http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8508323.stm This article popped up, whilst I was goggling for something yesterday. I thought it was very interesting to reflect on considering the record breaking low oil prices we have today. This was article was posted almost five years ago on the 11th of February 2010. Can we expect oil prices to suddenly shoot up in two months? ''"Governments need to urgently, urgently wake up," insists Sir Richard in an interview with the BBC News website. His Virgin Group is one of six companies that have formed a coalition called the UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security.' The taskforce - made up of engineering group Arup, architects Foster and Partners, Scottish and Southern Energy*, Solar Century* and Stagecoach*, as well as Virgin* - has launched its second report looking at the oil crunch, just months before the next general election. It warns that Britain is unprepared for the oil shortages and price volatility that it predicts will become a reality in the next five years. As a result, British businesses and consumers will face higher travel costs, increased food prices and higher utility bills. The taskforce hopes that the new government will heed its warnings and seek to reduce the UK's dependence on oil.' "We have to move from coal and oil to gas and nuclear. We need to move our cars from oil-consuming cars to electric cars and clean-fuel cars." The taskforce believes it will decline and with demand for oil in developing countries increasing, that would lead to potential shortages in supply and thus rising prices. "The days of cheap and easy oil in the quantities that the world needs it are over," warns Ian Marchant, chief executive of Scottish and Southern Energy The report was welcomed by Friends of the Earth. "Ministers must take this warning seriously and wean the UK off its addiction to oil'''' The UK has been a net oil importer for ages now, and hasn't been dependant on oil exports to the extent Russia has. *Scottish and Southern Energy: the UK's largest generator of renewable energy, with dealings in wind farms and hydroelectricity. *Solar Century* Self described as ''one of the world's most trusted, respected and long-standing solar companies.'' responsible for putting ''solar on more types of sites than any other company in the industry'' *Stagecoach* a transport company that operates trains, buses and trams. They profess to be ''working hard to increase... frequency of bus services to offer car users a realistic transport alternative and help cut congestion. also they have a large portion of information on their website http://www.stagecoach.com/sustainability.aspx indicating how sustainable they are. They also have a large stake in virgin rail group. *Virgin* who ''believe that rail should lead the way for sustainable transport.'' I thought this article was interesting once I looked into who made up the UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security. We here so much about the evil fossil fuels lobby, I think the green fuel lobby can be just as sinister.
The sale sort of Peak Oil and anti-fossil fuel groups played a vocal role in getting the Canberra light rail white elephant as far as it is today.
Didn't know Canberra had embarked on such a wasteful process. One of many follies I'm sure. Parramatta in Sydney wants to jump on the trams bandwagon. They have a proposal to spend millions and millions of State government money for a tram line between the business district of Parramatta and....Parramatta Stadium which is unused 99% of the year. And don't get me started on the inner Sydney and Eastern Suburbs light rail projects. Local people, unanimously opposed to the line, have taken to putting yellow ribbons around the mature trees that will be eliminated for this hyperdensification program. Randwick Council that also wants hundreds of millions of other peoples' money spent on this, takes the ribbons down in shame. And the tram line will not have a stop at the Randwick hospitals, also forcing the elimination of the bus stops at the hospital. It's a planning and demographic disaster.
Gees going by todays fuel prices you would'nt think there was a shortage thats for sure. Makes me wonder if 'Peak Oil' was just a fictional subject made up buy the elite to suck money out of us???
And of course Perth is now a waterless wasteland and Sydney's dams are empty. Gotta love those "Five years from now" predictions.
It's in large part because people didn't think to include things like tar sands oil and extremely deep sea oil which want considered technically or economically feasible to access and refine. Necessity is the mother of all invention though. I'm sure if you asked someone surveying such things in the mid '90's if they would include oil that costs $100 a barrel to produce in the practical reserve category I think the answer would be no. Even if there isn't significant capital investment for those sorts of projects they aren't in the bridge to far category any more either. I know there were some significant technical advances that went into the Canadian tar sands projects to make them economically viable but there are limits to how many unusual reserves lime that which are left. Peak oil doesn't scare me like it used to though, I'm more convinced than ever that the transition to other energy sources will be market driven and gradual. It used to keep me up nights thinking that the worst of global warming would coincide with the oil running out and be catastrophic but this is one area that the market is working to push viable alternatives to everyone's benefit.
The usage of oil in the USA has dropped from over 20 million barrels a day to less than 18 million barrels a day..Also the production of oil has increased over 3million barrels a day. Plus the Canadians are pumping oil directly into the USA. Consumption in China is rising fast but this is offset by the economic slump in Europe. Fracking for oil only lasts for a limited time..When this form of oil production slides, IMO that will be the time when oil rises again to over $100 a barrel. Maybe a world wide financial recession/depression may see no problems with oil supply for some considerable time. Regards Errol 43
This is why we need to move towards using LPG/LNG and CNG as transport fuels to lessen our reliance on imported oils.....Oz has something like 180 years supply of LNG in the ground we'd be crazy not to take advantage of it.
Just heard on radio news that Abbott is talking with Ukraine about exporting Uranium and Coal to them.
Peak oil is a concept used by many groups. Doomsdayers who think the world is ending. Greens who are anti-development and anti-human. Media who run the stories of both and beat it into a frenzy. People who believe the noise from all of them. I've been saying the concept is rubbish for years. Usually to great derision and scorn, especially right here on Silver Stackers, sadly.
