Some Reflections On The Twilight Of The Oil Age

This three-part post was inspired by Ugo Bardi’s recent post concerning “Will Renewables Ever ReplaceFossils?” and recent discussions within Ugo’s discussion group on how is it that “Economists still don’t get it”?  It integrates also numerous discussion and exchanges I have had with colleagues and business partners over the last three years. Introduction Since at […]

Half of all US food produce is thrown away

Americans throw away almost as much food as they eat because of a “cult of perfection”, deepening hunger and poverty, and inflicting a heavy toll on the environment. Vast quantities of fresh produce grown in the US are left in the field to rot, fed to livestock or hauled directly from the field to landfill, […]

China to Hit Peak Energy Consumption by 2035

China is expected to reach its highest point of energy consumption by 2035, while its reliance on fossil fuels is expected to drop, according to a report cited by the state media on Tuesday. The study by the report by the Economics & Technology Research Institute of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) found that the […]

Oil “Death Spiral” Emerges

One week ago, we looked at an epic build up of gasoline inventories on the East Coast, also known as PADD1, which had slammed the crack spread to record lows for this time of the year, and asked if “This What Finally Drags Crude Oil Lower.” We were referring to the collapsing Crack Spreads, which […]

Hunting for the Exit

Review of How Did We Get Into This Mess? Politics, Equality, Nature by George Monbiot. Verso 342pp RRP £16.99 It’s a poor reflection on the state of our civic culture that George Monbiot stands almost alone among journalists in the mainstream British media as a voice for the radical green left. I doubt it’s easy […]

Food After Fossil Fuels

Event agenda The transition to 100% renewable energy raises some profound questions for the future of our food system. While its slice of the overall energy pie may seem relatively low, the modern American food system is figuratively awash in fossil fuels. On average, roughly 12 calories of (mostly fossil fuel) energy go into producing […]

The Peak Oil Paradox

Summary In this post, I want to take a look at two different data sets to explore where peak oil stands today. Is it dead and buried forever, or is it lurking in the shadows, waiting to derail the global economy again? Global conventional oil production will peak one day, with unpredictable consequences for the […]

Is the Era of Globalization Over?

Globalization has propelled the global economy since World War II. In that time, countries prospered and millions were lifted out of poverty. But income inequality has grown and the world is in its worst period of economic stagnation since the Great Depression. Bloomberg TV Canada’s Rudyard Griffiths speaks to economist, author and CIGI senior fellow […]

Forget peak oil – now its peak energy

United States is leading a decline in energy use amongst advanced economies – with use down 2% last year despite GDP growth. The previous year (2013-2014) EU countries saw a 10% drop in energy use – partly due to economic chaos in Greece, Spain and Italy. Th uneexpected fall is due to greater efficiency, new […]

Peak Oil: Half The Story

It’s just not that difficult to understand. But if your interests depend on a narrative contradicted by facts and reality, then telling only part of the story to unsuspecting others is the way to go…. HALF-STORIES TELL HALF THE STORY Last week, yet another in the endless stream of manicured half-stories about the vast amounts […]

Europe’s Economic Crisis Has Spread from the Periphery to the Core

We’ve noted for more than 5 years that the European crisis would spread in the following order … more or less: Greece → Ireland → Portugal → Spain → Italy → UK We also warned that the EU’s approach to economic problems in the periphery would lead the cancer to spread to the core. For […]

Kremlin: Some oil privatization by year’s end

Privatization of Russian oil production and maritime shipping companies could be completed before the end of the year, a deputy minister said Monday. The Kremlin has been reviewing privatization options as the Russian economy risks lingering in recession because of the strains brought on by Western sanctions and low crude oil prices. Privatizing state oil […]

The Next Steps Pt 5

It has been a main theme of mine—given the impact peak oil will eventually have on all of us—that small changes here and there, every now and then, by a few of us when we can spare the time, are not the optimal strategies for us to pursue. Conventional crude oil has been in many […]

Solar to Wreck Economics of Existing Power Markets

Highlights: Continued solar growth could lead to significant decreases in wholesale electricity prices during most peak hours. High solar penetrations could also impact power prices when solar does not operate, affect the frequency and severity of electricity price spikes, and impact natural gas price volatility. While lower wholesale prices could impact solar’s growth they will […]

Oil Market In Early Stages of Sustainable Recovery

The oil market is in the early stages of a “sustainable but protracted recovery,” according to oil and gas analysts at Jefferies International Limited. “Supply/demand balances will transition to balance and then under-supply in the back half of 2016,” said Jefferies in a research note seen by Rigzone. “Oil prices may not fully react to the […]

Rethinking the Population Problem

With the knowledge that Bangladesh’s population – which was about 75 million in 1971 – now stands bloated to more than 160 million, all crammed into a land area of only 50,260 sq miles and that the population density is already five times that in any other ‘mega’ country, contemplate the following scenarios and see […]

Kunstler: Lit and Sputtering

You can see where the trajectory of events is leading. The country will be distracted by racial strife this summer while the global banking system implodes, disabling trade relations and the super-long supply chains we depend on for all common goods from oil to fresh food. Unless the remnants of the Republican Party act responsibly […]

Using Renewables In Oil Recovery

As a Canadian I have witnessed firsthand the vilification of Canada’s oil sands. Canadians concerned with the effect oil sands have on the world likely led to a shift of Canada’s federal and Alberta’s provincial governments from ones that did not actively address climate change to ones that ran on a platform of reducing greenhouse […]

Why Oil Was a Prime Motivator For the Iraq War

Well before the US and UK led the invasion of Iraq, the two countries were under suspicion about their intentions for Iraq’s oil. When asked on February 6 2003 in a BBC Newsnight programme whether the war in Iraq was about oil, Tony Blair responded: Let me just deal with the oil thing … the […]

Peak Water: What Happens When the Wells Go Dry?

Peak oil has generated headlines in recent years, but the real threat to our future is peak water. There are substitutes for oil, but not for water. We can produce food without oil, but not without water. We drink on average four liters of water per day, in one form or another, but the food […]

Timeline of Bakken oil production

For long-term archive purposes, here is a timeframe for the Bakken boom. 6/28 – The Million Dollar Way – The Bakken Is In Its Manufacturing Stage – Bruce Oksol provides a useful long-term perspective on how Bakken production has developed: 2000: the Bakken boom begins in Montana 2007: the Bakken boom begins in North Dakota […]

ISIL digging hundreds of small pits to store oil in lieu of destroyed refineries

Washington PostSatellite images provided to the Washington Post by Stratfor, a U.S. geospatial research firm, show tiny, makeshift refineries popping up in Mosul oil fields controlled by ISIL. With its refineries mostly destroyed and its tanker fleet under constant attack, ISIL is increasingly turning to low-tech alternatives for processing oil, a vital source of revenue […]

Powerful Fuels lead to Human Freedom and Prosperity

Some people who are not well versed in human history believe that fossil fuels are inherently evil, costly and harmful to human health. They ignore the side of the accounting ledger that documents the incredibly beneficial effects concentrated fuels have provided to overall human freedom, happiness, self actualization and reduction of dependence on nature. Kathleen […]

Self-Awareness And The Apocalypse

Many human supremacists love to talk about the “mirror test” of self-awareness, in which you put a mirror in front of some nonhuman to see if the nonhuman recognizes itself, in which case it is declared to be self-aware (though not as self-aware as we, of course!). Very few nonhumans pass this test, which is […]

The Thin Veneer Of Civilization That We All Take For Granted Is Evaporating

Have you noticed that the world seems to be going a little bit more crazy with each passing month?  Here we are halfway through 2016, and the rot and decay that are eating at the foundations of civilized society seem to be rapidly gaining momentum.  Every single day, all of us take certain things for […]

Controversy over Saudi oil reserves

Rystad Energy, a small Norwegian oil and gas data firm released a contentious study several days ago, which concluded the US held more recoverable oil reserves than both Saudi Arabia and Russia. Although Rystad underlined that “more than 50 per cent of remaining [American] oil reserves is unconventional shale oil,” with an estimated 60 billion […]

Death Of Peak Oil Is Not Exaggerated

Energy: A recent report by an energy consultancy suggests that the U.S. now has oil reserves bigger than Saudi Arabia’s. Believe it or not, that might be a huge understatement. The Rystad Energy consultancy’s latest estimates for U.S. oil reserves says the U.S. may have as many as 264 billion barrels of the crude stuff, […]

The Divided States of America

This report looks at the toxic brew of anger, disillusionment and insecurity fueling support for Donald Trump, and contributing to a resurgence of far-right white supremacist and neo-nazi groups in the United Snakes… setting the stage for what could be an epic showdown at the 2016 RNC in Cleveland.

On Doing Well

I am going to make what I imagine will be a controversial argument. Prepare yourself. Some of you may be offended. Some of you may feel like you’re being attacked. It’s ok. Just breathe through it. Try, if you can, to set aside your own perspective and listen to what I’m about to say; try […]

In Conversation: Consumerism After Fossil Fuels

The creation of the consumer economy—a complex, interconnected system of institutions, goals, rewards, and punishments—was one of the great social projects of the twentieth century, when energy was cheaply abundant and two of our chief economic problems were overproduction and unemployment. The transition to 100% renewable energy raises some key questions for the future of […]

« Previous Page — Next Page »

LATEST NEWS HEADLINES

• Why the IEA is Wrong About Peak Oil Demand
• Did we inadvertently speed global warming?  
• Venezuela’s Oil Monopoly Eases
• Why Germany is Choosing Natural Gas Over Nuclear Power
• U.S. coal-fired electricity generation decreased in 2022 and 2023

• America Cracks Down on Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas Facilities
• Meet America’s Newest Oil Trader Extraordinaire: Joe Biden
• Is It Time To Refill America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
• Oil prices set to end year 10% lower as demand concerns snap winning streak
• What’s Driving America’s New Oil and Gas Boom?
• China’s peak oil demand bombshell eviscerates Danielle Smith’s energy strategy