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Is Business-As-Usual Likely In A Peak Oil Scenario?

Using a coupled climate and carbon cycle model is appropriate if you want to want to estimate future anthropogenic emissions from presumably vast fossil fuel resources, but such a model does not capture what might actually happen “on the ground” in the real world. A prompt transition from oil to coal-based liquids is clearly impossible, as I’m sure—I’m hopeful— Caldeira would admit.

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Interview with Marshall Adkins

Everyone in the industry knows it. I think a lot of analysts are reticent to call a spade a spade. At one end of the spectrum you have Matt Simmons who is very vocal and very up front. At the other end of the spectrum the people understand it but aren’t making a big deal out of it.

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A Resurgence In China?

The dysfunctional symbiosis between the two countries should be a familiar story by now: Americans consume more than they produce, the Chinese produce more than they consume. Americans are spendthrift, the Chinese are frugal. The Chinese make the stuff Americans buy. Americans run large trade deficits, while the Chinese have a large trade surplus. The Chinese manipulate the value of the Renminbi (the Yuan) to keep the imbalance going. The Chinese buy our debt but will not abandon the dollar…

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The Radical Hypothesis

It is hardly an exaggeration to say that humanity has reached a fork in the road, and future generations await our decision. Our energy & economic prospects are at stake, and these two necessities are inextricably linked. At such turning points, it is natural for apprehension to cloud our judgment. We want to hang on to what we have, or improve upon it, but our uncertainty is greater than our ability to discern the long-term future. The only things that seem clear are that the future will not resemble the past, and must not resemble it.

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It's Not Black Or White

Layer upon layer of confusion pervades the discussion of why oil prices have been so volatile over the last 3 years. People often yearn for simple explanations. Some want somebody to blame, while others hold on to cherished theories. In these cases observers demand a Black Or White view of events which caricatures more complex realities.

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Interview with Charles T. Maxwell (Part 2 of 2)

It’s a little difficult to answer because there are two different kinds of money we’re talking about: what will industry spend and where should government spend? Because if the industry is going to spend money on shale gas, which it is, then the government doesn’t have to spend any money there. Shale gas is a natural answer to the near-term energy problem; it’s one of the big answers we’ve got.

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