The magazine on peak oil and the Transition movement
After I saw Matt Damon and John Krasinski's new fracking drama Promised Land, I couldn't help but compare it to the slew of trite pieces trotted out during the previews. There was the typical wedding family hijinks RomCom; the take-no-prisoners gangster-fest; the scorched-earth-meets-futuristic-savior piece; and some picture about a lovable psychotic redeemed by a chick. Guilty pleasures, all (for somebody). And all committed to film using no small amount of fossil fuel … [Read more...]
Mohandas Gandhi may or may not have said, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." But it's become a truism among activists that, after years of playing to an empty house, it's actually a sign of progress when the rotten tomatoes start to fly. For a long time, people in the peak oil community complained that both government and media didn't pay any attention to the issue of energy supply. Well, they can't complain about THAT anymore, with all the … [Read more...]
A rush to drill is sweeping the United States. Across the country, the oil and gas industry is surging into new areas as quickly and cheaply as possible. And they have been using techniques like hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) long before we fully understand the extent of the negative impacts on the health of the local people, communities, water, air, climate, and other critical resources. Landowners and communities are struggling to cope: Existing laws are outdated and … [Read more...]
With the sudden collapse of the Qaddafi regime in Tripoli, the oil industry is hoping it can repair enough of Libya’s damaged export terminals, pumping stations and pipelines to get as much as one million barrels a day of oil flowing into the market within the next six to 12 months. But as I have argued before in this blog, regime change in the Middle East has seldom been bullish for energy exports. If you want a recent example from the Arab Spring, just ask the Israelis or the … [Read more...]
When Gasland was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary feature in January, the natural gas drillers were furious. "While it's unfortunate there isn't an Oscar category for propaganda, this nomination is fitting, as the Oscars are aimed at praising pure entertainment among Hollywood's elite," executive director Lee Fuller of industry group Energy In Depth said in a statement. "Without doubt, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated 'Gasland' for its work in the field … [Read more...]
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