Ugo Bardi on “Plundering the Planet” (Part II)

Ugo Bardi, professor for physical chemistry at the University of Florence, author of the Report to the Club of Rome “Plundering the Planet” As oil production stagnates and is likely to fall in the future, „king coal“ enjoys a renaissance – with disastrous consequences for the climate. If we continue to build coal-fired power plants, […]

Iran’s Rouhani hints will balance hardline, reformist demands

Iran’s president-elect Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday he would appoint ministers from across its political spectrum as Iranian voters had chosen a path of moderation over extremism. His victory in the June 14 vote has lifted hopes of a thaw in Iran’s antagonistic relations with the West that might create openings for defusing its nuclear […]

Thousands Rally in Cairo as Violence Flares in Alexandria

Demonstrations in Egypt erupted into clashes, killing at least eight people and leaving more than 600 injured since June 26, the Health Ministry and state-run media reported. Violence broke out in cities including Alexandria and Port Said, as opposition protesters battled supporters of President Mohamed Mursi. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians plan to stage nationwide […]

Jim Rogers Warns “We’re All Going To Suffer From This Crazy, Crazy Money Printing”

I was able to reconnect with Jim Rogers this morning out of Spain, legendary co-founder of the Quantum Fund with George Soros, author of Hot Commodities, and chairman of the private Beeland Holdings. It was an especially powerful interview, as Jim spoke towards the relentless downward pressure on gold, the upward explosion in interest rates, central bank money […]

The Rise And Fall Of Great Powers

The very attempt to reform an unstable, diminishing-return system often precipitates its collapse. The Rise and Fall of Great Powers   Our collective interest in the rise and fall of empires is not academic. The meteoric rise of China and the financialization rotting out global capitalism are just two developments that suggest we are entering an […]

Oil theft in Nigeria

Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region is losing its battle against organised oil theft. According to the managing director of the Shell Petroleum Development Company, Mutiu Sunmonu, oil theft by local groups currently results in a total of $6bn per year in lost revenue to the corporate giant. Other major oil companies have also said they were losing […]

Put Down Oil Drill, Pick Up The Test Tube: Making Fuel From Yeast

What if we could get our gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel from yeast instead of from oil wells? That’s not as crazy as it sounds. In fact, it’s already happening on a small scale. And there’s a vigorous research effort to ramp this up on a massive scale. One of the more innovative approaches […]

Mexico oil output slumps to near two-year low

Mexican crude oil production slid to its lowest level in nearly two years in May, while exports were their weakest in more than two decades, official data showed on Friday. Crude output at state oil monopoly Pemex, which President Enrique Pena Nieto has pledged to reform in the coming months, fell to 2.51 million barrels […]

The Misunderstood Link Between Crude Oil, Natural Gas and Inflation

Dr Kent Moors writes: According to conventional wisdom, there can’t be a significant rise in inflation without a corresponding, and usually preceding, jump in energy prices. In fact, the correlation between energy prices and inflation has become almost a mantra among some market pundits. Unfortunately, the reality is somewhat different than what’s portrayed by talking […]

Even More Signs You’re Not Ready for Peak Oil

Humor, Video: Even More Signs You’re Not Ready for Peak Oil

Maugeri predicts Saudi America Will Overtake Saudi Arabia As The World’s Top Oil Producer Within A Decade

There’s still some debate about whether America’s shale oil boom is  merely an overnight sensation or a true-blue gamechanger — we’ve featured both sides here. In a new study published by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, former oil company executive Leonardo Maugeri predicts that for America’s three largest shale oil plays — the Bakken in […]

Energy Products: Return on Investment is Already Too Low

My major point when I gave my talk at the Fifth Biophysical Economics Conference at the University of Vermont was that our economy’s overall energy return on investment is already too low to maintain the economic system we are accustomed to. That is why the economy is showing signs of heading toward financial collapse. Both […]

BP Ranks Iran as Top Holder of Gas Reserves

In its Statistical Review of World Energy, BP put global proven gas reserves at 187.3 trillion cubic meters as of the end of 2012, enough for about 56 years of global production at current rates. BP’s annual review of energy statistics, first published in 1951, is considered an industry benchmark. Last year’s report put gas […]

Gazprom Wants to Supply 15 Percent of World’s LNG

Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom is planning to boost its exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to corner up to 15 percent of the world market for the fuel, CEO Alexei Miller said Friday. The Russian gas giant is turning to lucrative Asian LNG contracts against a backdrop of growing domestic competition and falling demand […]

India to Eclipse China as World’s Coal Power

India is burning coal in power plants at the fastest pace in 31 years. At the same time, domestic supplies of natural gas that are the main alternative are falling at the quickest rate in Asia, data from 2012 compiled by BP Plc (BP/) show. Both trends run counter to those in most major economies […]

Does the UK really face electricity blackouts?

There is certainly a power problem – partly caused by energy companies shutting plants that do not make good returns Britain could face a return within 18 months to 70s-style power rationing to prevent blackouts, screamed one tabloid front page on Friday, conjuring up a vision of coalminer militancy and the three-day week. The irony […]

UK Government looks at upcoming winter power shortages

National Grid has called on companies to consider curbing their electricity use between 4pm and 8pm on winter workdays next year, in a stark sign of the urgency of Britain’s looming energy supply shortage. The radical proposal came as the government presented a flurry of measures to meet the shortfall, including clarity on renewables subsidies, […]

US House Votes to Expand Offshore Oil Drilling

The U.S. House voted Friday to open up the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to oil and natural gas drilling, passing a bill that has little chance of becoming law but marks the latest effort by Republicans to portray President Barack Obama as an enemy of fossil fuels. The bill forces the Obama administration to offer […]

Faith Communities, Foodsheds, And The Future

You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you.  ~The Book of Joel~ We are the transformers of Earth. Our whole being, and the flights and falls of our love, enable us to undertake this task. ~Rainer Maria Rilke~ For the past six […]

Empire Serves No One But Itself: It’s Time To Wake Up

Humanity has come to a defining moment in its 200,000+ year evolution: we are at a place where we either have to give up or we have to stand up. Last night, amidst a backdrop of fear-creation by the security state, where you either shut up or face the consequences, my wife and I were […]

Energy: The Oxygen of Africa’s Growth and Development

Historically people associate the sound of Africa as the roar of the lion; but in reality, it’s been the roar of the diesel generator. Herds of these archaic beasts are on the prowl. Their habitat includes cities, towns, factories, mines, businesses and big farms – anywhere where power is required and isn’t available or reliable. […]

Ugo Bardi on “Plundering the Planet” (part 1)

More than 40 years after the report „The Limits to Growth“, the Club of Rome presented its new report: „Plundering the Planet“. Its author Ugo Bardi explains the consequences of overexploitation. Growing energy costs for the extraction of minerals from less and less concentrated ores could soon lead to shortages of key resources like oil, […]

Study Claims EROEI of Fracked Gas Higher Than Coal

Hydraulic fracking has been studied with a published paper showing the energy return on investment (aka EROI) with a total input energy compared with the energy in natural gas expected to be made available to end users is similar to or better than coal. The news for the natural gas industry, consumers and landowners lucky […]

Dr. Doom: “A Lot Of Problems Are Coming… Revolution… Social Strife…”

Famed economist and investment guru Dr. Marc Faber of the Gloom, Boom and Doom Report weighs in on global happenings. He predicted the collapse of global financial markets in 2008, and pegged their subsequent rise to the day back in 2009. If there’s someone out there with his finger on the pulse of the financial […]

US to deploy troops to Egypt to control Middle East: Analyst

In an indication of “a great power struggle over control of the Middle East,” the United States is deploying about 400 ground troops to Egypt, a military analyst told Press TV.   “The U.S. does not want to lose Syria and Egypt,” Michael Burns said on Tuesday.   The troops have been training for months […]

Tristram Stuart: The global food waste scandal

Western countries throw out nearly half of their food, not because it’s inedible — but because it doesn’t look appealing. Tristram Stuart delves into the shocking data of wasted food, calling for a more responsible use of global resources. Tristram Stuart sounds the warning bell on global food waste, calling for us to change the […]

OPEC to Boost Shipments as Demand Peak Nears

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will raise shipments by 1.9 percent through the middle of July as summer demand for driving fuels in the northern hemisphere nears its highest point, Oil Movements said. The group that supplies about 40 percent of the world’s oil will ship 24.03 million barrels a day in the four […]

The Most Expensive Science Experiment Ever

Some people have spent their whole working lives researching fusion and then retired feeling bitter at what they see as a wasted career. But that hasn’t stopped new recruits joining the effort every year: optimistic young graduates keen to get to grips with a complicated scientific problem that has real implications for the world. Their […]

Shale Truth Interview Arthur Berman

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network is presenting a series of interviews on the real impacts of the shale gas industry. In this first segment of our “Shale Truth Interview” series energy expert Arthur Berman discusses some of the industry claims on the supply and availability of shale gas. The Delaware Riverkeeper Network will present a new […]

Why Qatar’s new young emir will be just like the old one

The smooth and voluntary transfer of power by HH Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani to HH Sheik Tamim bin Hamad  al-Thani is unprecedented in the history of the Arab world, particularly the Gulf region,  Dr Mohamed al-Misfar, professor of political science at Qatar University, said. …. [He added] there was a consensus among many politicians, sociologists, […]

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LATEST NEWS HEADLINES

• Is It Time To Abandon the Idea of Phasing Out Oil and Gas?
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• Desertification: the world is losing healthy land at an astonishing rate
• US oil production will keep booming in 2024, setting up a possible showdown with Saudi Arabia
• Saudi Arabia piles pressure on UAE to shift COP28 focus away from oil and gas
• US Warship, Commercial Ships Under Attack In Red Sea