The Peakist

Earlier this month, the Guardian published a piece by Hugo Chavez in which he argued: “If the entire world adopts the energy-consumption patterns and lifestyles of the developed countries, we’re heading for disaster.” Coming from a leader whose ‘Bolivarian’ revolution is bankrolled by petrodollars this strikes me as a significant statement. Events in the Middle East have focussed attention away from the significance of Venezuela to the emergent energy geo-politics. The Chavez regime is more than happy to supply oil to its left wing Latin American allies at subsidised prices, and with no end of high oil prices in sight there is noreason why they won’t continue to do so. Chavez survived a CIA backed coup attempt in 2002 and is in the process of investing in Russian armaments to defend Venezuela against future military intervnetion from the US. As many commentators have pointed out whilst the Bush junta has been caught up in its failed war in Eurasia anti-hegemonic forces have been taking over the US’ backyard. As oil supplies become ever tighter and with the catastrophic loss of Middle Eastern supplies (whether Iranian or Saudi) a very real possibility there can be little doubt that practitioners of real politique in Washington will be looking for control of supplies closer to home. Under the rubric of the ‘war on terror’ US military aid is already committed to defending Columbian oil from left wing guerillas. It is easy to forget that US military presence in the ‘Centcom’ region of the Gulf states and central asaia involves incredibaly costly, long and vulnerable supply lines. Projection of force to control hydrocarbons in the Western hemisphere looks like a good deal by comparison. Whether Chavez can put his environmental rhetoric into action remians to be seen; that, for now, Venezuela is the central obstacle to US hegemony in the Western hemisphere is without doubt.

Drawbridge quarterly magazine

Michel Chossudovsky asks “Is there a relationship between the bombing of Lebanon and
the inauguration of the World’s largest strategic pipeline, which will channel more than a million barrels of oil a day to Western markets? (more…)

MADRID (Reuters) - Sweltering temperatures sweeping Europe have brought a plague of jellyfish to Spain’s eastern seashores, forcing holidaymakers to stay out of the sea, the Red Cross said on Thursday. The unwelcome visitors, which can reach the size of a dinner plate, have flourished thanks to a glut of plankton brought on by higher sea temperatures and a decline in natural predators like dolphins and turtles.The Red Cross has treated more than 10,000 jellyfish stings this summer so far in the eastern region of Catalonia, a spokesman for the organisation said.

“Nearly a third of those have been in the past week,” he said.

British Gas owner Centrica has said it plans to raise gas bills by as much as 12.4% for its 10.7 million customers.The firm’s 5.8 million electricity customers will also face a 9.4% increase in their bills from September.

British Gas said “unprecedented high wholesale energy costs” had made the price increases necessary.

News of the fresh round of price rises came as British Gas reported record losses of £143m during the first six months of the year. Strangely the conditions that have led to these increases have not affected the investors dividends which have in fact increased!
Earlier this week, rival EDF Energy announced it would be raising gas bills by 19% from next Tuesday, while Scottish Power said two weeks ago that it would also be increasing bills.

 Terance Ward gave a presentation ASPO 5th International Conference on Peak Oil (Pisa 2006 July 18-19) in which he mapped out a disturbing scenario of US-Iranian confrontation:

 ”Here at San Rossore, we have heard projections and analyses about the future crisis facing global oil reserves. The gap between diminishing supply and rising demand now hinge on a crucial third factor: politics and conflict.

Violently intrusive tactics can generate chain reactions that are hard to anticipate, and even more difficult to control. Witness the $75 price for oil reflected from the escalation of violence between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah, the bombing of Beirut, Southern Lebanon and the threat of extending strikes into Syria. Iran is a more dramatic case in point. (more…)

Big news!

1.  In a significant development this week, our experimental power cycle produced air conditioning and refrigeration temperatures! The refrigerated section attained a chilly 41o F (5oC). The energy source was simmering water at 159o F (71o C), typical of temperatures obtained from common, rooftop solar hot water collectors. This test was in preparation for demonstrating an air conditioner fueled by renewable energy sources. Our simple vapor cycle uses a venturi to produce the evaporation of refrigerant, and requires no compressor, no feedpump, & no absorption to cycle the process.
(more…)

The New York Times reports that American imports of oil could be eliminated by 2030, a new study by an interstate consortium asserts, if the nation turns to an aggressive program of energy efficiency and commercialization of four already-demonstrated technologies for making transportation fuels. (more…)

In last weekend’s Observer Henry Porter joined the ranks of mainstream commentators taking on board the peakist position. In an opinion piece on how we ‘must all risk
becoming ‘environmental bores’ Porter argues that “…to see the crisis coming and not act would be worse than denying climate change.’ Porter goes much further than the
usual call for an ethical response to the climate crisis: (more…)

The Israeli offensive in Lebanon contributed to pushing oil prices rising above above $78 a barrel for the first time in the last week - just as demand for fuel is increasing with
the start of the U.S. holiday season. The US has given the green light to a massive Israeli offensive in order to hit the one element of what is perceived by the administration
as an emerging ‘Shi’a axis’ that it can without propelling the world into a total oil price meltdown. Having failed massively in its attempt to remodel the region to suit its own
hydrocarbon needs the US has instead unwittingly collapsed the Iraqi state and strengthened the position of Iran. (more…)

Think before you enjoy it. The near-record temperatures expected today are a sign of things to come, and will become commoner and hotter in future years as man-made global warming takes hold, scientists predict. (more…)

 By JON GERTNER, New York Times

Workers at the Alvin W. Vogtle nuclear-power generating station sometimes describe it as being in the middle of nowhere, and in many respects they’re right: situated on a bend in the Savannah River, in the thick pine forests of central Georgia, the plant is an hour south of Augusta and a two-hour drive, if you disobey the speed limit, from the outskirts of Atlanta.
(more…)

Transition Culture reports on Al Gore responding to questions on peak oil at a recent talk at the Centre for Human Ecology in Edinburgh:

Do you see the impending peaking in world oil production as a crisis or an opportunity?

There’s an old cliche about the way the Chinese write the word “crisis.” They have two symbols back to back. The first means danger, and the second means opportunity. And we sometimes emphasize the danger in a crisis without focusing on the opportunities that are there. We should feel a great sense of urgency about the impending peak oil scenario because it is with climate change the most dangerous crisis we have ever faced, by far. But it also provides us with opportunities to do a lot of things we ought to be doing for other reasons anyway. And to solve this crisis we can develop a shared sense of moral purpose. Peak oil is not a political issue its a moral issue which needs global cooperation and strong leadership.

Do you see it as a problem that Governments are able to respond to, or will the response by necessity emerge from the local level?

Both need to respond however when individuals make a commitment to become part of the solution instead of the problem typically they become much more active and vocal as citizens stressing the need for new policies and in the dance of democracy individual and local community commitment does often lead to big policy changes and I think we are on that road now.

The New Scientist looks at the carbon footprint of the large scale wind turbines:

“It started with Turbine 68. On 16 October 2003, following excavations for the 49-metre tower’s massive foundations, the peat bog above the village of Derrybrien in county Galway, Ireland, began to move. That night almost half a square kilometre of bog slid 2.5 kilometres down the hillside, engulfing an unoccupied farmhouse and blocking two roads. Journalists dubbed it the “bogalanche”, and speculated about what might have happened had the weather been wet. Two weeks later they found out. Heavy rains washed peat soup into the Abhainn Da Loilioch river, where the sludge killed 50,000 fish and affected 50,000 more. (more…)

I was interested to see the Sun’s editorial today. Not renowned for dealing with the weightier topics of national debate the Sun nevertheless dutifully weighed in today to support the government’s pro-nuclear stance in the Energy Review. What was intriguing however was to see Britain’s favourite tabloid warning:THE WORLD is on the brink of a new dark age (more…)

Money no object as the big players grab what is left of a diminishing resource

Terry Macalister reported in the Guardian on the huge prices oil companies are now paying for exploration rights - yet another signal of the unfolding depletion crisis and the shifting sands of global geopolitics as China positions itself for the oil end game and the producer nations gain unprecendented economic leverage. (more…)