The Peak Oil Crisis: Gasoline in 2012

In recent days there has been much discussion in the press about what might happen to gasoline prices in the coming year. Cognizant of the fact that retail gasoline is currently running nearly 30 cents per gallon higher than it was in January 2008 the year when prices topped out at a national average of […]

Peak oil can fuel a change for the better

The advent of peak oil means we should prepare for a downscaling of our highly energy and resource-intensive lifestyles. What is peak oil and why does it matter? And what effect will it have on the Western lifestyles we take for granted? These are not questions that many people are asking themselves yet, but this […]

Saudi oil output nearing capacity limit

* Saudi Arabia now pumping just under 10 mln bpd * On paper should be able to reach 12.5 mln bpd * Riyadh traditionally sets aside 1.5 mln bpd By Amena Bakr and Reem Shamseddine DUBAI/RIYADH, Jan 10 (Reuters) – Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is nearing its comfortable operational production limits and may struggle […]

Warm and fuzzy on geothermal?

The Earth started its existence as a red-hot rock, and has been cooling ever since. It’s still quite toasty in the core, and will remain so for billions of years, yet. Cooling implies a flow of heat, and where heat flows, the possibility exists of capturing useful energy. Geysers and volcanoes are obvious manifestations of […]

2011: ‘Odd year’ for oil

In case you didn’t notice, 2011 was “an odd year”—one of “volcanic change” that yet led to circumstances “conducive” to maintaining consistent oil prices, said Paul Horsnell, managing director of Commodities Research at Barclays Capital, London. He said, “The contradiction of 2011 is that once the pattern of the key dynamics was set, we have […]

Geopolitical implications of “Peak Everything”

From competition among hunter-gatherers for wild game to imperialist wars over precious minerals, resource wars have been fought throughout history; today, however, the competition appears set to enter a new—and perhaps unprecedented—phase. As natural resources deplete, and as the Earth’s climate becomes less stable, the world’s nations will likely compete ever more desperately for access […]

The Oil Potential of Iraqi Kurdistan

Whilst much of Iraq may be viewed as in a metastable social and political state, the semi autonomous northern region of Kurdistan has enjoyed relative peace for a number of years. This has enabled the regional government to develop oil exploitation laws and to lease much of the land to foreign exploration and production companies. […]

Kunstler: This Ripe Moment

The narcolepsy of the long Yuletide draws to a close and the world reawakens to its self-spun web of mutually reinforcing fiascos. Just before the holiday, a sense of futility darkened the European banking landscape as cascading sovereign default looked more and more inevitable. It was halted by a bazooka-caliber currency swap Ponzi that allowed […]

Heinberg: Teaching, schooling, & learning

“Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?” —George W. Bush, Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000 Until a few years ago I never imagined myself pursuing a career as an educator. While my father taught high school for a few years, and several other relatives have also taught in public schools, I disliked both […]

The return of “The Limits to Growth”

  The main results of the “base case” scenario of “The Limits to Growth” study, from a recent article on the New Scientist by Debora McKenzie (available upon registration) The return of interest in “The Limits to Growth” continues. After decades of ridicule and insults, the value of the 1972 study and of its sequels […]

A well that shaped the modern “awl bidness”: Spindletop at 111

In case anyone hadn’t noticed, January 10 is the 111st anniversary not only of the Texas “awl bidness” (that’s Texan for oil business, to all you non-Lone Stars) but also of Big Oil. On that day in 1901, Spindletop, a salt dome oil field sited south of what is now the city of Beaumont, Texas […]

Fear over fuel prices justified

What’s going on with gasoline prices? Atlantans, Georgians and virtually all Americans who drive cars have good reason to ask that question, and good reason to worry. In 2011, despite a weakened U.S. economy and high unemployment, crude oil averaged $95 per barrel and gasoline averaged $3.52 per gallon for the year. The typical American […]

Complex Systems, Dysfunctional Industries, and Catastrophic Collapse

My favorite line: “In a nutshell, complex systems arise spontaneously, behave unpredictably, exhaust resources and collapse catastrophically.” I think this applies to everything, physical systems, like Universes, financial systems, ecosystems, life. ~ Ilene Complex Systems, Dysfunctional Industries, and Catastrophic Collapse Courtesy of John Rubino. Over the holidays we tempted fate by booking a multi-stage plane […]

The Elephant In The Room Is Unsustainable Population Growth

“In the last 200 years the population of our planet has grown exponentially, at a rate of 1.9% per year. If it continued at this rate, with the population doubling every 40 years, by 2600 we would all be standing literally shoulder to shoulder.” says Professor Stephen Hawking as reported by Edward Morgan in Looking […]

Drilling Critics Face a Divide Over the Goal of Their Fight

With a deadline looming this week for the public to weigh in on gas drilling in New York State, the antifracking movement itself has become divided over what its goal should be: securing the nation’s toughest regulations, or winning an outright ban? The question is pitting brand-name organizations like the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources […]

The Faustian Bargain that Modern Economists Never Mention

Historically people have shifted their belief systems in various ways. The Greeks and Romans believed in numerous gods and goddesses and attributed all kinds of powers to them. Then the great monotheistic religions came along and people began to believe in just one god, though they honored him under different names. Recently, beliefs have shifted […]

Robert Hirsch: Energy Differentiation

Many people fail to properly differentiate between energy forms and related energy systems. One result is that they can be misled regarding solutions to such concerns as “the energy crisis,” “energy security,” or “dependence on foreign oil.” This not only leads to unrealistic thinking but poor public policy. Consider three major energy forms and their […]

A Crisis of Civilization?

Back in December I posted a trailer for The Crisis of Civilization. Based on the work of security analyst and political scientist Dr Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed, this new documentary explores the interconnections between climate change, peak oil, terrorism and our ongoing financial crisis. Mat has also written about Ahmed’s work on the connections between peak […]

Iran starts uranium enrichment, condemns American to death

Iran has begun enriching uranium deep inside a mountain and sentenced an American to death for spying, angering the West and undermining hopes that diplomacy could avert further sanctions or war. The start of enrichment at the Fordow bunker near the Shi’ite Muslim holy city of Qom was confirmed on Monday by an Iranian official […]

What’s So Bad About Exporting Gasoline?

One of my Top 10 Energy Stories of 2011 was the fact that the U.S. had become a net exporter of finished petroleum products such as diesel and gasoline. In fact, because gasoline and diesel prices were so high, fuel exports were valued at $88 billion, which made them the top value export in 2011 […]

Statoil makes major oil discovery in Barents Sea

Norway’s Statoil announced Monday a major oil discovery in the Barents Sea that could contain up to 300 million barrels of crude. The Havis prospect is the twin of Skrugard, another deposit Statoil discovered in April 2011, confirming the potential of the waters as yet untapped in the Barents Sea. Together the two deposits could […]

Could Saudi Arabia Become the Next Solar Market Hotspot?

Oil’s more than likely the first thing that pops into your mind when Saudi Arabia is mentioned. Sunlight might follow close behind, though, and for good reason. Located within the equatorial “Sun Belt,” where more solar radiation hits the earth than any other part of the globe, best available measurements are that Saudi Arabia receives […]

This Is The Year When Developed Nations Must Choose Between Pain And Disaster

Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide, In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side; Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight, And the choice goes by forever, ‘twixt that darkness and that light. – James Lowell, 1845 God grant me […]

Reducing Flaring of Natural Gas

About half a million barrels of oil are produced from the Bakken formation every day. That number is only expected to keep going up. Still, both oil producers and environmentalists say they`d like to see one precious resource better used: natural gas. Much of it is simply being burned off at well sites. Oil leaders […]

Iran Guard says will close strait if oil blocked

Iran has begun uranium enrichment at a new underground site well protected from possible airstrikes, a leading hardline newspaper reported Sunday. The announcement came as another newspaper quoted a senior commander in the country’s powerful Revolutionary Guard as saying that Tehran’s leadership has decided to order the closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz if […]

Global Warming and Water Shortages

Climate change promises to have a very big impact on water supplies in the United States as well as around the world. A recent study commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a leading environmental group, and carried out by the consulting firm Tetra Tech found that one out of three counties across the […]

Does fracking for natural gas cause earthquakes?

DOES HYDRAULIC fracturing to obtain natural gas cause earthquakes? Yes. Every time humans apply or remove pressure from rock formations or dig a big hole in the ground, there’s at least a small risk of a seismic result. That does not mean that people should stop digging holes or extracting valuable resources — especially those […]

Japan mulls ignoring US oil ban on Iran

Japan has become the latest country to hint at its intention to ignore US-led oil sanctions on Iran, after South Korea’s recent dismissal of Washington’s bid to boycott the Iranian crude. “We are not considering banning imports,” Japan Times quoted a Japanese Foreign Ministry official as saying on Friday. On New Year’s Eve, US President […]

Trying to beat the oil addiction

Her children. They’re the reason Karen Andreassen became involved in the Transition Town movement. As the world faces diminishing oil reserves, an unstable climate and unpredictable food production, the Transition movement is a worldwide network of communities working to move away from dependency on oil and create a more sustainable future. “I used to worry […]

Qatar’s next big purchase: a farming sector

Qatar’s energy resources have given it one of the world’s highest per capita incomes, a futuristic urban skyline and enough clout to host the 2022 soccer World Cup. But its wealth may not be enough for the arid state to achieve an even more ambitious goal: becoming largely self-sufficient in food. Like other oil-rich, water-poor […]

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