Twelve Reasons Why Globalization is a Huge Problem

Globalization seems to be looked on as an unmitigated “good” by economists. Unfortunately, economists seem to be guided by their badly flawed models; they miss  real-world problems. In particular, they miss the point that the world is finite. We don’t have infinite resources, or unlimited ability to handle excess pollution. So we are setting up […]

California sees record one-month rise in gasoline prices

Southern California has seen its biggest ever one-month rise in gasoline prices, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California’s weekend gas watch. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the varying regions of Southern California has now climbed 57 to 59 cents since last month. “We looked at all of the […]

Peak Oil: Not That Complicated

An observation worth noting … and pondering, from Richard Heinberg: The Peak of Peak-Oil Denial Costs of production are rising inexorably—and fairly rapidly—as a result of replacement of conventional crude with oil produced from horizontal drilling and hydro-fracturing, ultra deepwater drilling, and tar sands. … Today, most new projects look uneconomic if oil prices are […]

Wal-Mart: “Families Are Adjusting To A Reduced Paycheck And Increased Gas Prices”

Moment ago Wal-Mart reported a top-line miss, a bottom line beat, a dividend hike and a rather subdued full year forecast ($5.20-$5.40 on Exp. of $5.39), and nobody cared. The only thing that algos and carbon-based lifeforms alike honed in on, was the recap of the most recent 13 week period, to see if WMT […]

Ugo Bardi: Money and collapse

Money does not really exists. Borrowing a metaphor developed by A. Mitchell-Inness, think of a concept such as a “kilogram,” a unit of measurement of weight. You can say that a certain object weighs one kg, but you can’t have a “kilogram” in your hands any more than Bodhidharma’s disciple could show his soul to […]

Ackerman and McPherson Dialogue: The idiot box

The following is the fifth in an ongoing dialogue (cyber-discussion) between two cultural philosophers and regular Transition Voice contributors, Dr. Sherry Ackerman and Dr. Guy McPherson. ACKERMAN:  We’ve been having a really intense winter up here in Mount Shasta, Guy. With five feet of snow currently on the ground, it’s been a challenge for us […]

America’s oil choice: Pay up, or get off

The oil industry has an important message for you, America: You’re not paying enough for fuel. And if you want to realize the fantasy of “North American energy independence,” you will have to pay more for it — a lot more. Getting drivers to go along with this notion will not be easy, so the […]

“Drill Baby, Drill” Leads to Cheaper Gasoline? Think Again

The United States is undergoing an upsurge in crude oil production as shown by the first and second headlines below. Further, this significant production uptick permits east coast refineries to utilize less expensive crude oil obtained by horizontal drilling and “fracking” from the Bakken region in North Dakota (See the third headline) in contrast to […]

IEA: Oil Prices a Major Threat to Europe’s Economy

Oil prices are acting as a brake on the global economy, and harming Europe in particular, the International Energy Agency’s chief economist said at a conference in London today. Europe will need to spend 500 billion euros ($668 billion) on oil imports this year, about 200 billion euros more than average levels, if oil prices […]

China Wants More Oil

Think gasoline prices are coming down this year? Think again.  Between supply constraints, the usual suspects in the Middle East, and China, oil demand is seen hefty enough to keep prices stable to high for the foreseeable future.  In fact, China’s oil demand is seen rising by 5% this year on the backs of an […]

The quest for bio-polystyrene

I have this draft on bio-styrene for a couple of months now but has never been able to post it given that there are not many companies within the renewable chemicals industry developing plant-based styrene monomer alternatives. However, on February 14 during his final State of the City address, the mayor of the city of […]

Kunstler: Scale Implosion

Back in the day when big box retail started to explode upon the American landscape like a raging economic scrofula, I attended many a town planning board meeting where the pro and con factions faced off over the permitting hurdle. The meetings were often raucous and wrathful and almost all the time the pro forces […]

As world population explodes, genetically modified rice is our best hope

Rod Wing, director of the Arizona Genomics Institute, has played a major role in mapping the structure and function of the world’s primary cereal crops. Rice is the one that needs our immediate attention, he says. Wing, who will deliver the fourth “Genomics Now” lecture for the University of Arizona’s College of Science on Wednesday, […]

Map Shows What US-Wide High Speed Rail Might Look Like

California Rail Map/CC BY-SA 3.0 We Can Dream, Can’t We? Alfred Twu, a high-speed rail activist and mapmaker, has created the map above, showing what a cross-country high-speed rail network might look like in the United States. Mr. Twu describes his map-making process this way: Having worked on getting California’s high speed rail approved in […]

The real reason the economy is broken (and will stay that way)

We are far enough and deep enough into the most heroic monetary and fiscal efforts ever undertaken to finally ask, why aren’t these measures working? Or at least we should be.  Oddly, many in DC, on Wall Street, and the Federal Reserve continue to steadfastly refuse to include anything in their approaches and frameworks other […]

NASA Develops Aircraft that Uses 50 Percent Less Fuel

It seems like new, innovative technologies to reduce our carbon footprint are always 10 years away.  It’s hard to imagine there won’t be another amazing technology just around the corner.  In this case, NASA has developed a manufacturing method for wing-shaped aircraft.  When combined with an uber-efficient jet engine called an “ultra-high bypass ratio engine”, […]

The Connection of Depressed Wages to High Oil Prices and Limits to Growth

In my view, wages are the backbone an economy. If workers have difficulty finding a job, or have difficulty earning sufficient wages, the lack of wages will be a problem, not just for the workers, but for governments and businesses. Governments will have a hard time collecting enough taxes, and businesses will have a hard […]

EIA forecasts 90.2 million b/d of liquid fuels consumption this year

Worldwide liquid fuels consumption is expected to reach 90.2 million b/d this year and 91.6 million b/d in 2014, according to the latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) from the US Energy Information Administration. Projected OECD liquid fuels consumption will further decline by 300,000 b/d in 2013 and in 2004, OECD consumption will remain flat with […]

EROEI and the New Materialism

Bo Eberle wrote a review of the New Materialism that I recommend.  I’ve been meaning to write more on this fantastic book for months, so that’s finally on the way over the next few weeks. ———————————- EROEI- energy return on energy investment- was one of the simplest and yet most eye-opening concepts introduced to me […]

Saudi Arabia to Build Biggest Desalination Plant

Saline Water Conversion Corp. plans to build the world’s largest water desalination plant in Rabigh on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency reported, citing SWCC without disclosing costs. The plant being developing by the Saudi government agency responsible for making seawater potable in the desert kingdom will have the capacity to […]

OPEC Boosts Estimated Demand for Its Own Crude Oil

OPEC raised forecasts for the amount of crude it will need to supply this year because of stronger fuel demand in emerging economies. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will have to provide an average of 29.8 million barrels a day in 2013, or 100,000 a day more than it estimated a month ago. The […]

Bring Transition Town-style Sharing to your Community

Inspired by the idea of building resilience around local, grassroots economies in response to peak oil and climate change, the transition movement has evolved into a global network of cities, towns, and neighborhoods that self-organize around the principles not only of reducing CO2 emissions but doing it by fostering happy, healthy, and creative communities. Connie […]

The global water grab

Writing in National Geographic in December 2012 about “small-scale irrigation techniques with simple buckets, affordable pumps, drip lines, and other equipment” that “are enabling farm families to weather dry seasons, raise yields, diversify their crops, and lift themselves out of poverty” water expert Sandra Postel of the Global Water Policy Project cautioned against reckless land […]

Peak Oil: Evasion

An observation worth noting … and pondering, from Abraham Lincoln: You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today At some point, the realities of geology and economics will become unavoidable to all but the genuinely delusional among us. Our oil production upswing has been occurring in recent months because oil prices have […]

It’s not the economy, it’s the stupid paradigm

Dr. Williams wrote her dissertation on “The role of social paradigm in human perception and response to environmental change.“ She is the director of UAA’s Office of Sustainability. Americans’ level of concern for the environment waxes and wanes, depending on how the economy is faring, as illustrated in the 2011 Gallup chart below. The chart […]

IEA: Global oil demand revised upwards for 2012

Global oil demand estimates for 2012 were revised upward to 89.8 million b/d based on stronger than expected fourth-quarter data, according to the International Energy Agency’s latest monthly Oil Market Report. This adjustment was underpinned by an uptick in oil demand seen in China, the US, and Brazil in last year’s final quarter, IEA said. […]

Peak Oil’s Impact: Winter Storms

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 […]

Gas prices rising due to refinery closings, shortages

Today news report on gas prices going higher!!.Febuary 2013

Orlov: The Problem of Excessive Scale

This is an excerpt from The Five Stages of Collapse: Survivors’ Toolkit. Please order your copy for shipment in May. In his excellent book The Breakdown of Nations the maverick economist Leopold Kohr makes several stunning yet, upon reflection, commonsense observations. He points out that small states have tended to be far more culturally productive […]

Europe is Burning More American Coal

Natural gas production is booming in the United States. The resulting low natural gas prices are helping the fuel displace other energy sources, most particularly the use of coal to produce electric power. As U.S. demand for coal falls, so has its price and as a result. One big buyer: Europe. Ironies abound in this […]

« 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