peak oil Archive

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  Oil politics backfire on the US - by frog

  
  
  
  Open Democracy’s Paul Rogers notes that as China looks to secure oil for it’s increasing consumption it is becoming a strategic power in the Middle East in exactly the way the US would not have intended or wanted. Three transnational oil companies – Shell, BP and Exxon Mobil – were all expected to complete deals [...] read more
  September 6, 2008 9:50 am - 6 Comments
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  Oil dips as economies wane - by frog

  
  
  
  Let the gyrations begin. As economies reel from the explosion in oil prices over the last couple of years, demand is dropping and with it, prices. As I write, oil is at $109.54, up slightly after yesterday’s significant low. Hurricane Gustav had pushed prices up a bit, but markets are heaving a sigh of relief [...] read more
  September 3, 2008 1:38 pm - 23 Comments
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  McKinney: “leave the oil in the soil” - by frog

  
  
  
  Meanwhile, also in the USA, Grist has an interview with Green Party presidential candidate, Cynthia McKinney. I liked this McKinney response to Grist asking: ‘Energy is a hot topic on the political scene right now. Republicans are really driving home the drilling mantra. What do you think should be done to counter that?’ McKinney: My [...] read more
  August 23, 2008 9:26 am - 2 Comments
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  Kaukapakapa gears up for a fight - by frog

  
  
  
  Residents of Kaukapakapa northwest of Auckland are gearing up for the fight of their lives in an effort to stop Genesis from building a 480 MW gas turbine generating station in the middle of their paddocks. I understand through the grapevine that John Key, after public pressure in the House, has finally agreed to meet [...] read more
  August 19, 2008 5:57 pm - 103 Comments
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  An early morning video on Peak Oil - by frog

  
  
  
  From the American Good Magazine (rather than the Kiwi one). read more
  August 7, 2008 8:18 am - 2 Comments
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  Oil drops again, to $118.77 - by frog

  
  
  
  Oil fell through another $10 level yesterday, bringing much needed relief to all and sundry. So dependent are we on the black stuff that virtually no one and no human process can claim to be immune to the changes in price. Some are speculating that Tropical Storm Edouard, having missed the big oil producing areas [...] read more
  August 6, 2008 9:41 am - 14 Comments
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  MIT makes energy breakthrough - by frog

  
  
  
  Scientists at MIT have figured out a way to mimic a plant’s energy storage using ordinary materials in ordinary conditions. While the article suffers from the usual this-discovery-will-save-the-world hyperbole, it is nevertheless an important breakthrough. The ability to cheaply electrolyse water into hydrogen and oxygen means we can store solar power more readily without the [...] read more
  August 1, 2008 3:54 pm - 16 Comments
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  Favourite peak oil quote of the week - by frog

  
  
  
  This letter in the print edition of Straight Furrow this week from John of Pukekohe has a new challenge for the peak oil-ologists here at the Green Party to answer: “A Russian professor”?… “basically said”?… “second law of thermodynamics”.  Well that clinches it then.  Nothing says convincing science like the second law of thermodynamics.  Well, [...] read more
  July 31, 2008 11:38 am - 8 Comments
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  I’m glad you asked - by Jeanette Fitzsimons

  
  
  
  I’m glad to see my post on the issue of vehicle fuel efficiency standards has provoked such interest. Here are a few answers to a few questions: Kevyn, – my briefing on the $148m saved on power bills since the MEPs came in was an oral one but you could write to EECA and ask [...] read more
  July 30, 2008 12:16 pm - 11 Comments
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  Second generation nuclear a bigger scam that the first. - by frog

  
  
  
  It seems that even America’s most pro-nuclear department is admitting that the economics of nuclear power simply do not stack up. I started to write a rant, then realised that Harvey over at The Smirking Chimp had said it all, and well: A devastating blow to the much-hyped revival of atomic power has been delivered [...] read more
  July 28, 2008 12:26 pm - 15 Comments
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  Save Rotuma from fossil fuel dependency - by frog

  
  
  
  I have become used to daily reports in the press about fuel shortages all around the world. Asia in particular is suffering from acute diesel shortages in part because their electricity systems are inadequate and everyone is relying on generators to do business. This article, however, made me cringe. It seems the tiny Pacific island [...] read more
  July 24, 2008 9:14 am - 8 Comments
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  Get ready for the last oil war - by frog

  
  
  
  As you would expect, such a title had to pique my interest. But this article over at Energy Bulletin proved irresistible, despite its dense language. While I am not entirely convinced that an all-out total war for oil, centred around Iran and triggered by their nuclear ‘crisis’ is inevitable, it is hard to articulate a [...] read more
  July 20, 2008 3:16 pm - 15 Comments
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  What other blogs are saying - by frog

  
  
  
  Not PC reckons all this peak oil stuff that us Greens keep going on about is a have: With about a half-a-century’s worth of proven oil reserves, the problem is not in bringing on new production. Resources are ample. Fifty years left you say, oh that’s ok then. And after that we can all just [...] read more
  July 18, 2008 9:15 pm - 13 Comments
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  Al Gore spells out the challenge - by frog

  
  
  
  I’m not sure how many frogblog readers have spent any time over at WeCanSolveIt.com, as it is pretty American centric. Nevertheless, the debate over there mimics our own climate change dialogue here in NZ, where sceptics and outright deniers try and disparage the scientists and the science of climate change. (The very same science that [...] read more
  July 18, 2008 1:46 pm - 22 Comments
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  Oil drops a dime, Matthew Simmons says ‘just wait’ - by frog

  
  
  
  Since I have a habit of reporting whenever oil hits a new $10 level, I thought it only fair that I wade in and report when it has dropped as much. As I write, oil is sitting at US$130, and NZ oil companies have mercifully dropped petrol prices by 4 cents a litre. This is [...] read more
  July 18, 2008 12:37 pm - 8 Comments
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  Electrifying the Rails – a Peak Oil Silver BB? - by frog

  
  
  
  Everyone agrees that there is no single technology, no single silver bullet to solve the challenges we face because of peak oil. However, across the bigger ditch in the US, a very relevant debate is brewing about a key technology plank in the response to peak oil – electrified rail. This topic is particularly pertinent [...] read more
  July 15, 2008 3:10 pm - 62 Comments
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  Mercedes to stop building petrol cars - by frog

  
  
  
  Rich petrol heads, beware. This could be the beginning of the end of the automobile as we know it. Jaymi Heimbuch at EcoGeek reports on the Mercedes makeover: In less than 7 years, Mercedes-Benz plans to ditch petroleum-powered vehicles from its lineup. Focusing on electric, fuel cell, and biofuels, the company is revving up research [...] read more
  July 12, 2008 2:17 pm - 50 Comments
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  Fuel for thought – the future of transport fuels: challenges and opportunities - by frog

  
  
  
  Such is the name of a report released today by the Future Fuels Forum, an initiative led by the Australia’s CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship. The Age summarises the bad news: PETROL prices could reach $8 a litre [~NZ$10 per litre] within a decade if oil production peaks and Australia is not ready to shift to [...] read more
  July 11, 2008 2:07 pm - 61 Comments
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  50 things you can attribute to rising fuel prices - by frog

  
  
  
  The Wall Street Journal has a list of fifty things you can attribute to the rising cost of fuel. Oddly enough it extends beyond just more expensive petrol for your car. Some of them are good, such as an increased use of public transport, but others not so much. For instance: 8. Kangaroo harvesters are [...] read more
  July 10, 2008 2:22 pm - 13 Comments
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  The oil diet - by frog

  
  
  
  Richard Heinberg, world renowned Peak Oilologist, has, as you would expect, been worrying about rising oil prices.  (Luckily world oil prices dropped significantly yesterday but don’t expect that to start a trend just yet). Anyway, Heinberg reckons he has a solution: an oil diet. Reducing demand will reduce the price: But there’s a problem to [...] read more
  July 9, 2008 9:25 am - 5 Comments