media

Having a non-boring job that doesn’t allow my mind to wander during the day has significantly cut into the time I have to think of items about which to post. I’m still searching for balance (aren’t we all!), but rest assured I fully intend to restore this blog to its former glory...or at least, to the quality it was before the move.

The events in the world of energy over the last few months deserve some comment, as the situation has gone wildly out of control since I last wrote about it. You all know the numbers -- oil at record highs, gas at record highs -- and the boundless rhetoric as to the causes. Is it speculators, OPEC, the oil companies, supply constraints (i.e. Peak Oil), or something else? Honestly, we don’t know, but that’s the whole damn point -- we just don’t know if we hit production limits yet.

"Blue Girl, Red State" discussed the principle of anonymous blogging the other day (actually pseudonymous blogging as she explains in her follow-up post), citing some very good reasons for avoiding self-exposure:

I don’t write behind a pseudonym because I am embarrassed by my opinions. I use a pseudonym because I have tangled with the rabid right before. They are scary. They use a form of terrorism to try to silence their opposition. They send fake anthrax to Keith Olberman, and mutilated dolls to the young daughters of pro-choice politicians and healthcare workers who work in reproductive medicine. Tech blogger Kathy Sierra received so many death-threats that she was forced to cancel a keynote speech at a tech convention and go into seclusion. Doctors who provide abortions get gunned down. Remember that a Liberty University student was arrested for making pipe bombs to use against anti-Falwell protesters at his funeral. I find all protests of funerals outrageous, but the first place this kids mind went was to make a few pipe bombs and just go violent right out of the gate.

We are not talking about sane people with whom you can reason.

While PeakOilDesign in general stays away from politics, the topics here challenge most people's ideologies -- which can bring out the same psychopathic behavior Blue Girl describes. It is for those reasons, and the fact that the powers-that-be probably don't like having one of their own discussing some of the country's most sensitive issues, that I use my nom-de-plume. I may choose to publish my name in the future (particularly if I leave government service), but for now it feels much safer that I remain unknown. Of course, if you find the material I contribute useful and credible, hopefully knowing my real name should make little difference to you. :)

MSNBC has put out a call to the public called "Gut Check America", calling for people to submit entries for the most important issues affecting our lives as we approach the 2008 elections. This seems like a prime opportunity for spreading the word on Peak Oil. While it may not pass through the MSNBC censors to reach the ears of the public, we might at least lodge the idea in the back of a media person's mind. I have little faith in the mainstream media breaking ground on this issue, but they might be prompted to do so if fuel prices continue their increase.

Of course, the more people who submit concerns about Peak Oil, the greater chance we have of being heard. I submitted my entry explaining why a peak in oil production could be a problem, why I think it could happen, and what we could do about it. I encourage everyone to do the same!

Recently I attended a screening of “The End of Suburbia” here in Florida and was invited to say a few words after the film played. The experience was very positive for me and, hopefully, helpful for those in attendance. I learned where I need to focus my message (upcoming in Part II of this post) and how to treat the “End of Suburbia” film.

Albeit far too late, Peak Oil is starting to infiltrate wider audiences, starting with the most rational and science-focused. LiveScience posted an article today entitled Oil Production Could Peak Next Year which gives the specifics of Peak Oil in clear, if understated, language. From the article:

Global oil production will peak sometime between next year and 2018 and then decline, according to a controversial new model developed by a Swedish physicist.

Since 1956, when American geophysicist M. King Hubbert correctly predicted that U.S. oil reserves would hit a peak within 20 years, experts have debated when the same might occur globally. Some oil companies and consultancy firms such as Cambridge Energy Research Associates speculate that oil will peak sometime after 2020, but a number of oil geologists and executives predict it will happen much sooner.

And once production starts declining, there could be major supply problems, analysts say, especially when it comes to transportation—cars, aircraft, trains and boats are today without a ready alternative to petroleum-based liquid fuels.

Reaction to the latest prediction is as polarized as the debate has been on this issue for decades.

To be certain, it is not NASA’s finest hour when one of our most heroic members is caught in an act of befuddling behavior more fit for a Jerry Springer show. The fact that such a story can garner more press than the routing of NASA’s budget on the very same day is positively infuriating.

The major American media outlets don’t even pretend to try anymore. They want their stories handed to them in unchallenged press releases, one-source rants, and i-Reports. The media has turned itself into nothing more than a third-rate connoisseur of A la carte News.

I imagine an exchange in Potential News Restaurant going something like this: