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36 comments on API Energy IQ Survey

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oilmanbob on July 2, 2007 - 11:08am Permalink | Subthread | Comments top

Gail:
Thanks for your hard work lately. I really appreciate your focus on education. In spite of what the cornocopians say, peak oil isn't a cult or liberal theory. We need to find common ground and focus on finding solutions that help the world adjust.
This quiz is very revealing of the cornocopian perspective. It shows how they see the problem, and their future plans in countering our arguments.
First, the definition of oil. Its obvious that they wish us to accept bitumen and kerogen as oil, eventhough they are raw materials for syncrude and require expensive processing to become synthetic crude oil. Any substance that won't flow doesn't fit my definition of oil.
Second, that imports aren't a problem. This of course is ridiculous-we can't continue to send that much money overseas.
Third, that we're drilling our way out of the peak oil mess

API failed to address the main concern of the world's people, the rising cost of energy, They were careful to point out with spurious figures how little the oil companies make, and how its going to our pensions and 401k plans. They didn't address finding rate or flow rates. These are the areas where they are most vulnerable, and where we need to concentrate our effort.

I might add peak oil is a problem I don't want to win arguments about. I'd much rather see us all get together to solve the common world problem.
Bob Ebersole

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Don Sailorman on July 2, 2007 - 12:48pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Gail,
I also much appreciate your focus on education. IMHO you would be the ideal person to write comments on and edit an "Annual Editions of TOD" in book form. My thought is that the job would take about 2,000 hours, and that the editor should get all the royalties.

To be taken seriously, I think TOD needs books published of some of the best articles and comments. From an educational publishing point of view, a large paperback printed in black and white on cheap paper would make a lot of sense (similar to the Annual Editions books published by Dushkin).

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Gail the Actuary on July 2, 2007 - 3:46pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Thanks for your vote of confidence.

I agree that more easy to read material needs to be published about our oil situation, and a book of collected TOD readings would be very nice.

I know that Euan Mearns is working on a post with a collection of links to few of the better recent articles. This gets part of the way - it is not a published book and some of the posts require quite a high level of background.

For now, I am keeping copies of most of my posts on my blog.
http://gailtheactuary.wordpress.com/
I don't have a copy of Hyman Rickover's speech on my blog, and it is also a good article for new people, so perhaps I should add it as well. The blog also includes links to magazine articles I have written.

I have a "regular" website as well. http://www.ourfiniteworld.com/

It is harder to keep up to date. There, I talk more about Educational Material.

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oilmanbob on July 2, 2007 - 4:27pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Gail,
I agree with Don the Sailorman, you'd make a perfect editor for a book of peak oil related articles. Since your background isn't in the industry you'd appear to be more of a neutral voice than most of us, plus your writing has a real quality of being simple without being simplistic.
I'm serious about what I said above, we need to make peace with our critics and instead focus on solutions, getting reasonably priced, environmentaly safe energy for the world, and weaning off the US from disasterous imports that threaten our economy and world stability.
Bob Ebersole

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Theycallmeun-American on July 2, 2007 - 6:17pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I agree with your statements on focising on education and solutions but wonder how we can effectively dialouge with the critics when their underlying assumptions are fundamently different. The PO aware see a looming/current problem in contrast to the voices of commerce and industry which see just another opportunity for progress in the form of new technology or developement of new energy sources. How can one effectivley educate these groups when they are just as skeptical of PO as we are of the current system continuing without a hitch, even inspite of the mouting evidance that continues to bolster the case of peak oil. It seems to me that the faith in 'progress' exibited by the majority of our society is what realy inhibits a meaningful dialouge. In such a circumstance who can ever truely appear as neutral voice?

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36 comments on API Energy IQ Survey

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