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Nature as Measure: The Selected Essays of Wes Jackson
Blog post
'Peak Oil' Denial is a Waste of Energy
Posted Aug 26, 2009 by Chris Martenson
[On August 24th the New York Times published an op-ed ‘Peak Oil’ Is a Waste of Energy by Michael Lynch. This commentary is in response to that piece.]
First, I am disheartened to see that an opinion piece in the NYT was permitted to contain blatant errors. One example is that the first energy crisis was geopolitical, not geological, and that was well known at the time. Another is that I have not yet read even *one* estimate of "10 trillion barrels of oil" let alone detected that a consensus exists at that level among geologists. It is overstated by a significant factor.
So this opinion piece suffers from some really poor quality control throughout. But in terms of comprehension, it suffers even more greatly.
The prime issue is not how much hydrocarbon energy is out there, but what it costs us in terms of energy to get it. It is surplus energy, the excess of that returned over that used to obtain it, that allows our rich and complex society to exist. In short, *net* energy is everything.
On this basis, every recent find, from the 28,000 foot deep "mega-find" in Brazil to the low-flow bottle brush wells in the Bakken Shale formation, suffer terribly in comparison to the finds of yesteryear.
Mr. Lynch's argument is akin to someone down to their last rations of food being told everything is just fine because there's a bit more 14,000 feet up a nearby mountain.
But this concept has been around long enough, and is well enough characterized, that someone of Mr. Lynch's caliber should "get it." I often wonder about the basis for such intellectual oversights.
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it." - Upton Sinclair
If anyone is interested in seeing the actual data on the energy situation, plus a romp through the net energy argument, in short-video format, I offer these for free at my website in Chapters 17,a,b,c in the Crash Course.
Or you can visit theoildrum for a continuous daily diet of hard facts, open dialog, and honest inquiry.
But make no mistake, one should not consume the "facts" slung about in Mr. Lynch's opinion piece without first carefully scrubbing them under clean, running water for 10 minutes and then microwaving them on high for 15 minutes.
Get The End of Growth http://www.postcarbon.org/eog | Watch the animation Who Killed Economic Growth? http://bit.ly/whokilledgrowth
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Reader Comments
2 comments
media denial is rampant
From: Mark Robinowitz, Aug 31, 2009 01:58 PM
Mr. Lynch was used by the leftist, alternative "Democracy Now!" to allegedly balance Post Carbon founder Julian Darley when they had a debate about Peak Oil the one (and only) time that DN! had a show about oil depletion.
a link is at http://www.oilempire.us/democracy-now.html
If there was widespread understanding of the natural limits to endless growth on a finite planet, people might scale back their consumerism or demand that the governments change their budgetary priorities. Curious how there is so little awareness or opposition to the Obama administration's plans for a new half trillion dollar transportation bill that is mostly dedicated to highway expansion -- not a great way to prepare for oil depletion.
The mainstream and "alternative" media are mostly united in ignoring the underlying realities of Peak Oil, since that awareness would make business as usual much more difficult to continue.
And this denial is echoed by most of the "environmental" groups, who have avoided including issues of depletion into their advocacy. Few groups focused on climate change also mention the interconnected problems of peak oil, and how they have to be addressed together.
http://www.oilempire.us/triple-crisis.html
Triple Crisis: Peak Oil, Climate Change, Overshoot
Reading The New York Times is a waste of energy!
From: bootlegger, Aug 27, 2009 10:55 PM
Well said Chris, time will prove those in denial wrong and end the big auto/oil supported orgy of "mainstream media" soon enough. After the auto and oil industries cease to exist and all those in denial can't find gas and enough money to keep their "Happy Motoring" lifestyles going, we "who see the truth" can welcome those millions and millions to reality with a extended hand, a shovel and maybe a bicycle!