Peak Oil is starting to be understood across a broad spectrum, but the direct connection between peak oil, climate change and the American market-led attempt to squeeze all energy out of Alberta cannot be overstated. The smaller the global supply of oil gets, the more CO2 has been emitted and the more climate change will have advanced. This leads to more interest in the tar sands—because the profit margin goes ever higher the fewer alternatives there are for petroleum. Without Peak Oil bearing down on humanity, no economical reason would exist to produce this energy intensive, low-output petrol.
Oil prices hit 114 dollars a barrel
5 hours ago
Crude oil prices rose to a new record above 114 US dollars a barrel as investors opted for commodities over a weaker dollar.
Light, sweet crude for May delivery reached 114.53 dollars in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange before falling back slightly.
The latest spike followed on from Tuesday's record-breaking run above the 113-dollar mark.
Enbridge gets approval to expand oil pipeline
Apr 16, 2008 04:30 AM
Enbridge Inc., Canada's largest pipeline company, has received regulatory approval to expand an existing oil pipeline in Alberta to reduce the chance of a bottleneck as tar-sands output rises.
The expansion's capacity will be 880,000 barrels a day, Canada's National Energy Board said yesterday in a written decision on the agency's website. Attached to the approval were 15 conditions, including a requirement to file an environmental protection plan before starting work.
Georgia Straight April 3, 2008
The coming food catastrophe
By Gwynne Dyer
This is the new face of hunger, said Josette Sheeran, executive
director of the UNs World Food Programme, launching an appeal for an
extra $500 million so it could continue supplying food aid to 73 million
hungry people this year. People are simply being priced out of food
marketsWe have never before had a situation where aggressive rises in
food prices keep pricing our operations out of our reach.
The Peak Oil Crisis: Load shedding
by Tom Whipple
Fall Church News-Press (March 27 2008)
Largely unnoticed in America are the increasingly frequent electricity
shortages developing around the world.
Many of these are caused by shifting weather patterns that are leaving
hydro-electric dams with insufficient water to produce at full capacity.
While some aspects of global climate change are temporary, many, such as
the melting of glaciers, seem destined to last for decades, or perhaps
centuries, thereby depriving the world of some of the best sources of
Oil peak theorist warns of chaos, war
SHAWN McCARTHY
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
WASHINGTON — Matt Simmons sounds the alarm like the Cassandra of the
oil industry, warning that crude production has peaked and that
looming energy shortages could derail global growth and even spark
armed conflict.
As a prominent “peak oil” theorist, the veteran oil industry financier
paints a grim picture of a world facing resource scarcity. Still, it
doesn't take a “peak-ist” to conclude that the global oil producers
Iraq War
Five years of war in Iraq have hit home in Edmonton
DAVID BERRY / david@vueweekly.com
The further we get away from the actual date, the better Canada’s decision to not get involved with the US invasion of Iraq looks. Five years after the US launched its ill-conceived assault on the Middle Eastern nation, there aren’t many—except perhaps those in the highest offices of the American government—who consider the situation anything but a quagmire.
Oil-shale 'rush' is sparking concern
By Stephen Speckman
Deseret Morning News
Published: Saturday, March 22, 2008
With oil prices surpassing $100 per barrel, talk of extracting the black gold wherever it can be found in Utah and elsewhere is raising red flags for environmental groups.
The most recent complaint came this week from 26 conservation groups that accuse the Bush administration of rushing to develop oil shale and tar sands and endangering communities and 2 million acres of wild lands in three states, including Utah.
Peak Oil May Worsen the Climate Crisis
April 02, 2008 10:45 AM ET | Marianne Lavelle
It's hard to know whether we should be more worried that consuming oil is killing the planet or that there's way too little of this killer oil left.
Taking a bet on oil sands
WITH crude oil hitting a record price of US$108 per barrel recently, the search for oil and gas has been more intense than ever due to its high profit margin.
In recent years, investing in the extraction of oil from sand or oil sands is gaining popularity because of the strong demand and high prices of oil.
Don't let our country sink into this stuff
By WAYNE MADSEN
Special to McClatchy-Tribune
WASHINGTON -- Anything that allows America to continue its narcotic-like dependence on carbon fossil fuels -- whether the sprawling tar sands of Canada or the petroleum pools under Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- misses the point about shifting to alternative energy.
Alternative sources should be real energy alternatives such as wind, solar and geothermal power rather than alternative fossil fuel sources that often give off more greenhouse gases than conventional crude oil.
