peak oil Archive

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  Shell declares an end to cheap oil

  
  
  
  Shell has been an increasingly vocal supporter of the need to plan for peak oil. Shell’s future energy scenarios paint a stark future – one where we plan for the demise of cheap oil and one where we scramble incoherently and nature decides for us. This week, in the Wall Street Journal, Shell’s CEO Peter [...] read more
  March 7, 2010 7:41 am - 29 Comments
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  Submit to save the Stratford to Okahukura Rail Line

  
  
  
  Kiwirail is considering closing the Stratford to Okahukura Rail Line because of damage to the tracks after a derailment last year. Kiwirail has told the media they are asking for submissions from the public before making a decision. Although, in practice, I can’t see any mention of the submission process on their website… Anyway, if you want [...] read more
  February 10, 2010 5:36 pm - 14 Comments
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  Thoughts on the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2009

  
  
  
  The latest from the IEA is hot of the press. I’m curious to see what they have to say this time around, because their stance on oil supplies has shifted quite a lot recently. They used to believe oil supplies would last for a long long time, but are now saying 2020 will be the [...] read more
  November 11, 2009 4:21 pm - 10 Comments
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  Green shoots or growing rot?

  
  
  
  Everyone agrees that we’re in a crisis. Officials and politicians point everywhere and say – Hey look! Green shoots! The worst is over. Others urge us to ignore the green shoots, the worst is yet to come. read more
  August 31, 2009 9:55 am - 22 Comments
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  Test drive the new Tesla Model S

  
  
  
  I confess, I haven’t owned a car in almost eight years. I was weaned from my V8 days decades ago, but my head has been turned by a simple four door sedan. It’s the Tesla Model S. It’s electric. It’s cool. The Model S can make the sprint from zero to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds, [...] read more
  August 25, 2009 7:59 pm - 70 Comments
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  Compulsory minimum parking requirements

  
  
  
  Interesting video about the absurdity of minimum parking requirements for commercial and residential developments. These requirements subsidize driving and encourage urban sprawl. read more
  August 16, 2009 10:00 pm - 33 Comments
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  Oil touches US $70/bbl

  
  
  
  It seems like a very strange deja vu.  It wasn’t that long ago that we were witnessing a steep and steady increase in the price of oil. I don’t think that today’s price – US$71.89/bbl has any longevity. Whether up or down, it will keep moving, as I predicted last October: If I get out my [...] read more
  June 11, 2009 3:22 pm - 41 Comments
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  Lester Brown on Failing States: Early sign of decline

  
  
  
  The following YouTube clip is Part 3 from a recent lecture Lester Brown gave on Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization and will take you into the heart of the Plan B message. The presentation was to the Chemical Society of Washington on May 8, 2008. Lester, who is President of the Earth Policy [...] read more
  March 7, 2009 8:00 am - 9 Comments
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  The End of KiwiRail?

  
  
  
  I recently attended an ISCR seminar on the future of rail. According to the speaker, Dave Heatley, there’s basically no future for rail. Rail is unfixable in its present form, he argued, without making some “heroic assumptions” about how we measure externalities and the opportunity cost of keeping rail. Heatley’s damning report (available soon on the ISCR [...] read more
  February 19, 2009 4:49 pm - 106 Comments
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  At last, peak oil has an official date

  
  
  
  A frogblog fan reminded me about this lovely article from Monbiot just before the Christmas break. The Guardian’s video of the interview is here. It seems the IEA spent all of 2008 doing what it should have been doing all along – analysing all the world’s conventional oil supply to see when we are going [...] read more
  January 26, 2009 3:27 pm - 44 Comments