Euan:

Oh they wouldn't dare to calculate the carbon footprint of our exported biofuels, would they? Thems are fightin' words!

I'm pleased to say that over on this side of the pond, my colleague Brian Hicks scored some prime time TV business news coverage this week, giving the straight dope on the oil supply & prices side of things. (<doomeralert>Although I should note that he's a much bigger bull on America and her resiliency than I am!</doomeralert>) Check it:

I'm starting to sound like a broken record...
Yesterday, the media again called on your faithful editor to report on the alarming price rise in oil.
I was interviewed on Bloomberg by the lovely Catherine Yang. You can see the interview here: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aI4phE3U3CPc
And then just 20 minutes later, I did a segment on Neil Cavuto with my good friend Kevin Kerr. You can see that interview here: http://www.wealthdaily.net/videos/brian-hicks-fox-oil
I expect that I'll be doing many more television appearances in the months ahead as everybody is starting to wake-up to the idea that we're in real trouble over higher oil prices.

The entire article is here: Is The Alarm Finally Being Sound?

Also, just noticed over on Robert Rapier's blog that the History Channel is going to show a peak oil documentary next week:

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- This week, the price of crude oil is trading at a shocking $96 a barrel. By year's end, analysts predict petroleum will reach $100. And it's not going to stop there. The world we've created runs on oil. But energy experts say the world is running out of oil. Much faster than previously thought. Demand will continue to outpace supplies, shortages are inevitable, and the price will only continue to rise dramatically -- causing a ripple effect of disastrous economic, social and political consequences.

On Tuesday night, November 13th, (at 11 p.m. EST/PST - 10 p.m. CST), the History Channel will present Megadisasters: Oil Apocalypse, a documentary that Los Angeles-based filmmaker Martin Kent is calling "a wake up call," about the world's energy crisis. "We can no longer count on getting all the gasoline we need -- and there's no plan B."

Took 'em long enough, but it looks to me like the MSM have really finally come around on peak oil. In fact I'm arbitrarily saying that the turning point was October 25, 2007, the first day that oil closed over $90/bbl. I think that's what finally broke peak oil into the mainstream.

--C
Energy consultant, writer, blogger www.getreallist.com

Euan, I actually noticed the mainstream press in North America starting to talk openly about Peak Oil back in February this year. Shortly after the EIA & IEA & the GAO all talked seriously about this issue. It was a limited discussion in the media, but nonetheless that ice had finally been broken. It is rather incredible when one realizes that Hubbert had first talked about it in the mid-fifties, so it took fifty years before the media started discussing it openly. The irony of it is that we knew then, many of us knew a decade or more ago and now that it is finally mainstream, what has really changed? Our civilization is probably one of the few that could see our demise coming from a long way off, yet our egos (greed) and disbelief prevented us from doing anything. The other irony is that Climate Change & Peak Oil are happening at the same time. I have no doubt that some will one day call this coincidence some sort of devine intervention.

Thanks for the timely post.

The other irony is that Climate Change & Peak Oil are happening at the same time.

Yes, a peak in the economic availability of fossil fuels looks like it could be less than 2 decades away. I'm rather drawn to Lovelock's GAIA theory in this regard.

It is rather incredible when one realizes that Hubbert had first talked about it in the mid-fifties, so it took fifty years before the media started discussing it openly.

I think that raises an interest point. It seems that nearly all ideas relevant to our future have been identified by someone, even if they are little known. Do ideas that are reasonably provable always eventually get to mainstream acceptance?

In past ages, generation of new concepts was limited to a handful of scholars. Education and knowledge of the general populace was minimal. There was no media. Information was almost completely controlled through government and the Church.

Now it seems that any and all ideas are out there, and up for discussion, the information revolution starting with printing. A well educated general public can both hear about and contribute new ideas to the pool.

Certainly, palatable ideas travel faster then controversial ones. 50 years might seem a long time, but in comparison it is not bad. Many ideas are older than you think. The greenhouse effect was first described by Arrhenius in 1896. Black holes must be a product of modern science, surely? Black holes first proposed by LaPlace in 1796. The concept of resource depletion goes back to Jevons and Malthus.

Today we have the best ever pool of ideas, covering virtually every possibility and the best ever mechanisms for moving information around the planet and analysing it. It seems that if even a highly controversial idea has merit, it eventually gets into the mainstream.

The second question is, is a gestation time of 50 years too late for us to react? That will remain to be seen.

In around 350 BC the Mayans predicted global calamity in December 2012 via their "Long Count" calendar.

I note many people on this site predicting along the same lines....

Look for more of this connection.

On this certain day in 2012 the the Milky Way will be
pointed directly at the rising Sun (King).

Temples and Mayan cities were laid out, I believe, to
capture thiss moment.

The "door" being opened for the Sun (King) to walk thru
to Polaris (?).

I believe this will also mark the end of the Age of Pisces(?) and begin Aquarius (?).

The vid Zeitgeist covers this in more detail.

All religions are based on rule by the stars.

Arkansaw of Samuel L Clemens

December 2012 will be the end of a very long cycle; it's not a prediction of disaster. That's New Age blarney useful for selling books, author tours, and for workshops and requisite travel packages to the Yucatan for the "spiritual tourist".

Mesoamerican people have a very complex understanding of recurring cycles because they have been observing them for thousands of years. The Mexhika (Mexica, aka the Aztecs) are still watching, though they keep a very low profile. The cultures of these areas understand that life is about constant change.

The other irony is that Climate Change & Peak Oil are happening at the same time. I have no doubt that some will one day call this coincidence some sort of devine intervention.

Climate Change and Peak Oil happening at the same time isn't a coincidence, they both have the same root cause - overpopulation.

Forgive me for not being so optimistic about mainstream media coverage. I am still seeing plenty of articles blaming the high prices on speculators and stating that peak oil has been predicted five times in the past and is always failing to account for technology advances.

Clint