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Australian drivers face fuel ration shock
Brian Williams and Graham Redfearn, Brisbane Courier-Mail
FUEL rationing may be one in a series of shocks facing drivers and commuters in Queensland because of looming world oil shortages.

The oil shortages would produce the biggest change in society since the industrial revolution, Sustainability Minister Andrew McNamara warned yesterday.

A report by Mr McNamara for state Cabinet on the impact of the fuel crisis is expected to include recommendations on rationing, the future of public and private transport and sustainable population issues.

It has been ordered on the premise there is overwhelming evidence world oil production will peak in under a decade. It is expected to recommend risk mitigation measures such as cuts in fuel consumption and encouraging the development and use of alternative fuels, technologies and strategies.

... To underscore his concerns Mr McNamara will appear in a documentary film premiering next week in which he says the days when Queenslanders could \"travel on a whim\" in oil-powered vehicles are numbered.

The documentary Australia Pumping Empty, argues southeast Queensland is squandering billions on road, bridge and tunnel projects which few will be able to afford to travel on.

... \"We face the need for a whole new economy, from the way we generate power, to how we deliver water, to how we live,\" he said.
(17 May 2008)
Andrew McNamara has been an Energy Bulletin contributor.

Oil production has peaked as demand soars
Andy Welti, Post Bulletin (Minnesota)
In 1998, oil cost $10 per barrel and experts said the price would return to $5 per barrel, but it never happened. Many people believed we had huge oil fields that would never run dry, and that new fields would meet our growing demands. Ten years later, the evidence is beginning to align to tell a much different story -- one that we are just beginning to read.

I serve as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives Energy Committee. This year our committee held hearings on \"peak oil.\"

... Peak oil is real. If we're not seeing it now, we will be soon. People continue to ask me if I can do something about gas prices -- then they chuckle because they think it is too large of an issue to tackle. Well, the state is responding.

We passed a peak oil resolution to draw attention to this emerging issue; we funded research for hydrogen and algae being used to create biodiesel; we established renewable energy goals for transportation fuels and we held many discussions about biomass and renewable energy fuel potential.

We're trying to move forward on rail and transit initiatives and are asking tough questions of refiners, auto manufacturers and others involved in transportation to encourage them to be the catalyst for change.

If we continue to rely upon oil as our main source of transportation fuel, our economy will suffer. We have the ability to overcome the economic challenges of the near future by being leaders in finding ways to create alternative fuel sources and reduce consumption.

Welti, DFL-Plainview, represents District 30B in the Minnesota House.
(16 May 2008)

Peak Oil: Everything is going to change
State Rep. Terry Backer, Connecticut Post
There is little government can do about the price of oil. That is not what people want to hear. Yet it is a fact. The U.S. government and all the states have no \"Plan B.\" They continue to rely on a delusional \"Plan A\" - more oil and cheaper oil all the time. Politicians, generally asleep at the wheel on this issue, have been shocked into trying to do something about the current and future problems arising from oil costs. They are spinning around looking for someone to blame, dazed by the precipitous rise from $50 per barrel last January to $126 this past week.

In an election year, members of Congress are beating the bushes trying to escape the fallout of their years of dozing in their seats. They point at speculation, greedy profit takers or big oil companies, perhaps all true to one extent or another. However, despite the rising chorus of voices pointing out rising demand coinciding with falling or flat production, they seem to be ignoring the 800-pound gorilla in the room that is \"Peak Oil\" production. Just a few years ago, Mexico, Russia, Norway, England and Indonesia were producing vast amounts of oil for the world market. Today, England and Indonesia are net importers of oil, Russia's production is flat, Norway's production is falling and Mexico has informed us that their giant oil field, Canterall, is in terminal decline and may not be able to export after 2015.

Neither drilling in Alaska, the continental shelf or other ultra-deep-water sites will change the trends of less and more expensive oil. Only changing our infrastructure and consumption patterns will preserve somewhat our current lifestyle.

Connecticut broke out of the pack this month to become the first state in the country to make a major step forward in planning for the increasingly high cost and reduced availability of petroleum. With only 15 minutes remaining until the end of the 2008 General Assembly session, the state Senate approved by unanimous consent and sent to Gov. M. Jodi Rell the \"Energy Scarcity and Security\" bill.

The measure requires the state to develop a planning scenario model that will predict impacts based on the price of oil. The model will predict future impacts on heating, transportation, food cost, road paving, fleet operations, education, public health I think you get the idea. The outputs of the model will guide us in formulating Plans B, C and D for the state.

The model won't make more oil or cheaper oil; it will reveal to us the impacts on our citizens and our state before they happen. It will allow the Legislature and municipal governments to reprioritize what is possible and what is not.

Thanks to the members of the Connecticut Legislative Peak Oil and Natural Gas Caucus, state government opened its eyes for a quick peek into the future. A small awareness has begun in the Legislature, but it is not an understanding. The public now must educate itself about the issues of oil supply and help lead its government to make the changes that will surely be painful, but needed.

State Rep. Terry Backer is co-founder of the Connecticut Peak Oil and Natural Gas Caucus and a member of the General Assembly's Energy and Technologies Committee. He represents Stratford's 121st Assembly District.
(16 May 2008)