PowerSwitch

The old cliche has that we are only 3 square meals removed from savages. I think that the Orleans experience proves that the adage is spot on. As soon as food and drinkable water run low most people will resort to most things in order to stay alive. Clearly, in a US city, the mass ownership of guns ...

Looks like the guy's made the classic error of confusing technologies with energy sources. We won't be needing new technologies, we'll be needing a new energy source - and that's a whole lot worse. This confusion is encapsualted in the 'Stone Age didn't end for lack of stones' claptrap. Of course st...

I think a lot of people are in denial about PO because they feel that the modern 'knowledge economy' is immune to such mundane considerations as oil What I'm wondering though is how robust is the Internet in the face of power supply problems. Obviously if you've got a power cut at your home you can'...

It's interesting that it should be the BNP among all the parties that break cover with this issue, and do so in such a comprehensive manner. I wrote in another thread that no political party could ever admit to Peak Oil and have ambitions to form a government. Perhaps the BNP are so far on the fring...

Here's a link to an article that has appeared on MSN. http://money.msn.co.uk/investing/Insight/SpecialFeatures/ActiveInvestor/oilcrisis/default.asp Someone somewhere has clearly decided that it's time to start gradually raising awareness about Peak Oil. Note however the reassurance about the total a...

The decision of the government to withold a planned increase in fuel duty may come to be seen as the first direct effect of PO on policy. Of course, for now, they are saying that it's a reaction to a short term spike in oil prices. We know different. This spike is never going away. Labour have been ...

The problem with Geothermal is the same economic problem that many alternative / renewable sources suffer from. While oil is cheap the alternatives seem expensive and uneconomic and so no one will make the investment. When the price of oil suddenly begins to rise as the peak is passed there will be ...

There is a huge amount of energy in the tides and these are more predictable and constant than waves.

Is there any research on harnessing tidal power?

I 1) The low-wage, low-tax-payer underclass are working for big corporations, producing what they need, making these corporations profitable and low-cost . I think we are just using different terminology. By underclass I meant those not in mainstream employment. The people working in minimum wage j...

As far as I can make any sense of Labour's policy on immigration it seems that they have been heavily influenced by the US experience. The USA has allowed very large scale population growth through legal and (tacitly approved) illegal migration. This has coincided with robust economic growth. Mainst...

Whether you believe population reduction is needed or not, bear in mind that the current government's policy is for massive population growth. The population of the UK is currently growing at 150,000 a year on official figures. The reality is probably much more when illegal immigration is included. ...

I think it would be a mistake to imagine all road transport suddenly ceasing and the roads being just one long skate park. A much more realistic comparison will be with the last war. There will be some oil to be found, or made from coal or organic waste, for a long time to come. We can imagine that ...

What about BioMass, just planting a quick growing crop and then burning it to produce electricity???

The idea of a small turbine on each roof is a good one and a lot of useful electricity could be generated. One problem might be planning permission as having a roof turbine is likely to screw up your neighbours TV picture. Solar panels on roofs are also worth having. Problem with both these electric...

Anyone familiar with the story of The Tower of Babel?