US carefully mulls whether to okay LNG exports

The U.S. Energy Department will not make a decision on future liquefied natural gas exports until it has weighed the potential consequences of sending U.S. gas abroad, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Thursday. Chu said there was concern that exporting the nation’s surplus natural gas could lead to higher prices, but that had to […]

Deep Secrets of Lake Vostok & The Fossil Fuel Myth

After over 20 years and miles of drilling Russian scientists have just reached their goal, one of the oldest untouched bodies of freshwater on Earth, Lake Vostok in Antarctica.  Part of a vast chain of subglacial lakes, Vostok hasn’t been touched in 20 million years and carries with it the potential to not only unlock […]

Heinberg’s serious message has silver lining

World-renowned “Peak Oil” expert Richard Heinberg packed the 100 Mile House Community Hall on Feb. 8 to deliver his seriously troubling message that economic growth is effectively over. The audience of 220 all stayed to hear there is a silver lining if we can curb our spending on credit and apply principles of sustainability to […]

Much ado about Hotelling: Beware the ides of Hubbert

A recent publication in Energy Economics by Douglas Reynolds and Jungho Baek has analyzed the use of Hotelling and Hubbert theories as determinants for oil price. Their conclusing is that scarcity rent has little importance, while the Hubbert curve is a major determinant for oil prices. Abstract: Much economic literature analyzes the Hotelling principal. Little […]

Libyan militias ‘out of control,’ Amnesty International says

Armed militias in Libya are committing human rights abuses with impunity, threatening to destabilize the country and hindering its efforts to rebuild, Amnesty International said Thursday. Militias have tortured detainees, targeted migrants and displaced entire communities in revenge attacks, according to a report the organization released a year after the start of popular uprisings that […]

A third of families forced to cut back on food

After a year of soaring food prices, 38% of surveyed Pakistani families claimed to have been forced to cut back on food. One in five parents (22%) complained that their children did not have enough food to eat. Leading child rights organization, Save the Children, unveiled these data at the launch of its Global Nutrition […]

Peak Oil’s Impact: The Super Bowl

The official mourning period is now over, and I’m once again able to discuss the Super Bowl in somewhat dispassionate terms (%^&$*$ Eli Manning! Sorry….) What if there was no Super Bowl game? In a January article entitled “Super Bowl 2012: Indianapolis Invites Visitors for Weeklong Celebration” by Mark Johanson, city officials were said to […]

Noam Chomsky: American Decline in Perspective, Part 2

In the years of conscious, self-inflicted decline at home, “losses” continued to mount elsewhere.  In the past decade, for the first time in 500 years, South America has taken successful steps to free itself from western domination, another serious loss. The region has moved towards integration, and has begun to address some of the terrible […]

Human population overshoot–what went wrong?

There are seven billion people on earth now. I originally thought that the primary reason for the recent human population explosion was that fossil fuels enabled a larger food supply and better medicine, and thus a higher population. Figure 1. World population from US Census Bureau, overlaid with fossil fuel use (red) by Vaclav Smil […]

Matt Simmons: Gas Rationing

Matthew Simmons (RIP). Matt Simmons speaking at conference held by the Association for the Study of Peak Oil on 9.22.2008. http://www.simmonsco-intl.com http://www.aspo-usa.com Bernanke kept saying before Congressional hearings that resource utilization was high as the reasoning behind taking interest rates continually higher. By 2008 Bernanke raised interest rates to 5.25% at which point the derivative […]

The seekers effect: why we keep seeking growth at all costs

If you are trained in science or engineering, you probably think that your views should be based on the available data and that, if better data become available, then you should change your views. You may think that this is the obvious way to behave, but think twice. Most likely, you are part of a […]

Russian Army Chief: Decision On Iran Attack To Be Made By Summer

Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Nikolai Makarov says that a decision by the U.S. and Israel on whether or not to launch a military attack on Iran will be taken before the summer. “Iran, of cause, is a sore spot. Some kind of decision should be taken, probably nearer to […]

Eni Reports Second ‘Giant’ Natural-Gas Find Off Mozambique

Eni SpA, Italy’s largest oil company, reported a second “giant” natural-gas discovery off Mozambique, near the Mamba South find that it made last year. The new discovery adds 212.5 billion cubic meters of gas in place, bringing total resources in the Mamba complex to 850 billion cubic meters (30 trillion cubic feet), Eni said today […]

Breaking Past the Clichés on Energy Security

Everything you think you know about energy security and energy independence is wrong. All too often you hear that fossil fuels will soon reach their peak, that our consumption of oil causes global insecurity vis-à-vis rogue states and terrorist organizations, and that the United States would benefit tremendously from becoming completely energy independent. Under closer […]

Fossil fuels: I’m not dead yet

Having looked at the major alternatives to fossil fuel energy production (summarized here), we come away with the general sentiment that the easy days of cheap energy are not evidently carried forward into a future without fossil fuels. That’s right, fossil fuels will be dead and gone. Is it time to pile them on the […]

Iraq Aims to Boost Northern Oil Output to 1 Million Barrels a Day

Iraq aims to increase oil production from various fields to more than 1 million barrels per day by the end of 2014, executives from the Northern Oil Co told AFP. “We adopted a plan to increase the production” and export of oil, said Hamid Abdelrizak al-Saadi, company general manager. An executive in the company’s planning […]

Fox News: bad news from Saudi Arabia

In case you haven’t heard the news yet: The House of Saud is screwed and so are we.

Saudi Arabia cannot pump enough oil to keep a lid on prices

Saudi oil reserves “overstated” – Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on Feb 9, 2011

Going Off Grid – Montana Style

The concept of off-grid living is often encumbered by numerous false assumptions and associations.  Many think that to delve into the lifestyle you must be either a grizzled anti-social mountain man, a pompous starry-eyed hippie, or, a criminal on the lam.  The spectrum of characterizations range from “kooky” bunker building militia members to spoiled Al […]

U.S. carrier crosses Hormuz amid rising Gulf tensions

A U.S. aircraft carrier strike group sailed through the Strait of Hormuz Tuesday more than a month after Iran warned a different carrier — USS John C. Stennis — not to return to the Gulf as Iranian navy boats sailed by. Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, used for a third of […]

Population is ‘our biggest challenge’ says UK government chief scientist

While many commentators look ahead to 9 billion by 2050 there is a more immediate statistic that ‘frightens’ the UK government’s chief scientist: 1 billion extra people in the next 13 years. Speaking at a WWF event last week, which looked ahead to the Rio+20 conference in June, John Beddington told an audience that half […]

No Free Lunch in Our Energy Options

Land Usage and Wildlife vs. Carbon Emissions If I had to describe the theme of my upcoming book with just one phrase, it would be “There is no free lunch in our energy options.” Sometimes the costs are obvious, as when an oil spill occurs or a nuclear accident happens. Other times, the costs are […]

The hidden war Iran may wage on the oil market, according to Gary Sick

Gary Sick’s views on Iran have a lot of critics, who tend to view him as an apologist for the Iranian regime. (Here’s another example.) It’s not new: his New York Times piece on the “October surprise” was a sensation when first penned during the 1980 Presidential campaign (Wikipedia has a balanced summary of the theory […]

Noam Chomsky: American decline in perspective

Significant anniversaries are solemnly commemorated — Japan’s attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, for example.  Others are ignored, and we can often learn valuable lessons from them about what is likely to lie ahead.  Right now, in fact. At the moment, we are failing to commemorate the 50th anniversary of President John […]

Bahrain Authorities Block Anniversary Protests ‎

Activists in Bahrain say authorities have made arrests and prevented protesters from gathering at a landmark roundabout in the capital, Manama, on the first anniversary of the country’s pro-democracy uprising. Extra police and military forces were patrolling Manama and its suburbs on Tuesday, while many major roads were shut to prevent activists from marching back […]

Gas Prices are Rising fast

American motorists have seen the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline rise above $3.50 a gallon on just three occasions, but it has never happened this early in the year. Analysts say it’s likely a sign that pain at the pump will rise to some of the highest levels ever seen later this […]

IEA downgrades Saudi’s output capacit

The latest monthly report of the International Energy Agency contained the usual update on oil supply and demand numbers, but it also revealed a striking fact: the maximum production capacity of Saudi Arabia is lower than we thought. In its February report released last week, the Paris-based watchdog reduced its estimate of the kingdom’s maximum […]

A Young Couple Find Freedom in Simple Living

Rather than follow the customary American dream, Tammy and Logan sold their home and car, and moved to a bikeable/walkable neighborhood in Sacramento, California. After reading Derrick Jensen’s writings, this couple used Your Money or Your Lifeas a means to get out of debt and, they feel, regain their lives and their future. While they […]

Global suicide 2020: We can’t feed 10 billion

Welcome, you’re now on the new “Innovation Saves the World” team. We’re working together, searching for positive solutions. If you’d rather complain about what’s wrong, stop reading. Otherwise, imagine you’re now a member of a “skunk works” research team at a secret Pentagon think tank with unlimited funds. In fact, let’s also assume the best […]

Mr. Darcy’s earth shattering results

A flashback to history provides the background we need to understand why there is a technological revolution happening in the oil and gas industry and why peak oil theorists may need to go back to math class. Imagine a Help Wanted poster that reads something like: “Able bodied and fearless worker willing to fill thin […]

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