they can sometimes deliver cleaner electricity at prices competitive with power made from fossil fuels. At the same time, wind and solar companies are telling Congress that they […]

Oil industry sees China winning, West losing from Iran sanctions

As the European Union prepares to ban Iranian oil and the United States turns the screw on payments, oil executives and policymakers say China and Russia stand to gain the most and Western oil firms and consumers may emerge the biggest losers. Iran will continue to sell much the same volume of oil – 2.6 […]

Everything You Know About Peak Oil Is Wrong

We’re not running out of resources. Quite the contrary. And in our abundance lies a paradox At some point in the coming months, the confrontation between the West and Iran over the Islamic republic’s nuclear program may reach a breaking point. Even assuming the two sides manage to avoid full-fledged military conflict, the crisis could […]

Platts on CNBC: Geopolitics, the biggest threat to oil

Platts Senior managing editor Shailaja Nair of our Singapore office, sat down with CNBC to talk about the effect of geopolitical events on oil and gas going forward. You can see the interview here.

OPEC to Boost Exports

OPEC will increase shipments through the middle of February as winter demand in the northern hemisphere reaches its peak, according to tanker-tracker Oil Movements. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will ship 23.51 million barrels a day in the four weeks to Feb. 11, 1.3 percent more than the 23.2 million transported in the period […]

World Economic Forum Davos 2012: Leaders agree that access to food key to feeding hungry

Business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum agreed on Thursday that solving the problem isn’t just about producing more food, it means getting these staples into hungry mouths. “The world can feed itself. Africa can feed itself. The problem is we have vulnerable populations who do not have access” to the food, said […]

How a gas boom became a glut

Passengers on Pennsylvania’s natural-gas roller coaster are advised to check their restraining devices. It’s poised to change course again, producing nausea for some and shrieks of joy for others. A combination of powerful forces – Mother Nature and supply and demand – is going to have at least a short-term impact on natural-gas drilling in […]

Mike Ruppert on Keiser Report

Every week, Max Keiser looks at all the scandal behind the financial news headlines. In this episode, Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert, discuss killing Hollywood, poor Chris Dodd and how Mubarak’s fall brought about an assault on the internet. In the second half of the show, Max interviews Mike Ruppert about SOPA, the NDAA […]

Nature: Has Peak Oil Already Happened?

A new analysis concludes that easily extracted oil peaked in 2005, suggesting that dirtier fossil fuels will be burned and energy prices will rise Despite major oil finds off Brazil’s coast, new fields in North Dakota and ongoing increases in the conversion of tar sands to oil in Canada, fresh supplies of petroleum are only […]

Supermarkets rush to raise fuel prices as pumps run dry amid fears of panic buying

Fuel prices have risen again just 24 hours after one of Britain’s biggest refineries went bust, stopping supplies to filling stations. There are fears of panic buying after long queues formed outside several filling stations in the South East yesterday as diesel pumps ran dry. Supermarkets – which usually set the trend – have put […]

BP exempted from US ban on Iran oil

BP Plc, UK, and EU have reportedly convinced US lawmakers to exempt a BP-led project from the newly- proposed Washington sanctions on Iran. This is a clear indication that the West is pushing for stricter embargoes on Tehran without harming its own economy. US senators have discussed provisions that could bar companies like BP from […]

Fracking shakes the Earth, poisons our water

Add yet another new concern to the growing list of reasons to oppose hyraudlic fracturing, the natural-gas extraction process known as “fracking”: earthquakes. That’s right, following a New Year’s Eve earthquake in Youngstown, Ohio — the town’s 11th since D&L Energy began injecting drilling waste underground in December 2010 — state leaders put a hold […]

Coal, the new war in the Pacific

Takeovers of oil and gas assets are multiplying on all continents, with coal assets participating as well, but with less exposure in Europe. Despite the construction of about ten coal-fired power plants in Germany and Poland, solid fuels appear as belonging to Europe’s past. The main competing grounds have moved from the near Atlantic to […]

The Hydrogen dream

Last week I went to Longwy’s university campus, the Institut Universitaire de Technologie (part of the University of Lorraine), for a conference on renewable energies and energy efficiency. It was an event integrated in an InterReg project for innovation, called Tigre, gathering institutions from Lorraine, Saarland, Luxembourg and Wallonie. It kicked off with a session […]

Oil Supply as a Strategic Risk

Concerns about the climate have not inspired a lot of action lately on global energy policy. Now two professors are arguing that supply concerns and rising oil prices ought to be enough to get governments moving, even if the climate does not. In an opinion piece released on Wednesday by the journal Nature, James Murray […]

China’s Oil Demand Reaches Records Despite Slowing Growth

China’s apparent oil demand in December rose 0.7 percent year on year to 41.02 million metric ton (mt), or an average 9.69 million barrels per day (bpd), a Platts analysis of recent statistics released by the Chinese government showed. “But even with that relatively slow rate of growth at the end of the year, the […]

Peak Fish: Hints of Epic Fish Collapse

Eric Pineda, a dock agent in this old port south of Santiago, peered deep into the Achernar’s hold at a measly 10 tons of jack mackerel — the catch after four days in waters once so rich they filled the 17-meter fishing boat in a few hours. Mr. Pineda, like everyone here, grew up with […]

IMF: halt in Iran oil could push crude up 30 percent

The International Monetary Fund warned on Wednesday that global crude prices could rise as much as 30 percent if Iran halts oil exports as a result of U.S. and European Union sanctions. If Iran halts exports to countries without offsets from other sources it would likely trigger an “initial” oil price jump of 20 to […]

More Reasons Why We are Reaching Limits to Growth

In a recent post, I talked about why we may be reaching Limits to Growth of the type foretold in the 1972 book Limits to Growth. I would like to explain some additional reasons now. Figure 1. Base scenario from 1972 Limits to Growth, printed using today’s graphics by Charles Hall and John Day in […]

The Peak Oil Crisis: On Closing Our Refineries

Here is one more thing for those of us who live in the northeastern U.S. to start worrying about – the refineries that make our gasoline, diesel, heating oil, etc. are dropping like flies. In today’s economy, these refineries are simply losing so much money that their owners who are not major oil companies that […]

No oil for old countries

I THINK my colleague is right to take some encouragement from the latest Energy Information Agency outlook. As one would expect to occur amid a period of sustained, high oil prices, American oil consumption has fallen from 2005 while its production has risen. That, in turn, has led to a decline in the quantity of […]

Is The Booming Natural Gas Industry Overproducing?

The practice of hydraulic fracturing — pumping fluid into underground rock to push up natural gas — has its detractors, especially among environmentalists. But it’s becoming clear that whatever its drawbacks, “fracking,” as it’s called, is producing a lot of gas — maybe too much gas. Fracking was once a small part of the natural […]

SOTU: ‘American Energy’ Key to Boosting U.S. Job Creation

It wouldn’t be a State of the Union address without an energy pitch aimed at reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil or how to boost the economy with job creation. President Barack Obama delivered plans for both during Tuesday night’s address to the American people. Onshore & Offshore Drilling Obama said he is determined to […]

The Permaculture Neighborhood Center

Erik Ohlsen takes you on a tour of an edible oasis he created on a 1/3 acre asphalt lot, encouraging you to think about sustainable living for small-town and suburban life. In the face of drought, fire, peak oil, energy depletion, soil depletion and more, what can you do to live a more eco-friendly life?

Peak oil & environmental degradation deniers own the podium

EU plans to place sanctions on Iran oil; a reflection of state of global economy?             When I first heard of EU plans to stop buying crude oil from Iran, I was baffled.  The IEA was projecting oil demand growth of 1.3 mb/d for 2012, and even with the expected Libyan oil coming back on […]

The Background Music Has Gone Silent

In the dark ages as a lad, I attended many of the “horror” or “monster” movies of the time. There were such notables as “The Thing”, “Them”, “The Creature from the Black Lagoon”, “Godzilla”, “The Blob”, “The Tingler”, “Kronos”, “The Creature from Beneath the Sea”, and many others. Today’s audiences would consider those movies more […]

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