Congress issues Peak Oil resolution

peakoil.com -> thewatt.com -> thomas.loc.gov :

"... it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--"

(1) in order to keep energy costs affordable, curb our environmental impact, and safeguard economic prosperity, including our trade deficit, the United States must move rapidly to increase the productivity with which it uses fossil fuel, and to accelerate the transition to renewable fuels and a sustainable, clean energy economy; and

(2) the United States, in collaboration with other international allies, should establish an energy project with the magnitude, creativity, and sense of urgency of the 'Man on the Moon' project to develop a comprehensive plan to address the challenges presented by Peak Oil.

- So! The race is on to see which of the following happen first : 1. Peak Oil arriving, or 2. Americans consuming less fossil fuels. Cynics may want to mutter something at this point about snowballs in hell and flying pigs, but I'd say, let's give them some time and see what happens. If there has been anything positive about Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, it might be getting Americans to re-think their gas-guzzling habits.

This might turn out to be another "story arc" to follow - ie, the American government's official reaction to Peak Oil. Credit for the recent Congressional Peak Oil awareness is due to Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, see below -

(2005-10-31 15:37:29 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

Friday October 28, 2005

Six months

Six months today. That's how long I have now been with the current company, since the crash. It's been a usual workday, building the app, attempting to fix bugs, and such. Not that much different from any other workday. But it's a kind of personal milestone for me. It means that half a year has passed since the previous company "couldn't make it" and dropped the entire R&D team. Their operating phrase was "to let go" but it was the same as "retrenchment without benefits". So, in this way, Biow and I were "let go", along with the CTO, his wife, and the rest of the team including Gwun Wai and his brother.

You could say that I could have seen it coming, since one of the "story arcs" of this blog, and its predecessor, has been tracking the progress of "globalization", in particular the "race to the bottom". How the wage differential between Singaporeans and "you-know-who" has been over two times, and how that differential between Americans and "the-usual-suspects" has been over ten times. You could also tell from the difficulty they had getting new projects. The previous company directors have even told some of us in private about the desperate bidding wars that they encountered, how the companies have been undercutting each other to get the deals at any cost. Hell, you could even tell from the way they cut back in the kitchen/pantry (cheaper and cheaper biscuits, less and less drinks, and then finally, none at all). You know, you could perhaps check in the corporate pantry if you want to see how well a company is doing ...

Well, it's a little different now. The slight uptick in the economy in the earlier part of the year has created some jobs here and there, and I'd suppose I've been fortunate enough to have been able to secure one of these. Better pay, better prospects, and stock options to boot. At a company which is an established technological leader in its field, and recipient of contracts for projects in the hundred-million-dollar league.

The price? Vastly increased complexity. Much less margin for error. Being part of the military-industrial-complex. But I don't really mind the last bit, and the fact is, in the grand scheme of things it's a small role and it's not that they design missile guidance or some such. Actually, in light of the looming advent of peak oil and its various implications, I would *want* to be part of sectors that will do okay, at least medium-term-wise. These sectors might include government, military/defence, finance, logistics, healthcare/biotech, energy and resources.

Full circle? You could say that. I started my career (such as it is) in the military/defence sector. Cyberwarfare (blue team), firewalls and such. And now I'm back in this sector. For Biow, it's at least as interesting, she's now back in the same company that she first started work in. Again, finance sector too. Full circle as well.

What's ahead? Raising the family, continuing to work, paying down the debt, paying the bills, saving/investing the leftovers. And continuing to watch the horizon and beyond for anomalies that might spoil a good day. Well, if you've been following this blog at all, you know what I mean :)

(2005-10-28 19:20:34 SGT) [Musings] Permalink Comments [5]

ExxonMobil - no alternate energy plans

peakoil.com -> usatoday.com :

ExxonMobil, which stunned Americans on Thursday by reporting nearly $10 billion in profit for the third quarter, says it has no plans to invest any of those earnings in developing alternative or renewable energy — something other oil companies do.

The Sierra Club, an environmental group often critical of the auto and energy industries, said : "Americans want clean sources of energy that protect public health, reduce pollution, curb global warming, and save consumers money. Instead, ExxonMobil has worked to make America more dependent on oil."

Investments by oil companies in alternative and renewable fuel development are common, which makes Exxon's stance stand out. For instance Shell, which reported third-quarter earnings of $9.03 billion, up 68% from a year earlier, has a unit dedicated to solar and wind energy. It's called Shell Renewables, and the energy company considers it one of its five core business operations.

(2005-10-28 17:56:25 SGT) [Energy] Permalink Comments [1]

Thursday October 27, 2005

More Peak Oil on Time

time.com :

Time Magazine, October 31, 2005 Vol. 166 No. 18 :

1. How to Kick the Oil Habit (The Future of Energy) - as prices rise, the race for new energy sources - from wind farms to liquid coal - heats up. Get ready for the withdrawal symptoms.
2. How to Save $$$ Now
3. It's the End of Oil / Oil Is Here to Stay
4. How Green Can We Get?
5. 7 Cool New Ideas - Nature is awash with renewable, eco-friendly energy sources. Will they make economic sense?

(2005-10-27 13:49:34 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

"Peak Oil" to "Transition One"

energybulletin.net, by Dr. Ali Samsan Bakhtiari, National Iranian Oil Company Chief Advisor :

In my humble opinion, we should now have reached 'Peak Oil'. At present, global oil output fluctuates around 82 mb/d as some institutions try vainly to push 2005 statistics towards 83 and 84 mb/d. But they will be obliged to backtrack as 'actual' oil supplies fail to follow their 'paper' ones.

So that, in the 'Peak Oil' aftermath, we are about to enter what I call 'Transition One' [T1] - a rather bizarre phase akin to a vague 'no-man's-land' between still adequate oil supplies and the clear realization that demand has definitely left supply behind. Fortunately, the hidden advantage of 'T1' is that worldwide oil supplies will remain almost constant during this initial phase, allowing those with foresight, intelligence and agility to begin preparing for the next, more-turbulent phases: 'T2', 'T3' ...

(2005-10-27 13:44:04 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

GM subpoenaed in accounting probe

news.yahoo.com, reuters.com :

General Motors Corp. said it had been subpoenaed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as part of a probe into its accounting practices and other matters. It was the latest blow to the world's largest automaker, which is bleeding money and confronting its biggest financial crisis since a narrow brush with bankruptcy 13 years ago.

GM has said it could be on the hook for up to $12 billion in benefits at Delphi because of guarantees it offered when it spun its former parts arm off in 1999. Delphi filed the largest bankruptcy in U.S. automotive history earlier this month. GM, which has lost about $3.8 billion through the first nine months of 2005, said last week that it was exploring the possible sale of a majority stake in GMAC.

The issuance of a subpoena indicated that the SEC had upgraded its investigation into GM's pension accounting practices to a formal status from what had previously been described as an informal probe

(2005-10-27 13:36:35 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

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