PowerSwitch

Have a look at this...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 ... -fuels-oil

It`s getting less "fringe" by the day.
The demand destruction is leading to a lack of investment in new infrastructure and exploration.
Perhaps $60ish a barrel isn`t such a good thing...

Peak oil may have been clouded by "peak money" recently but that doesn`t mean its simply gone away, as I suspect we are about to find out.

You can even get postcards with the message:

From http://www.cathtatecards.com/

Apparently the message on the back is: "If we use oil the current rate, the supply of oil globally will peak in 2015 and will then rapidly run out. We will also have caused global warming."

mikepepler wrote:From http://www.cathtatecards.com/

I like the one shown on the home page
"Things are getting worse. Please send chocolate."

In the new Bond flick, a UK minister sez," what would you have us do? The world's oil is running out!"

A similar article was also in the Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/fina ... orism.html

Also there was a front page article on the FT this week on a draught of a new IEA report:

"Without extra investment to raise production, the natural annual rate of output decline is 9.1 per cent, the International Energy Agency says in its annual report, the World Energy Outlook, a draft of which has been obtained by the Financial Times."

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e5e78778-a53f ... 07658.html

The agency says even with investment, the annual rate of output decline is 6.4 per cent.

6% decline rate WITH investment? 9% without?

This info should be the main headline on BBC news ...

The effect of this economic crisis could be horrific: oil declines continue, total consumption is reduced (a bit), oil industry ... and green ... investments stall ... and then later we all decide we are happy again ... OOPS ... sorry, not enough oil, and no quick way of ramping up production ... prices shoot up again .... but the economy is still at the tail end of the slump ... oh dear ...

Why isn't it on the BBC News??

They all know about it at the BBC.

Probably because of the PANIC it will cause when the secret really does get out into the mainstream. The thing is there will be panic whenever people find out, although personally I think people have a right to know.

I should think the BBC aren't allowed to tell too many people about it because the thing is business can't "carry on as usual" once people know. So they've hidden it away on serious programmes on Radio 4, but they haven't announced it on the 10 o'clock news yet.

Informing people about peak oil isn't exactly good for big business - air travel, car manufacturers, agribusiness, Formula One!! etc etc so it's not good for votes either.

I suppose TPTB think the longer the cat is kept in the bag the better.

happychicken wrote:Why isn't it on the BBC News??

They all know about it at the BBC.

Probably because of the PANIC it will cause when the secret really does get out into the mainstream. The thing is there will be panic whenever people find out, although personally I think people have a right to know.

I don't. For a start, most people simply don't have the intellect to appreciate why "only" half the world's oil being used up means an energy crisis. If people won't understand the truth, it's often better to lie.

Secondly, what good would it do? Most people are not going to react to the announcement that civilisation is at an end in a useful way - especially in this country with a population obsessed with rights and for whiich the notions of sacrifice, duty and self-restraint are totally alien.

happychicken wrote:Why isn't it on the BBC News??

For the same reason that it wasn't on the front page of the FT. It's just not newsworthy enough - just merits inclusion on an inside page of the FT. No TPTB conspiracy needed.

Happychicken/Ludwig

I kind of agree with both of you in the sense that this is such a MAJOR problem that it needs mainstream acknowledgement, however, Ludwigs point is also very valid in that "what`s the point of telling people the problems when we know damn well there`s no soloution".
As long as we can all watch garbage on telly and buy tons of pointless plastic crap then everythings OK isn`t it?

NO government is going to admit the scale of the problem because governments only think in terms of The Next Election.
Fuel poverty and total economic collapse with no immediate soloution is hardly a vote winner!

Whew, rant over.
Sorry...

HappyChicken wrote:Probably because of the PANIC it will cause when the secret really does get out into the mainstream.

Maybe not so much panic as a general 'I can't be assed' attitude breaking out.

TPTB are probably scared that the populace might wake up and opt out of this broken system en masse.

I still remember Claire Durkin of the Government, at an Oil Depletion event responding to the question:
"Why don't you warn the populace what's coming?"

Her reaction roughly went: "Hey, YOU can tell them but we WON'T."

fubar1977 wrote:.
Perhaps $60ish a barrel isn`t such a good thing...

Good for the Man on the Clapham Omnibus* in the short term. Bad for the energy industries in the longer term.

(*Note to New World people - you know him as Joe six pack)

Actually after reading this week's ODAC newsletter, I think Gordo is probably still in complete denial about how much oil there is and he appears to have no understanding of supply vs demand and how oil prices link to the economy. So, no, there's no conspiracy theory, just an out-of-touch PM.

He doesn't believe the UK Energy Taskforce on Peak Oil & Energy Security Report which suggests oil will peak within the next 5 years.

He still thinks the peak will come in 2030. Oh dear.

I hope he'll take more notice of the International Energy Agency's 2008 World Energy Outlook Report due out this month and maybe then he'll stop harping on about oil prices.

He obviously doesn't understand even the basics of oil production and costs. He wants the oil companies to reduce the amount they charge per barrel but he has no inkling of what this itself will do to supply. He seems to think oil can be sucked out of the ground for nothing.

From today's MSN news page - an article by Nick Louth

http://money.uk.msn.com/investing/artic ... &GT1=63257