"I want to go to war with China," said presidential hopeful Rick Santorum in a recent GOP debate, showing the cavernous lack of any good sense that has become his trademark. Nonetheless, Santorum was probably speaking for many Americans who fear that China may soon overtake the US as the world's single great power. By contrast, many of those same Americans probably think of … [Read more...]
Saudis still planning more nukes. Do they know something we don’t?
Despite the plans of major electricity users around the world to pull away from nuclear power after Fukushima, Saudi Arabia has announced that it's planning to start building power reactors at a breakneck pace. Why? "To reduce its reliance on polluting fossil fuels," according to Al Arabiya (via my friend Steve Knox). Peak oil is a state secret As the people who pump many … [Read more...]
Skeptics underwhelmed by Saudi oil Wikileak
After the UK Guardian broke the story last week that, according to a US diplomat, Saudi Arabia really has less oil to sell on the world market than they officially claim, the predictable rebuttals came in fast and furious. Saudis overreported reserves by 40% A leaked cable from the US consul in Riyadh laid out the case that the Saudis had overestimated their reserves by 40%, … [Read more...]
Sex, lies and peak oil
BOOK REVIEW Prelude: A Novel about Secrets, Treachery and the Arrival of Peak Oil By Kurt Cobb Public Interest Communications, 270 pp, $14.95 From Pilgrim's Progress to Uncle Tom's Cabin to Atlas Shrugged, writing the didactic novel has always been an exercise in sugaring the pill. Instead of crafting an essay to make a point straight out, the didactic novelist … [Read more...]