I appeared on the Financial Sense with Jim Pupalava program today to discuss several new reports and warnings about a near-term peak in oil production, the criminal lack of policy response to the threat in the U.S., and the developing oil export crisis.

You can download the show (1 hour) here:

RealPlayer | WinAmp | Windows Media | MP3

My segment begins at 31:00.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to do a freewheeling, videotaped chat with StockTwits founder Howard Lindzon on the present and future realities of energy. It was a lot more casual and conversational than any previous media appearances I’ve done  (at 10:30 PM with a glass of Scotch in hand), so it was more fun, if less professional.

Topics included peak oil, the end of economic growth, reversing globalization, oil prices, alternatives, and lots of other topics. View the video (25 minutes) below the fold.

(more…)

By special request, my column for Green Chip Stocks last week was a letter to Congress on behalf of the American people, asking for a real energy plan.
(more…)

For Energy and Capital last week, I explained why the “peak demand” argument is a good one–but not for the nice reasons.
(more…)

For last week’s Green Chip Stocks, I took a critical look at the new Bloom Box fuel cell system, and concluded that it’s a modest improvement over standard natural gas-fired grid power.
(more…)

For last week’s Energy and Capital, I drew some lessons from the world’s most beloved sport about how to formulate good energy policy.
(more…)

For last week’s Green Chip Stocks, I outlined some of the pieces falling into place, particularly in the area of financing, that are setting the stage for an explosion of distributed rooftop solar in the U.S.
(more…)

For last week’s Green Chip Stocks, I marked the moment when public sentiment tipped away from fossil fuels and toward green energy.
(more…)

For Energy and Capital last week, I pondered resistance, resilience, and rebellion as survival strategies in light of the Haiti earthquake and the recent brutal storm system that pounded my area.
(more…)

For Green Chip Stocks last week, I considered secession as a useful strategy toward relocalizing communities.
(more…)

I appeared on the Financial Sense program today and discussed my article on investment themes for the next decade, the error in U.S.-centric views on commodities, the reasons for volatile oil prices, why socialist countries are so far ahead of the U.S. in their energy planning, and why local communities are wise to take control of their own futures in energy, water, and food–what Matt Simmons calls “BIMBYism,” or Build In My Backyard.

You can download the show (1 hour) here: RealPlayer | WinAmp | Windows Media | MP3

My segment begins at 43:53.

For Energy and Capital last week, I offered a travelogue of my Christmas drive through the American Southwest, and mused on how it will manage the transition to a renewably powered, localized future.
(more…)

For Green Chip Stocks last week, I continued my two-part series on investment themes for the next decade, including my predictions for oil, natural gas, coal, renewables, uranium, efficiency, water, and agriculture.
(more…)

For Energy and Capital last week, I offered some big-picture energy investment themes for the next decade. Part 1 of a two-part series.
(more…)

For last week’s Green Chip Stocks, I critiqued the 2010 Annual Energy Outlook from the EIA, and wondered what it would look like if it were written by an honest person.
(more…)

For last week’s Energy and Capital, I critiqued an America in thrall to its illusions, unable to respond meaningfully to the challenges of peak oil, climate change, and population, and cautioned investors to be self-reliant in facing the challenges ahead.
(more…)

Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle is an outstanding little book by veteran journalist Chris Hedges, offering one of the most trenchant critiques of American culture and the media I have ever read. I found in it many things I had always wanted to say, and inspiration for my piece “Investing in an Empire of Illusion”. Instead of reviewing it, I’ll just suggest that you buy it and read it.
(more…)

For last week’s Green Chip Stocks, I contrasted Dubai World and Masdar City as icons of the past and future.
(more…)

For this week’s Energy and Capital , I look at the moves the big money is making into hard assets, and predict tough times ahead for the dollar and U.S. equities.
(more…)