I tend to think there’s a lot of misunderstanding about the meaning of peak oil, a term that is becoming ubiquitous in public discussions of energy and climate change. So I want to highlight this articulate definition, which is devoid of hyperbole and concludes with a modest nod to peak oil’s relevance: In my opinion,…Continue Reading…
The NYT uses the Gulf oil disaster as a hook to examine the peak oil “collapsitarians.” Some of them are a bit overwrought, it seems, and want to do more than rub their worry beads. Fortunately, there’s a new cottage industry catering to their anxieties. The theme of the NYT story can be gleaned from…Continue Reading…
It’s out there, lurking. Here’s something warm and fuzzy for Westerners to wake up to this morning: Now before I get into the piece that follows I should explain that I don’t hold any particular animus towards the states of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming or Idaho, and so when I start talking about disposing of nuclear…Continue Reading…
Actually, this editorial appears in the Journal’s Europe edition. I can’t imagine it appearing in the U.S. edition, especially with this kicker: Some dubious emails and slightly dodgy dossiers have cast a new, and unflattering, light on the global-warming debate, raising the risk of a return to the belief that we can go on consuming…Continue Reading…
Looks like there’s an important new voice in the climate change debate. As Roger Pielke Jr. notes, Bill Gates recently offered some refreshing thoughts on climate policy, starting with this: Conservation and behavior change alone will not get us to the dramatically lower levels of Co2 emissions needed to make a real difference. We need…Continue Reading…
One of the more amusing (and popular) voices in the the enviro/peak oil doom-o-sphere is James Howard Kunstler, perhaps best known for his book, The Geography of Nowhere. Once a week, he issues a rambling missive on all issues related to society’s imminent collapse from his profanely titled blog, Clusterfuck Nation. People seem to eat…Continue Reading…
Whoa, The Oil Drum is going to burst when it gets hold of this exclusive at The Guardian: The world is much closer to running out of oil than official estimates admit, according to a whistleblower at the International Energy Agency who claims it has been deliberately underplaying a looming shortage for fear of triggering…Continue Reading…
As I mentioned here, enviros and climate advocates have gotten all starry-eyed about unconventional natural gas. But the Oil Drum says that the future of natural gas production is a puzzle. In fact, pointing to this recent article, TOD suggests that some caution is in order.
What happens when you cross John Nash’s view of human behavior with Isaiah Berlin’s concept of human freedom? You get the reason why we may never chart an environmentally sustainable course. This is the interesting argument that Kurt Cobb lays out over at The Oil Drum. His conclusion is dispiriting: The way to win any…Continue Reading…