Interview with Financial Sense September 16, 2011
I appeared on the Financial Sense with Jim Puplava program today, to discuss a report from the German military (Bundeswehr) on peak oil, and the risks it poses to German security, society, and the economy. The original report was released in November 2010, but only recently translated into English. This report (“Armed Forces, Capabilities and Technologies in the 21st Century / Environmental Dimensions of Security / Sub-study 1 / Peak Oil / Security policy implications of scarce resources”) joins a long list of studies on peak oil published by various military organizations around the world, helpfully compiled by Rick Munroe at Energy Bulletin.
We also discussed David Strahan’s observations on the lack of progress being made in the UK on crafting peak oil policy, and Jim’s observation that oil prices have taken the place of monetary policy and federal funds rates in moderating the economy, which I think is a very astute observation.
You can download the show (15 mins) here: RealPlayer | WinAmp | Windows Media | MP3
Good summary of the report. I discovered the english translation about a month ago, just surfing the Bundewehr site, remarkable it hasn´t revceived more attention but then again maybe no so strange. Denial and postponing energy decisions needed now to the future seems to be the thinking.
Comment by Johan Landgren — September 18, 2011 @ 10:20 am
Hey Chris,
Excellent interview. I enjoyed it. I’ve been following you on Twitter for awhile. It finally dawned on me to click to your website. It’s great.
Our current infrastructure was built by and for oil. What happens when it’s not cheap and plentiful anymore? We’re going to find out sooner or later.
In addition to being out of “gas”, we’ll also have to deal with “infrastructure momentum”. In many ways, our civilization was built by and for OIL. Now that were past peak (likely)and the crisis is upon us, the politicians finally wake up – 20 years too late. For example, how well do you think the suburbs of Phoenix are going to work without cheap gas and cars? A lot of our cities and towns are going to feel like heroin addicts with no fix in sight. That’s not going to be easy.
Fossil fuels are wrecking the planet in many ways, too. There’s a shit-load of CO2 getting pumped into our atmosphere and every day there is less forest left to absorb it.
Coal is dirty. Oil is dirty. They pollute our air. This is not healthy for us or the ecosystem.
However, the planet cannot support 9 billion people (2050 estimate) without oil, at least in the short term. Without the energy from fossil fuels a lot of people are going to suffer. This is not some Malthusian delusion. Oil is used in planting, harvesting, and transporting almost all foodstuffs, not to mention its use in fertilizer and insecticides. I’m not necessarily a big fan of industrial agriculture, but it is feeding a lot of people. Nevertheless, it can’t run without oil.
As far as peak oil is concerned, I think we’re probably past peak already. Despite this, no one really has a plan for what to do when less oil is available with each passing year. As they say, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. (Epic fail alert, epic fail alert, epic fail alert!)
We fight too much over the stuff. A lot of wars are fought for oil. I’ll leave it up to you to decide which ones. Countries that are dependent on oil will fight over it as supplies dwindle.
Could be a pretty nasty ride down the far side of Hubbert’s curve.
Comment by prepster411 — September 29, 2011 @ 3:33 pm
Cheers, Prepster. I concur entirely, as you’ll see if you search the archives here. You might also want to have a gander at my book, Profit from the Peak
Comment by Chris — September 29, 2011 @ 3:37 pm