The anatomy of gas prices

From the oil field to the refinery to the gas station, an index of numbers that reflect upon the price of a gallon of gas. Enlarge Photo Hoeven wants to fine-tune law North Dakota saw record high gas prices in May due to refinery outages while our neighbors to the west stayed lower. Read more […]

What’s Life Like in an Entirely Car-Free Town?

Every morning, along with brushing our teeth, we fight traffic—rush hour has us eating smog, texting at red lights and honking that hallowed horn. We drive because we have to. But do we? Meet Mackinac, Michigan. This town, located in the center of its namesake islet in Lake Huron, has existed motorcar-free for 115 years […]

Egypt Causes Turmoil for Oil Prices

The Schork Report Editor Stephen Schork on concerns the unrest in Egypt would interrupt the shipping of oil through the Suez Canal.

Is The United States Becoming More Energy Efficient?

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) have released a White Paper entitled “Energy Efficiency: Is the United States Improving?” in which they begin what they hope to be “an annual effort to examine and characterise the overall state of energy efficiency in the United States and determine whether it has improved, declined, or […]

Somebody somewhere should do something about this sometime

“They should do something about this!” “Why doesn’t somebody sort this out?” If I’d had a pound for each time I heard these two comments, I’d have a nicely stocked piggy bank. Usually the speaker means by “they” and “somebody” anybody but them. Anybody who supposedly has the position/power/influence/time (insert whichever one you recognise) which […]

19 Reasons To Be Deeply Concerned About The Global Economy

Is the global economic downturn going to accelerate as we roll into the second half of this year?  There is turmoil in the Middle East, we are seeing things happen in the bond markets that we have not seen happen in more than 30 years, and much of Europe has already plunged into a full-blown […]

We need a new monetary system

And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. – Matthew 5:30 Defects of our present monetary system My Incomplete List I do not need a list of […]

US Energy Transitions: 1776 to 2076

In 1776, Britain’s thirteen American colonies ran on a 100-percent renewable portfolio standard and a distributed (wood- and horse-based) energy economy. Today, as the EIA graph shows, natural gas is ascendant in the U.S. while coal is in decline and nuclear power has plateaued. Petroleum rules the world. Renewable energy survives as the small mammal […]

Broke, crowded & hot: Top 3 reasons to flee big cities

Don’t worry, it’s just a movie. Scene from the 2010 film “The Book of Eli.” Photo: Warner Bros. It’s a staple of summer disaster flicks: the scene of a panicked populace trying to get the hell out of Dodge. Or, after the bomb is dropped, a band of bedraggled survivors picking their way out of […]

Kunstler: Out On a Limb

       There is one supreme and universal law of human relations in all its manifestations, social, political, economic, cultural: people create no end of mischief in the hours when they are not sleeping. Any vision of history-yet-to-come must be predicated on this principle.       A correspondent of mine objected to the […]

Are America’s Youth Falling Out of Love With the Car?

  Between 2001 and 2009 car travel by American youth declined 23%! That isn’t a typo, it’s an outlier.  Like solar panel prices dropping by 80% in five years, or Indian grid losses being 25% of total generation. Sure, there was the great recession and gasoline prices have tripled, but 23% is massive.  That is […]

Peak Oil is not Synchronous

This morning, I took the oil consumption page of the BP spreadsheet, and applied a mechanical test to each country: was 2010 the highest year of consumption over the range 1990-2010?  If this is true, let’s call the country an “advancer”, and if not, let’s call it a “decliner”.  Here are all the advancers: On […]

Our Energy Slaves Are In Recession

Charts of energy consumption are screaming “recession.” To get a feel for how many energy slaves you have, imagine hiring 40 people to drag you and your car down the street at 3 miles per hour. Replacing the energy in a gallon of gasoline with human labor is imperfect, of course, because the people you hire […]

Yes Virginia, US Oil Production Can Influence Global Prices

A truism, tacked on to the end of any respectable article, blog post or research memo on US Oil Production, is that the US only produces a small fraction of the World’s Oil Supply and that as such it can’t influence prices. Ben Casselman’s post at the Wall Street Journal is a sterling example of […]

Inflation, Deflation, or Discontinuity?

A question that seems to come up quite often is, “Are we going to have inflation or deflation?” People want to figure out how to invest. Because of this, they want to know whether to expect a rise in prices, or a fall in prices, either in general, or in commodities, in the future. The […]

Agricultural Provider view: demand is growing fast

Demand for agricultural resources, products and technologies is set to rise significantly, driven by a fast-developing global population. Against this backdrop, the investment case for agricultural equities continues to be driven by sustainable global demand on one side and the instability and inadequacy of supply on the other. As such, the business of feeding the […]

India, China Energy War Heats Up

While the 16th round two-day India-China border talks concluded in Beijing Saturday seeking to resolve the vexed boundary disputes, some of which dates back prior to the establishment of either an independent India or the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, but both the Asian giants have pitched themselves in the deep waters of […]

India Doubles Price of Natural Gas to Attract Investment

The government of India has approved a doubling of natural gas prices, in a politically-sensitive move that will take effect around the time of next year’s elections. It is hoped that the first rise in the price of gas for three years will increase investment in the sector. The rise will have a knock-on effect […]

Population drives crop demand

RISING demand for grains and oilseeds, particularly from the Asian region, has set the scene for a bright future for Australian summer grain crops and the growers who produce them.   But it is no reason for complacency and the industry needs to continue on a path of agronomic and technological innovation if it is […]

Oil theft in Nigeria

Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region is losing its battle against organised oil theft. According to the managing director of the Shell Petroleum Development Company, Mutiu Sunmonu, oil theft by local groups currently results in a total of $6bn per year in lost revenue to the corporate giant. Other major oil companies have also said they were losing […]

Does the UK really face electricity blackouts?

There is certainly a power problem – partly caused by energy companies shutting plants that do not make good returns Britain could face a return within 18 months to 70s-style power rationing to prevent blackouts, screamed one tabloid front page on Friday, conjuring up a vision of coalminer militancy and the three-day week. The irony […]

UK Government looks at upcoming winter power shortages

National Grid has called on companies to consider curbing their electricity use between 4pm and 8pm on winter workdays next year, in a stark sign of the urgency of Britain’s looming energy supply shortage. The radical proposal came as the government presented a flurry of measures to meet the shortfall, including clarity on renewables subsidies, […]

Energy: The Oxygen of Africa’s Growth and Development

Historically people associate the sound of Africa as the roar of the lion; but in reality, it’s been the roar of the diesel generator. Herds of these archaic beasts are on the prowl. Their habitat includes cities, towns, factories, mines, businesses and big farms – anywhere where power is required and isn’t available or reliable. […]

Tristram Stuart: The global food waste scandal

Western countries throw out nearly half of their food, not because it’s inedible — but because it doesn’t look appealing. Tristram Stuart delves into the shocking data of wasted food, calling for a more responsible use of global resources. Tristram Stuart sounds the warning bell on global food waste, calling for us to change the […]

17 Signs That Most Americans Will Be Wiped Out By The Coming Economic Collapse

The vast majority of Americans are going to be absolutely blindsided by what is coming.  They don’t understand how our financial system works, they don’t understand how vulnerable it is, and most of them blindly trust that our leaders know exactly what they are doing and that they will be able to fix our problems.  […]

Richard Heinberg Navigating the New Economic Reality Part 1

Navigating the New Economic Reality with Richard Heinberg (Part 1) Event Date: Wednesday, May 8, 2013 Kelly Rajala (Co-founder of Share Exchange) introduced Richard Heinberg. Richard is the author of ten books including the award-winning The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economic Reality. Richard in his presentation, surveys three over-arching global trends that […]

Egypt blames rumors for acute fuel shortage

Egypt’s embattled government on Tuesday blamed rumors and corruption for an acute fuel shortage that has had drivers waiting in long lines to fill their gas tanks — straining already taught nerves ahead of planned mass demonstrations this weekend demanding the resignation of the president. Four Cabinet ministers lined up in front of cameras inside […]

Arab countries still suffering divergent demographic challenges

Secretary-General of the Arab League Dr. Nabil Al-Arabi pointed out here on Tuesday the Arab region was still undergoing divergent demographic challenges such as unemployment, marginalization, low income, and immigration despite Arab states’ efforts to strengthen and employ development opportunities. Latest data showed that a major number of Arab countries will not be able to […]

India helping in controlling global food prices

India has emerged as a strong player in helping cool down global food prices by exporting major farm commodities like rice and wheat, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said today. “While feeding 17% of world’s population we have emerged as strong player in international market helping to cool down the world food prices,” Pawar said at […]

Food, Farms, and Fracking in California

Jim Leap, an organic farmer in Aromas, California, had his first introduction to fracking a year ago when a bunch of large trucks showed up at his property and workers started putting out data loggers. When he asked what was they were doing, he was told that they were mapping earthquake faults. “I have to […]

« 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