NSIDC: Arctic sea ice extent for June 2008 is close to that for 2007, which went on to reach the lowest minimum since at least 1979. More notably, however, satellite data indicate that melt began significantly earlier than last year over most of the Arctic Ocean. The large area of... (read more)

As forecasters take that possibility more seriously, they describe fundamental shifts in the way we work, where we live and how we spend our free time. The more expensive oil gets, the more Katherine Carver's life shrinks. She's given up RV trips. She stays home most weekends. She's scrapped her twice-a-month... (read more)

Is The World About To Be Running On Empty? As evidence emerges of dwindling oil reserves, the price of crude hits $135 a barrel --- In France, fishermen are blockading oil refineries. In Britain, lorry drivers are planning a day of action. In the US, the car maker Ford is to cut production... (read more)

Energy Watchdog Warns Of Oil-Production Crunch IEA Official Says Supplies May Plateau Below Expected Demand By NEIL KING JR. and PETER FRITSCH May 22, 2008; Page A1 The world's premier energy monitor is preparing a sharp downward revision of its oil-supply forecast, a shift that reflects deepening pessimism over whether oil companies can keep abreast of booming... (read more)

Neil King Jr., Wall Street Journal Satellites Check Big Field's Health; Jitters Over Supply --- At a time of high anxiety over soaring fuel prices and scarce supplies, oil analysts are resorting to satellite imagery to crack one of the industry's biggest unknowns -- whether Saudi Arabia's massive Ghawar field is slipping into depleted old... (read more)

Australian David Holmgren, cooriginator of the Permaculture concept, has launched a new website exploring future scenarios in the context of climate change and peak oil. Site is still under construction but already has plenty of content. Lots to read, discuss and consider... Here is the link http://www.futurescenarios.org./... (read more)

"World Energy Outlook" (WEO) warns the International Energy Agency, the first being that there will be a fall in oil production and escalating prices could, in the period from now until 2015. Als Grund geben Sie an, dass zu wenig in die Ölförderung investiert wurde. The reason you indicate... (read more)

From: Mrs. Kim Bax, Cedar Vale, Logan, Qld To: cc list below Re: Planning for Peak Oil in Logan Contents & Link: About me . . . About Peak Oil . . . Queensland's Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation, Andrew McNamara MP, speaks out on Peak Oil . . . Why can't "Alternatives" replace... (read more)

Hi, everyone. My peak oil interview is now up on Living Green. In it, I discuss: * when peak oil is likely to occur * what specifically people should do to prepare * what I'm calling "The New Game for Humanity" * the role business can play in a post-peak economy * the Relocalize and Transition Towns... (read more)

[Ed - Abridged. See full original article via link at bottom] Photographer: Sverre Koxvold On the last day of the [Findhorn Foundation's Positive Energy] Conference, Richard Heinberg was warmly welcomed back for his second presentation. Last night he gave us 'Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines.' Now that... (read more)

Exerpts - “Transportation has the fastest growing carbon emissions of any economic sector and automobiles are largely to blame with more than 600 million passenger vehicles now cruising the world’s roads. ” “Today, the real task is … to create … a ‘people’s transport system.’ Addressing the climate crisis requires entirely new... (read more)

Exerpts and a little commentary - After explaining why we should expect energy costs to rise, Sean proposes that we "agree, for now, that energy prices, and particularly fossil fuels prices, will remain high into the foreseeable future." Then Sean writes about food issues -- "Petro-chemicals play a critical role... (read more)

In a letter dated February 11, 2008, U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein asked the U.S. Secretary of Energy to respond to the February, 2007 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO report had urged the Department of Energy to establish a federal strategy to assess the timing and... (read more)

Exerpts - "The seemingly limitless reserves of petroleum that fueled the past century’s exodus from the farm are about half gone. From here on, fossil fuels — and all the everyday essentials that depend on them, like transportation and food — will grow increasingly costly. Without some miraculous new energy source, muscle... (read more)

Interview with Melbourne Community Radio station - a link to the podcast of an interview I did on Transition Towns, Peak Oil, Community Education Centres etc etc. http://wonderfulworldmedia.net/?p=137... (read more)

Shell chief fears oil shortage in seven years Carl Mortished, UK Times World demand for oil and gas will outstrip supply within seven years, according to Royal Dutch Shell. The oil multinational is predicting that conventional supplies will not keep pace with soaring population growth and the rapid pace of economic development. Jeroen van... (read more)

Exerpts - “A special investigative report by London’s Financial Times revealed that, ‘Companies and individuals rushing to go green have been spending millions on carbon credit projects that yield few, if any, environmental benefits. Some organizations are paying for emissions reductions that don’t take place. Others are making big profits from... (read more)

Exerpts - "According to the most recent report of the Intergovernmental Report on Climate Change (IPCC), the European experience with carbon taxes shows that it sometimes has a beneficial impact initially, but that this effect does not last. That is, people get used to paying the higher prices and go right... (read more)

Unbelievably, the Bush Administration removed the section recommending an electrified U.S. rail system in the National Surface Transportation Planning Commission's recently released report. If he believes we are addicted to oil, why would he not consider enhanced rail as a partial solution? The Commission Chairman acknowledged that, "In a 21st century... (read more)

"[U.S. government] and big U.S. banks beg for help from the oil barons " "[The U.S. government] has been doing some fast talking in the court of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, imploring His Majesty to boost oil [outputs and exports] to so that gas prices for U.S. consumers can come down... (read more)

Counterpunch - "Putting the Breaks on Sprawl: A Subprime Wake Up Call"   Exerpts - "If there is a silver lining in the sharp contraction of housing markets across the [U.S.], it is the impetus to reform a model for economic growth -- suburban sprawl -- that is fundamentally flawed." "Those who benefited... (read more)

The Story of Stuff, premiered at the IGF Triple Threat Teach-In at American University in Washington, DC as an 18 minute presentation on the connection between consumerism and environmental degradation. Ann Leonard introduced the film by saying that it wasn't often that she would shut up and sit down for... (read more)

Edmonton Journal - "Canada missing golden opportunity in Bali" Exerpts - "Canada has moved from being a quiet climate failure on the margins of multilateral negotiations to a roadblock to international progress." "Canada has been and continues to be amongst the worst per capita contributors to climate change in the world. With only... (read more)

QUEENSLANDERS are the highest producers of greenhouse gas in the world, emitting 38.9 tonnes per person every year – nearly 11 tonnes more than the Australian average, a first-ever audit has found. The audit, undertaken by the Wet Tropics Management Authority between Cooktown and Cardwell, offers stark warning about the threats... (read more)

The Boston Globe - "China’s Not Alone in Environmental Crisis" Exerpts - China is a "country choking on its own 'success,' now producing over 20 percent of global greenhouse gases" "The West has worked long and hard to transform China into what it is today: an industrial platform for the world where some... (read more)