The Peak Oil Denial Train Rolls On

Claiming there is an oil limit on the economy and why peak oil is inevitable is usually talked down by saying its an unsure theory at best, and controversial, fear mongering or defeatist at worst. The totally simple numbers which prove it are however not Einstein-type mathematics and are not impossible to understand – - only by the badly intentioned or plain stupid. [1] Not my words, but for anyone who has spent enough time considering the facts about crude oil production/Peak Oil, it is difficult to come to grips with not only the level of denial exhibited by too many, but to understand what benefits to society at large might they think exist by the false claims, misrepresentations, and fact-free statements repeated ad nauseum, despite the clearly incorrect nature of their offerings? (Upcoming posts and a series devoted to the topic ...

3rd Massive Natural Gas Field Discovered near Israel

An American-Israeli drilling consortium on Sunday announced the discovery of a new Mediterranean natural gas field about 120 km northwest of the Haifa coast. The Noble Energy-Delek Group said in a statement that the find lies beneath 5,500 meters of sand and water, in 40-meter thick gas- bearing strata, according to the Globes business daily. The report said the field may contain between 34 billion to 37 billion cubic meters of gas. Noble's next step is to stabilize the borehole -- keeping it from collapsing -- in order to carry out a series of intensive seismic and electrical tests to further details the makeup of the rock and liquids in the strata, the report said. The site is adjacent to the significant Israeli-owned Tamar and Leviathan fields, discovered in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Tamar contains an estimated 240 billion cubic meters of natural gas, ...

Al Gore: Antarctic Glaciers and the Global Water Crisis

Today, our journey takes us to Neko Harbor, one of the prime locations in this region to view glaciers. These towering walls of ice are a majestic sight, and a humbling reminder of the fragility of the natural systems that human beings depend upon for life as we know it. As we began our journey, I wrote about the threats we face as Antarctica's glaciers melt and the world's oceans rise. Yet beyond the physical impacts that rising seas pose to coastlines, glaciers are important for many other reasons. We need them in order to preserve one of the basic necessities of life: clean drinking water. Let's take a step back. As the global population tops 7 billion, nearly 800 million people do not have access to clean and safe drinking water. The climate crisis could make this problem worse. As sea levels ...

Argentina to demand oil, gas fields run at full output

Argentina will demand that oil companies in the country operate oil and gas fields at full output, state news agency Telam said on Saturday, a day after the government cut $461 million in annual tax breaks for big fuel firms amid wider austerity. President Cristina Fernandez' government blames private sector oil companies for the country's waning crude production. Latin America's No. 3 economy is increasingly dependent on energy imports to meet demand for natural gas and oil, which has surged since 2003, rebounding from a deep economic crisis. "They should reach full output at gas and oil fields," Telam cited Planning Minister Julio De Vido as saying. Argentina is preparing for a challenging year as Europe's debt crisis and the sluggish world economy bite into the finances of commodities-producing countries in South America. Friday's reduction in tax breaks affects companies such as Panamerican Energy, owned ...

How will Denmark react to peak oil?

This morning I awoke before the sun had risen and, having made myself a cup of tea, turned on the local news to see if anything interesting had happened. The newsreaders were in a state of mild excitement because the night had been the coldest in 26 years. Yes, outside my window it was a nippy -18C, with parts of the country experiencing lows of -23C (-9F). This, of course, is seriously cold. High pressure has been the dominant atmospheric force this past week, making for beautiful clear blue skies, frozen lakes that you can skate on incredibly sunsets. At least in Denmark, that is. Elsewhere in Eastern Europe the cold weather has caused chaos, and several hundred deaths as homeless people have frozen where they lay. Denmark, of course, doesn't have any homeless people, and the only people who end ...

Americans talk about an Israeli strike on Iran, but prepare own offensive

US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has been outspoken about a possible Israeli offensive against ...

Tech Talk – the oil and natural gas in Eastern Siberia

In the last post on Russian oil production I discussed the amounts of oil ...

Mexican Oil Rig Evacuated After Almost Collapsing

An oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico was evacuated yesterday after a ...

Will Peak Oil Spell the End of Capitalism?

Capitalism will end when oil runs out, according to Fleeing Vesuvius, a collection of ...