Tag Archives: petroleum
The Long-Term Tie Between Energy Supply, Population, and the Economy
The tie between energy supply, population, and the economy goes back to the hunter-gatherer period. Hunter-gatherers managed to multiply their population at least 4-fold, and perhaps by as much as 25-fold, by using energy techniques which allowed them to expand … Continue reading
Posted in Alternatives to Oil, Book draft, Food issues, Introductory Post
Tagged coal, deforestation, economy, electricity, energy supply, erosion, GDP, hunter-gatherer, Hydroelectric, oil, peat, petroleum, population, soil fertility, top soil
158 Comments
True sustainability solutions
We live in a world with very limited solutions to our sustainability problems. I often hear the view, “If we would just get off fossil fuels, then our society would be sustainable.” Or, “If the price of oil would just … Continue reading
Posted in Planning for the Future
Tagged CO2, CO2 emissions, ecology, fossil fuels, natural gas, petroleum, solar PV, sustainability, wind turbines
119 Comments
World Energy Consumption Since 1820 in Charts
Figure 1 shows the huge increase in world energy consumption that has taken place in roughly the last 200 years. This rise in energy consumption is primarily from increased fossil fuel use. With energy consumption rising as rapidly as shown … Continue reading
Why High Oil Prices Are Now Affecting Europe More Than the US
The world is presently sharing a limited supply of oil. When oil prices rise, oil production doesn’t rise very much, if at all. The issues then become: Which buyers get the oil? What uses get priced out of the market? … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Implications
Tagged Brent, debt defaults, diesel, Europe, Eurozone, fossil fuel, gasoline, imported oil, natural gas, oil, oil prices, peak oil, petroleum, recession, West Texas Intermediate, WTI
75 Comments
The Most Important Resource for Our Future: Inexpensive Oil (but its not really available)
Our economy runs on oil. Most of the tractors used for growing food run on oil. Nearly all of today’s cars and trucks run on oil. It is popular to talk about changing to some other fuel, but the practicalities … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Implications, Introductory Post
Tagged crude oil, debt defaults, economic growth, oil, oil consumption, oil limits, oil supply, petroleum, recession
64 Comments
