News update
Peak Oil: Myth Or Coming Reality?
Gaurav Agnihotri, Oilprice.com
We have yet to see evidence that we are nearing a peak in oil production. On the contrary, agencies like EIA and IEA have predicted a stable increase in crude oil production for the next few years at least. But supplies may not be the only, or even the most important factor when analyzing the end of the oil era. The world is making progress at moving beyond oil. So instead of discussing Peak Oil in terms of supply, perhaps it is now more useful to analyze ‘Peak Demand’.
Global oil demand to peak in 2020 under IEA climate proposal
Platts.com
Global oil demand would need to peak within five years under an ambitious set of low-carbon policy measures being proposed by the International Energy Agency to limit greenhouse gas emissions within accepted safe levels. The proposal is the result of a major new assessment of the energy sector impact of global climate change pledges that the IEA is presenting ahead of the critical COP 21 Paris climate talks in December.
Will methane hydrates be the future of energy or bring on the apocalypse?
Cleanleap.com
At the bottom of our oceans and buried deep beneath permafrost surrounding the arctic circle is a vast store of methane – a natural gas produced by the anaerobic decomposition of millions of years of organic matter. If permafrost temperatures rise (as predicted with global warming) the ice crystals will thaw, releasing methane directly to the atmosphere. As is well known, methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, 20 times more potent than CO2 on a weight-for-weight basis.
Catch them if you can: the pragmatic ways to cut carbon emissions
The Guardian UK
Within five years Britain could have three power stations that capture around 90% of their carbon before it reaches the atmosphere. And in the US, a synthetic resin could absorb CO 2 far more efficiently than trees. We examine the technologies involved in the battle against climate change.
How Tesla will change the future
Tim Urban, Wait But Why
An extremely long but thoroughly well-researched piece that traces the arc of energy use by humans, the history of the automobile industry and how Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors could revolutionise things – all of it written in a lucid and simple style.
The Front-Runners In Fusion Energy
Michael McDonald, Oilprice.com
Fusion power has been something of a holy grail in the energy field for decades. At the same time, despite decades of research, fusion energy has yet to come close to being a reality. In the last decade, there has been a proliferation of interest in fusion power from commercial sources. The largest company doing work in fusion power is probably Lockheed Martin. Lockheed claims that it will have a prototype reactor in a just a few years’ time and that a commercial product could be coming within a decade.