Summary: One of the world’s great energy experts reports on the view from a energy conference in Qatar. Oil is the fountain of their prosperity, and they well understand how brief the Age of Oil will be. . Reflections by Robert Hirsch on the Conference “Peak Oil: Challenges and Opportunities for the GCC Countries”. Held …
Peak Oil as seen through the eyes of Arab oil producers Read More »
Summary: Today we have an exercise in future history (see Wikipedia), a look at my forecast of medium-term geopolitical trends. The most interesting predictions are at the end (starting with #4), our responses to the obvious trends. History moves in leaps. Punctuated equilibrium it’s called in evolutionary biology: a long period with relatively slow change, then …
A look back at our time from the 2100 A.D. edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica Read More »
Summary:Â The global recession might push back the arrival of peak oil for threee reasons. Less consumption now leaves more oil in the ground for future use. Less investment now in oil exploration and development means less consumption in the next few years (or decade). Alternative energy technology has more time to develop, reducing future …
Let’s “hope and pray that Hirsch is wrong” about our oil supply Read More »
Here is an update on that long-shot path to fusion: the polywell. The polywell is the last work of that giant in the world of physics, Robert W. Bussard (who passed over in October 2007). Excerpt from the Wikipedia entry: The Polywell is a plasma confinement concept that combines elements of inertial electrostatic confinement and magnetic confinement fusion, …
A long-shot project for fusion power: the Polywell Read More »
Summary: with $100+ oil in the news, the Internet is filled with gibberish. Guesses, wild speculation, and gross errors all compete for our attention. Amidst all this there are a few sources on which you can rely. Here are two. First, a report from the Federal Reserve — one of the consistently best sources of information in …
Two valuable reports about global oil production! Read More »
