Stories tagged with peak oil
Rising Energy Costs and the Future of Hospital Work
Posted by Gail the Actuary on May 10, 2008 - 10:00am
Topic: Miscellaneous
Tags: Hospital, peak oil [list all tags]
This is a talk given by Dan Bednarz to a group of nurses. The talk was given at the House of Delegates Meeting of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses & Allied Professionals (Pasnap) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on April 29, 2008.
Dan is a healthcare consultant who tries to get people in healthcare (including public health) to start thinking about peak oil and climate change issues and how to address them. In Dan's words, he is "a healthcare consultant building a consortium among public health and health care stakeholders and actors to address peak oil, climate change and related environmental issues". Dan posts on TOD under the name Danb.
Hello, it's nice to be with you today. My intent is to give you a realistic take on the future of your profession by explaining why healthcare and nursing will be transformed by rising energy costs. Is there danger ahead? You bet. It's going to be difficult, probably life-changing for all Americans. Here’s why: the scale of our energy predicament is enormous, unprecedented and grossly misunderstood by institutional leaders and most of the media.
I know some of you may be wondering, Energy scarcity? That's someone else's problem; put this guy in touch with geologists and politicians.
So let's step back for the big picture.
The ASPO-Italy conference in Torino
Posted by Ugo Bardi on May 9, 2008 - 9:45am in The Oil Drum: Europe
Topic: Environment/Sustainability
Tags: aspo, italy, peak gas, peak oil, post peak [list all tags]
The logo of the ASPOItaly-2 conference. It shows, superimposed to the classic ASPO peak, the mythical "post peak car", the battery powered, retrofitted Fiat 500
Conference report, many links and some pictures below the fold.
A protein possibility for the "oil we eat:" the in-vitro meat beast!
Posted by Big Gav on May 8, 2008 - 7:00pm in TOD: Australia/New Zealand
Topic: Demand/Consumption
Tags: agriculture, grain, meat, peak oil, peta, petalf [list all tags]
Animal rights group PETA recently announced a $1 million reward for the first person to make in-vitro meat (leading Bruce Sterling to dub them "People for the Ethical Treatment of Alien Lumps of Flesh").
While PETA's aim here seems to be to be to publicise their opposition to the consumption of animals (as shown in the quote below), there is another angle to this story which is perhaps more interesting for those interested in energy issues - which comes back to "the oil we eat."
"Why is PETA supporting this new technology? More than 40 billion chickens, fish, pigs, and cows are killed every year for food in the United States in horrific ways. Chickens are drugged to grow so large they often become crippled, mother pigs are confined to metal cages so small they can't move, and fish are hacked apart while still conscious — all to feed America's meat addiction. In vitro meat would spare animals from this suffering. In addition, in vitro meat would dramatically reduce the devastating effects the meat industry has on the environment.
"Of course, humans don't need to eat meat at all—vegetarians are less likely to get heart disease, diabetes, or various types of cancer or become obese than meat-eaters are—and a terrific array of vegetarian mock meats already exist. But as many people continue to refuse to kick their meat addictions, PETA is willing to help them gain access to flesh that doesn't cause suffering and death...."
$100 a barrel: Going, Going....
Posted by aeldric on May 6, 2008 - 7:00pm in TOD: Australia/New Zealand
Topic: Demand/Consumption
Tags: demand destruction, oil, oil prices, peak oil [list all tags]
This is a guest post by Phoenix, an engineer working in the energy sector, and a friend of mine for well over 3 decades.
In January 2006 Phoenix emailed me a spreadsheet that predicted an oil price of $100/barrel by 2008, followed by an ongoing geometric rise in oil prices. I remember immediately phoning him to point out that the scenario was impossible because it is unsustainable - $100/barrel would cause economic havoc comparable to the oil shock of the 1970s and if a geometric price progression followed, then no economic recovery would be possible and... well, I recall using the phrase “rioting in the streets inside of 18 months”.
As we know, oil hit $100 in January 2008 and kept climbing, surpassing even Phoenix’s predictions. So when Phoenix offered to explain the model that generated those numbers, I leapt at the opportunity. Here is the story of how Phoenix became Peak Oil aware and generated his Price Calculator.

Click to Enlarge
Book Review: World Made by Hand
Posted by Robert Rapier on May 1, 2008 - 10:30am
Topic: Miscellaneous
Tags: book review, evolution, hubbert peak, james kunstler, matthew simmons, peak oil [list all tags]

When I read James Howard Kunstler's (JHK) book The Long Emergency, it had a profound impact on me. I had been aware for many years that "running out of oil" was a serious matter. After all, I took on the challenge of peak oil in my graduate thesis in 1995. But my focus was more on finding a source that could replace oil as it ran out. Reading The Long Emergency was the first time it really hit me that I was missing a lot of key pieces of the picture.
Thoughts on Demand Destruction: Where Is It?
Posted by jeffvail on April 28, 2008 - 10:00am
Topic: Demand/Consumption
Tags: demand destruction, Gasoline Consumption, gasoline demand, Movement on the Demand Curve, peak oil [list all tags]
Where's the Demand Destruction?
With this uncertainty surrounding the concept of “demand destruction,” it’s time to take a deeper look at the mechanics behind how demand destruction occurs. Specifically, this essay will limit its focus to two components of demand destruction in gasoline: the time-lag between high prices and reduced demand, and the need to price alternatives to each gallon of gasoline we consume. Does a lack of demand destruction when oil is well over $110/barrel mean that prices must go even higher to destroy demand? How much higher? Or is it enough that prices hold at this level for long enough to cause people to gradually make long-term purchases with this price in mind, and thereby destroy demand? How long? Finally, how much of current US demand destruction (to whatever degree it exists—even if only as a decrease in growth of demand) is due to current economic conditions, and how much can be attributed directly to the price of oil?
ITN: Grangemouth/Forties YouTube--just for a little more flavor...
Posted by Euan Mearns on April 27, 2008 - 10:24am in The Oil Drum: Europe
Topic: Policy/Politics
Tags: forties, grangemouth, peak oil [list all tags]
Russia's Oil Production is About to Peak
Posted by Khebab on April 24, 2008 - 10:00am
Topic: Supply/Production
Tags: megaprojects, oil, peak oil, russia, sakhalin [list all tags]

Megaproject contribution from 2005 to 2013, the decline rate is 4%/year with a linear transition period of 6 years starting in 2005. Historical crude oil + condensate production from the EIA.
SMH Editorial Mentions Peak Oil
Posted by Big Gav on April 22, 2008 - 9:23am in TOD: Australia/New Zealand
Topic: Miscellaneous
Tags: peak oil, public transport, sydney [list all tags]
It was interesting to see today's editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald (the link will succumb to linkrot shortly I'm afraid - I'm not sure what permalink scheme they have for editorials) mentioning "the threat of peak oil clouding the future of motoring" as one of the reasons for giving up on trying to widen sections of traffic clogged Victoria Road and instead commence building the proposed Sydney metro line.
Last Week's EIA Conference
Posted by Gail the Actuary on April 18, 2008 - 10:00am
Topic: Miscellaneous
Tags: eia, peak oil [list all tags]
Last week, the EIA held a special conference, celebrating the 30th anniversary of their founding. They have held smaller one-day conferences in the past, but this was an expanded conference for the occasion.
I decided to attend because we use a lot of EIA data, and I thought I might learn more about the behind the scenes process. I also thought I might learn something from the presentations, and meet a few new people.
The conference was held in the Washington Conference Center in Washington DC. We were told that there were 1,600 registrants. The conference was free, so it was "sold out" shortly after registration opened.
The website for the conference can be found here. It now includes links to presentations from quite a few presenters. Below the fold are a few of my take-aways, including some graphs from the session on peak oil and a session on electrical issues.

k Nation (Jim Kunstler)


GAIA Host Collective