This is probably not news to anyone at this point, but the Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released probably the most mainstream discussion of the implications of peak oil ever:
Uncertainty about Future Oil Supply Makes It Important to Develop a Strategy for Addressing a Peak and Decline in Oil Production (1.1 meg PDF warning)
I will address this a bit tomorrow, but I know some ethanol boosters aren’t going to be happy with this claim from the first page:
For example, although corn ethanol production is technically feasible, it is more expensive to produce than gasoline and will require costly investments in infrastructure, such as pipelines and storage tanks, before it can become widely available as a primary fuel.
Lots of places are covering this story, including The Oil Drum, Energy Bulletin, and the Wall Street Journal’s Energy Roundup. I will highlight some excerpts after I have a bit more time to digest it. Even if you don’t accept a peak in oil production any time soon, the report emphasizes the danger of being so dependent upon Mideast oil. But I have also read reactions today that border on hysteria. I will sleep on it, and pick out what I think are the key issues tomorrow. Feel free to post your own excerpts or comments for now.
Yeah. I’d be reconsidering whether the Oil Drum, Energy Bulletin, and WSJ Energy Roundup are really where you want to be spending your time.
The WSJ is particularly suspect. I like Masood Farivar. He seems smart enough. But the Editor seems a little cozy with your boss, Goose.
Plus – you get so much shit from the hoi polloi on TOD, I don’t know why you bother.
Do like Tom Ford did. Go Solo. You are ten times more talented than the entire peak-oil crowd combined.
I’m not sure Shell understands what they’ve got with you. Oh, wait,… maybe they do.
Fuck Westexas