Energy companies
Out of Pretoria, out of power
The poor in the South African townships are feeling the brunt of it already, a growing electricity crisis that will squeeze already meagre household incomes, spur inflation, add to the costs of essential foods, and raise transport costs in a country whose mass transport systems are utterly inadequate. Already saddled with a more than 30% hike in metered power costs for this year, they were told to expect a hike of a further 150% over the next three years.
ODAC Newsletter - Oct 30
Oil prices vacillated this week, falling back from their recent high on news of unexpectedly large US inventories, later rallying as the US economy officially emerged from recession...
The great biofuels debate - Oct 27
-Biofuel Displacing Food Crops May Have Bigger Carbon Impact Than Thought
-Biofuels rather than electric cars to meet renewables target
-Tanzania Suspends Biofuels Investments
-Who says it's green to burn woodchips?
-Carbon advantage of biofuels may be overstated
Peak oil review - Oct 26
A weekly review including:
- Production and prices
- Copenhagen
- Oil and Money Conference
- Quote of the Week
- Briefs
Resource nationalism: The last stand for the oil optimists
The price of oil has more than doubled from its nadir of $30 a barrel earlier this year. To explain the resilience of oil prices in the face of a severe economic slump, the oil optimists have turned to an old standby argument: resource nationalism.
ODAC Newsletter - Oct 23
This week ODAC welcomes the publication of two important reports. In its excellent Heads in the Sand report, Global Witness provides one of the clearest summaries of the peak oil issue to date, including a trenchant critique of the IEA’s position...
Food & agriculture - Oct 22
-A New Direction on Research at the USDA? The Experts Weigh In
-USDA and EPA Pushing Coal Ash for Growing Crops
-'We need to pay farmers ... to protect nature'
-Economic crisis exposes fragile global food system, new UN report says
Peak oil notes - Oct 22
A weekly review including:
- Production and prices
- Iraq
The Peak Oil Crisis: More Reports
The main conclusion of the British report is that there is a "significant risk" that conventional oil production will peak before 2020, and that forecasts which delay the event beyond 2030 are based on assumptions that are "at best optimistic and at worst implausible."
Peak oil review - Oct 5
A weekly review including:
- Production and prices
- Oil and recession
- Iran
- China expands overseas
- Quote of the Week
- Briefs
Common environments, Diggers, and Climate Campers
Thoughts on the relationship between food issues, rural movements, and Climate Camps. To be more specific: this post mainly compares the distinct focuses and limitations of the Diggers' movement toward agricultural autonomy, and the Climate Campers' rallies and interventions against coal plants, airport expansion projects, and other commercially-driven operations.
ODAC Newsletter - Sept 25
This week brought warnings on future oil prices and supply from both Andrew Sentance, a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee and Christophe de Margerie, CEO of Total...
Review of CNA Report: “Powering America’s Defense: Energy and the Risks to National Security” (May 2009)
This report was issued by the Center for Naval Analyses’ Military Advisory Board, which consists of a dozen retired senior military officers. Powering America’s Defense comes two years after the Military Advisory Board’s landmark report, “Climate Change” (May, 2007). This review of Powering will examine the way its authors deal with the issues of peak oil, oil imports and the potential for oil supply shocks.
Commentary: Mission Critical: Can Shale Gas Save the World?
In late August the Vancouver Sun ran an article on the bullish prospects for Canadian shale gas. The piece began this way: “What energy crisis? Despite what you may be hearing about a global peak in oil production, waning reserves, and $100-plus oil prices, North America is suddenly awash in fossil fuel.”...
San Antonio: New Economy Leader or Nuclear Guinea Pig?
San Antonio's new Mayor Julian Castro, in office just three months, has inherited a dilemma. The nation's 7th largest city is suffering from almost 8% unemployment. With limited resources, the Mayor and City Council are searching for ways to create local jobs. At the same time, the City, through its municipal utility City Public Service (CPS), is burning through hundreds of millions of dollars on just paperwork, to prepare to spend billions on a new nuclear power plant project some 200 miles away at Bay City, TX.



