Online Opinion - Peak oil and an economic recovery

Peak Oil is widely known to be the point at which oil production reaches its highest point and thereafter declines. Most people expect that this point will be reached in the very near future. Others believe we reached the highest point of oil production in the first half of the present decade and that from now on it is all down hill. They are correct.

A detailed analysis prepared for The Oil Drum by Tony Erikson provides reasonable evidence that Peak Oil occurred in 2008. It contends that peak production of 74.8 million barrels per day was achieved in July 2008 and has been in decline since then. Current production is estimated to be about 71 million barrels per day, a decline of 5 per cent, with a further decline of about 7 per cent expected over the next 15 months.

Greentech Media - Ausra Plans Two Projects in Australia, One in Middle East

Ausra plans to announce projects to build solar thermal plants in Australia, the Middle East and the United States by the end of the year, said CEO Bob Fishman Tuesday.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company, which shifted its business model from being a power producer to a steam generation plant builder, has deals to build plants in Queensland and New South Wales in Australia, Fishman said on the sideline at the AlwaysOn's GoingGreen conference in Sausalito, Calif.

The Age - World wakes to new dawn for solar power

WHEN Lindsay Tanner says greenies are ''obsessed'' with solar energy, he's right. And it's obvious why.

Clean coal is a myth. Nuclear has radioactive waste and security issues and (read Helen Caldicott) it's not as efficient as they say. It would also be impossible to commission a nuclear reactor in Australia within a decade - especially near anyone's backyard - and we haven't got a decade to lose.

Beyond Zero Emissions - Solar power providing electricity 24 hours a day in summer

Beyond Zero’s Matthew Wright and Scott Bilby talk to Santiago Arias, Chief Infrastructure Officer of Torresol about a first-of-its-kind commercial 'Power Tower' that supplies electricity 24 hours a day in summer.

The Australian - Underground coal bounty powers new era

The two main proponents in the Galilee Basin hail from the Bjelke-Petersen era: one of Sir Joh's closest confidants, Lang Hancock, first found coal in the area in the 1970s, and now his daughter, Gina Rinehart, is preparing an environmental impact statement for two new mines there.

Sir Joh's former spokesman, Clive Palmer, now Australia's fifth-richest man, is the other major player, with an $8bn proposal that includes not only a new coalmine but also the power station and associated infrastructure to get the coal to port.

This is very much a sunrise enterprise and, if it comes off, the Galilee Basin will join the $43bn Gorgon liquefied natural gas project off Western Australia and Queensland's emerging coal-seam gas industry in powering the nation into a new era of prosperity, hooked into the economic juggernauts of China and India.

SMH - Who killed our lake?

AN AUSTRALIAN-OWNED oil and gas company is being blamed for an ecological catastrophe in Papua New Guinea in which toxic chemicals allegedly flooded a pristine lake, causing dozens of tribespeople to fall ill.

Oil Search Pty Ltd was drilling for oil near remote Lake Kutubu, in the PNG highlands, when locals began to report the water changing colour. When they washed their skin blistered, and when they drank they got sick. One girl died in pain days after drinking chemical-laced water.

Energy Business Review - Apache Energy Starts Construction Of Its Devil Creek Gas Plant Near Karratha, Australia

Apache Energy Limited (Apache Energy) has started construction of its Devil Creek domestic gas plant near Karratha. Australia Energy Minister, Peter Collier helped mark the start of construction of the gas plant during a groundbreaking ceremony. The plant is expected to be commissioned at the end of 2011, initially delivering an additional 10% into Western Australia’s (WA) domestic gas market.

Convenient Solutions - Car Versus Train

So Queensland Rail now have an Emissions Calculator for Citytrain trips. Just enter your start and finish stations, and it works out the emissions by train and by car - and how much pollution you saved by taking the train.

frogblog - Climate change: answers to every question you ever had

Below is a complete listing of the articles in “How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic,” a series by Coby Beck containing responses to the most common skeptical arguments on global warming. It is not 100% complete but is still very useful. There is a lot to this, so to make it manageable, choose your angle from the four below and have a browse:

Beyond Zero Emissions - 6pm Monday 5th October Discussion Group - Biochar

Biochar – is it a part of a safe climate future?

Hear Dr. Stephen Joseph discuss biochar, an organic charcoal that not only improves soil health and crop yields, it could play an important part in the solution to global warming

Peak Energy - Denmark Brings World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Online

Peak Energy - UBS Report: Future Bright for Solar Thermal

Peak Energy - More Electric cars From Frankfurt

Peak Energy - EU plans 30 cities to lead world on "smart" energy

Peak Energy - Earthquakes from geothermal power ?

Peak Energy - Australians: Number One in Carbon Emissions

Peak Energy - Better Place Unveils Electric-Car Software At Frankfurt Motor Show

Peak Energy - Turbines gear up to harness Bay Of Fundy tidal power

Peak Energy - Collapse