heureusement, ici, c'est james

We've become suckling babies, oil our toxic infant-formula.

"a survey of 800 oilfields by Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) has concluded that rates of (oil supply) decline are only 4.5 per cent a year, almost half the rate previously believed, leading the consultancy to conclude that oil output will continue to rise over the next decade."

Increase? How pathetic are we that we can't get a grip on the systematic logic of global warming? What naive excuse for a human being actually believes oil production can or should increase simply by virtue of its existence?

While demand-side carbon capture remains a glaring loophole in the fight against global warming, we do, believe it or not, have one other promising option:

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have the answer! Incredible as it might seem, I have stumbled across the single technology which will save us from runaway climate change! From the goodness of my heart I offer it to you for free. No patents, no small print, no hidden clauses. Already this technology, a radical new kind of carbon capture and storage, is causing a stir among scientists. It is cheap, it is efficient and it can be deployed straight away. It is called … leaving fossil fuels in the ground."

Labels: carbon sequestration, global warming, oil

"Dow plunges 360 points on credit fears" and "Citigroup downgrade causes global shockwaves." All because a few banks tried to mortgage homes to unqualified buyers.

Mortgage-fueled investment is one of the heavy engines of cashflow and mass consumption in our debt-based economy. Was it liquidity or profit they were desperate for? Just an economic ripple in the water.

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Fear leads to speculation: large-scale credit trouble and record-high oil prices are said to point to an economic recession. Mentions of oil woes. Another, bigger ripple.

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The NY Times reports that record oil prices - the third energy shock in a generation - are here to stay. Prices have gone from $20 in 1997 to a nearly unthinkable $100 today.

The current oil shock has "broad, long-lasting implications" because India - and especially China - will keep demand at peak capacity almost indefinitely, unless we see significant economic downturns in Asia or America.

Permanent oil woes. A "permanent" economic wave.

No mention of global warming though - publishers wouldn't want to seem scattered or alarmist.

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Fears of a global sell-off of the American dollar, spurring an economic downturn in the US due to the compounding effects of its massive current-account and trade deficits. Federal reserve may be unable to control spending due to currency devaluation. But for now, the slide remains undramatic.

Tremors or ripples. Nobody knows yet.

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PetroChina becomes the world's largest IPO after a surprising jumpstart on the public exchange. A semiotic shockwave.

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Rising food prices. The Economist reports that oil is still cheaper than milk and bottled water. No mention that prices of milk and water include oil for transport (therefore must be more expensive). Or that bottled water is itself the child of oil-enabled transportation.

More lucrative biofuel crops are overtaking cropland formerly used for food. Farmers are happy; the poor aren't. But the poor don't read the Economist. No ripples.

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The prospect of a recession lingers. But growth in China seems to keep the world economy stable. Millions of Chinese are lifted out of poverty. A wave of joy.

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Canadians wave hello to renewed economic confidence. The loonie reaches record highs due to its standing as a "commodity-based currency." Large deposits of oil and other increasingly rare commodites make it necessary to trade in the Canadian dollar, though Canadian manufacturers warn of a potential trade-deficit backlash.

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It's reported that C02 emissions are up 35 per cent today from 1990 - far faster than anticipated - due to increased industrial use of fossil fuels, and a dramatic handicap in the ability of oceans to absorb C02. Several international agencies support the findings.

The changes "characterize a carbon cycle that is generating stronger-than-expected and sooner-than-expected climate forcing," the researchers report.

A wave of anxiety.

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The US government stays out of the credit crisis. Cash flow is ensured by encouraging consumption. Uneasy economic calm and unseen, unheard environmental ripples. A little silence never hurt anyone.
More debt, more growth economics, more energy to fuel it all. My favourite "practical" solution to this teetering tower, so far, has been to conduct a colossal experiment by making oceans vast carbon sinks again - through the use of artificial electrochemical weathering.

It's pretty useless in the long term, but it sure feels exciting, doesn't it? With all the heightened stakes that come with this experiment, I daresay it even beats the thrill that comes with making a risky investment. The only way it could possibly get better is if they found a way to broadcast the experiment LIVE on a cable news channel.

Labels: debt, economy, environment, growth, oil