The Oil Price Crash of 2014
Richard Heinberg, Post Carbon Institute
Oil prices have fallen by half since late June. This is a significant development for the oil industry and for the global economy, though no one knows exactly how either the industry or the economy will respond in the long run. Since it’s almost the end of the year, perhaps this is a good time to stop and ask: (1) Why is this happening? (2) Who wins and who loses over the short term?, and (3) What will be the impacts on oil production in 2015?
Déjà Vu All Over Again
John Michael Greer, The Archdruid Report
The blogosphere is full of claims that the Saudis crashed the price of oil to break the US fracking industry, or that Obama got the Saudis to crash the price of oil to punish the Russians, or what have you. I suspect that what’s going on is considerably more important. To start with, oil isn’t the only thing that’s in steep decline.
Who Will Get Caught When The Oil Debt Bubble Pops?
Christopher Helman, Forbes Magazine
America’s oil and gas boom was enabled by a huge pile of cheap financing. The mountain of debt advanced to drillers in recent years is estimated to be in the neighborhood of $500 billion. But now, with oil prices half what they were six months ago, there’s tremors in that debt mountain, and concerns that an avalanche could quickly take out the weakest oil companies, which simply won’t be able to generate sufficient revenues to service their debt.
North Sea oilfields ‘near collapse’ after price nosedive
The Telegraph, UK
The North Sea oil industry is “close to collapse”, an expert has warned, as a slump in prices piles pressure on drillers to cut back investing in the region. Robin Allan, chairman of the independent explorers’ association Brindex, told the BBC that it is “almost impossible to make money” with the oil price below $60 per barrel.
Carbon-dioxide emissions at all-time high in 2013
The Hindu
Global carbon-dioxide emissions from burning of fossil fuels and production of cement reached a high of 35.3 billion tonnes in 2013, mainly due to the continuing steady increase in energy use in emerging economies such as India, a new report says. Brazil (6.2 per cent), India (4.4 per cent), China (4.2 per cent) and Indonesia (2.3 per cent) reported a sharp rise in emissions of the greenhouse gas that year. (View report: Trends in Global CO2 Emissions)
Loss of rainforests is double whammy threat to climate
Climate News Network
New research spells out the devastating impacts that complete destruction of tropical forests would have on global temperatures, weather patterns and agriculture. In what is claimed as the most comprehensive analysis to date, US researchers report in Nature Climate Change that they used climate models to test the consequences of the complete devastation of the tropical rainforests.
An Open Letter on Climate Change to The Minister for Environment
Shankar Sharma, Frontier Weekly
“Many expert observers of the Climate Change initiatives in India are of the unambiguous opinion that we, as a nation, lack the urgency and commitment needed to objectively address the related issues. NAPCC is seen as neither adequate nor focused enough to bring about the essential changes in our approach to the developmental thinking and processes.”
US Families Prepare For ‘Modern Day Apocalypse’
Sky News
From the outside America may seem to be a land of endless optimism and confidence. But could it be in danger of falling apart? An increasing number of Americans seem to think so, and they’re preparing for the end. They call themselves preppers. Mainstream suburban Americans hoarding supplies and weapons while leading otherwise perfectly normal lives. (Also read: The Doomsday Preppers of New York)
Posted by Peak Oil India in Climate Change, Collapse, India, News, Peak Oil and tagged carbon emissions, Climate Change, India, John Michael Greer, oil prices, peak oil, Prakash Javadekar, preppers, rainforests, Richard Heinberg, shale oil