Sunday 4 November 2007

So you like skimming presentations? Here's a few...

Who has time for in-depth article reading or *gasp* scouring through academic journal pieces these days?

Many of us are condemned to the world of powerpoint presentations and quick skimming of overall trends and some basic facts.

So here's a few presentations, on peak oil related matters, hand selected for you from various recent sources. Many stay on an overview level, so don't expect technical details, scientific proof of each argument, although most are heavy on graphs and some on numbers.

These are powerpoints after all.

  • A Hungry World In Search Of More Oil - Matthew Simmons, Nov. 2007, 26 slides, 1.8 MB
    Reserves, production plateau, peak timing & oil price = overall view and current reports explained: we are running short on time for big mitigation efforts
  • World Oil Shortage Scenarios for Mitigation Planning - Robert L. Hirsch, Oct. 2007, 43 slides, 1 MB
    Shape of the peak, decline rates, GDP growth, resource nationalism = prepare for different kinds of peaks
  • Aviation and Peak Oil - Why the conventional wisdom is wrong - Roger H. Bezdek, Oct. 2007, 27 slides, 1 MB
    Availability, price projections and alternatives for aviation fuel & aviation growth risks from GDP downfall = aviation unlikely to grow projected 100% in next 25 years, big risks ahead
  • Alternative World Energy Outlook - Ludwig-Bölkow-Systemtechnik GmbH, June 2007, 24 slides, 1 MB
    Timing of peaking of oil, gas, coal & nuclear production & alternatives to fill the gap = more than oil may peak in coming decades, need to ramp up alternatives
  • Future of Oil Supply - How fast (not how much) - Energyfiles, April 2007, 57 slides, 2 MB
    How global peak happens, why drilling more is not solution, how production matters more than actual reserves = not enough production capacity left to continue current demand growth
  • Beyond a Thousand Barrels a Second - Peter Tertzakian, Sept. 2007, 57 slides, 4 MB
    Uniqueness of oil, consumption growht, fuel obesity, depletion, China, population, suburbanization = big challenges ahead, regardless of what we do
  • Implications of Peak Oil for Climate - Pushker Kharecha and Jim Hansen, Sept. 2007, 28 slides, 1 MB
    Peak oil projections, CO2 emissions, role of coal, climate change, scenarios = climate may be ok, if we don't burn coal
  • How Good Is Our Bet on Biofuels? - Kyriacos Zygourakis, Sept. 2007, 34 slides, 2 MB
    Various liquid biofuel types, energy required, scaling of production = important for mitigation, but not enough to fill gap left behind by oil peaking
  • Future Energy Challenges - Matthew Simmons, 2007, 19 slides, 3 MB
    Energy infrastructure, oil & gas peak, challenges of transformation = no plan B for energy, experts have been wrong, big changes ahead.
  • Peak oil and Transition Towns, Rob Hoskins, May 2007, 76 slides, 2 MB, PPT file
    What/when peak, what it means for food, agriculture, transport, jobs. How cities can cope = plans for mitigation on town/city level
  • The Challenge of Peak Oil - Richard Heinberg, April 2007, 27 slides, 2 MB, PPT file
    What peak, oil/gas/coal issues, alternatives, scaling of production, hybrid cars, conservation, green issues = opportunities ahead
  • The Next New Energy Thing - Ron Swenson, Aug 2007, 72 slides, 8 MB, PPT file
    Peak, renewable fiels, energy resource vs field, thermodynamics, mass transport = very big transition, we are not doing enough. Economics will lose out to physics
  • Top 10 Reasons why Peak Oil arrives sooner rather than later - Steve Andrews, Mar 2007, 23 slides, 6 MB PPT file.
    Consumption, peaking patterns, geological reality, political risk, overstated reserves, growing producer consumption, unconventional oil does not scale fast/high enough, net energy will impact recovery ratio = Hopes about 2050-2100 peaking is wishful thinking.
Do note that above present the views of the authors and may not be fully shared by the Energy Standard team, or you for that matter. However, understanding of the various points of view on peak oil and it's mitigation is crucial to understanding the reality and how it is likely to unfold.

There is no single truth, so try to read many.