Stories archived in Wednesday, December 15, 2010

-Using Waste, Swedish City Cuts Its Fossil Fuel Use
-Africa mulls biofuels as land grab fears grow
-Biomass - a burning issue
-EU plans to tackle unwanted impacts of biofuels
-Cornell to develop algal biofuels

A year ago peak oil author Dave Cohen christened 2009 "A Year We Will Live To Regret." But as it happens, 2010 has brought its own mother lode of discouragement, failure and tragedy. It began on the heels of the bungled climate change summit in Copenhagen, a major blackout in southern France and news of a disastrous crash in Yemen's oil revenues. Before the year had rounded its halfway mark, it had presided over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. And as if all this weren't enough, 2010 also saw the sudden and unexpected death of one of the very icons of the peak oil movement, the revered Matthew R. Simmons.

Maybe it's the approach of winter, or maybe it's the spectacular fiscal irresponsibility at play in Washington DC, but the concept of storing food seems particularly relevant just now. Beyond the undeniable practical value of a full pantry, though, storing food offers two useful lessons in practical ecology -- one about ecological limits, and the other about a strategy individuals, families and communities can use to prepare for our species' impending collision with ecological limits.

This report is a synthesis of the current state of knowledge on energy resources and global climate and environmental change. The findings clearly indicate that the convergence of peak energy resources and dangerous anthropogenic climate and environmental change will likely have a disastrous impact in the near- and long-term on the quantity and quality of human life on the planet
[Excerpts from a free online book from a group at University of California at Santa Barbara.]

I want to talk about the 10,000-year-old problem of agriculture and how it is both necessary and possible to solve it. Were it necessary but not possible this idea would be grandiose, and were it possible but not necessary it would be grandiose. But it has passed the test of grandiosity.

America is in the doldrums and President Obama risks becoming a one-term president. For too long politicians have treated the words "peak oil" as political cyanide. But could coming clean about the world's energy challenge be just what Obama needs to save his presidency while giving America a boost at the same time?

-Kicking the habit: why gardeners need to ditch their addiction to oil
-Leaked document shows EPA allowed bee-toxic pesticide despite own scientists’ red flags
-Saving our Soils and How the Old Peach Tree was Brought Back to Life
-Want to See My ASPO Conference Talk About Food?
-Urban Farming, Community Resilience and the Death of the Motor Industry in Detroit (Video)
-Planning Charitable Gifts to Your Favorite Food Organizations? Double Your Impact by Donating Dirty Stocks

It may surprise you to learn that it is not blue-eyed yuppies and liberal- commie environ-metal heads (as a neighbor puts it) who are the most influential group in the protection of the Dreadnought Deer of Destruction. The real power is the hunting fraternity itself.

The literature on Liquid Fuel Emergencies is considerable, dating back to rationing during World War Two. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) in the USA did some exceptional work for two decades (1975- 1994). Unfortunately, there have been relatively few studies during the past 15 years, with the notable exceptions of the comprehensive analysis by Alan Smart for the Government of Australia and Kathy’s research in the USA.

This article is in response to last month’s article by Kathy Leotta and her colleagues, Observations on local governments’ preparedness for fuel supply disruptions. First, I congratulate Kathy on her earlier research and thank her for reviving this neglected topic in her most recent paper. The purpose of my submission is to support and supplement various observations made by the Leotta team.