For SmartPlanet this week, I responded to a reader asking how to prepare herself for an age of declining and increasingly unaffordable oil.
Read it here: 10 ways to get ready for the end of oil
For SmartPlanet this week, I discussed how most official forecasts project anywhere from 8.3 billion to 10.9 billion people on the planet by 2050, while resource-based models suggest the planet’s capacity will be far less. Exploring the charts from various models, I show how fertility rates, policy choices, and the remaining endowment of global oil could determine the curve of global population through the rest of this century. The actual population in 2050 might not be much more than it is today — and could be considerably less.
Read it here: The 21st century population crash
For Greentech Media this week, I reported from the Energy in Western Australia conference, where a capacity market for grid power has resulted in excess capacity and high prices even as rooftop solar power is growing rapidly. The experience of Western Australia offers a cautionary tale for markets like Texas, which are currently eyeing capacity markets as a way to provide sufficient power generation capacity in the future at lower than spot market prices.
