Robert Newman: It's capitalism or a habitable planet - you can't have both
We are caught between the Scylla and Charybdis of climate change and peak oil. Once we pass the planetary oil production spike (when oil begins rapidly to deplete and demand outstrips supply), there will be less and less net energy available to humankind. Petroleum geologists reckon we will pass the world oil spike sometime between 2006 and 2010. It will take, argues peak-oil expert Richard Heinberg, a second world war effort if many of us are to come through this epoch. Not least because modern agribusiness puts hundreds of calories of fossil-fuel energy into the fields for each calorie of food energy produced.


7 Comments:

On February 02, 2006 11:36 AM, Anonymous Luis Enrique said...

Fear not, technology will* save us! (helped by the oil price rises) do you ever look at "the world is changing" blog? have a gander.

There is an awful lot of money being spent on renewable energy (check out New Energy Finance) and necessity is the mother of invention. Cheer up!

* might  


On February 02, 2006 11:38 AM, Anonymous Luis Enrique said...

should have provided a link:

http://www.worldchanging.com/  


On February 02, 2006 11:45 AM, Blogger Peter Gasston said...

He talks about this in more detail in his excellent live show. If it's still on, you really should try and catch it.  


On February 02, 2006 12:04 PM, Blogger Friendly Fire said...

Justin, get with the news, Sol Campbell is depressed and Souness got his P45. Also the greatest ever profits made by a UK company were announced today by Shell.

Peak Oil?????? /snark off

You can now understand why Iran want to protect their resources.  


On February 02, 2006 12:12 PM, Blogger Tim Worstall said...

Hunh? You’re taking these delusional ravings seriously?

BTW, "Technology will save us". Of course it will. The argument is over which not whether. Newman thinks that that of medieval peasantry will, others think more modern ones will.  


On February 03, 2006 12:19 AM, Anonymous Chris Applegate said...

Tim's notion of "which" is more correct than he probably intends - it isn't just a question of which technology will save us, but also which of us will be saved by technology.  


On February 03, 2006 11:37 AM, Anonymous Katherine said...

Why "will" Tim? It's not exactly without precedent for civilisations to fail is it? You seem to have faith that technology will provide, but there is no certainty at all. You might find a recent book by Jared Diamond interesting:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140279512/qid=1138966087/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_3_1/203-7998284-0128758  


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