Moving towards and beyond peak oil

Another reason to live in Oakland instead of Berkeley

2006-11-10T11:11:00.000-08:00

from People's Weekly World:

First in nation: Oakland OKs ‘oil independence’ by 2020

Author: Marilyn Bechtel

People's Weekly World Newspaper, 11/09/06 12:53

OAKLAND, Calif. — In an action with far-reaching implications for improving air quality, curbing global warming, growing the “green economy” and developing well-paying jobs for urban workers, Oakland’s City Council voted Oct. 17 to develop a plan to make the city oil independent by 2020. It is the first such measure by a U.S. city.

The resolution calls for a broad-based expert task force to draft a binding action plan within six months to significantly reduce the city’s dependence on fossil fuels. The plan will then go before the council for adoption.

Addressing a rally on the steps of City Hall the previous week, the resolution’s author, Councilmember Nancy Nadel, called it “another step in making Oakland a sustainable city.”

In the spirit of the “three E’s” of sustainable development — economic prosperity, environmental enhancement and social equity, she added, “We are challenging experts in the city to devise the most creative ways to transform our oil usage and, at the same time, stimulate our economy and provide jobs and entrepreneur opportunities especially to those in our community who need employment.”

Nadel credited the city’s Apollo Alliance with helping to develop a policy “that really meets the needs of the people in our city.”

In recent years Oakland’s City Council has adopted other environmental measures, including a sustainable community development initiative and a civic green building ordinance.

Van Jones, left, and Victor Uno, co-conveners of the Oakland Apollo Alliance, addressed the Oct. 10 rally outside City Hall. PWW photo by Marilyn Bechtel.
At the Oct. 10 rally, Apollo Alliance co-convenors Van Jones, executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, and Victor Uno, business manager of IBEW Local 595, both emphasized the green economy’s potential to create good jobs for working-class Oaklanders, especially young people of color.

Oakland was “at the back of the bus” in the last big shift in the economy, the Internet boom, Jones said. Now, “we want the green wave to lift all boats,” he said. “We believe that when we bring labor unions, business leaders, community groups and youth together on that basis, we are inaugurating a new politics of hope.”

“We want not just minimum wage jobs, or livable wage jobs — we want good union jobs with good wages and benefits for all of Oakland’s residents,” said Uno. “We think the green economy is part of the solution.”

The task force is to consist of 11 appointees — three by the mayor and eight by the City Council. Ideas already in the mix include use of alternative fuel buses, retrofitting buildings and collaborating with neighboring cities Emeryville and Berkeley on use of alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power.

Proponents point out that by using more resource-efficient technology, converting to renewable fuels, improving public transit and attracting “green energy” firms, Oakland can also begin to address issues of environmental racism affecting poor working-class communities located near industrial facilities, diesel truck routes and major freeways.

A related measure initiated by the Ella Baker Center and expected to reach the City Council soon is a proposal to create the nation’s first “Green Jobs Corps” to provide job training and placement for Oakland residents in green building construction and new environmentally sustainable businesses.

mbechtel@pww.org

Rising Prices and Supply Interruption

2006-06-16T01:21:00.000-07:00

No, I don't have time to update this blog, but I do have something to say tonight.

I went to get a blood test today, and the phlebotomist (sp?) didn't have any butterfly needles, which are extra necessary for people like me who don't have veins and who easily get hurt by needles. He said that they hadn't had any for 2 or 3 days. Interesting. He also said that he commutes from Fairfield to Berkeley and it takes him 1.5-2 hours to drive to work. He said that the one time that he had tried taking Amtrak, the train got him home 3 hours late. Three hours!! (The worst I've ever had on that line was 45 minutes late, and that was just last week. That sucked extra bad because I was late and had to pay on the train, so I paid 150% and got a ride that was 150% as long. Good thing I had a book with me.)

Why the hell does a head of organic lettuce cost $1.79 at Berkeley Bowl? That price snuck up this spring.

I was at Whole Foods yesterday, buying some tempeh, and it was on sale for its usual price. That's their way of sneaking in a price increase (under the $1.99 sale tag, it said that the regular price is $2.29). I hate when they do that.

Interesting that although gas prices are (artificially) a bit lower, food prices are still rising.

Can anyone spare some change so I can get some solar panels, batteries, inverters, and supplies to build a strawbale and cob cottage? It would be much appreciated.

3/19: Sustainable Caravan to Permaculture Sites in East Oakland

2006-02-28T23:54:00.000-08:00

(my comment: I don't think anything is really sustainable- biodiesel cars still need oil, bikes even need a bit of oil...bikes and cars are built with electricity and stuff that comes from oil...)
(one more comment: is the permaculture guild a group that actually exists, or is it just a name?)

The East Bay Permaculture Guild presents a

Sustainable Caravan
(bike · biodiesel · ride share)
to Permaculture Sites in East Oakland

Sunday March 19, 2006
Tour begins at 10 am and goes until 1 pm
Caravan from Fruitvale BART at 9:30 am

Please join us on a journey along the streets and watersheds of the East Oakland Hills, deep into the heart of the Dimond District and San Antonio neighborhood, to welcome the beginning of Spring. We will visit East Oakland gardens and parks featuring examples of urban farming, green and natural building, remediation and restoration, graywater systems, neighbor cooperation, and community activism. The caravan will consist of bikes, biodiesel, and ride sharing, demonstrating a range of sustainable transportation. The tour involves some slightly steep parts, but most of it will go downhill. Please bring your own bag lunch.

Please RSVP to isisferal@yahoo.com or at 1-800-MY-YAHOO (1-800-699-2466) (when prompted press # GARDEN TOUR (or say 427-336-8687)) to coordinate with the caravan, which will leave from the Fruitvale BART station. Let us know if you need a ride or can offer a ride, or if you’ll be coming by bike and if you want to meet us at the first site or get a lift uphill with your bike from BART.

Free workshop on raising chickens this Saturday!

2005-10-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

YOU EAT CHICKEN and/or EGGS RIGHT? (what the hell?! -mahtin)

Then come on down to a free chicken raising workshop

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29th 1pm-5pm
City Slicker Farms' Center Street Farm
at the corner of 16th & Center Streets, West Oakland

1pm-2:30pm learn how to raise chickens for eggs, meat or companionship
2:30pm-5:00pm hands on demonstration on slaughtering chickens with
Jim Montgomery of Green Fairy Farm

INFO / RSVP 510-763-4241

(p.s. Since we're in the field a lot we only check e-mail a few
times a week. Please call 510-763-4241 for a prompt response)

CITY SLICKER FARMS
Growing affordable fresh produce for West Oakland

510-763-4241
737 Henry Street
Oakland, CA 94607

LOCATIONS
Center Street Farm, The Annex Farm, West Oakland Wilds Farm, The
Garden of Eatin', Ralph Bunche School Nursery, Jubilee West Garden &
Mandela Farmer's Market

Toyota Recalls 75,000 Prius Hybrids

2005-10-14T01:14:00.000-07:00

Back to Story - Help
Yahoo! News
Toyota Recalls 75,000 Prius Hybrids

By DEE-ANN DURBIN, AP Auto WriterThu Oct 13, 6:35 PM ET

Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it is recalling 75,000 Prius gas-electric hybrid cars because their engines can stall due to an electrical problem.

Involved in the recall are some 2004 and early 2005 model year Prius cars. The cars have a gas engine as well as a battery-powered electric motor that can run separately or together to save fuel.

In affected vehicles, dashboard warning lights may come on and the gasoline engine shuts down. The vehicle's electric motor will continue operating in a limited capacity, so drivers can steer to the side of the road. The gasoline engine may start working again if the driver restarts the vehicle.

Toyota spokesman Xavier Dominicis said the automaker began investigating the problem after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration received 68 reports of Prius engines stalling. No one has been injured by the defect, and it hasn't caused any reported accidents, Dominicis said.

NHTSA closed its investigation after Toyota said it would voluntarily recall the vehicles. Owners will be notified starting this month.

Toyota dealers will repair affected vehicles for free. The vehicles may need to have their software reprogrammed. Dealers may also apply a waterproof grease that will prevent water from getting into the electrical system.

Dominicis stressed that the defect isn't related to the Prius's gas-electric hybrid system and could happen in any vehicle.

The Prius was the world's first commercially mass-produced hybrid car and it remains the most popular. U.S. sales of the Prius more than doubled in the first nine months of this year to 81,042, according to Autodata Corp.

___

On the Net:

Toyota Motor Corp.: http://www.toyota.com

Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051013/ap_on_bi_ge/prius_recall

PETROCOLLAPSE - Social isolation or solidarity?

2005-09-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

ah, yes, Jan Lundberg told me about this a few months ago... anyone want to pay my plane fare?

PRESS RELEASE

PETROCOLLAPSE - Social isolation or solidarity?

The First Peak Oil Conference in New York City - October 5, 2005

Contact: Jenna Orkin, Moderator
(718) 246-1577 cell: (646) 267-1577
jennakilt@aol.com
or: Jan Lundberg, Organizer
(215) 243-3144
http://www.petrocollapse.org/

The Community Church of New York Unitarian Universalist
40 E. 35th Street, New York, NY 10016

9 A.M. - 5 P.M. Registration begins 8:30.

Speakers include James Howard Kunstler, author: The Long Emergency; Dr. John Darnell, Science and Energy Advisor to Congressman Roscoe Bartlett; Jan Lundberg of Culturechange.org, former publisher: the Lundberg Survey; Mike Ruppert, author: Crossing the Rubicon, Fromthewilderness.com; David Pimentel, Cornell University; David Room, Post Carbon Institute. Moderator: Jenna Orkin, World Trade Center Environmental Organization

Sponsored by Culturechange.org and by Continuing Education &
Public Programs, The Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY).

"As oil prices rise and crude oil supplies and refined products strain to keep up with demand, the peaking of global oil extraction is finally becoming acknowledged in the mainstream news. As Hurricane Katrina has hampered petroleum production in addition to devastating a large population and ecosystem, as Rita threatens to do worse, people are asking if this is a foretaste of the future of a nation that has failed to conserve energy," stated Jan Lundberg, a principal conference organizer who ran the oil statistics firm
Lundberg Survey.

"Yet, the complete story on peak oil is still suppressed, and the public remains in the dark about the vast array of consequences of this looming crisis. Dishonest reporting by OPEC countries and major oil companies have contributed to the illusion that there is sufficient time before we 'run out of oil' to transition to a 'solution', whether it be hydrogen, renewables, an attempt to increase nuclear power, or some combination of the above," Lundberg added.

Approximately one dozen significant oil producing countries are past their peak in extraction and it is possible that world peak has already arrived (this cannot be conclusively determined until after the fact). The sudden effects of shortage are likely to hit the global economy within the next three years, possibly even as early as this winter. "With Hurricane Katrina, we have just seen what the lack of disaster preparedness can do. And the effects of peak oil portend an economic and social hurricane," said Jenna Orkin, the conference moderator.

At The Petrocollapse Conference the participants will ask:

What are we facing now as the economy prepares to hit the wall known as resource limits? Will growth suddenly implode?
What will be the effects of Peak Oil (a geological phenomenon) and petrocollapse (a socio-economic phenomenon) on food supply and other services we depend on?
What is the role of the market in determining how severe will be the effect of shortage stemming from geological depletion?
Is there a "Plan B" to ease a transition to sustainable living in a world without plentiful energy and petroleum's materials?

TV cameras should bring batteries as there are restrictions on use of church electricity.

PEOPLE'S PARK COB FREE-BOX REBUILDING, SUNDAY (9/25)

2005-09-21T00:15:00.000-07:00

> To: cityrepair@lists.riseup.net
> Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2005 18:44:39 -0700 (PDT)
> Subject: [cityrepair] People's Park - COB FreeBox
> Workparty - SUNDAY
>
> Friends:
>
> PEOPLE'S PARK COB FREE-BOX REBUILDING, SUNDAY (9/25)
> 1-6pm. (BERKELEY)
>
> Consider leaving something in the fuel cells this
> weekend for a Sunday Afternoon Cob Workparty.
> Students, Volunteers, Parkgoers will all be working
> alongside the Friends of People's Park to rebuild
> the recently razed FreeBox.
>
> Please come if you can! Experienced cobbers - you
> are needed to help guide others! New to Cob? We
> would love to have your appetite for natural
> building knowledge! We can all feed eachother - just
> BRING IT!
>
> IMPORTANT: This event will take place on University
> of California Property. The University is somewhat
> opposed to the FreeBox's reconstruction. "We
> (Friends of People's Park) began rebuilding the free
> clothing box on Sept. 17th & 18th. We put up four
> legs for the roof and built the foundation for the
> box. The police informed us that they considered
> our rebuilding the vandalized box as vandalism."
>
> Spread the Word
>

Here's how you can tell that things are getting bad

2005-09-17T23:25:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so our chickens were stolen this week. All of them.

You know that things are bad when people will steal 7 chickens from a community garden. I'm pretty sure that they took them to eat them (or sell them to someone who would prep them for eating), because they didn't take any chicken feed, or any of the eggs. You'd have to have a lot of yard space to keep and kill 7 chickens. It's such a shame- so many people got so much pleasure from visiting those chickens and eating their eggs. I feel like our (my) autonomy was taken away from me (us)- we didn't get to decide when exactly to put them down. We didn't get to see what it's like to kill, prep, and eat our own chickens. We didn't get to try to grow our own chicks. Jess is still trying to incubate the remaining eggs.

I was looking through a seed catalog yesterday and I saw something for chicken forage. It would have been so great to plant that stuff to distract our chickens from all the other plants in the garden. It was really ridiculous- people would let them run all over the place and nibble on and dig up all our plants...

Sigh, I miss my chickens!

U.S. gas prices finally hit plateau

2005-09-08T23:37:00.000-07:00

yah, what's up up with the whole country's gas prices stabilizing for the holiday weekend?
---------------------

U.S. gas prices finally hit plateau
Repairs of damaged pipelines, refineries increase supply

David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, September 7, 2005

After soaring above $3 per gallon last week in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, gasoline prices have stabilized throughout the country as frantic repairs open pipelines and refineries closed by the storm.

The nation now pays an average of $3.04 for a gallon of regular. Stunning as it is, that price represents a drop from Monday's peak of $3.06, according to the AAA auto club.

California drivers spend just a bit more -- $3.05. As in the rest of the country, California peaked on Monday and saw prices dip Tuesday, albeit by a fraction of a penny.

"It seems like the worst is over, unless some new problem of a significant nature presents itself," said Sean Comey, spokesman for the AAA of Northern California.

The run-up in prices stalled as gasoline started flowing again through major pipelines that serve the East Coast, the scene of shortages and $5 gas last week. A crude oil pipeline connecting the Gulf Coast to the Midwest has reopened, feeding refineries along the way.

Three of the 10 coastal refineries shut by Katrina are restarting, although with varying levels of success. More than 58 percent of the gulf's offshore oil production remains shut by the hurricane, a significant improvement from the 95 percent reported closed last week.

Progress repairing Katrina's damage has calmed the market for crude oil, which briefly topped $70 per barrel last week and fueled the spike in gas prices.

The federal government's decision to both loan and sell oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve also has eased prices.

Crude fell for the second consecutive trading day Tuesday, dropping $1.61 to close at $65.96.

"It's still a nervous market," said Jeff Tillery, senior research analyst at Pickering Energy Partners.

"To the extent we keep seeing infrastructure coming back and moderate damage, crude could come down. But it's a tough call," he said.

Indeed, the full extent of the storm's damage to offshore oil facilities and underwater pipelines remains unknown and could change the market's mood as more information emerges, pushing oil and gas prices higher. So could another storm -- a distinct possibility midway through hurricane season.

And several coastal refineries flooded by the storm have suffered serious damage, with no estimates yet of when they might start operations again.

"I suspect that we'll be stuck with relatively high (gas) prices for at least the next month or the next month and a half," Comey said. "And that's if we don't get another hurricane."

Katrina has left gasoline prices near all-time records set in 1981, when President Ronald Reagan lifted price caps during the Iran-Iraq war. California's average, when adjusted for inflation, peaked at $3.08 that spring.

Within the Bay Area, San Francisco and Santa Rosa have some of the highest prices, with both averaging $3.07 for a gallon of regular, according to AAA. Oakland pays about $3.04, while San Jose's average is $3.02.

E-mail David R. Baker at dbaker@sfchronicle.com.

Page C - 1
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/09/07/BUG9NEJCUV1.DTL&type=business

Post Carbon Newsletter #7 September 2005

2005-09-08T23:31:00.000-07:00

If your preferences are set to 'text only' (mine are) you're missing some
content! Click here to see the whole newsletter
{http://www.postcarbon.org/news/newsletters}./

Post Carbon Newsletter #7, September 2005

*In The Wake of Katrina: A Call To Prepare* *Community Supported
Manufacturing* *Post Carbon News Updates* *Outpost Folks: Rose Kudlac
of Post Carbon Toronto* *Post Carbon Board Members: Richard Heinberg*
*'Katrina, New Orleans, and Peak Oil' by Richard Heinberg* *September
Peak Oil Conference*
*1. In The Wake of Katrina: A Call To Prepare*

It is now over a week since the devastating Hurricane Katrina struck
the Gulf coast of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Anyone with an
Internet connexion or a television will have seen the kind of
terrible suffering and misery that are more commonly seen in the
so-called Third World. On Global Public Media we have posted a
particularly harrowing but iconic report from the BBC
{http://www.globalpublicmedia.com/news/490} which lays bare what
happens what the system fails.

Many will hope that lessons will be learned, so that the agony of
the American Deep South is not completely in vain. Comparisons with
the global South - another euphemism for the poor and plundered of
the planet - do not inspire much confidence.

Nor do comparisons with the great blackout which affected fifty
million people in the north east of the North American continent
almost exactly two years ago - the electricity grid and power systems
are still perilously fragile, and Katrina has left about ten per cent
of US natural gas supply shut in, on which electricity production
increasingly relies in North America (and many other places).

Unlike oil, there is no easy way for North America to get foreign
replacement supplies of natural gas. There is mounting unease in high
places that an American natural gas crisis will greatly worsen the
difficulties with oil and gasoline supplies.

There are many lessons that can be learnt from the horror of this
hurricane - a horror that vast numbers of poor people in other
nations already know so well: Be very wary of depending on
far-distant places and people to furnish your safety, food, health,
power, and fuel.

The people of New Orleans knew their system was inadequate to
protect them - some tried very hard to rectify the situation, but
they failed.

The most terrible lesson of Katrina appears to be this: we, the
ordinary people of this planet, are pretty much on our own for oil
peak. Most of our governments, except for a few at local level and
some brave lone politicians, have not even admitted to the concept of
peak oil, far less begun planning for it.

We who care are now all New Orleaners, we are all vulnerable: the
question is, are we going to do anything serious about it?

Most people who read this newsletter know that the global oil supply
and natural gas supply in all English-speaking nations (except
Australia) is in peril. If Katrina turns out to herald the decline of
world oil and triggers a natural gas crisis, who out there - in any
country, anywhere - is sure that their village, town or city is
ready?

If you are ready - tell us about it and help others to learn.

If you are not ready, please consider joining with us
{http://www.postcarbon.org/relocalize/network} in our very practical
attempts to make both emergency and long-term preparations for this
new world that will have to run on ever less oil, a system that must
largely de-industrialise, an economy that will have to contract both
in financial and spatial terms.

We must start to relocalize now and begin living locally once again.

Julian Darley
Director of Post Carbon Institute
Vancouver, BC office

*2. Community Supported Manufacturing (CSM) *

One of the ways we can relocalize is by making our supply lines
shorter so that we produce our vital needs as locally as possible. At
present this is almost impossible under normal economic conditions, so
we are developing a system, based on community-supported agriculture,
called - you guessed it - Community Supported Manufacturing.

CSM will help us bring our manufacturing and provisioning back under
our control and back into our locale - it will therefore create
desperately needed jobs as globalization collapses for want of cheap
energy (and maybe lack of cheap money too). The idea of relocalized
provisioning is central to Post Carbon Institute’s plans for dealing
with peak oil, global warming and ecological degradation of the
world.

The longest chapter in our forthcoming book, “Relocalize Now!
Getting Ready for Climate Change and the End of Cheap Oil” (to be
published by New Society Publishers this fall/autumn) describes
Community Supported Manufacturing in some detail, but the real
working out will be in communities who want to participate.

For more explanation of Community Supported Manufacturing and how
you can get involved, please see the longer article
{http://www.postcarbon.org/relocalize/manufacturing} on the Post
Carbon website.

*
3. Post Carbon News Updates*

/Julian Darley Will Introduce Permaculture Co-Originator David
Holmgren /

The Vancouver Permaculture Network presents"Permaculture Strategies
in a World of Declining Fossil Fuel" with David Holmgren, introduced
by Julian Darley.

The three hour event will be hosted by the University of British
Columbia Faculty of Land and Food Systems and UBC Farm.

David Holmgren has been talking about the coming energy crises for
decades - and developing the permaculture system as a direct response
to energy decline.

Even if you don't live in Vancouver and can't attend the event, on
Global Public Media you can see (and hear) Julian Darley's recent
interview with David Holmgren
{http://www.globalpublicmedia.com/interviews/460}.

For more details of the event, please visit Post Carbon's website
{http://www.postcarbon.org/node/585}.

/Post Carbon Local Energy Farm/

Peter Myers, co-founder of Flathead Outpost
{http://www.postcarbon.org/groups/flathead}, has agreed to purchase
land (possibly in conjunction with other Outpost members) where a
Post Carbon prototype Local Energy Farm will be developed.

Post Carbon Institute is continuing to raise funds to build, equip,
and staff the farm and build an extensive materials workshop for
repairing a wide range of items and for light manufacturing.

We are also working with Peter to establish a school to prepare
children for the post-petroleum world, as well as post carbon
workshop and courses for adults.

We shall feature an interview with Peter Myers and more on the
progress of the energy farm in the next newsletter.

/Postcarbon.org Website Re-Design /

Our web site has undergone deep structural re-design. Our last web
site groaned under the weight of large amounts of information. We
have more and more Outposts and needed to streamline the interface to
help them. Outposts and associates in the Relocalization Network also
need easy–to-use tools to communicate with their members.

The new look is meant to inspire you to action - to give you the
sense that something practical can be done.

There are those that accuse peak oil adherents of being somewhat
‘doom and gloom’ at times. Sometimes, however, reality isn't very
cheerful - surely we don't need any further reminders of that, but
Post Carbon Institute is vigorously practical, both online and
offline. To help members, affiliates, and the 'walking worried' in
general, we are developing a powerful suite of web-based tools to
integrate and cross-fertilise our preparations for a post-carbon
world.

The basis of our new web site is an 'open-source' system called
drupal (drupal.org), which is expandable so that each group or
Outpost can add their own content. Drupal also gives us blogging,
better event capability, integrated forums, the ability quickly to
create a web presence for groups, a single sign-on to all of our
sites, and much more. If you have not already done so, please
register now at http://www.postcarbon.org/user/register
{http://www.postcarbon.org/user/register}
{http://www.postcarbon.org/register}.

Please let us know {mailto:website@postcarbon.org} if you come
across any glitches or problems while using the postcarbon.org
website.

/The Oil Age Poster/

With the assistance of Post Carbon Institute’s David Room, Rob
Bracken and Dave Menninger of San Francisco Post Carbon have
developed a full color poster that traces the history of the Oil Age
from its beginnings in the hills of western Pennsylvania to its rise
as the engine of global industrial economies.

Two hundred years of the Oil Age are depicted in the poster’s main
chart, which features a year-by-year rendering of Colin Campbell’s
Depletion Model. Historical annotations as well as detailed data on
production, trade and reserves make this poster a versatile tool for
presenting the realities and implications of global oil production
and its impending peak.

The 23"x36" (58x91cm) poster is printed on heavyweight recycled
paper and shipped unfolded in a tube. Along with several other
members of SF Post Carbon, the team intends to get the poster in
middle and high schools to raise awareness of our oil predicament
with youth.

The poster is available from Post Carbon Books
{https://secure.metafoundation.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=META&Product_Code=oilageposter}
for $10 plus shipping and handling:

Click here to donate a poster
{https://secure.metafoundation.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=META&Product_Code=oilageposterdonation}
to be placed in a classroom

*
4. Outpost Folks*

This is the first in a series of Outpost profiles we will be running
in the newsletter. All Outposts and Relocalization Groups are
organized according to local skills, knowledge, directions and
desires. Each has its own form and function. It is an awareness of
oil peak and the aim to do something serious, practical, and
structural about it that distinguishes our groups. Knowing about
other Outposts, Outpost projects, and those in the wider
Relocalization Network not only connects us all together, but it is a
chance to exchange information and help one other. This profile is
about the Toronto, Canada Outpost called “Post Carbon Toronto”.

Post Carbon Toronto

Post Carbon Toronto {http://toronto.postcarbon.org} began when Rose
Kudlac met with another person in her city who knew about peak oil,
but not about any of the online material. Sensing a need to connect
local people, through Post Carbon Institute and through meetup.com,
she found other people who wanted to work on raising awareness and
fostering informed responses to energy descent. These people are now
part of the Post Carbon Toronto organizing team.

To date Rose has located:

local experts, including academics, through articles about peak oil
in the mainstream press or posts to on-line forums, and who have
worked and lectured in this area extensively; colleagues through Post
Carbon Institute and meetups; people and networks through
participation in events and volunteering in projects with 'natural
allies', which have included alternative energy projects,
permaculture workshops, and more; people, projects and issues at
public events, book promotions, meetings, forums on energy,
infrastructure, and space. Through a local environmental store, Rose
has also discovered:

the Coalition for a Green Economy, a group of eco-preneurs that have
been meeting for over ten years and who have spawned ground-breaking
local and national green projects. This group fought for the
legalization of hemp growing in Canada. Now they are working on
launching a local chapter of BALLE, the Business Alliance for Local
Living Economies; a Green Economy course featuring presentations by
local experts and leaders on different issues; and a post graduation
program at a university called "Business and the Environment", which
connects a business school and a faculty of environmental studies.
Viewing the End of Suburbia documentary is mandatory for the program.
Some of the people located above, have become advisors to Post Carbon
Toronto.

Through Post Carbon Institute, and other outreach, local individuals
and groups have contacted the outpost who are focused on:

bringing peak oil into the classroom facilitating a pedestrian city
action to mitigate climate change helping with the follow-up
documentary Escape from Suburbia (produced in Toronto) raising energy
awareness in their neighbourhoods or communities Post Carbon Toronto
{http://toronto.postcarbon.org} is currently working on a conference
“Transportation Infrastructure and Energy”, for transportation
planners and officials, with a government funding source located by
an advisor.

An online e-mail list http://groups.yahoo.com/group/torontopeakoil/
{http://groups.yahoo.com/group/torontopeakoil/}, currently with
nearly 70 members, helps the group disseminate notices about local
events and research related to energy descent, and keep part of the
network engaged.

Rose sees Outposts as catalysts for action in their local
communities. She says they take on the responsibility for raising
awareness and growing the network. In this role, Outposts engage with
local government, businesses, educational institutions and NGOs that
may or may not know about the energy predicament but are willing to
work in an integrated fashion.

Rose Kudlac adds that Outposts can grow organically from the
swelling ranks of those aware of our dependence on fossil fuels and
the damage to our ecosystems, and who want to lessen dependence on
the government-corporate-industrial grid. Such groups typically
coalesce from oil-awareness meetings and discussions after End of
Suburbia screenings.

Other groups may be intentionally formed by individuals within a
community through house parties, reading groups and local gatherings.
In a large city, such an Outpost is more likely to be involved working
with and informing other groups than with itself taking on programs
directly.

Where Ouposts evolve from existing groups such as book clubs,
renewable energy cooperatives and eco-villages, such groups can
'become' an Outpost or simply add Post Carbon experiments to their
range of programs.

If you are interested in starting an outpost, contact
outposts@postcarbon.org {mailto:outposts@postcarbon.org} to set up a
phone conversation.

*
5. Introducing Post Carbon Institute Board Members
{http://www.metafoundation.org/board.php}: Richard Heinberg,
journalist, educator, lecturer and musician*

In so many ways, Richard Heinberg is emblematic of what Post Carbon
Institute stands for.

Not only does he think, write and lecture about Peak Oil and the
ecological/social impact of corporate-industrial society, he is
working tirelessly on broad community-level solutions to the problems
caused by these world trends.

Richard is a core faculty member of Santa Rosa’s New College of
California {http://www.newcollege.edu/northbay/index.cfm} and directs
a year-long, intensive course on Culture, Ecology, and Sustainable
Community.

He has appeared on national radio and television stations in many
countries, and his essays have been published in dozens of magazines
and journals. Richard travels internationally to speak on the subject
of Peak Oil and has given over 100 presentations on the subject before
university and general audiences.

Richard is the author of six books
{https://secure.metafoundation.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=META&Category_Code=Books}:

The Party's Over: Energy Resources and the Fate of Industrial
Societies
{https://secure.metafoundation.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=TPO&Category_Code=Books}
Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World
{http://www.powerdown.ws}. Memories and Visions of Paradise:
Exploring the Universal Myth of a Lost Golden Age Celebrate the
Solstice: Honoring the Earth's Seasonal Rhythms through Festival and
Ceremony A New Covenant with Nature: Notes on the End of Civilization
and the Renewal of Culture Cloning the Buddha: A Spiritual and Moral
Critique of Biotechnology Global Public Media has made a DVD of
Richard giving an overview of Powerdown
{https://secure.metafoundation.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=RHVideo&Category_Code=Video}
(along with a bonus interview by Post Carbon Institute's David Room).

Richard is also author-editor-publisher of the monthly Museletter
{http://www.museletter.com}, a continuing critique of
corporate-capitalist industrial civilization and a re-visioning of
humanity's prospects for the next millennium. Subjects range from
global economics to religion to the origin of humanity's antipathy
toward nature.

Subscription to the Museletter is available through the Post Carbon
bookstore
{https://secure.metafoundation.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=Newsltr}
and back-issues are online at www.museletter.com
{http://www.museletter.com/}

All Richard's work is informed by a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary
study of history and culture.

Richard and his wife, Janet Barocco, live in a house they have
renovated for energy efficiency and use their back yard for growing
food. Richard is also an accomplished violinist.

*6. 'Katrina, New Orleans, and Peak Oil' - A Feature Article by
Richard Heinberg*

The scenes were heart-wrenching and mind-boggling: an entire modern
American metropolis had effectively ceased to exist as an organized
society...when it came to reporting on the damage to oil production
and refining facilities, most media outlets took at face value the
glib and non-specific assurances of the petroleum industry... And all
of this is occurring at a time when the global supply of oil is barely
able to meet demand...

Read the whole article on Global Public Media here
{http://www.globalpublicmedia.com/articles/479}, see and hear more
interviews with Richard Heinberg on GPM
{http://www.globalpublicmedia.com/people/richard_heinberg}, and read
more articles at Richard's Museletter.com
{http://www.museletter.com/} website.

*
7. September Peak Oil Conference*

The “*Second U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions*”
will be held September 23-25, 2005 in Yellow Springs, Ohio (see
www.communitysolution.org {http://www.communitysolution.org/}).

The end of cheap abundant oil represents an unprecedented challenge
for humanity. It heralds the end of many things to which we have
become accustomed; the ever-growing economy, transportation as we
know it, cheap food and goods from around the globe.

Many react to these coming changes with fear and dread. But Community
Solutions envisions a more cooperative, just and equitable world of
small local communities.

This conference will explore:

The implications of Peak Oil An in-depth look at changes in
agriculture The characteristics of a new economy Peak Oil’s effect on
our financial system Alternatives to oil and our high energy way of
life The communities of the future Ways to transition and answers to
"What should I do now?" Keynote Speakers:

*Richard Heinberg: *Author, /The Party’s Over /and /Powerdown:
Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World/ *Michael Shuman:
*Author, /Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global
Age/ Other Presenters:

*Diana Leafe Christian: *Author, Creating a Life Together
{https://secure.metafoundation.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=clt&Category_Code=Books}
and Editor of /Communities /magazine *Jan Lundberg: *Founder, Culture
Change and /Auto Free Times /magazine *Robert Waldrop: *President,
Oklahoma Food Cooperative and moderator of online discussion group
“Running on Empty” *Steve Andrews: *Co-founder of the Association for
the Study of Peak Oil – U.S., energy consultant and free-lance writer
on Peak Oil *Liz Walker: *Director and co-founder, Eco-Village at
Ithaca and author, /Eco-Village at Ithaca: Pioneering a Sustainable
Culture/ *Pat Murphy: *Director, The Community Solution and Editor of
/New Solutions/ *Megan Quinn: *Outreach Director, The Community
Solution and Project Manager of its program “Agraria” *Faith Morgan:
*Board Member, The Community Solution For conference information
including full speaker descriptions and registration information,
visit www.communitysolution.org {http://www.communitysolution.org/}

-----

EMERGENCY ACTION ALERT! HELP PASS THE MILLION SOLAR ROOFS BILL

2005-09-07T16:53:00.000-07:00

EMERGENCY ACTION ALERT! HELP PASS THE MILLION SOLAR ROOFS BILL

Your immediate action is needed to help pass the Million Solar Roofs bill, SB 1 (Murray). Please make a personal phone call to Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez's office right away. 916-319-2046. Tell him to "Get the job done! Pass SB 1. Don't let solar power be derailed by partisan politics "

Having passed the Senate by a vote of 30-5, as well as two policy committees in the Assembly (energy and housing), SB 1 was amended last week in a way[ that has removed Governor Schwarzenegger's support and has caused him to threaten a veto. It has also generated opposition from other labor unions, namely the Carpenters and Laborers unions, splitting the labor community on this bill.

The three controversial amendments that were attached to SB 1 without any public hearing or review are:
1) apply prevailing wage to all future commercial solar installations, small and large;
2) limits all future solar installations to electricians only (as opposed to others such as carpenters, laborers or C-46 solar licensed contractors); and
3) rider that expands disciplinary actions for all electrical work in state, not just solar, via business and professions code amendments. There is no reason for this rider to be on this particular bill.

There is a reasonable compromise that the Speaker must pursue immediately if this policy is to become law. This compromise could look something like:
1) apply prevailing wage to large commercial installations (200 kw or more), exempting solar projects such as mom & pop stores and replacing farm irrigation pumps
2) direct the state licensing board to determine which licensed contractors are best suited to install future solar systems
3) delete rider

There are now two days left to pass this bill. The Assembly Utilities committee is scheduled to hold a special hearing on SB 1 today but no movement has happened in this direction and the Speaker's position on addressing the Governor's concerns with the bill is still unknown.

Please call his office right away and urge him to support reasonable amendments on the Million Solar Roofs bill. Don't let our best chance for meaningful solar energy policy in California fall prey to partisan posturing.

Thank you!
Bernadette

Bernadette Del Chiaro
Clean Energy Advocate
Environment California
1107 9th Street, Suite 601
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-446-8062 x 103 (office)
916-448-4560 (fx)
bernadette@environmentcalifornia.org
http://www.environmentcalifornia.org

You thought the price was high before

2005-08-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

from the washington post:

Oil Prices Surge Above $70 a Barrel

By GEORGE JAHN
The Associated Press
Monday, August 29, 2005; 9:28 AM

VIENNA, Austria -- Crude oil futures briefly surged past $70 a barrel for the first time Monday as Hurricane Katrina barreled toward the heart of U.S. oil and refinery operations in the Gulf of Mexico, shutting down an estimated 1 million barrels of refining capacity.

The Category 4 storm advanced on an area crucial to the U.S. energy infrastructure _ offshore oil and gas production, import terminals, pipeline networks and numerous refining operations in the southern states of Louisiana and Mississippi.

A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration infrared satellite image shows the center of Hurricane Katrina, situated about 90 miles to the south, southeast of New Orleans at about 5 a.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 29, 2005. (AP Photo/NOAA)
A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration infrared satellite image shows the center of Hurricane Katrina, situated about 90 miles to the south, southeast of New Orleans at about 5 a.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 29, 2005. (AP Photo/NOAA) (Noaa - AP)

"This is the big one," said Peter Beutel, an oil analyst with Cameron Hanover. "This is unmitigated, bad news for consumers."

Light, sweet crude for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped as much as $4.67 a barrel in Singapore to hit a high of $70.80 a barrel before slipping to $68.95 by midday in Europe. That was still up $2.082 from its close on Friday in New York.

Gasoline traded at $2.1220 a gallon, up 19 cents or nearly 12 percent, while heating oil rose more nearly 14 cents to $1.9750 a gallon.

Brent crude was not trading Monday, with London's International Petroleum Exchange closed for a bank holiday.

At its most fierce point, hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans with 160-mph winds and a threat of a 28-foot storm surge, forcing a mandatory evacuation of the below-sea-level city.

Katrina has already forced the shutdown of an estimated 1 million barrels of refining capacity and curbing offshore production, but analysts said the storm's potential damage to facilities was even more worrying.

"It's not only the suspension of production that's causing concern, it's the fact that we could see potential damage to the platforms, which would cause longer disruptions to production," said energy analyst Victor Shum of Texas-headquartered Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.

The Gulf of Mexico normally produces 1.5 million barrels of crude oil a day, or about a quarter of the United States' domestic output, according to the U.S. Mineral Management Service.

"It looks like the perfect storm to drive prices up," Shum said.

Katrina quickly grew from a smallish storm threatening Florida into a menacing hurricane in just a few days.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/29/AR2005082900203.html

Talk of the Nation Show About Gas Price Increases

2005-08-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

Wow, Talk of the Nation is covering the increase in gas prices.

Talk of the Nation, August 22, 2005 · As gas prices continue set new records, Talk of the Nationlooks at the point at which prices will truly impact the way people drive and make purchases. Also, we offer a lesson on the science -- and science fiction -- of gas consumption, including whether coasting downhill in neutral saves gas or how much gas it takes run air-conditioning.

Guests:

Tom Klosa, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS); known as "Pump Daddy"

John McDowall, president of McDowall Co., a full-service contracting company

Bruce Wrenn, marketing professor at Indiana University in South Bend

John Nielson, master certified auto technician for the American Automobile Association

(There is also a list of) Related NPR Stories

They're like, sometimes the gas price goes up twice in one day! Ha!

Thanks to Dr. Mess for the headsup on the California Gas Prices website. He told me that the gas that is used for boating is up to $4.00 per gallon. Good- boating is bad in so many ways- from pollution to drinking and boating to lack of exercise...

Oil Almost Hit $67 per barrel this weekend

2005-08-15T10:22:00.000-07:00

US stocks flat on oil price; Delta drops on report

http://za.today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2005-08-15T150811Z_01_BAN551885_RTRIDST_0_OZABS-MARKETS-USA-STOCKS-20050815.XML

Mon Aug 15, 2005 5:08 PM GMT

By Vivianne Rodrigues

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Monday, with oil prices near record levels stirring concerns economic growth and companies' earnings would suffer in the second half of the year.

"The earnings outlook for the remainder of the year is not so strong," said Brian Piskorowski, a market analyst at Wachovia Securities LLC. in Richmond. "Investors may not be willing to commit new cash into stocks, given that outlook and the fact we have oil prices at record levels."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 19.43 points, or 0.18 percent, at 10,582.07. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 1.64 points, or 0.14 percent, at 1,228.75. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was down 4.62 points, or 0.21 percent, at 2,152.36.

Although U.S. crude oil futures nudged lower on Monday they were still near $67 a barrel after the weekend passed without adding to refinery outages that threaten to strain gasoline supplies. September crude oil futures eased 21 cents to $66.65 on NYMEX.

Demand for stocks may also fall after Merrill Lynch & Co., the largest U.S. brokerage, raised its recommended cash allocation and lowered its stocks allocation, saying cash is becoming a more competitive asset class. On August 9 the Federal Reserve raised the benchmark interest rate for a 10th time to 3.50 percent.

"Higher interest rates may attract some investors to cash investments in the short term," said Wachovia's Piskorowski. "But in the long run, we still think stocks will outperform bonds and cash investments."

Delta Air Lines was the worst performer in the S&P 500. The stock plunged 14.91 percent to $1.37 after the New York Times reported on Saturday that the struggling air carrier has begun arranging the financing it would need should it seek bankruptcy protection. ID:nN13672371

Shares of Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc., the U.S. largest home furnishings retailer, fell 2.37 percent to $43.28 after MarketWatch reported on its Web site that Goldman Sachs downgraded the housewares retailer. ID:nBNG140002

In earnings news, Lowe's Cos., the world's No. 2 home-improvement retailer, announced a 20 percent increase in second-quarter profit, topping analysts' estimates. The company's shares rose initially but later fell 38 cents to

$64.85.

Shares of Time Warner Inc. rose 16 cents to $18.41 after billionaire investor Carl Icahn urged Time Warner in a statement to separate its cable business and buy back at least $20 billion worth of its stock, saying management has not done enough for shareholders.

Icahn, who along with several hedge funds owns over 120 million shares of Time Warner, said he plans to meet this week with Time Warner Chief Executive Richard Parsons.

One of the top gainers on the S&P was Agilent Technologies Inc., the world's largest maker of scientific-testing equipment. Shares rose 12.5 percent to $29.79 after the company announced it will cut 1,300 jobs and sell its semiconductor business.

Shares in media company Dow Jones & Co. Inc. rose about 15 percent to $42.55 following a report in the New York Post that members of its controlling shareholder family were pressing for a sale of the Wall Street Journal publisher.

© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

Supply worries continue to plague America

2005-08-15T10:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2005/08/15/afx2181137.html

AFX News Limited
Chavez threatens to cut off oil exports to US
08.15.2005, 12:58 PM

CARACAS (AFX) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has threatened to cut off oil exports to the United States if Washington does not stop the 'aggressions' against his leftist government, Agence France-Presse reported.

'We do not want to break relations with the US government,' Chavez said Sunday. 'It is not in our plans, but if the aggressions continue to increase ... this could put at risk diplomatic relations between Venezuela and the United States.'

Washington's attacks could provoke 'something more serious: These two daily boats full of Venezuelan oil could head another way instead of going to the United States,' said Chavez, whose country is the fourth largest provider of oil to the United States.

'The US market is not indispensable to us,' Chavez said before thousands of young people waving Latin American countries' flags in a Caracas arena during a youth festival.

Chavez, who has called US President George W. Bush a 'jerk' and 'Mr. Danger,' also joked that he may give the US leader a scare at the Summit of the Americas in Argentina in November.

'I have something in mind,' Chavez said. 'I will walk to him very quietly and say 'boo.''

The Venezuelan leader held Sunday an 'anti-imperialist tribunal' to 'judge' the US government.

The former paratrooper has accused Bush of plotting to have him assassinated and of being behind a coup that toppled him for nearly 48 hours in April 2002.

On Friday, Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said Venezuela had withdrawn diplomatic immunity for US anti-narcotics agents after the United States withdrew visas for Venezuelan officials in Washington.

The Venezuelan government also announced last week that it had cut anti-drug cooperation with the United States, accusing the US Drug Enforcement Administration of breaking local drug laws.

The United States rejected the charges and accused Caracas of flagging cooperation in the fight against narcotics trafficking.

The United States has accused Venezuela of actively funding efforts to destabilize its Latin American neighbors and allowing weapons to cross into Colombia, whose government is battling a leftist insurgency.

du/lt/mac/ec

COPYRIGHT

Copyright AFX News Limited 2005. All rights reserved.

Crude futures ease after soaring to record highs in Monday rally

2005-08-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

Here's an article from the Canadian Press where they talk about how high the price of oil got when the king of Saudi Arabia died yesterday. The article predicts that prices will be $3 higher in the winter. It also says that oil prices can change based on any little worrying news item.

"Crude futures ease after soaring to record highs in Monday rally

Edith Balazs
Canadian Press

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - Crude oil prices slipped Tuesday in lackluster trading after rallying to record highs Monday on news of the Saudi king's death and Iran's latest threat to resume its nuclear processing activities.

The death of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd on Monday sent prices to a record close of US$61.57 a barrel after they reached a new intraday high of US$62.30.

Recent refinery fires in the United States also unsettled the market, fueling fears that supply will run short at a time of surging demand for oil products.

"While I was slightly surprised by yesterday's big move, I still see a significant potential for the upside in the market and I expect prices to be some US$3 higher in the winter season than now," said energy analyst Orrin Middleton at Barclays Capital in Paris.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell 32 cents to US$61.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in midday trading.

On London's International Petroleum Exchange, Brent for September delivery was down 44 cents at $60.00 a barrel.

Petroleum products were mixed on Nymex, with September gasoline up 1.09 cents at $1.7580 a gallon and September heating oil down 49 points at $1.7120 a gallon.

Traders kept an eye on refinery operations in the United States, where the rate of output has fallen to about 93.5 per cent of capacity, down from 98.1 per cent of capacity over the past three weeks, in part because of hurricane-related power outages. Last week, two refinery fires - one in Texas, one in Louisiana - stifled production, albeit to a limited extent.

Such shutdowns play into fears that refiners may not be able to catch up with demand, especially during the fourth quarter of the year.

Tensions between the U.S. - the world's largest energy consumer - and Iran, the No. 2 producer within the OPEC cartel, also worry oil markets because Tehran can cripple markets by shutting off its taps. Iran produces about 4 million barrels daily.

Iran threatened to reopen its nuclear processing plant but has given the U.N. atomic watchdog agency two days to oversee the dismantling of U.N. seals on the equipment.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, said its oil policy will not change now that power has formally shifted to Fahd's brother, the de facto leader during the past decade.

However, with oil consumption rising around the world and only a limited amount of excess production capacity available, energy traders are easily put on edge by a change in the weather in an oil-pumping region, let alone a transfer of authority within the world's biggest oil producer.

Weekly inventory data from the U.S. was seen as providing some bullish sentiment later on. Closely watched gasoline stocks are expected to show draws for a straight fifth week along with a drop in commercial crude inventories, according to analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires."

more of this article at http://www.canada.com/businesscentre/story.html?id=f9ced318-058c-4a73-a19d-db440ff955d9

Talk of the Nation Covers Peak Oil

2005-08-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

I was pretty surprised yesterday to hear a Talk of the Nation show about The Pursuit of Energy Independence. TOTN is always surpising me by how right-wing it is. Neil Conan regularly interrupts people as they stray into anti-war statements, and often covers only the government or right-wing side of stories.

On yesterday's show, he had two guests: David Friedman, who works with the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Thomas Friedman, who is a columnist with The New York Times. I was shocked to hear the name Union of Concerned Scientists. I could be wrong, but I seem to remember hearing something on Michio Kako's radio show Explorations about how the UCS had done a study for the federal gov't about global warming, and then Bush hid and discredited the results. Hm, I am finding this info about the Bush Administration and science...Here we go, it was the National Academy of Sciences:
"For example, in support of the president’s decision to avoid regulating emissions that cause climate change, the administration has consistently misrepresented the findings of the National Academy of Sciences, government scientists, and the expert community at large. Thus in June 2003, the White House demanded extensive changes in the treatment of climate change in a major report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). To avoid issuing a scientifically indefensible report, EPA officials eviscerated the discussion of climate change and its consequences." (From Scientists' Statement)

Anyhow, on the TOTN show, the one guy was talking about decreasing consumption and how peak oil is coming no matter what, and the other guy was trying to talk about alternative energies such as nuclear. Ha! Where are we going to put the nuclear waste, buddy? And some callers were against decreasing their own driving- one guy lives in a rural area some 60 miles from Reno (or was it Las Vegas?) and was like, how would we drive to Reno? Hello, there won't be electricity to power casinos, and you won't have extra money to spend there!

I agree, public transit sucks. People talked about the need for a real high-speed rail system on the east coast to connect major cities. I just can't see that ever happening in this country. Imagine a high-speed rail system all across the country? Even as Amtrak is circling down the toilet drain...

I guess I should go listen to today's show about online journalism!

The aging of society will help to tear it down

2005-07-24T00:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am way behind. China has been trying to buy a US oil firm and of course the people who get to make decisions are saying no. Can't have China getting too much power. But they are buying up big firms left and right, and their consumption continues on its upward trajectory.

Check out this article:
"If the Heat Doesn't Kill the Elderly...", in particular this quote: "Fifty years ago, a heat wave of this magnitude and duration would have claimed the lives of hundreds, perhaps thousands of shriveled-up old codgers. The streets would have been littered with their withered carcasses. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. By providing today's elderly with unprecedented access to air conditioning and situating them in safe, supervised retirement communities, we have thrown Mother Nature's natural-selection process completely out of sync. And don't look for winter to solve the problem, either: Even more old people have heating than have air-conditioning, and more and more are getting it every day."

And when you think about this whole social security fiasco that has been going on in the US this year, don't you just kind of choke? How are people supposed to survive with wages continuing to decrease compared to the cost of living and no social security? I was just wondering.

KALW and Oil

2005-06-05T15:53:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I was listening to KALW, "Information Radio," which is basically a small NPR station in the SF Bay Area. There was a KALW News show on around 3:30 that talked about plastics and petroleum and recycling. One interviewee said that a mass of plastic the size of North America was found in the middle of the (Pacific?) Ocean! What?!

Something to think about when you want to buy an Odwalla at the store and just throw the bottle on the ground.

The 2nd half of the show is about Emeryville. The new Bay Street shopping center (mall with expensive and boutiquey shoppes) is built on top of a toxic waste site. That would be gross enough if the site had not previously been part of or adjacent to a native american burial ground. One of the streets near there is called Shellmound, and that is just what was there- a giant mound the size of 2 (American) football fields that included discarded shells from food and the bones of the people who had lived here! The site was bulldozed in the 1920's to make way for a pesticide plant, a paint plant, and something else in the middle. The site was used multiple times for toxic factories! Disgusting. This is about 2 miles from my house.

I am still dying to see the movie that was made about this area- it is called Shellmound

Personal confession

2005-05-31T21:34:00.000-07:00

I have to confess that I am an angry non-car owner. I would have one if I could afford it.

My being a bicyclist isn't just about the feeling of the wind in my hair or loving to get exercise on the way to work. It's because I have to be a bicyclist.

There's a lot of talk about how people should conserve more so our oil will last longer and so more environmentally-friendly technologies will be enough. Would that really happen?

Japan Tries to Save Energy

2005-05-31T21:33:00.000-07:00

Japanese Workers to Go Casual This Summer

By CHISAKI WATANABE
The Associated Press
Tuesday, May 31, 2005; 11:28 AM

TOKYO -- Japan's bureaucratic rank and file march in dark jackets and ties to government offices every day, sweating their way through the country's sticky, sweltering summers. Starting Wednesday, they'll be sweating a little less.

In a nationwide campaign to save energy by cutting down on air conditioning, the government has asked public workers to leave their ties and jackets home for the summer.

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Many people would have no problem with that but in Japan, where conformity and tradition are prized, workers find it tough to comply. To persuade them to set their inhibitions aside, the effort, dubbed "Cool Biz," has enlisted help from the highest authorities.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi recently showed up in a newspaper advertisement wearing a half-sleeve shirt with no tie, urging his Cabinet to follow suit.

"If the ministers are wearing a tie, their subordinates would feel uneasy about not wearing it," he said a few weeks ago. "So the ministers should not wear a tie."

The Environment Ministry campaign has nothing to do with loosening up Japan's stodgy government ministries _ and everything to do with meeting targets under the Kyoto global warming protocol. Tokyo needs to cut so-called greenhouse gas emissions to 6 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.

To help make the goal, air conditioners in government buildings will be set at a toasty 82, the maximum allowed by law. Offices usually keep the temperature at around 77.

Some private companies already allow employees to dress casually for summer. But the government endorsement is expected to make casual attire more acceptable.

The Energy Conservation Center estimates if all offices in Japan increase summer temperatures to 82, it could save 81 million gallons of oil in one summer.

To rally support, and reassure bureaucrats unfamiliar with being laid-back, the Environment Ministry has released a manual on dressing down _ with hints such as matching the colors of your belt and shoes.

"We try to explain why just untying your necktie won't do. We show how to achieve an acceptable business look without wearing a tie," said Kentaro Doi, the ministry official in charge of the campaign.

The ministry is even planning a "Cool Biz Collection" fashion show June 5 at the 2005 World Expo in Aichi, with top executives _ including Toyota chairman Hiroshi Okuda _ strutting down the runway.

Major developments in Mikhail Khodorkovsky's case

2005-05-31T21:29:00.000-07:00

awww, oil tycoons can be prosecuted

Backgrounder: Major developments in Mikhail Khodorkovsky's case
www.chinaview.cn 2005-06-01 05:30:57

　MOSCOW, May 31 (Xinhuanet) -- Former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was sentenced to nine years in prison Tuesday after being found guilty of charges including fraud and tax evasion.

Following are major developments leading up to a guilty verdictin Khodorkovsky's case:

July 2003 -- The judicial campaign against Khodorkovsky's company Yukos began when his business partner Platon Lebedev was arrested on charges of theft of state property in a 1994 privatization deal.

Oct. 25, 2003 -- Khodorkovsky was detained for failing to show up for questioning in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, where his private jet landed to refuel en route from Nizhny Novgorod to Irkutsk.

The same day, a Moscow court ordered the arrest of Khodorkovskyon charges including large-scale fraud and tax evasion.

Nov. 3, 2003 -- Khodorkovsky resigned as chief executive officer of Yukos. Simon Kukes, a Russian-born American, was appointed to replace Khodorkovsky.

June 16, 2004 -- Khodorkovsky went on trial along with Lebedev at Moscow's Meschchansky Court eight months after his arrest.

March 29, 2005 -- The state prosecution demanded 10 years in jail for Khodorkovsky and Lebedev.

April 11, 2005 -- The Meshchansky Court completed the trial of Khodorkovsky and announced it would deliver its verdict on April 27.

April 27, 2005 -- The court postponed the verdict on Khodorkovsky till May 16, giving no reason for the delay.

May 16, 2005 -- The court started reading a voluminous verdict on Khodorkovsky, which contained about 1,200 pages.

May 31, 2005 -- Khodorkovsky was found guilty of charges including fraud and tax evasion and sentenced to nine years in prison, capping 12 days of laborious verdict reading. Enditem

Article source

New Caspian Sea pipeline to boost economic prospects in region

2005-05-31T21:27:00.000-07:00

yah, how many extra months will this buy us?

good luck!

From My West Texas.com

05/29/2005
New Caspian Sea pipeline to boost economic prospects in region
AP DataStream
Midland Reporter Telegram

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Article

By Aida Sultanova

Associated Press

BAKU, Azerbaijan -- Presidents and oil company executives will inaugurate a 1,100-mile pipeline Wednesday that will carry millions of gallons of crude from the landlocked Caspian to the Mediterranean -- a much-needed alternative to Mideast energy resources.

Analysts say the $3.2 billion, U.S.-backed Baku-Ceyhan pipeline could also help bring stability to the troubled region. The Caspian is thought to contain the world's third-largest oil and gas reserves.

"This global project will completely change the economic situation in Azerbaijan, and in the political sense it will influence the rest of the Caucasus and Central Asia," said Vafa Guluzade, a former foreign affairs adviser to the Azerbaijani government.

Built by a consortium led by BP PLC, the pipeline runs from Azerbaijan through Georgia to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

Until now, Caspian states sent almost all their oil through Russian pipelines to reach world markets. The new route will neutralize any Russian attempts to use economic levers to bring former Soviet republics back under its wing, Guluzade said.

The pipeline "will carry a huge volume of oil, and Russia is nervous that it is being deprived of big money and also the possibility to dictate its terms to these states," he said.

Azerbaijan will earn taxes and royalties on the oil, while Georgia and Turkey are to profit from transit fees.

The presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Turkey are to be on hand -- along with U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman and oil executives -- to watch Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev open the taps Wednesday for the first symbolic drops of oil to enter the pipeline at the Sangachal oil terminal, about 25 miles south of the Azerbaijani capital, Baku.

Aliev and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev planned to sign an agreement on transporting Kazakh oil through the new pipeline Tuesday.

"We view this as a significant step forward in the energy security of that region," Bodman said Tuesday in Moscow.

The president of the pipeline consortium, Natik Aliev, said it would take up to a month and a half to fill the Azerbaijani section of the pipeline. The Georgian part will be ready after that, and then the Turkish stretch, which Turkish authorities have said should be filled by Aug. 15. It will take approximately 420 million gallons of crude to fill the entire pipeline.

Bodman said deliveries would begin in the fall.

"This is a contribution toward ... an increase supply in oil in the world," he said. "It adds a new supplier of some consequence."

But experts say the new oil will provide only short-term relief to a world that is consuming more crude every year. Oil prices, while down from their recent highs, are still hovering around $49 a barrel.

Four years ago, oil officials spoke of finds that could rival the Middle East's production. But experts now say the Caspian should pump some 168 million to 210 million gallons per day, on a par with Iran.

Eshan Ul-Haq, chief analyst at PVM Oil Associates in Vienna, Austria, said the pipeline will have an impact -- but only for Europe, because initial volumes will be low.

He also said the pipeline's oil could bring prices down for sour-grade crude such as those produced by Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and it could mean lower prices for Russian Ural oil. The oil most in demand is light, sweet crude, which most refiners prefer because it is low in sulfur and easy to process.

Azerbaijan, meanwhile, hopes the pipeline will raise its profile and swing international support behind Baku in its dispute with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, which ethnic Armenian separatists took control of more than a decade ago. The conflict continues to simmer, undermining the region's security.

The pipeline "will bring a certain element of stability in terms of cooperation," with big states pressuring both "Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve the Karabakh conflict as quickly as possible," said analyst Rasim Musabekov.

Even Bush knows about peak oil and biodiesel

2005-05-24T16:42:00.001-07:00

I hear that Bush even has solar power on his ranch. That's the problem- a lot of these alternatives to oil and gasoline aren't reachable for poor folks and busy people who have kids. So here is an article about Bush visiting a biodiesel plant. The history of biodiesel is pretty interesting and shows how oil and politics are so closely entwined.

article:
Visiting a biodiesel plant near Richmond, Virginia, President Bush
today called biodiesel “one of our nation’s most promising alternative fuel
sources” and discussed the importance of a comprehensive energy plan to
wean the United States from foreign petroleum.

“Biodiesel is one of our nation’s most promising alternative fuel
sources, and by developing biodiesel you’re making this country less
dependent on foreign oil,” Bush said, while speaking to a crowd gathered at
Virginia Biodiesel Refinery, LLC, a biodiesel plant that began operating
in March of 2004.

The President said high petroleum prices highlight how consumers and
lawmakers need to look towards domestic energy sources, and he pressed
Congress to pass a comprehensive Energy Bill.

“The high prices we pay today have been decades in the making,’ he
said. “For the sake of the American consumers it is time to confront our
problems now and not pass them on to future congresses and future
generations.”

For more details, visit
http://biodiesel.grassroots.com/Bush_Virginia_Biodiesel.

For a transcript of the speech, visit
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/05/20050516.html

If you want to share this news with others, click here,
http://biodiesel.grassroots.com/f2f, to use our forward to a friend
feature.

Thanks for your interest and support.

Joe Jobe
Executive Director
National Biodiesel Board
article on indybay

People are worried about their gas mileage!

2005-05-24T16:42:00.000-07:00

Looks like they're starting to get worried...isn't it awful when the middle class has to worry about gas mileage, instead of watching it as a hobby?

Bringing Reality to Gas Mileage Figures

By Cindy Skrzycki

Tuesday, May 24, 2005; Page E01

It's another kind of sticker shock.

What new car owner hasn't found, after some real-world driving and a fill-up at the pump, that the sticker in the window promising decent gas mileage was considerably inflated?

Now, for the first time in 30 years, the Environmental Protection Agency may have to get in gear to revise the test it has been using on new vehicles to determine a more realistic estimate of expected mileage for city and highway driving.

That's because, with gas prices at high levels, consumer and environmental groups backed a provision offered by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) in the just-passed Senate highway bill that would require the EPA to issue a new rule to bring the test results closer to the real world.

The EPA first started testing vehicles in 1974 to gauge their expected miles-per-gallon performance. In 1985, the agency "adjusted" the numbers downward, but hasn't addressed further how changes in technology, models and driving habits affect gas mileage. The agency says it has been analyzing the gap for the past couple of years and was already planning to address it.

But Cantwell said her amendment was necessary to make sure the agency takes action. Changing the test may result in estimates that are 10 percent to 30 percent lower than consumers are used to seeing on a new-car window label, according to supporters of the legislation and the Energy Department , which tracks annual energy use nationwide.

"We want consumers to believe in this number and the information," Cantwell said in an interview. "EPA needs to do a new test. It's hard to be accurate if you don't base the test on the driving behavior and conditions we have today."

The provision calls for the agency to take into account speed limits, acceleration rates, braking, weather variations, vehicle load, use of air conditioning and driving patterns when it comes up with a fuel economy number. If the measure is accepted by a House-Senate conference committee, the EPA will have until the end of the year to issue a proposal. The final rule deadline is 18 months later.

Currently, car manufacturers test prototypes and then the EPA checks their accuracy at its lab in Ann Arbor, Mich. The vehicles are tested by placing their wheels on a dynamometer, a kind of indoor treadmill that simulates driving. A professional driver takes the vehicle though driving routines. The amount of carbon in the exhaust is measured to determine the amount of fuel used.

The problem is the conditions under which the test is done: The speed is an average of 48 miles per hour, with a top speed of 60. There is no air conditioner creating a gas mileage "penalty." There is no road congestion or accelerating to high speed.

"If you drove that way, you would get great gas mileage," said Chris Plaushin , national manager of regulatory affairs for AAA . "But there would be an angry line of people behind you."

To give its members a more realistic idea of what to expect, AAA does its annual mileage tests on as many as 200 different vehicles. It puts kids in the back, groceries in the trunk, and drives in both city and highway conditions, rush hour, stop-and-go, with the AC running and the windows down.
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