Peak Oil: Malthusians ride again?
international |
environment |
other press 
Wednesday May 18, 2005 06:00
by R. Isible
William Bowles blog
William Bowles' _Investigating Imperialism_ blog criticises the current framing of the Peak Oil debate. He likens the predicted oil shortage to other shortages under capitalism, specifically the food shortage problem and draws attention to the remarkable coincidence that it's always the Third World that causes demand for increased resources!
He also notes that the synchronicity of this sudden acceptance of Peak Oil with the realization from even the most anti-environmental "pragmatists" that something needs to be done to reduce carbon emissions.
Comments (4 of 4)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4One wonder's if the author has actually read any of the Peak Oil figures or articles. Every Peak Oil prophet I have read including Colin Campbell, Michael C Ruppert, Matt Simmons and Richard Heinburg all say the same thing: "We (Americans & Canadians) need to change the way we live, move and do business". I can't think of one of them who is primarily blaming China or the Third World.
Make no mistake, there are indeed limits to growth in a closed system. Even "economic growth" cannot evade the laws of physics and the relentless facts of geology. The world's ability to recover and refine oil will peak at some point with or without the influence of China.
This article is nonsense. Its just builds up a straw man argument saying that peak oil theorists are against china and india and so forth, and then proceeds to attack peak oil theory by attacking the ficticious premise that it just invented.
I know of of no main peak oil writers that have in any way said some people have more right to oil thn others, its just lies and nonsense.
It seems to me that the author comes at "peak oil" from an odd angle, meets a few interesting characters, and then passes on through. Based on that odd angle, and those characters, he's drawn his response.
For what it's worth, I never would have put "too many people" or "too many poor" as my foundation for peak oil. I would have started with the old explanation of Hubbert's Peak and the important differences between a "geological peak" in reserves, and the market peak which will (of course) be determined by the world economy.
Choices by the affluent, around the world (both new money and old) will shape oil demand ... probably much more that population or the poor.
William Bowles has an agenda. His agenda is to denigrate Capitalism, the Ultimate Evil. It doesn't matter if it is Peak Oil, the War in Iraq, Terrorism, Brush or Floss or Cabbage Patch Kids. The real Problem is Capitalism. Capitalism is the method of economy that we have chosen to go with and he doesn't like our choice. He doesn't have a better choice that anyone would choose willingly but he knows that Capitalism is bad and he has to blame everything on something. The connection between Capitalism and Peak Oil is probably a very real thing but it is irrelevant. We have chosen the horse to pull our wagon and that it that. Peak Oil will happen and soon but he is right that our lifestyles will change and not for the better.
Rick
Has anyone seen Hari Seldon
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