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For my ultimate post of 2011, I would like to write about something that was little to not noticed at all, yet as crucial as the increased importance of extreme weather events : oil prices were at their highest average ever this year.
According to some research carried out by the Cambridge Energy Research Associates (Cera) mentioned in Le Figaro [Fr] oil prices averaged $111 throughout 2011.
In 2008 – when oil prices reached the all-time high levels of $147 – the barrel of brent had averaged ” only ” $99. We had then noticed a near-exponential escalation of oil prices… Continue »
To TreeHugger : ” If (the) Kyoto Protocol dies at COP17 climate talks, so does our climate “. This article reminds us that the next round of UNFCC climate talks will start in less than two months in Durban, South Africa.
It also reminds us that it is the only law we have on a global level on climate and that even if the United States are still not part of the process it is working (quite) well as developed nations decreased their emissions since 1990.
Due to end in 2012, the Kyoto Protocol might not be perfect but really got us moving on climate and energy issues. Continue »
To TreeHugger : ” Leave it to the nation’s premier fake newspaper to pen the best real article on climate change I’ve read in weeks.”. Similar opinions have come from Andrew Revkin in the New York Times and Grist.
Having read the full article, I can say it is indeed a fantastic reflection showing that unless we REALLY start thinking about climate and energy in our daily lives and we REALLY demand CHANGE from our governments, NOTHING will be done.
America is both on fire and under water at the same time, other dramatic and extreme weather events have been witnessed this year and last one. Peak oil and coal are looming. When will we heed the calls ?
Further to the Fukushima catastrophe in March, Japan has been decreasing in a massive way its electricity consumption. Indeed, only 17 nuclear reactors are bringing power to the grids out of the 54 existing ones. As the New York Times notes :
” Preliminary figures indicate that regions under conservation mandates have been able to meet reduction targets and even exceed them, providing a possible model of conservation’s potential when concerns about global warming are mounting. “
” In the Tokyo area, the government is pushing to cut electricity use by 15 percent between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays to prevent blackouts – and on Thursday, that target was met compared with last year.” Continue »
According to Fast Company : ” Many major cities have seen a decline in driving over the past few years. The reasons for this are varied, but if it’s a continuing trend, it’s going to mean drastic changes for the way we shape our cities. “
” (…) There’s just one caveat: The study only looked at car usage patterns in Europe, North America, and Australia. In rapidly developing countries like India and China, car use is likely to grow for the foreseeable future. “
So perhaps peak car will occur in peak oil in Western countries. But it is most unlikely that on a global level it will be the case… Indeed, there might be billions of cars on the roads in 2050, when there are 600 million today.
According to Environment America, a federation of US organizations, the country could reduce its oil dependence by 79 billion gallons per year—more than all of their imports from OPEC nations.
For those who are not familiar with gallons and other non-metric – I almost wrote exotic – measures, this represents 299 047 530 936 liters of oil, or 1.88 billion oil barrels. These would save the United States 5 million barrels of oil per day !
These are huge savings, perhaps not as much as the US could and should do but by any means, this would represent an excellent beginning. Would this be enough in the face of peak oil ? Continue »
In French, we have an expression, ” la fuite en avant “ which can be explained this way : “A fuite en avant is something one does when one is in a losing situation, and one hopes to salvage it by doing more of the same or worse.”
Not that I want to delve into linguistics… I am writing about this as the answer to our oil woes is not “more” but “less”. We are beyond the end of conventional oil. The International Energy Agency stated so.
What we are heading towards is unconventional and dirtier, even extreme oil. Think about the mess caused by oil shales… Continue »
If you think gasoline is too expensive, you haven’t seen anything yet… To the Wall Street Journal : ” Nomura Securities says that if Algeria joins Libya in the land of chaos, oil prices could shoot to $220 a barrel. That’s in a worst-case scenario.”
“To back up that headline grabber, Nomura compares the current situation to the 1990-91 Gulf War. During that time, oil prices rose 130% in two months, according to our friends at Dow Jones. ” Oil is already above $110 in London…
This whole situation shouldn’t make us forget about peak oil, quite the opposite I would say. Luckily, many alternatives exist to end our oil addiction. We just need politicians willing to apply them, and quickly…
To the Guardian : ” The US fears that Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude oil exporter, may not have enough reserves to prevent oil prices escalating, confidential cables from its embassy in show.
The cables, released by WikiLeaks, urge Washington to take seriously a warning from a senior Saudi government oil executive that the kingdom’s crude oil reserves may have been overstated by as much as 300bn barrels – nearly 40%.
Now this is serious and gives a lot of credibility to the claim that Saudi Arabia’s oil production peaked in 2005 as I was reporting as early as 2009.
To the AFP news agency : ” Brent crude rose on Tuesday, holding above $101 on fears that worsening turmoil in Egypt could disrupt supply flows through the strategic Suez Canal, analysts said. “
It had been more than two years than oil didn’t reach such levels. This happens as I read yesterday an interesting post : The Peak Oil Catastrophe-in-Waiting on GreenTech Media.
The author urges the United States to decrease fast their huge oil consumption as peak oil is nearing or behind us (nearly a quarter of the global production is siphoned by the country). Continue »
