This section is where many of the finer points surrounding peak oil get discussed that help illuminate the difficult overall situation we are faced with. This section aims to discuss those points succinctly, however as there are a lot of points it may take you a few hours before you cover them all.
Click on each image to watch the corresponding video in a pop up box or alternatively click on the headline to go to the post that may contain a written explanation of the video in question. The grid at the bottom of the page works in much the same way but is also a representation of all the videos in this series. Just so you don’t miss out on anything.
This video developed for the oil & gas company ConocoPhillips gives a very good visual overview of the drilling process involved in hydraulic fracturing, AKA fracking. You’ll just have to take a few pinches of salt to compensate for the sickly sweet perfection in which this video presents the drilling process and how it couldn’t […]
In this great little talk Dr Susan Krumdieck speaks about our energy conundrum through a lens that is rarely used: financial return. Presumably talking to business leaders she quickly dismisses the relevance of peak oil, climate change and sustainability as reasons to change and goes straight to the formula for a resource base that is […]
This particular chapter takes a more detailed look at the various oil demand projections by comparing each organisation’s take on the main economic forces that shape their final numbers. Despite the huge uncertainty, there is near universal agreement on some of these forces. But opinion is divided on the biggest question of all – will […]
This chapter looks at the recent history of the many organisations that make energy demand forecasts. Their track record has a lot to be desired but understanding the huge uncertainties involved highlights just how easy they are to get wrong.
This chapter attempts to cover the last 150 years of oil consumption with the aim of discovering the main economic forces that have helped shape how and where oil is used today. By understanding these forces we can begin to understand how future oil demand will unfold.
This chapter attempts to explain why oil depletion is not simply a problem of “will we run out” but rather a more complicated supply and demand problem concerning energy security. The size of the tap is more important that the size of the tank.
This particular chapter attempts to explain why oil is the lifeblood of today’s modern economy and how any major fluctuations in oil price can expose the many inherent weaknesses in this globalised system that feeds, clothes and houses us.
This almost 30 minute interview from In Conversation with Allan Gregg economist Jeffery Rubin talks about his book “The End of Growth”. His basic thesis is that high oil prices (100+ a barrel) will cause economic growth in the developed world to flat line (while China and India will slow to 4-5%) and the world […]
A simple little 6 min computer animation that shows the start to finish steps of how an oil well is brought into production. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DniNIvE69SE
A shortened version of the Crash Course with information tailored for a United Kingdom audience. Chris Martenson explains the predicament the UK and world economy is in from the perspective of economics, energy and the environment. He discusses concepts such as the nature of money, debt, exponential growth, natural limits, peak oil and energy yields.
This is the first video of many in a video series explaining much of what is going on in the world today with regards to the economy and it dependence on energy and the environment. At around 3 hours in length, it’s not an easy thing to sit down and watch but I highly recommend […]
Part 2 in a series entitled “Peak Oil and a Changing Climate,” from The Nation.
Part 1 in a series entitled “Peak Oil and a Changing Climate,” from The Nation.
This a very entertaining jaunt through the aspects that oil has played in world politics and power that everyone seems to ignore. Robert Newman is a comedian who a great knack for taking the dryness out of the subject matter of what is essentially an oil and war history lesson. Highly highly recommended. Or alternatively […]
On first glance it would be hard to see why, but this talk by Professor Bartlett is one of the most utterly compelling things I have watched and makes you totally rethink what “reasonable growth” means. A must watch. Professor Al Bartlett begins his one-hour talk with the statement, “The greatest shortcoming of the human […]
