http://peakoil.com Exploring Hydrocarbon Depletion Fri, 24 May 2013 23:07:47 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://peakoil.com/production/towards-transparency-in-oil-gas-and-mining http://peakoil.com/production/towards-transparency-in-oil-gas-and-mining#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 23:07:47 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82153
Natural resources are a large source of revenue for many countries, however, without good management local communities may not feel the benefits. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the global standard for transparency of revenues from natural resources, is holding its 2013 Global Conference in Sydney. The World Bank is a supporter of EITI which [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/production/towards-transparency-in-oil-gas-and-mining/feed 0 http://peakoil.com/enviroment/lack-of-fresh-water-could-hit-half-the-worlds-population-by-2050 http://peakoil.com/enviroment/lack-of-fresh-water-could-hit-half-the-worlds-population-by-2050#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 19:49:56 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82152
Severe water shortages will affect more than half the world’s future population of nine billion people by 2050 if governments fail to collaborate on international efforts to protect and conserve life’s most vital ingredient, experts have warned. One of the first indications of a future water crisis will be mass migrations of people away from [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/enviroment/lack-of-fresh-water-could-hit-half-the-worlds-population-by-2050/feed 2 http://peakoil.com/business/will-it-be-inflation-or-deflation-the-answer-may-surprise-you http://peakoil.com/business/will-it-be-inflation-or-deflation-the-answer-may-surprise-you#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 13:15:40 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82151
Is the coming financial collapse going to be inflationary or deflationary?  Are we headed for rampant inflation or crippling deflation?  This is a subject that is hotly debated by economists all over the country.  Some insist that the wild money printing that the Federal Reserve is doing combined with out of control government spending will [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/business/will-it-be-inflation-or-deflation-the-answer-may-surprise-you/feed 3 http://peakoil.com/enviroment/the-colorado-river-the-high-plains-aquifer-and-the-entire-western-half-of-the-u-s-are-rapidly-drying-up http://peakoil.com/enviroment/the-colorado-river-the-high-plains-aquifer-and-the-entire-western-half-of-the-u-s-are-rapidly-drying-up#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 12:12:52 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82148
What is life going to look like as our precious water resources become increasingly strained and the western half of the United States becomes bone dry?  Scientists tell us that the 20th century was the wettest century in the western half of the country in 1000 years, and now things appear to be reverting to [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/enviroment/the-colorado-river-the-high-plains-aquifer-and-the-entire-western-half-of-the-u-s-are-rapidly-drying-up/feed 11 http://peakoil.com/consumption/all-hail-gazpromia-uk-gas-supply-six-hours-from-running-out-in-march http://peakoil.com/consumption/all-hail-gazpromia-uk-gas-supply-six-hours-from-running-out-in-march#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 12:09:47 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82146
Britain came within six hours of running out of natural gas in March, according to a senior energy official, highlighting the risk of supply shortages amid declining domestic production and a growing reliance on imports. “We really only had six hours’ worth of gas left in storage as a buffer,” said Rob Hastings, director of [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/consumption/all-hail-gazpromia-uk-gas-supply-six-hours-from-running-out-in-march/feed 6 http://peakoil.com/generalideas/supply-shock-ecological-economics-comes-of-age http://peakoil.com/generalideas/supply-shock-ecological-economics-comes-of-age#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 12:06:16 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82145
The ideas which are here expressed so laboriously are extremely simple and should be obvious. The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones, which ramify, for those brought up as most of us have been, into every corner of our minds. John Maynard Keynes Of all the critiques [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/generalideas/supply-shock-ecological-economics-comes-of-age/feed 1 http://peakoil.com/enviroment/oil-limits-and-climate-change http://peakoil.com/enviroment/oil-limits-and-climate-change#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 12:03:56 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82144
They say that every cloud has a silver lining. If future energy consumption (which is mostly fossil fuel) drops because of a financial collapse brought on by high oil prices and other limits, then, at least in theory, climate change should be less of a problem.  One of the important variables in climate change models is [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/enviroment/oil-limits-and-climate-change/feed 2 http://peakoil.com/publicpolicy/the-natural-gas-games-begin http://peakoil.com/publicpolicy/the-natural-gas-games-begin#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 12:00:47 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82143
Washington this week has been engulfed in the natural gas export conundrum, with a Senate energy committee’s first in a series of natural gas forums starting off on 14 May. They’re just testing the waters here, but next week we’ll get down and dirty on this one: the entire meeting will be devoted solely to [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/publicpolicy/the-natural-gas-games-begin/feed 1 http://peakoil.com/consumption/sharing-as-a-solution-to-global-crisis http://peakoil.com/consumption/sharing-as-a-solution-to-global-crisis#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 11:59:45 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82142
The social, environmental and economic crises that continue to reap havoc across the globe provide a critical opportunity for ordinary people to demand economic reform and political transformation says STWR’s director, Rajesh Makwana, in an interview with John Habets & Henk Gloudemans. 13th May 2013 – Published in the Dutch magazine of the WereldDelen Foundation [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/consumption/sharing-as-a-solution-to-global-crisis/feed 2 http://peakoil.com/business/raising-the-bar-on-extractive-resources-transparency-and-accountability http://peakoil.com/business/raising-the-bar-on-extractive-resources-transparency-and-accountability#comments Thu, 23 May 2013 23:58:39 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82140
Over 3.5 billion people—or half of the world’s population—live in countries that are rich in extractive resources such as oil, gas, and minerals. Yet, too often, the benefits from this wealth do not go to support the development of the country and thus do not work to the advantage of the  average citizen. Extractive resources [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/business/raising-the-bar-on-extractive-resources-transparency-and-accountability/feed 4 http://peakoil.com/publicpolicy/iran-pushes-ahead-with-new-nuke-plant http://peakoil.com/publicpolicy/iran-pushes-ahead-with-new-nuke-plant#comments Thu, 23 May 2013 18:33:23 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82138
Iran is pressing ahead with the construction of a research reactor that Western experts say could offer it a second way of producing material for a nuclear bomb if it decides to make one, a U.N. report showed on Wednesday. Iran has transported the reactor vessel to the heavy water plant near the central town [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/publicpolicy/iran-pushes-ahead-with-new-nuke-plant/feed 6 http://peakoil.com/enviroment/study-fukushima-radiation-has-already-killed-14000-americans http://peakoil.com/enviroment/study-fukushima-radiation-has-already-killed-14000-americans#comments Thu, 23 May 2013 11:23:27 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82135
Already 14,000 U.S. Deaths From Fukushima ? A new study published in the peer-reviewed journal International Journal of Health Services alleges that 14,000 people have already died in the United States due to Fukushima. Specifically, the authors of the study claim: An estimated 14,000 excess deaths in the United States are linked to the radioactive [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/enviroment/study-fukushima-radiation-has-already-killed-14000-americans/feed 16 http://peakoil.com/business/hyperinflation-10-worst-cases http://peakoil.com/business/hyperinflation-10-worst-cases#comments Thu, 23 May 2013 11:20:07 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82134
I have a neat little app on my smartphone that I like to look at when I’m feeling bored. It won’t change anything in my life, but it makes me think as I see the numbers clocking up, and then suddenly stopping for a few seconds. It’s the app that tells me the how much [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/business/hyperinflation-10-worst-cases/feed 10 http://peakoil.com/publicpolicy/us-oil-surge-could-impact-mideast-geopolitics http://peakoil.com/publicpolicy/us-oil-surge-could-impact-mideast-geopolitics#comments Thu, 23 May 2013 11:17:10 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82132
The United States will account for a third of new oil supplies over the next five years, and will become energy self-sufficient in 20 years, according to a new report by the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA). Although U.S. oil imports from Arab Gulf countries increased last year, analysts predict the U.S. will lose its [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/publicpolicy/us-oil-surge-could-impact-mideast-geopolitics/feed 8 http://peakoil.com/generalideas/thinking-of-starting-a-transition-initiative http://peakoil.com/generalideas/thinking-of-starting-a-transition-initiative#comments Thu, 23 May 2013 11:14:59 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82130
Are you thinking about starting a new Transition initiative in your town, village or city? I was among those who initiated Transition Dartmouth Park, in North London, around a year and a half ago. We recently held a core group away day, and after a shared, home-made and home grown lunch, we sat down to [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/generalideas/thinking-of-starting-a-transition-initiative/feed 2 http://peakoil.com/enviroment/peak-oil-ignoring-evidence http://peakoil.com/enviroment/peak-oil-ignoring-evidence#comments Thu, 23 May 2013 11:13:00 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82129
An observation worth noting … and pondering, from Al Gore: Have we gone completely nuts? We haven’t gone nuts — but the ‘conversation of democracy’ has become so deeply dysfunctional that our ability to make intelligent collective decisions has been seriously impaired. Throughout American history, we relied on the vibrancy of our public square — [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/enviroment/peak-oil-ignoring-evidence/feed 3 http://peakoil.com/consumption/difficult-truths-about-difficult-oil http://peakoil.com/consumption/difficult-truths-about-difficult-oil#comments Thu, 23 May 2013 11:10:49 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82128
As the global economy switches to heavier, messier and costlier hydrocarbons, Robert Skinner is getting a bit worried about the future of his three grandchildren. It’s all about the story of “difficult oil,” a term the highly respected energy expert and geologist first coined nearly a decade ago. Now, Skinner, a 67-year energy veteran, has [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/consumption/difficult-truths-about-difficult-oil/feed 2 http://peakoil.com/consumption/bound-by-the-chains-of-oil-the-need-for-energy-innovation http://peakoil.com/consumption/bound-by-the-chains-of-oil-the-need-for-energy-innovation#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 21:56:47 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82125
We all know that when the price of oil goes up Americans are negatively affected. High oil prices increase our gasoline expenditures, constricting household budgets, and cause the price of everything that is transported or produced using oil (which is basically everything) to escalate. Nationally, our trade deficit rises and often a recession is close at [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/consumption/bound-by-the-chains-of-oil-the-need-for-energy-innovation/feed 9 http://peakoil.com/alternative-energy/the-peak-oil-crisis-a-stealth-revolution http://peakoil.com/alternative-energy/the-peak-oil-crisis-a-stealth-revolution#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 21:55:56 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82124
It is nearly a quarter of a century now since two electro-chemists at the University of Utah held a press conference to announce that they had discovered a new way of extracting energy from the nucleus of an atom. For a few weeks the announcement of what was then termed “cold fusion” made headlines as [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/alternative-energy/the-peak-oil-crisis-a-stealth-revolution/feed 9 http://peakoil.com/consumption/chinas-suv-fleet-to-drive-oil-demand-growth http://peakoil.com/consumption/chinas-suv-fleet-to-drive-oil-demand-growth#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 15:40:36 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82122
China’s growing fleet of sport utility vehicles will offset gains in fuel efficiency and continue to drive oil-demand growth, according to Sanford C. Bernstein Research. Chinese oil consumption will increase at an average annual pace of 5 percent to reach 12.9 million barrels a day in 2018, from 9.6 million barrels a day in 2012, [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/consumption/chinas-suv-fleet-to-drive-oil-demand-growth/feed 10 http://peakoil.com/generalideas/energy-return-on-investment http://peakoil.com/generalideas/energy-return-on-investment#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 15:35:08 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82120
This essay comes from the book ENERGY: Overdevelopment and the Delusion of Endless Growth Published by the Foundation for Deep Ecology in collaboration with Watershed Media and Post Carbon Institute. Download Energy Return on Investment Post Carbon Institute/Foundation for Deep Ecology]]> http://peakoil.com/generalideas/energy-return-on-investment/feed 9 http://peakoil.com/production/april-saudi-oil-production http://peakoil.com/production/april-saudi-oil-production#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 15:21:09 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82118
The above graph summarizes the data on Saudi oil production (and oil rig count on the right scale).  The feature of most current interest is the large production cut that was implemented in the last months of 2012 (more background here). It appears that in April there was a noticeable uptick in production of around [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/production/april-saudi-oil-production/feed 1 http://peakoil.com/generalideas/heinberg-big-energys-misleading-promise-of-plenty http://peakoil.com/generalideas/heinberg-big-energys-misleading-promise-of-plenty#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 10:37:33 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82115
Hi readers, This month has been a rush of deadlines as I work to complete the final chapters of my new book ‘SNAKE OIL! How Big Energy’s Promise of Plenty Imperils Our Future’. This being the case I have no new writing to offer you this month — I did however give an extended interview, [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/generalideas/heinberg-big-energys-misleading-promise-of-plenty/feed 3 http://peakoil.com/enviroment/people-powered-politics-at-the-city-level-searching-for-true-citizenship http://peakoil.com/enviroment/people-powered-politics-at-the-city-level-searching-for-true-citizenship#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 10:36:27 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82114
For the first time in human history, over half of the world’s population live in urban areas. By 2050, that number is projected to reach 70 percent. And yet, cities face huge problems. They are responsible for almost 80 percent of the world’s energy consumption and 67 percent of its greenhouse emissions. In 2005, one [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/enviroment/people-powered-politics-at-the-city-level-searching-for-true-citizenship/feed 2 http://peakoil.com/consumption/energy-bills-could-overtake-mortgages-in-five-years http://peakoil.com/consumption/energy-bills-could-overtake-mortgages-in-five-years#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 10:35:09 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82113
Energy bills are rising so steeply that they could overtake mortgage repayments in parts of Britain in just five years’ time, the chief executive of supplier, First Utility, has claimed. Ian McCaig issued the stark warning as he said energy policies must be reviewed to minimise the impact on bills and said consumers should think [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/consumption/energy-bills-could-overtake-mortgages-in-five-years/feed 8 http://peakoil.com/consumption/the-rise-of-the-suburban-poor http://peakoil.com/consumption/the-rise-of-the-suburban-poor#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 10:33:44 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82112
In 2004, a documentary called The End of Suburbia predicted that the suburbs were potentially “destined to become the slums of tomorrow” thanks to the impending threat of peak oil. That didn’t happen–the threat of peak oil has now been replaced by out-of-control climate change–but suburbs are declining, just for a different reason. According to [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/consumption/the-rise-of-the-suburban-poor/feed 7 http://peakoil.com/alternative-energy/is-peak-oil-never-going-to-happen http://peakoil.com/alternative-energy/is-peak-oil-never-going-to-happen#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 10:32:39 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82111
You can make a coherent, logical argument for cars that don’t burn gasoline without once mentioning global petroleum supply. You can talk about international relations and the power of gasoline exporters (just read the first three paragraphs of this for a bit of history). You can talk about climate change. You can talk about the [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/alternative-energy/is-peak-oil-never-going-to-happen/feed 3 http://peakoil.com/publicpolicy/a-mileage-tax-monitored-by-gps-for-all-n-j-drivers http://peakoil.com/publicpolicy/a-mileage-tax-monitored-by-gps-for-all-n-j-drivers#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 09:52:06 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82116
It’s a controversial proposal: Paying for every mile you drive to cover road repairs. While some say it’s necessary, others are saying it’s time to put the brakes on the idea, CBS 2’s Christine Sloan reported Tuesday. It’s the one thing New Jersey can boast about – having the fourth-lowest gas tax in the nation. [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/publicpolicy/a-mileage-tax-monitored-by-gps-for-all-n-j-drivers/feed 3 http://peakoil.com/business/the-coming-collapse-of-the-petrodollar-system http://peakoil.com/business/the-coming-collapse-of-the-petrodollar-system#comments Tue, 21 May 2013 15:38:02 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82110
Authored by Andrew McKillop, PETRODOLLAR WAR The theory of Petrodollar Warfare can be attributed to US analyst and author William R Clarke, and his 2005 book of that title which interpreted the US-UK decision to invade Iraq in 2003. He called this an “oil currency war”, but the concept of the petrodollar system and petrodollar [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/business/the-coming-collapse-of-the-petrodollar-system/feed 12 http://peakoil.com/alternative-energy/nuclear-energy-industry-re-energizing-after-fukushima http://peakoil.com/alternative-energy/nuclear-energy-industry-re-energizing-after-fukushima#comments Tue, 21 May 2013 09:54:48 +0000 admin http://peakoil.com/?p=82108
The Fukushima incident has contributed to the lay belief that nuclear energy is a risk not worth taking. Although, according to the data of the non-profit World Nuclear Association only a very limited number of accidents occurred in over 14,500 cumulative reactor-years of commercial nuclear power operation in 32 countries. Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and [...]]]> http://peakoil.com/alternative-energy/nuclear-energy-industry-re-energizing-after-fukushima/feed 11