Do you believe, as some predict, that we are going to run out of oil within fifty years?

It's a sophisticated debate between the geologists on one side and the economists on the other. But the debate over oil reserves misses the point. We have more than enough oil, not to mention coal, to completely destroy the habitability of the planet. The real constraint on oil and coal is not supply, but global warming. There's a saying: "The Stone Age didn't end because we ran out of stones. And the Age of Fossil Fuels won't end because we run out of fossil fuels."

The fact that oil is beginning to get more expensive more quickly will contribute to the realization of how dysfunctional our current pattern is. Take the tar sands of western Canada. For every barrel of oil they extract there, they have to use enough natural gas to heat a family's home for four days. And they have to tear up four tons of landscape, all for one barrel of oil. It is truly nuts. But you know, junkies find veins in their toes. It seems reasonable, to them, because they've lost sight of the rest of their lives.

From Al-Jazeera: Oil may fuel Sino-US conflict

From Newsweek: The Politics of Pipelines

Yes, the hoary Great Game is back, pitting Russia, the United States and Europe in a tug-of-war over energy.

High oil prices, political instability in oil-producing states, the rise of energy-hungry China, jihadist terrorism and the return of "resource nationalism" are factors constantly cited in Washington these days as evidence that national security is being undermined by unrestrained consumption of oil. Petroleum, once seen as the energy source that fueled the "American century", has more recently been interpreted by some legislators, policymakers and pundits as the Achilles' heel of global dominance.

From Iraq: Oil exports boom as attacks on pipelines cease.

High fuel prices make fishing unviable option in Vietnam

China Increases Power Prices to Counter Coal Costs

Argentina Agrees to Pay Bolivia 47% More For Gas

Japan to Start Receiving Sakhalin Oil, Cut Middle East Reliance

Gas prices might fuel hunger:

The high cost of filling delivery trucks forces a major food bank to consider reducing its reach.

MapMuse is offering maps of alternative fuel stations.

Update [2006-6-30 13:25:47 by Leanan]: From UPI: Analysis: How much oil do Saudis have? Mentions ASPO and Colin Campbell.

More oil flowing from Alberta to U.S.

CALGARY—Recent expansion of the pipeline network linking Alberta's rich oil sands to the U.S. is fuelling a big increase in cross-border exports of Canadian oil — and easing any lingering U.S. concerns that much of Alberta's oil will flow to China.

From the BBC: The petro-rouble?