Starting Tonight on BBC - "Planet Oil"

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Tarrel
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Starting Tonight on BBC - "Planet Oil"

Post by Tarrel »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02gzf5l

Only airing on BBC2 Scotland, but you can watch it:
A) If you live in Scotland
B) You have Sky
C) via the BBC iPlayer if you change the region to Scotland

It's been heavily promoted on the radio up here. Looks quite interesting.
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clv101
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Post by clv101 »

Yeah, this does look good. Iain Stewart is usually very good/fair in his TV shows. I'll be available on iPlayer for those of us in the deep south.
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emordnilap
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Post by emordnilap »

I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
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clv101
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Post by clv101 »

I thought the peak oil / climate sections in part three were really pretty good. It's amazing to see how far we've come in a decade.
3rdRock

Post by 3rdRock »

EM, thanks for completing the hat-trick. :D
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Post by Blue Peter »

I've only seen 1 and 2 so far, but it is surely fairly breath-taking that the Beeb has broadcast that the UK and US overthrew the Iranian government in 1953? (And, given the modus operandi, one couldn't help thinking about the Ukraine now.)

What wasn't clear to me was why Persian oil was so important to the UK, such that if the price went up, the UK was screwed. What about just about every other country in the world which didn't have a tame Persia or Saudi Arabia? Was it due to Britain's dire post-war finances?


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Potemkin Villager
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Post by Potemkin Villager »

I am impressed, these are really good and informative.

BBC Scotland has rocked the boat on other occasions.

The police raid on their Glasgow premises in 1987, over a programme about a grandiose proposed secret spy satellite project was a spectacular own goal. It turned out that this attempt of HMG to keep up with Los Norte Americanos had to be abandoned on cost grounds. :cry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRuH7WPmD90
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emordnilap
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Post by emordnilap »

Will there only be three episodes? There's scope for a couple more, surely.
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
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Bandidoz
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Post by Bandidoz »

I've watched part 3, good, although I felt there was a bit too much of an optimistic bias - especially on Thorium. He also pretty much dismissed Peak Oil by the implication that unconventional oil and enhanced recovery would make up any shortfall, "the easy oil is over but technology will fill the gap". It was only one passing comment from someone who pointed out that the unconventionals can have a limited impact.

I really wish that when someone shows how a pellet-sized piece of material can power a home for a year, that they also show how much rock had to be displaced in making that pellet.

I also watched the scottish debate afterwards, and there is still very much the mindset of "money raised by oil extraction should fund further oil extraction"...
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emordnilap
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Post by emordnilap »

Bandidoz wrote:I've watched part 3, good, although I felt there was a bit too much of an optimistic bias - especially on Thorium. He also pretty much dismissed Peak Oil by the implication that unconventional oil and enhanced recovery would make up any shortfall, "the easy oil is over but technology will fill the gap". It was only one passing comment from someone who pointed out that the unconventionals can have a limited impact.
Agreed, Bandidoz, it was an optimistic series. Isn't that part of the agenda? Don't rock the boat.
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
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