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A rant about the Peak Oil movement

What's on your mind?
General interest discussions, not necessarily related to depletion.

Re: A rant about the Peak Oil movement

Unread postby babystrangeloop » Fri 04 Nov 2011, 21:17:10

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('thuja', 'F')or that reason, the Peak Oil "movement" needs a reboot. A more cogent argument for ramifications of Peak Oil based on a slow crash model need to be posited.


I was thinking about "What Have You Said Goodbye To?" list--everything a world of less fossil fuel has discontinued producing.

I'm sure for everybody it's going to be different but here's a start:

1. Commercial Supersonic Aircraft http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersonic_transport
2. US Manned Space Travel
3. Steel Car Bumpers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumper_%28 ... _on_design
4. Brick and Block Homes
5. Photography Film
6. Vinyl Records (mostly) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_reco ... ent_status
7. Glass CRT monitors (almost, but not yet gone) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathode_ray_tube#Demise
8. Incandescent light bulbs (almost, but not yet gone) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out_ ... ight_bulbs
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Re: A rant about the Peak Oil movement

Unread postby jesus_of_suburbia » Sat 05 Nov 2011, 01:09:44

Although he doesn't really fit in the realm of peak oil experts, I am a big fan of Ran Prieur.

I think more than anyone he introduces ideas and allows his readers to think for themselves, as opposed to thinking for them. His posts are often pretty short and succinct. I don't think he does paid speaking gigs. Also, for the most part, he doesn't give steadfast predictions. I've been following him for a while and still enjoy his blog. Even though, like killJoy I no longer hang on to the words of peak prophets like as I did previously.

I used to be a big Kunstler fan until he started sounding like a broken record. I still enjoy Dmitri Orlov to an extent. Sometimes he comes off kind of dickish. And, every now and then, he throws in some random ass story of a person who was miserable living in the US, who then moved to some buttf***, nowhere town in Siberia and is all off the sudden happy.

As killjoy said, I believe in peak oil. How it's going to play out is beyond me. I just got sick of waiting for the "next [insert #] years, months, days", and then shit is really going to get crazy. It will come when it comes. When it does, I likely have a lot more family and friends to back me up than you. 8)
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Re: A rant about the Peak Oil movement

Unread postby Ibon » Sat 05 Nov 2011, 04:12:52

Oh yes, it has turned out to be quite a constipated "movement".
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Re: A rant about the Peak Oil movement

Unread postby babystrangeloop » Mon 07 Nov 2011, 23:47:07

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('babystrangeloop', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('thuja', 'F')or that reason, the Peak Oil "movement" needs a reboot. A more cogent argument for ramifications of Peak Oil based on a slow crash model need to be posited.


I was thinking about "What Have You Said Goodbye To?" list--everything a world of less fossil fuel has discontinued producing.

I'm sure for everybody it's going to be different but here's a start:

1. Commercial Supersonic Aircraft http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersonic_transport
2. US Manned Space Travel
3. Steel Car Bumpers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumper_%28 ... _on_design
4. Brick and Block Homes
5. Photography Film
6. Vinyl Records (mostly) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_reco ... ent_status
7. Glass CRT monitors (almost, but not yet gone) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathode_ray_tube#Demise
8. Incandescent light bulbs (almost, but not yet gone) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out_ ... ight_bulbs


9. Emergency services:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Air ambulance service ended
Guampdn.com / November, 5 2011

... The Guam-based jet management and charter company provided "CareJet" air ambulance services for more than four years, but the continuation of services is no longer feasible, the statement said. ...


$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Cornish Ambulance Staff Face Pay Cut
Pirate FM / November, 3 2011

Cornish paramedics are being asked to take a pay cut. ... “Like all public sector organisations, South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) service has savings to make. For the financial year 2011/12 efficiency saving are necessary to address amongst other things, inflationary pressures and escalating fuel costs. ...


$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Budgeting for fuel costs difficult
By Will O’Brien / Beloit Daily News / October 28, 2011

... City Council members have suggested eliminating vehicle allowances at a savings of $49,000. If this policy is adopted, a new fund for mileage expenses will be created, costing about $21,500, and therefore reducing the sought after savings by about 50 percent. Employees like the Fire Chief and others who rack up massive work-related mileage can't be expected to cover the costs on their own, City Manager Larry Arft said. ...


$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Tabernacle Fire commissioners air budget concerns
by Linda M. Jagiela / Journal Register News / October 14, 2011

... The 2011 budget shortfall is expected to be more than the $90,000 budget cut. According to Tabernacle Fire Commission treasurer Nancy Freeman expenses for the year are up to due to unforeseen items such as fuel costs and overhead increases. ...


$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]EMS director questions stats
By Angelica Blenich / Minden Times / October 18, 2011

... The [Emergency Medical Services] EMS department is still looking at ending the year with a $100,000 deficit, according to Kennedy. The budget deficit was first projected in May of this year and according to Kennedy is still very much a reality.

"It's been a frustrating year to say the least," he said. Reasons for the shortfall can be attributed to unbudgeted repairs, wages and rising fuel costs. ...


$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]2012 Budget Speech - As prepared by Mayor John Dickert
The Journal Times / October 17, 2011

... Let me be clear about the budget the State passed. Racine has been mandated by the State of Wisconsin to never, I repeat never increase our operations levy. Our costs for fuel, salt, electricity, emergency services to name a few, continue to rise, and as they do, your services will continually have to be cut. It's an unwinnable situation. ...

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Special election Tuesday
By Lindsay Reed / Cassville Democrat / November 02, 2011

... The commission has also indicated that county expenses, including fuel for patrol cars and food and medical care for inmates, have increased as sales tax revenue has declined for the past three years. ...

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Thursday State News Briefs: Milwaukee police chief says photographer wasn't singled out
Pierce County Wisconsin News / November 03, 2011

... It could soon cost more for inmates to get-out-of-jail in Green Bay. Brown County Sheriff John Gossage has proposed a budget for next year that raises the fees to be electronically-monitored at home. Inmates would pay a $50 start-up cost, up from $25 this year. And daily fees would jump from $20 to $23. Gossage says it would provide almost a million-dollars more in revenue -- and it will come in handy to pay the higher costs of deputies' salaries, and the fuel for keeping the squad cars going. ...
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Re: A rant about the Peak Oil movement

Unread postby The Practician » Tue 08 Nov 2011, 00:29:46

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Loki', 'I') like Greer. He's a bright guy, a good writer (if a bit verbose), has a good grasp of history, and I've found a lot of his points to be quite thought provoking. I particularly enjoy his long duree view of history, which is unusual in this era.

But when he starts talking about “magic” and “green wizardry” my eyes glaze over. I just don't find those useful or compelling metaphors. On the contrary, it makes me take everything else he has to say with a grain of salt.

That's not to say that he doesn't offer useful information. I read his blog most every week, I've learned from Greer, just as I've learned from Kunstler, despite his fantasy novels and irritatingly elitist “cultural criticism.” Hell, I've probably even learned from Savinar :lol:

Peak oil is kinda fringey. I'm OK with that. We should certainly call BS on the hyper-hysterical types and be honest about our mistakes, but it's illogical to dismiss the entire peak oil concept just because some of it's more vocal proponents have been eccentrics and nutcases. I think the geology speaks for itself.


To Greer's credit, he realizes that he is not mainstream material, and encourages people who are not inspired by his particular "toolkit" for dealing with peak oil to seek inspiration elsewhere, because the best thing we can be doing right now is throwing whatever we can at the wall and seeing what sticks. People are different, and have different interests and talents. we don't have to agree on the details of peak oil at this point--consensus is actually counter productive. Not that we shouldn't argue though...that's what internet forums are for, anyway!
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Re: A rant about the Peak Oil movement

Unread postby ralfy » Wed 23 Nov 2011, 02:22:43

There is no need for a reboot or to form a movement. Just look at the various reports about peak oil and points related to it, if not public comments made, by the IEA, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, the U.S. military, the German military, Lloyd's of London, HSBC, Toyota, BP, Shell, former executives of businesses like Saudi ARAMCO, the NZ Parliamentary, and more. Almost all of them are found online.
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Re: A rant about the Peak Oil movement

Unread postby MD » Wed 23 Nov 2011, 15:45:30

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ralfy', 'T')here is no need for a reboot or to form a movement. Just look at the various reports about peak oil and points related to it, if not public comments made, by the IEA, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, the U.S. military, the German military, Lloyd's of London, HSBC, Toyota, BP, Shell, former executives of businesses like Saudi ARAMCO, the NZ Parliamentary, and more. Almost all of them are found online.


The comments from all of the energy-players on your list --along with others unmentioned-- have changed over time. Dramatically in the last five years. Do you need to look further than that to conclude that we are living through the knee of a curve?
Stop filling dumpsters, as much as you possibly can, and everything will get better.

Just think it through.
It's not hard to do.
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Re: A rant about the Peak Oil movement

Unread postby thuja » Wed 23 Nov 2011, 16:32:19

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ralfy', 'T')here is no need for a reboot or to form a movement. Just look at the various reports about peak oil and points related to it, if not public comments made, by the IEA, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, the U.S. military, the German military, Lloyd's of London, HSBC, Toyota, BP, Shell, former executives of businesses like Saudi ARAMCO, the NZ Parliamentary, and more. Almost all of them are found online.


Mmmmm...not really. These groups and many more (airlines) are dealing with energy constraints and higher prices. But there is no concerted effort to raise awareness of a problem that is likely to dwarf every other problem out there (save maybe climate change) in the near future.

Most of mainstream society believes there will be ways to switch to a basket of alternative energies while the world ecomomy continues to grow. Lets call them the Switch and Grow mainstream.

Very few people are pessimistic and acknowledge that no basket of alternative energies will supplant oil when it starts steadily depleting. That meme is simply unacceptable to modern society because it essentially means the death of modern civilization.

It doesn't mean insta die-off crash, but the ramifications are almost as horrible. The likelihood is that we will experience accelerating economic depressions, deep global poverty, hunger, social chaos and increasing wars. Its a message that few want to hear.

Unfortunately Peakoilers have been branded as cultish and therefore anything we say about oil depletion is deemed excessively catastophic. Who has the standing and the clarity to express the message of a slow but unstoppabale crash to modern society that is believable and can be translated to the masses?
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Re: A rant about the Peak Oil movement

Unread postby Plantagenet » Wed 23 Nov 2011, 17:02:21

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('thuja', '.')..there is no concerted effort to raise awareness of a problem that is likely to dwarf every other problem out there (save maybe climate change) in the near future.


Actually there is. It just isn't very effective.

There is ASPO and various web sites (including this one) and lots of books. There is a faction of the academic community researching and talking and teaching about peak oil---. There are oil company execs who speak about it and numerous financial advisors using peak oil to advise their clients. There are clubs and organizations at the local level.

What the peak oil movement doesn't have is public support from any part the political establishment.
Neither political party and no leading politician is explicitly talking about peak oil.

The 1% in DC and elsewhere come really really close to talking about peak oil---look at my quote from Fed head Bernanke below---but our "leaders" still won't go there.
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Re: A rant about the Peak Oil movement

Unread postby thuja » Thu 24 Nov 2011, 00:14:29

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', '
')Actually there is. It just isn't very effective.

There is ASPO and various web sites (including this one) and lots of books. There is a faction of the academic community researching and talking and teaching about peak oil---. There are oil company execs who speak about it and numerous financial advisors using peak oil to advise their clients. There are clubs and organizations at the local level.


Yes there are folks talking about peak oil but they do not constitute a "concerted" effort.

ASPO and Theoildrum are the scientists and analysts who generally don't talk in a way that lay people can understand. There are books and websites but they generally tend towards being written and run by obsessively doomerish cranks (Kunstler, Savinar, Ruppert). Most oil execs I know don't talk about a slow crash that will end civilization as we know it.

The Transition movement is as close to a concerted effort as possible without being specifically a peakoil awareness movement.

Only a few years ago, every peak oil web site was loaded with cranks yelling that the end was nigh and that soon 90 % of the world's population would die off and if you didn't have a bug out bag and a piece of land to grow turnips you were doomed.

While the fast crashers have been mostly thankfully silenced, the slow crashers have not developed an alternative way of stating a problem that is simply massive and overwhelming, namely that oil production is about to rapidly decline and no basket of alternative energies can replace it. The zealots have left us and the zeal in this "awareness movement" have collapsed as well. But we still need to sound the alarm bells. We just need to do it in a way that doesn't make us look like utter idiots.





What the peak oil movement doesn't have is public support from any part the political establishment.
Neither political party and no leading politician is explicitly talking about peak oil.

The 1% in DC and elsewhere come really really close to talking about peak oil---look at my quote from Fed head Bernanke below---but our "leaders" still won't go there.[/quote]
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Re: A rant about the Peak Oil movement

Unread postby Arthur75 » Thu 24 Nov 2011, 05:15:55

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('thuja', '
')
Yes there are folks talking about peak oil but they do not constitute a "concerted" effort.



But what would be a "concerted effort" ?

Point is the only valid "concerted effort" is volume based taxes on fossile fuel and gas in particular (and this from a selfish reliance aspect from a given country point of view).
Then maybe it clearly needs an associated message, but in terms of concerted effort this is it (together with stopping considering population growth as a great positive thing maybe..).
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Re: A rant about the Peak Oil movement

Unread postby Pops » Thu 24 Nov 2011, 09:26:10

Erik Curen is a Transition guy and one of the few who actually speak the evil phrase, his latest is something like 'pepper spraying peak oil' if anyone wants to look for it.

I used to be a "movement" guy too. Well, I'm not really a join up type person but at least hoping there would be some grand awakening, aside from the fact I'm a geek it's why I put effort here. But I've decided an awakening won't happen, at least not in the sense that everyone gets together and does something cohesive - in the US we aren't even sure whether we want kids studying or cleaning toilets to save taxes so I don't see any fuel tax increase happening.

I think most people who stay current with at least a little of the world outside their favorite sim have heard of peak by now. I also think those who are able and even a little thoughtful will try to reduce their exposure to higher prices, i.e. park the dually and buy a used 4-banger.

But they will only address the symptoms - unleaded prices for example. For many, actually making big changes, like moving to a walkable neighborhood to eliminate unleaded altogether is already out of the question - 50% of homeowners are effectively underwater.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'O')n US totals, if you figure average house prices use conforming loan balances, then a repeat buyer has to have roughly 10 percent down to buy in addition to the 6 percent Realtor fee to sell. Thus, the effective negative equity target would be 85%. You also have to factor in secondary financing, which most measures leave out.

Based on that, over 50 percent of all mortgaged households in the US are effectively underwater — unable to sell for enough to pay a Realtor and put a down payment on a new purchase without coming out of pocket. Because repeat buyers have always carried the market as the foundation, this is why demand has not come back. It's as if half the potential buyers in America died over a two-year period of time.


I'm not saying we aren't going to recover from the current situation, we may, who knows? But I don't see it happening soon and as time goes by the cheap stuff continues to burn. It fits very well with the question I've always asked, how long is there to prepare until preparing is impossible?
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Re: A rant about the Peak Oil movement

Unread postby Cog » Thu 24 Nov 2011, 09:37:26

I don't think its too much to ask of Canada to sacrifice one of their provinces to provide the USA with all the oil it wants to use.
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