I don’t normally blog news stories, but this one struck me as important enough to mention.

Robert Hirsch, the principal author of the famous “Hirsch Report” from 2005 (“Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation, & Risk Management“) has a new book out with his co-authors of that report, titled
The Impending World Energy Mess: What It Is and What It Means to You

In this new interview with Le Monde, Hirsch explains that U.S. government officials are fully aware of peak oil and the risks it carries, but has deliberately quashed discussion about it and directed people within the Department of Energy not to speak about it. And he is in a position to know.

Le Monde: Interview with Robert L. Hirsch
Part 1: Peak Oil: Jimmy Carter’s Secretary of Energy sounds the alarm
Part 2: Peak oil : “A conspiracy to keep it quiet” in Washington, says Robert Hirsch

See also the recent interview of Hirsch by Steve Andrews, for ASPO-USA.

I appeared on the Financial Sense with Jim Pupalava program today, to discuss several new forecasts of peak oil (meaning all liquids) in the 2015-2020 time frame, including a leaked German military study on peak oil recently reported in Der Spiegel,  an interview with Robert Hirsch, comments by veteran oil analyst Charlie Maxwell, a repeated warning from the IEA‘s executive director Nobuo Tanaka that “the age of cheap energy is over,” and an editorial by energy analyst Anas Alhajji on the inability of OPEC to meet growing world oil demand. I wrapped up the interview by revisiting my March 2010 article, “‘Peak Demand,’ Yes, But Not The Nice Kind.”

You can download the show (1 hour) here:

RealPlayer WinAmp Windows Media MP3

My segment begins at 38:41

I had the great pleasure of videotaping a long conversation with KrisCan in mid-July, which is now online in seven parts. Topics included the Deepwater Horizon spill, the implications for U.S. oil production, my critique of various energy policies, and the challenges of energy transition. (more…)

I don’t know if I’m the first one to notice this, but it was too good to pass up. Compare these two covers of Time Magazine:

(more…)