Brad Plumer at the Washington Post interviewed me about my views on peak oil. He did a nice job of editing down a long interview into a pithy transcript, and used a few charts by my friend Gregor Macdonald from his Peak Fish site.

Read it here: Peak oil isn’t dead: An interview with Chris Nelder

I appeared as a guest today on Warren Olney’s radio show “To The Point,” which is syndicated on Public Radio International (PRI). We discussed why gasoline prices are so high right now, in which I referred to my column this week, “America’s oil choice: Pay up, or get off.”

To listen to my short segment, go here: To The Point, February 21, 2013, and click the Listen button. Then in the new window, at the bottom of the main frame under the title “Can We Map The Brain?” click the box labeled “Is $4 Ga…”

I was interviewed last week by Susan Phillips for a show about the new “energy independence” meme, featured on NPR affiliate WHYY in Philadelphia. You can read her article and listen to the show here:

Energy independence more rhetoric than reality

I made a guest appearance on the Extraenvironmentalist podcast this week, to talk about how the oil and gas industry works, peak oil, and my larger vision of the future of energy and energy transition. My friend Gregor Macdonald was also featured on the show.

I’ve been a big fan of this podcast for quite some time now, with its “doom without the gloom” focus. They really zero in on the important subjects and the best thinkers and writers on them, with excellent production values. (They also make some really fun “mixtapes” of hip music and clips from great speakers of the past.) The hosts are Justin Ritchie, who is finishing his Masters degree in nanotechnology materials engineering at the University of British Columbia and headed for a PhD in resource management and environmental systems, and Seth Moser-Katz, a multimedia journalist who works at Duke University in Chapel Hill, NC.  These guys really show how the current generation of university students are far more tuned in to our challenges and coming to grips with them in a fearless, clear-eyed way than older generations are, without losing their optimism or sense of humor. (Don’t miss their faux 6-Hour Energy commercial at the end of this episode.) If there is hope for our future, it’s in the hands of  people like them. In addition to the Twitter accounts of the hosts, linked above, you can follow the Twitter account for the show at xenvironmental.

I encourage you to fire up this podcast and check it out, along with their archive of past episodes. (If the inline player quits halfway on you, as it did for me, try downloading it or listening to it on iTunes.) It’s here:  Extraenvironmentalist Episode #47: Power Transition

I appeared on the Financial Sense with Jim Puplava program today, to discuss the influence of spare capacity and speculators on oil prices; recent reports from the IEA and EIA; the shifting of global oil demand from West to East; and the role of unconventional fuels.

You can download the show (26 mins) here: RealPlayer | WinAmp | Windows Media | MP3

Related articles that came up in the discussion:

Scoring the rhetoric on Obama’s energy policies

Oil demand shift: Asia takes over

A model of oil prices

The cost of new oil supply

I appeared as a guest today on Warren Olney’s radio show, To The Point, which is syndicated on Public Radio International (PRI). Other guests included Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute, and Neil King, veteran energy journalist for the Wall Street Journal. We discussed gasoline prices and how President Obama’s energy policies do and do not affect domestic U.S. oil and gas production. I referred to some of the facts in my column today, “Scoring the rhetoric on Obama’s energy policies.”

Our segment starts at 7:15 and runs for about 45 minutes. I thought it was a remarkably informative and useful panel discussion overall, and I hope you’ll check it out. Listen to it here: To The Point, March 21, 2012 (click the Listen button).

I was interviewed for a recent article in Media Matters about the poor reportage on gasoline prices. Their energy reporter Jocelyn Fong had liked my article “Why energy journalism is so bad” and wanted to make sure she did her homework and got the story right. I think she did a great job. Read it here:  What Reporters Are Getting Wrong About Gas Prices

I appeared on the Financial Sense with Jim Puplava program last Friday, in a segment they titled “Political Stand-off in US Energy Policy.” We discussed energy security, the vulnerability of island nations to liquid fuel supply, the Keystone XL pipeline, the Left-Right stalemate over energy policy, the failure of our leadership to grapple with energy and transportation transitions, the “narrow ledge” of oil prices, and how oil has effectively replaced the Fed as the primary moderator of the economy.

You can download the show (21 mins) here: RealPlayer | WinAmp | Windows Media | MP3

See also: 

Energy politics at the piano bar

Reframing the transportation debate

The narrow ledge of oil prices

Have we reached an inflection point in economics history?

(more…)

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.