[Peakoil] Fwd: ASPO January Newsletter, #61

[Keith Thomas]

As you might have expected, there are a variety of groups who take 
different 'lines' on peak oil. Here's my take on the spectrum.

(DO NOT PURSUE THE LINKS THAT FOLLOW if you have any tendency to panic, 
helplessness, powerlessness or depression. This warning is serious - 
people in America have thrown in their jobs, sold their homes, left 
their spouses etc. after reading some of these sites.)

ASPO is regarded as one of the more conservative (looking for a peak in 
the coming decade and assuming an orderly powerdown). Others seem to 
assume the peak is nearer (or past); these range from ASPO through Matt 
Savinar's site

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/BreakingNews.html

To Paul Thompson:

http://www.wolfatthedoor.org.uk/

 From there, they branch out in two main directions: The first of these 
focuses on political and social aspects - like Michael Ruppert's site:

http://www.fromthewilderness.com/

which also heads off into 9/11 and all other sorts of US-centric 
conspiracies.

The second direction looks more at the resource depletion side (and its 
implications for humans); this is best characterised by:

http://www.dieoff.org/

and William Catton's 1980 book "Overshoot"

A third thread is emerging now - this inserts the climate change threat 
into the die-off scenario with peak oil being just one of a number of 
threats to civilization. This new thread has emerged strongly over the 
last six months. It's not that either global warming or peak oil is 
new, it's just that people with an interest in one have not, till 
recently, been as interested in the other.

I happen to be an admirer of Catton's work and am also scared shitless 
by climate change - the biosphere is in the process of significant and 
unstoppable transformation. Peak oil I see as affecting only humanity 
and is small beer in comparison.

There are two excellent peak oil discussion lists on Yahoo (There are 
plenty of non-excellent ones).

In Australia there is:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/roeoz/

And internationally - but mainly American - there is:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RunningOnEmpty2/

Both lists have a core of very knowledgeable contributors and both 
manage to run two main parallel conversations: (a) peak oil (b) 
personal and societal preparations for life after the peak. ROEOZ tends 
towards (a) while ROE2 tends towards (b).

For the most comprehensive and up-to-date review of developments, there 
are daily updates (up to thirty some days, but arranged in a way that 
makes them easy to skim) at;

http://www.energybulletin.net/

The Energy Bulletin is run out of Australia and the US and is very 
professional.

I'll be publishing a review of Catton's book in the February edition of 
Nature and Society; please let me know if you'd me to send you a copy.
--------------------------------------------
Keith Thomas
www.evfit.com
--------------------------------------------
On 07/01/2006, at 1:03 PM, Antony Barry wrote:

> I assume members of this list would be aware of this newsletter?
>
> Tony
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: "ASPO Ireland" <noreply at peakoil.ie>
>> Date: 5 January 2006 4:29:59 AM
>> To: tony at tony-barry.emu.id.au
>> Subject: ASPO January Newsletter, #61
>>
>>
>> Hi Antony Barry,
>>
>> ASPO Newsletter 61 (January 2006) is now available. You can view it 
>> online at:
>> http://www.peakoil.ie/newsletters/aspo61
>>
>> Or you can download the PDF directly:
>> http://www.peakoil.ie/downloads/newsletters/newsletter61_200601.pdf
>>
>> <snip>