The black blood in the economic veins

Nobody denies that there is a connection between economic growth and oil consumption. The clearest signal came in 2008-9 when the world economy crashed at the same time as oil production sank dramatically. If one is to describe this in a little more detail then it is not oil production itself that is decisive rather […]

A Roadmap to Redesigning Civilization

Toby Hemenway, host of the video Redesigning Civilization — with Permaculture, defines permaculture as a branch of ecological design that employs natural ecosystems as a model. Although most permaculture design relates to food production, its principles can be applied to the management of all human needs, including water, shelter, waste, energy, finance, culture/spirituality and even […]

The Recessions of 1973,1980,1991,2001,2008 Were Caused By High Oil Prices

In Libya strikes by oilfield workers have reduced daily production of crude oil dramatically from 1.6 million barrels a day to an estimated 250,000 barrels a day. In Iraq there have been bombings of pipelines which have interrupted production and promise to put a cap on Iraq’s ability to increase oil production. In Nigeria production […]

Living without a fridge

I’ve been living without a fridge for the last three months – the winter months of Melbourne, Australia. Before you send me to the asylum, however, let me tell you about this experiment which produced several interesting, and I think important, surprises, related to energy consumption and lifestyle habits. My main conclusion, which I’ll unpack […]

An Invitation To Create A New [Money] System

Michael C. Ruppert, author, former Los Angeles Police Department narcotics investigator turned investigative journalist specializing in Peak Oil and Collapse, says, “Until we change the way money works, nothing changes.” The way we use money is part of a dying system that no longer serves mankind. It creates scarcity, fear, and separation and the system […]

Peak Vehicle Miles Travelled

The Atlantic has an article on declining car use in the US – . Its interesting that the one state showing large increases in miles travelled is North Dakota – lots of driving around trying to increase shale oil production from the Bakken it seems… Driving has been on the decline in the United States […]

Peak Oil’s Impact: Supply Chains

Oil plays an essential role in almost everything that touches our everyday lives. From the food we eat to the means by which we transport ourselves, our goods, and our services, to what we grow, build, have, own, need, and do, oil is almost always an important element. But the painful truth now and soon […]

John Michael Greer: Terms of Surrender

Today’s debates over hydrofracturing (“fracking”) oil-bearing shales, the theme of last week’s post here on The Archdruid Report, have dimensions that go well beyond the world of ritual theater discussed there. To begin with, of course, a great deal of money is being made off the current fracking boom by assorted Wall Street office fauna, […]

Oil Prices Lead to Hard Financial Limits

We live in a finite world.  Clearly, a finite world has limits of many kinds. Yet economist and other researchers use models that assume that these limits are unimportant for the foreseeable future. They have certainly not stopped to think that any of these might be very hard limits that are difficult to get around, and […]

Peak car?

The Australian has an article on declining interest amongst Gen Y for getting a drivers licence – Driving me crazy: Getting a licence a low priority for Generation Y. In 1991, of NSW kids aged 20-24, 79 per cent had licences. By 2001 it had risen to 80 per cent. Yet by 2008 it had […]

Housel: Peak oil is finally here

Peak oil is here, writes The Economist. But not the peak oil you’re thinking of, where supplies dwindle and prices march inevitably higher. That’s so 2008. This is peak oil demand, and it could hit in the next few years. As The Economist wrote earlier this month: “We believe that demand, not supply, could decline. […]

Permaculture: Green Gold

“It’s possible to rehabilitate large-scale damaged ecosystems with the use of permaculture design principles and techniques.” Environmental film maker John D. Liu documents large-scale ecosystem restoration projects in China, Africa, South America and the Middle East, highlighting the enormous benefits to people and planet of undertaking these efforts globally. Geoff Lawton explains about permaculture and […]

Within Four Years, China To Consume More Oil Than U.S.

The U.S. is on its way out as the world’s No. 1 oil importer, according to energy market researchers at Woods Mackenzie.  That coveted (or not so coveted) title will belong to none other than China.  As if anyone would be surprised. According to the report, China will spend $500 billion a year on crude […]

King Coal Gets Fatter, While The US Goes on a Diet

Introduction This is the 5th installment in a series that examines data from the recently released 2013 BP Statistical Review of World Energy. Next week’s installment will be on carbon dioxide emissions, and that will wrap up the series. The previous posts were: Renewable Energy Status Update 2013 Hydropower and Geothermal Status Update 2013 The State […]

Might as well face it, you’re addicted to oil

54Comments America, we need to talk. Have a seat. Remember when President George W. Bush told you seven years ago that you’re addicted to oil? Well, you’re still addicted, and it’s clear that many of President Bush’s prescriptions for breaking that addiction — “zero-emission coal-fired plants”, nuclear energy, next-generation biofuels, and hydrogen — have gone […]

China on Track to spend US$500bn on Crude Oil Imports by 2020, Surpassing US Import Require

On 20 August Wood Mackenzie (WoodMac) released a report on China and the USA’s future imports of oil. WoodMac regards itself as one of the world’s leading companies producing energy analyses. The title of the report is “Heading in Opposite Directions: China and US Reliance on Oil”, but I chose to use the report’s subtitle […]

No such thing as green consumerism

Photo: HelloImNik/Flickr. A war on climate change is a war on materialism, plain and simple. The carbon pollution spewing out of our power plants and tail pipes is a natural byproduct of the monstrous engine of economic growth we have built, an engine that exists solely to satisfy the demand our materialism creates. Indeed this […]

Global AC Needs Could Grow 50 Times Greater Than US Demand

America used to be the king of car sales, but China took that crown in 2009. America also used to be the world’s biggest polluter, but China now has that dubious distinction as well. Now China — along with India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines — could be set to surpass the U.S. in […]

Peak Oil’s Impact: Automobiles

Oil plays an essential role in almost everything that touches our everyday lives. From the food we eat to the means by which we transport ourselves, our goods, and our services, to what we grow, build, have, own, need, and do, oil is almost always an important element. But the painful truth now and soon […]

US crude oil imports dependency to decline 32% by 2020

China and the US to face opposing trends in demand, supply and cost structure US crude oil imports will fall significantly from a peak of US$335 billion to US$160 billion by 2020 according to recent analysis by Wood Mackenzie. As the US dependence on oil imports continues to decrease, China’s reliance on foreign oil is […]

The Destruction Of America’s Middle Class (In Under Seven Minutes)

While hardly news to frequent visitors, especially those who recall the following list, anyone who needs a 7 minute refresher into why the US middle class is on collision course with extinction is urged to watch the following brief video which highlights all the salient facts such as: 76% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck […]

Charles Hugh Smith: The Growing Appeal of Intentional Community

Tired of being shunned and marginalized by your conventional friends and family? It’s a common situation for those who have “woken up” in a world dead set on remaining asleep as the default solution to systemic unsustainability. One time-honored way to avoid isolation is to band together with others of like mind in communities.  The […]

T. Boone Pickens Is Wrong: Electric Vehicles Can Haul Cargo

T. Boone Pickens supports electric vehicles—as long you don’t claim that electric propulsion can work for big-rig trucks, locomotives or cargo ships. The business magnate and corporate raider, who made his fortune in the oil and gas industries, stated that “the battery will not move an 18-wheeler” and that internal combustion engines using natural gas […]

What’s in Crude Oil and How Do We Use It?

Crude oil is far from being one homogenous substance. Its physical characteristics differ depending on where in the world it’s pulled out of the ground, and those variations determine its usage and price. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) puts it succinctly: “not all crude is created equal.” Some has a lot of sulphur, and it’s […]

Peak Oil’s Impact: Automobiles

Oil plays an essential role in almost everything that touches our everyday lives. From the food we eat to the means by which we transport ourselves, our goods, and our services, to what we grow, build, have, own, need, and do, oil is almost always an important element. But the painful truth now and soon […]

How Agribusiness Keeps Us “Betting on Famine”

Jean Ziegler, the former Special Rapporteur for Food for the United Nations, begins his new book with two disturbing statistics. “In its current state, the global agricultural system would in fact, without any difficulty, be capable of feeding 12 billion people, or twice the world’s current population,” he writes. And yet, “every five seconds, a […]

The future of buses

raffic to and from Dublin was particularly difficult last week when the bus drivers went on strike, and while they seem to be running again, their action reminded us how dependent thousands of us in Ireland are on public transportation – Dublin buses, Bus Eireann, trains, Luas and regional bus services. Only twenty or thirty […]

Richard Heinberg on Natural Gas: Bridge Fuel or Fool’s Gold?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download We’ve spoken to Richard Heinberg in the past about several problems inherent to our carbon-based economy, from peak oil, to coal to what he has dubbed “the end of growth.” Now the author and senior fellow at the Post Carbon Institute has a new book focusing on the natural gas […]

China to overtake US as world’s largest oil importer

Fueled by a rising population and industrial production, China’s net oil imports are set to outpace that of today’s leader – the USA – in October. The switch comes as the US ‘shale revolution’ provides for an increasing share of its domestic needs. China will leave the US behind in monthly oil imports by October […]

Heinberg: The Brief, Tragic Reign of Consumerism—and the birth of a happy alternative

You and I consume; we are consumers. The global economy is set up to enable us to do what we innately want to do—buy, use, discard, and buy some more. If we do our job well, the economy thrives; if for some reason we fail at our task, the economy falters. The model of economic […]

« 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