More Peak Oil Madness

This Reuters report at Yahoo is about the impact of polar melt on the Antarctic ocean. This is of special concern to Australia, already in the grip of a long drought and devastating fires. I have read elsewhere that scientists are quickly discovering that the polar and Greenland ice sheets may be deteriorating (on a net basis) faster than once believed possible. It may take decades for the impact to be felt, but if the melt accelerates, we'll feel it.

Tom Whipple discusses what to watch as the year plays out in regard to Peak Oil.

Richard Heinberg comments on the Energy Watch Group report from Germany, about to be released. You thought Coal was going to be King in the future? Buddy I got a parcel of New Jersey swamp just for you! The Dutch are doing a similar study and if they concur with the German report I don't see how we can look to coal as a long term resource.

Having said that, Southern Illinois University reports on Illinois coal and gasification, which shows real promise. However, no one is talking the actual costs. This is the underlying issue with many alternatives, no one wants to pay the actual costs so subsidies disguised as tax credits will come into play. It's the case with ethanol now.

Speaking of costs, go to Marketwatch and check out the table on gasoline prices and per capita utilization across several countries. Reader's Digest Condensed Version: we have the cheapest gas and use the most per capita of any country (all industrialized) listed. It's March '05 prices, but trust me, the distributions will not have changed all that much. The US paid $2.18/gal (avg) and used 450 gallons per person. The Netherlands pay the most at $6.48, while the Belgians use the least at 71 gallons. Yeah so it's a small country. As near as I can tell, when you add it all up the average citizen in all those countries uses, on average, 118 gallons per year. A lot less than we use. Can we put ourselves on an energy diet and reduce our demand on the resource? Maybe $6/gallon gas is the answer after all.