Finally! Todays World Today on ABC had an extended interview with Bruce Robinson from ASPO where the words "peak oil" were front and centre. Bruce spoke plainly about the problem and summed it up nicely. Lets hope a few politicians were taking notice.

The ALP has somehow managed to be half pregnant on nuclear energy, opposing domestic N-power stations Federally while most States encourage uranium mining. As the years go by I think countries which use Australian uranium might sorta do OK while we're burning ever more coal. Could be why Penny Wong is repeating her Liberal predecessor's line that the baby trees are sucking up all the CO2. Meanwhile we dig up vast chunks of the outback and still have a trade deficit.

If Rudd thinks we don't need nukes here's some steps he can take
1) announce a series of benchmarks say years 2010, 2015, 2020 with tough non-recessionary carbon targets even before the baby trees do their bit
2) tell our uranium customers they must cut back so our conscience will be clear.

Re soil rotation I've been transferring wheelbarrow loads of soil between garden beds, aerating and adding compost. Perhaps a discrete pee when the neighbours aren't looking. Apart from bugs I also worry about residual allelopaths eg whether soil used to grow onions should be used on strawberries.

Great article from WorldChanging on the marketing of clean coal - "How clean coal cooks your brain".

The logic is simple: America has lots of coal. We are a technologically advanced society. Ergo, we can clean up coal. What's the problem?

Well, here's one: "clean coal" is not an actual invention, a physical thing – it is an advertising slogan. Like "fat-free donuts" or "interest-free loans," "clean coal" is a phrase that embodies the Bush-era faith that there is an easy answer for every hard question in America today. We can have a war in Iraq without sacrifice. We can borrow more than we can afford without worrying about how we'll pay it back. We can end our dependency on oil by powering our SUVs with ethanol made from corn. And we can keep the lights on without superheating the climate through the magic of "clean coal."

Here's another: mining and burning coal remains one of the most destructive things human beings do on this earth. It destroys mountains, poisons water, pollutes the air, and warms the atmosphere. True, if you look at it strictly from the point of view smog-producing chemicals like sulfur dioxide, new coal plants are cleaner than the old coal burners of yore. But going from four bottles of whiskey a week down to three does not make you clean and sober.

Of course, the "clean coal" campaign is not about reality – it's about perception. It's an exercise in re-branding. Madison Ave. did it for Harley Davidson motorcycles and Converse shoes. Why not Old King Coal?

It's not a difficult trick – just whip out some slick ads with upbeat music and lots of cool 21st century technology like fighter jets and computers. Run the ads long enough, and people will believe.

But the real goal of the campaign is not simply to re-brand coal as a clean and modern fuel – it's to convince energy-illiterate TV viewers that the American way of life depends on coal. The ads remind us (accurately) that half the electricity in America comes from coal, then shows images of little girls getting tucked into bed at night or Little Leaguers playing ball under the lights.

The subtext is not simply that, without the electricity from coal, the lights will go out and your family will be plunged into darkness. It's that, without coal, civilization as we know it will come to an end. As one utility industry executive asked me while I was reporting Big Coal, "Have you ever been in a blackout? Do you remember how scary it was?"

From the coal industry's point of view, this is a brilliant way to frame the argument. If the choice is, coal or chaos, they win. ...

That's a false choice, of course.

The coal industry may not want to acknowledge it, but we're living in the 21st century now. We have indeed figured out other ways to generate electricity besides burning out 30 million year old rocks. And with each passing year, those alternatives are getting cheaper and smarter.

Wind is already less expensive than coal in many parts of the country, and so is large-scale solar thermal. Google is exploring enhanced geothermal. The creaky old electricity grid will soon morph into a system that looks more like the internet, driving big gains in efficiency and allowing for real-time pricing of a kilowatt of power.

I don't usually comment on short term oil price fluctuations, but when a record comes, it comes. Crude oil futures for August delivery in electronic pre-market trading in New York is now at $141.26 so its already up on yesterday's record. Today (Friday) the cost of our crude (Tapis Crude) in Singapore closed at $146.37 - the highest close ever. This is up about 6% on the day, just when the establishment is starting to seriously think it cannot go much higher (although there are mounting predictions of higher prices such as OPEC's call of $170 in the last few days). Tapis has been sitting around $140 for a few weeks now, so todays jump is significant. Expect another jump in the bowser price in 9-12 days here should this price be maintained.

You can check the latest Tapis price (and other international oil benchmarks here: Upstream online

I attended the informal meeting at the Municipal Association of Victoria's Peak Oil Taskforce yesterday - and yes, they have one, though I understand that politically, the notion of Peak Oil is still relatively difficult due to the business as usual implications, so that's why its 'informal'. Despite the MAV not having a formal position on PO, they are helping none-the-less get the council's taking which is brilliant. The effects of PO will be concentrated locally so there is a world of work to be done here. The Taskforce is a representative group of officers from different councils around Victoria however is not comprehensively represented (we had approximately 7 councils represented there out of 70 odd which is unfortunate, however, the discussion was very good and many actions will come from it. At some stage i'll have a post specifically on the events of, and issues raised from the Taskforce. A thank you to Phil Hart (The Oil Drum, and ASPO-Aust.) and Elliot Fishman (Co-ordinator ASPO-Aust and Director of the Institute of Sensible Transport) for attending, their peak oil update and general comments were most appreciated.

World wide, it is astonishing how fast the broader ground is now moving on energy. Seems like the UK are getting serious on renewables:
UK plans big wind power expansion

I think Rudd's got his hands full at the moment with Carbon Trading planning. Hopefully an announcement or two will come from the Infrastructure Fund much like the one here from UK PM Brown but the impact on rising petrol prices with a carbon 'tax' here (carbon trading scheme) has got to be the hottest political potato for quite some considerable time. Given a few polls published by the Herald Sun recently, it looks like people don't want to pay for carbon offsets through the petrol price which is hardly surprising. The political perils are great, given the unfortunate timing (generally) with Peak Oil but these are the things which characterise the times.

You are absolutely right !!!

On Saturday, I was amused to see in the Sydney Morning Herald "Business" section online, a ranking of their "top ten stories". Seven of the top ten were essentially part of the *same* Peak Oil story...

Latest Business Coverage:
...
3. US dollar slips against major currencies
4. Oil rises above $US142 as investors spurn shares
5. Fresh losses as oil rally continues
6. Global markets roil as oil prices rocket
...
8. Oil prices set new record above $US142
9. Fed trying to avert financial contagion
10. Airline Rex to increase fuel surcharge

...Yes, I think our mainstream media are starting to get the picture! Let's hope some decent decisionmaking starts to flow in the business community.