This past summer, when oil prices were skyrocketing past $145 a barrel, one man was saying that the price would fall back to $60. People laughed and said we had seen the end of less-than-$100-a-barrel oil. Well, that price has dropped below $60, and 82-year-old oil analyst Henry Groppe has proved his critics wrong… again.
So, when Groppe says in this article from Toronto’s Globe and Mail that global oil production has peaked, but alternatives, such as biodiesel, ethanol, solar and wind, will help keep those prices down by replacing that diminishing oil supply, maybe more will listen:
His view is based on a fundamental belief that global oil production has peaked, and is destined to go into a slow but steady decline. At the same time, though, he also believes those higher prices will result in demand destruction as consumers shift to alternative fuels – thus keeping a lid on prices, albeit at higher levels…
He said such a change in consumption is already happening, and not just because of a global economic slowdown. (The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development yesterday slashed its 2008 and 2009 global demand estimates, citing declining estimates for world economic growth.) Power generators and major industrial consumers have already been switching away from oil and toward cheaper coal and natural gas, and many are in the process of retooling their equipment to lower consumption and shift to cheaper fuels.
The article goes on to point out that Groppe doesn’t believe that the number of cars on the road worldwide will go down, but increased alternative fuels used especially in the industrial sector will offset any production declines and consumption increases that come along.
While it might have a past deeply rooted in petroleum, attendees of the Oklahoma Biofuels Conference in Oklahoma City this week were told renewable energy has a huge future in the Sooner State.
Luxury vehicles, exotic new rides, and the latest in domestic developments are all part of any auto show. Add to that list the environmentally-friendly aspects of a new car at this year’s San Francisco Chronicle|SF Gate.com 51st Annual International Auto Show.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has published environmental regulatory rules and requirements for the construction and operation of biodiesel production facilities.
“We appreciate that the document includes EPA’s recognition that biodiesel contributes to the wellbeing of the environment by ‘significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions’ and other pollutants,” he said. “Biodiesel use is a viable part of protecting the environment, and we look forward to working closely with the agency on future mutual goals.”
One of the knocks against wind energy is that you don’t have power if you don’t have wind. Well, an energy company in the Upper Midwest might have the solution.
A Fort Collins, Colorado biofuel company will build an algae-biodiesel plant on an Indian reservation in southern Colorado.
A trip to a Patagonian forest (that’s in South America) has produced the latest development in the biodiesel game.
The amount of agricultural land required to produce 15 billion gallons of grain ethanol in the United States by 2015, as required by the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), is likely to be less than 1 percent of total world cropland, according to a new report released today by the 
EPIC Executive Director Toni Nuernberg said they interviewed over 1,000 consumers nationwide for the survey. “About 73 percent of them responded that they want to see domestically produced biofuels such as ethanol to replace oil,” she said.