Peak Oil is about as scary as things can get, because unlike the environmental disaster that will take 50+ years to unfold, peak oil is going to happen within 20, and many are suspecting even quicker than that.  My guess is that by 2020 the world will already be in chaos - so you better start preparing for the Long Emergency pretty soon. It will start with a financial crisis like we have never seen before, and my bet is that will start within 5 years, and maybe as soon as two - depending on how soon the USA does something really stupid. The only question is - will it be a slow slippery slide, or a rapid plummet. I'm personally hoping for a slow slide, but with my luck we won't get that luxury. Hang on to your hats folks, the roller coaster has reached the top of the ascent, and its all down hill from here.

"Oil prices hit a record high of $97 a barrel on Tuesday, but the next generation of consumers could look back on that price with envy. The dire predictions of a key report on international oil supplies released Wednesday suggest that oil prices could move irreversibly over the $100 a barrel threshold in the not too distant future, as the global economy faces a serious energy shortage.

This gloomy assessment comes from the International Energy Agency, the Paris-based organization representing the 26 rich, gas-guzzling member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The agency is not known for alarmist warnings, and its World Energy Outlook is typically viewed by policy wonks as a solid indicator of global energy supplies. In a marked change from its traditionally bland, measured tones, the IEA's 2007 report says governments need to make urgent, bold decisions on energy policy, or risk massive environmental and energy-supply crises within two decades — crises and shortages that could spark serious global conflicts."

Rest of the article is here:
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1681362,00.html?xid=rss-business

Its going to be interesting to watch what happens in China in the near term. If the current peak in oil prices remain for some time, its sure going to have an impact, but maybe this will be a good thing. China's rate of fuel consumption and generation of greenhouse gasses is simply devistating for our future - anything that slows it down is a good thing. But at some point China has to crash, and thats going to be ugly too. With China and the US correcting at the same time, the world economy is going to head south very quickly. The reduction of demand will be a good thing, but the social impact may be another issue.

"With crude oil closing in on $100 a barrel, the pinch of higher prices is being felt worldwide. In China, however, the impact of the hikes has been shortages at the pump, and tempers are running hot. ...
The crisis is largely one of China's own making. To reduce inflationary pressures on its red-hot economy, Beijing has not raised prices at the pump, which are set by the government, since May 2006. In that same period of time, international oil prices have risen about 30%, sticking refineries with spiraling costs for the crude they buy and shrinking profits for the gasoline they sell. Some smaller refineries stopped production altogether to avoid losses, while others begun hoarding their crude supplies, leading to gas shortages around the country. "

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1678731,00.html?xid=rss-business

Just to confirm the story below, here is a news item from the ABC discussing the dire situation we are facing. I'm sure this data will be ignored as well. I can't believe people are so deaf to the warnings. Such stupid creatures we humans are.

Conservation scientist and Australian of the Year Tim Flannery has warned that huge industrial and economic changes need to be implemented quickly to slow the growth of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.

He says the actual levels of greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere are far beyond what has previously been modelled by climate scientists.

"What the report establishes is that the amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is already above the threshold that could potentially cause dangerous climate change," he said.

"So if I was trying to summarise it, what it says is that we already stand an unacceptable risk of dangerous climate change and that the need for action is ever more urgent."

Sorry for the lack of action here at the moment, I'm busy putting together a new site, one thats will be more secure and allow guests to participate if they wish. There is a lot of work setting up a new service, but I hope to have the initial efforts online in the not to distant future.

My greatest fear is that my expectations for the future will come true before I die.

I’m reading Derrick Jensen’s book “Endgame: The Problem of Civilization” and its taking quite a toll on my already battered and bruised psyche. I’m about a third of the way through it and it’s like all my inner darkest fears appearing in type before my eyes. So many of the concepts align with my view of where we are heading (over the edge) and even his writing style is a little similar (with far too many ideas per paragraph requiring heavy use of brackets!). I believe that the depth and breath of his thinking are several orders of magnitude beyond my own, but we are definitely reading from the same page (or writing to it if you will).

Here is a very troubling article about CO2 emission being even worse than the current worst case scenario. I shake my head in daily disbelief.
The telling line is - "The researchers found that no part of the world reduced the amount of carbon used to produce energy between 2000 and 2004, despite widespread publicity in support of greener sources of energy." I bet the results for 2004-2007 will be twice as shocking given China's massive expansion during this time. 

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The world's recent carbon dioxide emissions are growing more rapidly than even the worst-case climate scenario used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, say researchers.

The team, led by Michael Raupach of the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, looked at the growth of CO2 emissions and found that emissions growth suddenly accelerated in 2000. During the 1990s, emissions grew by 1.1% per year on average, but the number shot up to 3.3% between 2000 and 2004, when the study ended.

When they compared the recent emissions trend to those the UN-backed IPCC drew up as its "worst case scenario", the team found the reality was at least as bad, if not worse (see graph, right).

More interesting articles on the affects of global warming. Firstly indications of significant  ice melts in Antarctica, and then Japan reporting a greater than expected warming of its surrounding oceans. I wonder if the rate of change will be the biggest surprise for us in the next few years?

I've seen a lot of videos now, read a lot of articles. I think the American people are on the verge of critical mass regarding the conspiracy fact that is 911 and the war in Iraq. Google video is featuring this information in its top 10 now, so surely every American will now have the facts they need to do something about this!

Here is another series of three videos that are absolutely required viewing too. How much evidence to people need?

Here is a great video clip on global warming and why we need to take action now, from the MIT Technology Review site.

This article answers the question posed in the US Senate by mistake as it were - "If the war in Iraq is lost, then who won?". Nice view inside the head of a slowly awaking US. Watch the empire crumble.