Hitting “peak oil” (and then riding it all the way down) is going to be the major event in our lives. It’s going to change everything about the way we do everything, and has the potential to completely decimate what we have come to know as “civilization”.
Duration : 0:8:16
A Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security warns that supplies of cheap, easily accessible oil will start to diminish by 2013.
The Taskforce group, which includes Virgin, Yahoo, Solarcentury and transport operator Stagecoach, wants the Government to dramatically increase investment in clean energy and renewables to avoid an energy crisis.
The IEA figures to 2030 are based on the assumption, that governments invest in clean energy and renewables while using coal for liquid fuels, transferring additional transportation fuels to natural gas and fully develop African oil production before a 2015 deadline. The efficiency of used energy must also be drastically improved during the ongoing decline.
Furthermore:
In most cases, basic Victorian engineering skills, adapted in modern industries could improve efficiency by 60-80% as scientist have pointed out in the past. The illusion of unlimited and cheap energy has caused modern engineering to lose these basic skills while planning new projects and industry complexes.
Most industrial energy is wasted on pumping liquids & gases by brute force rather than good engineering.
(I will cut a short video together on that subject)
http://www.iea.org
http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/
Key Graphs:
http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/key_graphs_08/WEO_2008_Key_Graphs.pdf
Fact sheets:
http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/docs/weo2008/fact_sheets_08.pdf
Duration : 0:9:54
http://www.globalchange.com Why biofuel industry is dead — biofuel by converting food into oil is stupid and immoral. Biodiesel, biomass, biowaste and sugar to fuel conversion into biofuels. Foor price rises. World bank report on biofuels and food prices. Ethanol and gasoline or petrol mix, European Union EU policy changes on biofuel. Biofuels policy reversal. Anti-biofuel campaigns. Biofuel blamed for food riots, hunger, food shortages, rising food prices, wheat prices, food hoarding and stockpiles. Biofuel production: speculation in food futures. Biofuel links oil price to food price. Do biofuel quotas cause starvation, Africa Asia, India, China? Competition from biofuel manufafturers for food — poor people cannot eat, food prices rise, biofuel means burning wheat in car engines, driving vehicles on biofuel, adding ethanol to petrol / gasoline. Biodiesel, soybean price rises, rice price rises, food riots, biofuel destruction of forests for agriculture. Non biofuel reasons for rising food prices: drought, crop failure, hoarding, ban on food exports, stockpiling of food, speculation on food commodities markets. Ethics of biomass fuel generation and increased use of fertilisers. Net carbon footprint of biofuel production. Net biofuel consumption or saving of CO2 / energy. Global trade in biofuels, food, oil and energy. Ethical crisis in biofuels industry. Federal government policy on biofuels and national energy policy. EU fuel regulations for ethanol, biodiesel and biomass fuel generation. Biofuel impact on oil prices, demand, economy, global warming, energy conservation and real estate industry. Biofuels and environment, environmental change, climate change. Risks in real estate development. Operational and management risks and role of a Futurist. What is a Futurist? Identifying new opportunities in buildings control, environmental regulation. Keeping pace with change in real estate planning and corporate real estate demands. Impact on corporate real estate of mergers and acquisitions. How world getting faster, client demands growing faster. How clients behave illogically in longer term real estate planning. Buildings controls, heating and cooling, retrofitting high rise, office blocks and factories. Building regulations and government action. Longer term real estate planning. Market research limitations and customer expectations, client demands. Architects and buildings design, living space, partitions, ventilation systems, balancing and rebalancing air conditioning. ARBS event in Australia 2008. Business management video by Dr Patrick Dixon, conference keynote speaker lecture, author of Futurewise and Building a Better Business. Global warming impact from offices and commercial buildings, skyscrapers, tower blocks and corporate real estate. Energy efficiency and energy consumption of commercial buildings and office blocks. Balancing air conditioning systems with better building control systems (integrated temperature monitoring) can save over 30% of energy costs each year. Johnson Controls and other companies provide specialist technical advice on heat loss reduction and air conditioning management systems. Issues of ventilation, fresh air, “tight” buildings, carbon dioxide levels, heat exchangers and air ducting. Electricity use and power generation on buildings. Green roofs, open spaces, shade, natural light. Impact of global warming and CO2 reduction on building design, architecture, building regulations and government standards. Special tax relief and concessions, reductions in stamp duty for energy compliant 5* and 6* commercial properties. Activist campaigns to reduce carbon emissions. Carbon trading and offsets. Energy in construction and demolition as proportion of life-time energy use. Future of corporate real estate and corporate real estate management companies. Outsourcing buildings management.
Energy saving, corporate, real estate, property, cost, management, electricity, power, consumption, air conditioning, buildings controls, heat, cooling, light, air circulation, warming, carbon dioxide, gas emissions, biofuels, biodiesel, biomass, biowaste, fuel production, cars, vehicles, aviation, food, wheat, soya, sugar, ethanol, reduction, green roofs
Duration : 0:3:22
Features Richard Heinberg, Matthew Simmons, Roscoe Bartlett & David Goodstein
Oil is the primary fuel of the global economy. 98% of cars and trucks, 100% of farm equipment, 99% of trains, and 100% of airplanes run on oil. Oil provides 50% of all energy in the USA. It is used for plastics, cosmetics, packaging, etc.
Shell oil geologist M. King Hubbert predicted that U.S. oil production would peak around 1970, which it did.
Now, the USA consumes more than twice as much as it produces.
The GAO states that world oil production is expected to peak any time now but the federal government doesn’t have a plan.
Oil will continue to become more and more expensive as peak oil is passed and prices rise.
Duration : 0:4:24
Hall Brothers Incorporated is in the hot mix production business. Currently we have 3 asphalt plants located in North Central and Northeast Kansas. These plants are capable of producing 300 tons of hot mix per hour.
We have numerous paving crews who pave parking lots, secondary roads, highways and Interstates throughout the state of Kansas.
Hall Brothers paving crews have been recognized locally and nationally for their high quality and safety.
Duration : 0:2:20
This video features interviews with a number of experts who believe the world has already reached or passed maximum oil production and now we’re at the point where demand will exceed supply, forever.
Duration : 0:10:10
Plant Fueled: Grassroots Biofuel in Pittsburgh (2008). Short Documentary about Biofuels in Pittsburgh. Biofuel (if cultivated, then also called agrofuel or agrifuel) can be broadly defined as solid, liquid, or gas fuel consisting of, or derived from recently dead biological material, most commonly plants. This distinguishes it from fossil fuel, which is derived from long dead biological material. Biofuel can be theoretically produced from any (biological) carbon source. The most common by far is photosynthetic plants that capture solar energy. Many different plants and plant-derived materials are used for biofuel manufacture. Biofuels are used globally and biofuel industries are expanding in Europe, Asia and the Americas. The most common use for biofuels is as liquid fuels for automotive transport. The use of renewable biofuels provides increased independence from petroleum and enhances energy security. There are various current issues with biofuel production and use, which are presently being discussed in the popular media and scientific journals. These include: the effect of moderating oil prices, the “food vs fuel” debate, carbon emissions levels, sustainable biofuel production, deforestation and soil erosion, impact on water resources, human rights issues, poverty reduction potential, biofuel prices, energy balance and efficiency, and centralised versus decentralised production models. One of the greatest technical challenges is to develop ways to convert biomass energy specifically to liquid fuels for transportation. To achieve this, the two most common strategies are: 1. To grow sugar crops (sugar cane, and sugar beet), or starch (corn/maize), and then use yeast fermentation to produce ethanol (ethyl alcohol). 2. To grow plants that (naturally) produce oils, such as oil palm, soybean, algae, or jatropha. When these oils are heated, their viscosity is reduced, and they can be burned directly in a diesel engine, or the oils can be chemically processed to produce fuels such as biodiesel. Wood and its byproducts can be converted into biofuels such as woodgas, methanol or ethanol fuel. Some researchers are working to improve these processes. Biomass is material derived from recently living organisms. This includes plants, animals and their by-products. For example, manure, garden waste and crop residues are all sources of biomass. It is a renewable energy source based on the carbon cycle, unlike other natural resources such as petroleum, coal, and nuclear fuels. Animal waste is a persistent and unavoidable pollutant produced primarily by the animals housed in industrial sized farms. Researchers from Washington University have figured out a way to turn manure into magic. In April 2008 with the help of imaging technology they noticed that vigorous mixing helps microorganisms turn farm waste into alternative energy. Providing farmers with a simple way to treat their waste and convert it into energy. There are also agricultural products specifically grown for biofuel production include corn, switchgrass, and soybeans, primarily in the United States; rapeseed, wheat and sugar beet primarily in Europe; sugar cane in Brazil; palm oil and miscanthus in South-East Asia; sorghum and cassava in China; and jatropha in India. Hemp has also been proven to work as a biofuel. Biodegradable outputs from industry, agriculture, forestry and households can be used for biofuel production, either using anaerobic digestion to produce biogas, or using second generation biofuels; examples include straw, timber, manure, rice husks, sewage, and food waste. The use of biomass fuels can therefore contribute to waste management as well as fuel security and help to prevent climate change, though alone they are not a comprehensive solution to these problems.
Producer: Rob Cullen and John Landis
Creative Commons license: Attribution 3.0 United States
Duration : 0:28:31
We are entering the Peak Oil era. The growth of oil production is slowing, driving up oil and gasoline gas prices, firing inflation, driving unemployment, straining our global economy, and threatening to collapse our entire system. We are reaching Peak Oil and we are unprepared. Teacher Aaron Wissner, in a compact 10 minutes video summary, details Peak Oil, the evidence, the impacts, and the solutions. See the full one-hour video at LocalFuture.org. Also, at YouTube, see the conclusion, of that presentation, part 5 of 5, which highlights the impacts, underlying problem, and solutions to Peak Oil.
Duration : 0:10:0
Clips featuring Colin Campbell, Richard Heinberg, Julian Darley, etc.
Oil is used for everything. When we reach maximum production, that is a very significant point.
Global oil production will peak, and everything will change.
Less and less oil fields are being discovered. New oil is found in smaller pockets.
4/5 of oil being consumed was found before 1970.
Norway, Britain UK, and Norway have all passed their nation’s peak.
The world consumes three times as much oil as we are finding.
53 countries are producing less oil now than in the past.
We expend about 10 Calories of fossil fuel energy for every Calorie of food energy produced. This is unsustainable.
Global hunger and famine could be a result of peak oil.
Economic contraction will most likely result from peak oil.
A perception of a contraction economy will itself cause a contraction.
This could cause the second great depression.
Duration : 0:7:5
This animated map is an excerpt from a conference presentation by Randy Park. It shows the peaking of oil production (peak oil) for countries around the world. It also shows oil consumption.
Duration : 0:3:57