Sunday July 31, 2005

The Hirsch Report

energybulletin.net :

Over the past few months controversy has raged over the timing of Peak Oil - the moment when global oil production will reach its all-time maximum and begin its inevitable descent. Evidently the US Department of Energy is interested enough in the Peak-Oil debate to commission a report on the subject. Released in February this year by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), and titled "Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation and Risk Management," the report examines the likely consequences of the impending global peak. It was authored principally by Robert L. Hirsch ... and is as remarkable for its subsequent reception as for its content.

... here, then, is a significant report produced by an independent research company for the US Department of Energy, warning of a global problem of "unprecedented" proportions with economic, social, and political impacts that are likely to be extremely severe. The authors forecast "protracted economic hardship" for the United States and the rest of the world. It is a problem that deserves "immediate, serious attention."

Yet, half a year after its release, the Hirsch report is nowhere to be found. For several months it was archived, in PDF format, on a high school web site ... on July 7 the report disappeared from that site. The Atlantic Council (www.acus.org) is considering publishing the Hirsch report; however there is no projected date of release. When contacted, Dr. Hirsch replied that the document is "a public report, paid for and released by DOE NETL, and that it therefore could be reposted at will."

Project Censored is therefore posting the report in full at:
www.projectcensored.org/newsflash/The_Hirsch_Report_Proj_Cens.pdf

- Hmm, I wonder. Shades of Orwell ("Oceania was at war with Eurasia: therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia"), or shades of Murphy ("Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence")?

(2005-07-31 12:23:21 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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