Peak oil reported in mainstream NZ media -- a sea-change ?

Peak oil has been discussed in the mainstream New Zealand media in the past week. What is pleasing and maybe a sign of a sea-change is that unlike previous flirtations with the subject which have been disparaging and condescending, the latest articles take the issue seriously.

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10 reasons why converting lignite coal to diesel is insane

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE) has released a report "Lignite and climate change: The high cost of low grade coal"

The PCE report also covers using lignite to make urea and briquettes, but this post will focus on the insanity of plans by Solid Energy and L & M Group to convert Southland lignite to diesel

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Dunedin City Leads on Peak Oil

In a first for NZ, Dunedin City Council has commissioned a Peak Oil Vulnerability Analysis Report, which included surveys on travel habits, private fuel consumption and vehicle dependence and the effect of petrol prices . Appendices to the Report here

It assesses the city’s vulnerability to increased fuel prices and reduced availability of oil. It helps identify the associated challenges and opportunities for Dunedin’s communities.

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Staring down the barrel of oil shortages - but seeing nothing

Business writer Rod Oram and Transport Minister Steven Joyce have been debating the government's current and potential roading and rail projects ( Sunday Star Times) The essence of their spat seems to be "my cost benefit analysis is bigger and better than yours - nah nah na nah na".

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NZ will live with less oil -- its official

Whether you are a petrol head or a mum and dad happy motorist you will be living with less oil in the future. That's the sober conclusion of the New Zealand government's most trusted energy adviser -- the International Energy agency (IEA) in its latest annual report.

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NZ Defence Report Ignores Peak Oil - US / German Military Warn it’s a Big Threat

The just released Defence White Paper on New Zealand's strategic and security interests to 2025, as Gordon Campbell points out, is long on rhetoric, and short on coherence and detail.  But worse still it fails to even mention a very serious and imminent threat to our security which both the US and German military have warned about - namely the peaking of global oil production leading to dwindling world oil supplies.

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NZ Hits Peak Oil in 2010. Zero oil production by 2023 -- MED official

This year NZ reaches peak oil.  We then face a steep decline in our domestic oil production from currently producing oilfields. This is a double jeopardy for New Zealand's economy as the domestic decline will coincide with global oil supply shocks, rapidly rising oil prices, ushering in a period of sustained recessions - according to a New Zealand Parliament report published last month.

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Mining group believes in tooth fairy -- "New Zealand cushioned against oil shocks"

Straterra, a body representing mining companies has said, "New Zealand is in an excellent position to withstand any future oil shocks, thanks in particular to our lignite and geothermal resources". Straterra was commenting on the Parliament's research unit report called "The Next Oil Shock".  The Report says major international organisations are warning of another supply crunch as soon as 2012.

What planet are these guys on ? Let's be clear -- geo-thermal energy produces electricity. It cannot power New Zealand's internal transport system - or carry our imports and exports -- 99% of which relies on liquid fuels. If our transport systems cannot run efficiently the economy heads south into recession.

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NZ Parliament Report Warns of Imminent Oil Shock

New Zealand is highly vulnerable to oil price shocks that are nearly certain to occur in the next few years according to a research report published by Parliament yesterday. Its an excellent report on peak oil and will be huge wake-up call for government and opposition MP's and their advisers.  It deserves the widest circulation.

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"Peak hype" on New Zealand's offshore oil reserves

There was much hype and hoopla at the recent New Zealand Petroleum Conference about the extent of New Zealand's potential oil and gas reserves. Chris Uruski, a GNS scientist told Chris Laidlaw on Radio NZ's Sunday that we potentially have 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent in New Zealand's offshore exclusive economic zone. He did however put something of a dampener on the excitement by stating "we haven't really got anything sorted on a scientific basis" as to the extent of our oil reserves.

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UK Govt Takes Peak Oil Threat Seriously, but NZ Govt Deep in Denial

The UK's Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has ordered his officials to look at the impact of a 1970s-style oil price spike on the British economy. Mr Huhne warned that a  1970s-style doubling in the price of oil would drain £45billion from the UK economy in two years, hitting investment and jobs. 

Meanwhile our Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee and the NZ government are deep in denial about peak oil and resulting higher oil prices.

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Keynote speaker at NZ Petroleum Conference confirms peak oil and warns of economic collapse

Farouk Al-Kasim. a Norwegian oil expert, was a invited by the NZ government to be a keynote speaker at the NZ Petroleum Conference.  But in an interview on Radio NZ with Kim Hill, he rained on the government's parade big time, stating that we have already reached global peak oil.  He also said that higher oil prices and oil scarcity will mean global recession and possibly economic collapse.

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Peak Oil Could Halve NZ's Economy - says Report

Two Canterbury University academics have analysed the impact of fuel restraint (peak oil) on New Zealand's economy.

Their alarming conclusion is that with just 10% less fuel available, New Zealand's economy would shrink by around  $115 billion in just five years. If a 10% fuel restraint continued for 20 years, New Zealand economy would shrink by $412 billion compared to a business as usual scenario. 

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