Energy Bulletin

What do you get when you cross an astronomically-inclined physicist with concerns over energy efficiency in lighting? Spectra. Lots and lots of spectra. In this post, we’ll become familiar with spectral characterization of light, see example spectra of a number of household light sources, and I’ll even throw in some mind-blowing photos. In the process, we’ll evaluate just how efficient lighting could possibly be, along the way understanding something about the physiology of light perception and the definition of the increasingly ubiquitous lighting measure called the lumen. Buckle your physics seat-belt and prepare to think like a photon.

- Peak oil debate is over, says Total chief
- Oil Falls to 2012 Low on Greek Debt, Saudi Call for Drop
- Reuters global energy and envrionment summit

In the late 1800s northwestern Ohio was at the center of an oil boom as the state became the nation's largest crude producer. Today Ohio is at the center of another fossil fuel boom, where a new drilling method — hydraulic fracturing (fracking) combined with modern horizontal drilling — is releasing natural gas from deep underground shale, leading to a rush of new leases. Is drilling safe or are contamination concerns unfounded?

Tom uses simple, easy-to-understand math -- yes, that four-letter word -- to logically -- I say quite logically -- make the case that simply extrapolating past trends in energy and economic growth is not going to cut it. Instead, we face gigantic challenges and significant risks to our current model. Not least of which is, when asked what we will use when fossil fuels dwindle away, the most typical answer is I’m sure we will think of something. That is, our future of energy is a question mark right now.

It's not just that what we generally think of as free energy doesn't occur in nature, but also that free energy does occur in the everyday lived environments of people in industrial nations, which we might thus say are unnatural. So what are instances of free energy that we experience in our lives, and why do they matter?

Power generation from coal is falling quickly. According to new figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, coal made up 36 percent of U.S. electricity in the first quarter of 2012 -- down from 44.6 percent in the first quarter of 2011. That stunning drop, which represented almost a 20 percent decline in coal generation over the last year, was primarily due to low natural gas prices. As EIA explains, natural gas generation will climb steadily this year, while coal will see a double-digit drop by the end of 2012...

The leader of the world's foremost Peak Oil research group is Kjell Aleklett, Professor of Physics at the University of Uppsala in Sweden. He has just published a book on Peak Oil that summarises a decade of scientific research. why would Kjell need a "translator". It's a longish story….

-Americans would pay more for green energy
-Carbon capture leak simulated in sea off Scotland
-US claims 'unprecedented' success in test for new fuel source

Deepwater oil production will help reduce the decline in world oil production from aging fields. The IEA claims that four Saudi Arabias need to be discovered up to 2030 to replace the present decline in production (about 5 %/a). The deepwater ultimate is likely to represent less than half of Saudi Arabia’s oil ultimate. It is not enough!

With the exception of the French oil company Total, the International Oil Companies (IOCs) have denied concerns about the impending decline in world oil production, often called “Peak Oil.”

Some possible explanations for the IOC position are as follows...

A weekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Oil and the global economy
-The EU at a crossroads
-China slowing
-IEA's monthly report
-Quote of the week
-Briefs

- Peak Oil - Forbes author concedes on "Net Exports" debate
- Oil prices could double by 2022, IMF warned
- Jeff Rubin argues in "The End of Growth" that central bankers must focus on high energy prices
- Jevons paradox busted by new emissions fee mechanism.
- No clear correlation between energy use and growth rate of the economy in the EU

The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation interviews the chairman of ASPO-Switzerland and a representative of the Swiss oil industry. Both agree we are close to peak oil.

Fears of a new phase in the European debt crisis, a decline in oil imports to China in April, and the prospect of a new round of international talks on Iran’s nuclear programme have seen oil prices drop back from recent highs in the past two weeks. Despite all this however, and reports from OPEC that it bolstered supply by 320,000 barrels in April, Brent oil still stands around $112/barrel.

After 13 weeks of exploring the problems and opportunities of a sustainable Vancouver by 2050, what did 17 University of British Columbia students and three teachers come up with? Were they able to find a way to make housing affordable, our streets livable, and our burden on the planet much much lighter? Did they find a hopeful way forward, against the odds, to an equitable, affordable, sustainable, and economically vibrant city?

Conflict and intrigue over valuable energy supplies have been features of the international landscape for a long time. Major wars over oil have been fought every decade or so since World War I, and smaller engagements have erupted every few years; a flare-up or two in 2012, then, would be part of the normal scheme of things. Instead, what we are now seeing is a whole cluster of oil-related clashes stretching across the globe, involving a dozen or so countries, with more popping up all the time. Consider these flash-points as signals that we are entering an era of intensified conflict over energy.

Visualize gasoline-powered civilization arising as if by some maniacally accelerated evolutionary process. It all began so recently, in the mid-nineteenth century, and spread across the globe in mere decades. Automobiles mutated and competed for dominance on vast networks of roads built to accommodate them. Shopping malls and parking garages sprang up to attract and hold them. And powering it all was an ever-widening but mostly invisible river of gasoline--the poisonous blood of 700 million dinosaur-like machines that now dot landscapes around the world.

The deep, transformative changes sketched in the first half of this manifesto provide a path to America the Possible. But that path is only brought to life when we can combine this vision with the conviction that we will pull together to build the necessary political muscle for real change.

A midweekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Developments this week

- Thomas Homer-Dixon: Exploring the climate “mindscape” (oil supplies and energy junk)
- Government influence is negative for energy fuel policy
- The German Switch from Nuclear to Renewables
- Scientists’ Arctic drilling plan aims to demystify undersea greenhouse gases
- Ancien directeur de TOTAL: Nouvelles découvertes et gaz de schiste retarderont à peine le pic pétrolier