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Transcripts from first hearing by Congress on understanding peak oil
Global Public Media
...Congressman Roscoe Bartlett said that he was very pleased by the first hearing by the United States House of Representatives held by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality on Wednesday, December 7, 2005. The legislative hearing focused on H. Res. 507, a bipartisan bill which expresses "the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States, in collaboration with other international allies, should establish an energy project with the magnitude, creativity, and sense of urgency that was incorporated in the 'Man on the Moon' project to address the inevitable challenges of 'Peak Oil'."

... Related content:

• Transcripts: Peak Oil Hearing: Udall Testimony (7 December 2005)
• Transcripts: Peak Oil Hearing: Esser Testimony (7 December 2005)
• Transcripts: Peak Oil Hearing: Aleklett Testimony (7 December 2005)
• Transcripts: Peak Oil Hearing: Hirsch Testimony (7 December 2005)

(7 December 2005)

Copper may be approaching Hubbert's Peak
Dorothy Kosich, Mineweb.net
Vancouver-based mining entrepreneur Ross Beaty, the founder of several copper exploration companies, Thursday said he believes that the mining sector may be approaching a "Hubbert's Peak" for copper.

In a presentation to the Northwest Mining Association convention in Spokane, Washington, Beaty--the Chairman of Pan American Silver--predicted that the bottom line may mean that low-grade copper deposits will have to be developed internationally to keep up with soaring demand for the metal. However, he added, copper prices would have to go even higher to make the development of these deposits feasible.
(9 December 2005)

Latin America's oil production past its peak
Diego Mantilla, Narcosphere
Latin America's production of conventional oil reached its peak during the last decade and is now in a process of inexorable decline, according to data released by ASPO, the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas.

Considering all of Latin America, ASPO's data points out that the region reached its oil production peak in 1998, while the peak of oil discovery came in 1977. Normally, any oil producing region, be it a single field or an entire continent, reaches its peak production rate some time after discoveries reach their maximum. ASPO's data is consistent with that methodology.

While the data relies on public sources and is subject to rounding, ASPO claims that its compilation is a useful tool to determine the general oil production trend. Latin America's oil deposits are depleting at a rate 3.3% per annum, according to the data.
(10 December 2005)

Lawmakers: Will we run out of oil?
Katie Benner, CNN/Money
A House subcommittee meets to muse over the once-fringe belief that the end of oil is near
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NEW YORK - The world's oil supply won't run out tomorrow, but lawmakers worry so much about the possibility that they're dealing with it today.

A House energy subcommittee met Wednesday morning to learn more about the so-called peak oil movement, which claims that by 2008 humans will have extracted half the earth's oil. In other words, we're using oil faster than we can ever hope to retrieve it.

"We have all been enjoying the greatest party the world has ever seen: the great oil party," said Kjell Aleklett, president of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil, or ASPO, and a physics professor at Uppsala University in Sweden. Aleklett appeared as a key witness at the hearing.

The professor said in a paper last year, "After the climax comes the decline, when we have to sober up and face the fact that the party is coming to an end."

The hangover would mean not only the end of low oil prices but also a slowdown in world economic growth. The morning after could also lead to social and political unrest as many countries try to keep the party going even as oil disappears.

While there is debate over when this peak will occur, said Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md., everyone can agree on one thing.

"At some point in this century, oil production will peak and then decline," Gilchrest testified. "But more uncertainty calls for more caution, not less. And in this case, caution means finding alternatives."
(7 December 2005)
An Irish publication heard one speaker they liked at the hearing (Robert Esster from CERA) and ran with it: World Oil Production capacity to increase up to 25% by 2015; No peak seen for decades, US Congressional Committee told.

Electrification of transportation as a response to peaking of world oil production
Alan S. Drake, Light Rail Now!
The imminent peaking of global oil production and its potential impact is triggering concern at the highest levels of many countries, including the United States. Policymakers and the public in general are searching for timely and appropriate responses to "Peak Oil", and this paper highlights an under-appreciated option.

...With this commentary, Light Rail Now initiates a series we're calling Electrification 101 - a discussion aimed at informing transportation professionals, decisionmakers, and the public at large of the value and advantages of electrifying transportation operations, and the electrification of public transport systems in particular. This commentary, the first article in our series, has been slightly adapted from a professional paper prepared by the author.

Alan S. Drake is an engineer, former accountant, and professional researcher based in New Orleans.
(November 2005)

What corporate America is reading: #13 is Simmons
Business Wire
MILWAUKEE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 8, 2005--800-CEO-READ, the leading distributor of business books in the country, today released their annual list of top-selling books.

The 800-CEO-READ Best Books of 2005:
...13. Twilight in the Desert, Matthew R. Simmons
(8 December 2005)
from Leanan at peakoil-dot-com.

Peak oil on Belgian TV
Overleven, Canvas (Belgian television)
Wat na de olie?
Zondag 11 december 2005

Aardolie is een droom van een brandstof. Het zit al miljoenen jaren klaar onder de grond voor ons, de mobiele mens. We hoeven het maar op te pompen. Dat doen we dan ook vol enthousiasme. Wereldwijd jaagt de mens er per dag meer dan tachtig miljoen vaten door.

Maar de olievoorraden slinken snel. Wat staat een modaal Vlaams gezin te wachten als er binnen twintig jaar helemaal geen olie meer zal zijn? En hoe zal dat gezin zich verplaatsen als de olie al binnen enkele jaren onbetaalbaar wordt?

Wetenschappers roepen al jaren dat er dringend een olievervanger moet komen voor de energieverslaafde mens. Een nieuwe brandstof die ook beter is voor het milieu. Daar zijn alle wetenschappers wereldwijd het roerend over eens.

Maar welke brandstof dat precies moet worden, daar zijn ze minder eensgezind over. "over leven" geeft een stand van zaken.
(8 December 2005)
Reported by lorenzo at peakoil-dot-com.