World3 computer model

Output from the World3 computer model.

Prof. Ugo Bardi of the University of Florence is an authority on the Club of Rome’s much maligned but now vindicated “Limits to Growth” model, having provided it with a recent book-length update. Ugo Bardi concludes that the computer model from 1972 is reasonable accurate.

[Wikipedia – Limits to Growth]
[Amazon – Limits to Growth Revisited]
[Club Orlov]

Colin Campbell sums it up

Olduvai Theory

Theory that predicts that in 2050 the planet Earth will inhabit merely 2 billion people as a consequence of resource depletion. And that man will return to the stone age eventually. We respectfully disagree with that latter notion.

Richard C. Duncan
[Die Off – 1996]
[oilcrisis – update 2006]
[Wikipedia]

There is no tomorrow

Here is an excellent new animated short video that ties resource depletion, environmental destruction and the end of growth into a single tidy package. For those of you already versed in this subject matter, this might still be good review.

The Thorium Solution

Gerald Celente advises Iran on how to avoid catastrophe: use thorium rather than uranium.
[LewRockwell]

Rembrandt Koppelaar on World Energy Consumption 1830-2010

Today’s post goes into the global consumption of energy and provides a dataset in Excel for researchers on global primary energy consumption from 1830 to 2010. In other words, the energy contained in fossil fuels, uranium, and biomass in their raw form before processing into electricity, heat, or liquid fuel, and direct electricity production from hydro, solar, wind, and geothermal.

Interactive Oil Depletion Atlas

Detail information about oil situation from country to country.
Visit the original site… [David Strahan] … for the interactivity to work.

Internet as the backbone of future economy

[source]
When a large part of the workforce does office work, as is the case in advanced economies, there is no real necessity to be physically present in the office anymore, provided a high speed internet connection is available so solutions like Skype can replace face-to-face communication. Take Holland. Average commuting distance 37 km. That’s at least a gallon a day of fuel. Here is an example of a 24 inch monitor that merely consumes 2 Watt. iPad’s can consume as little as 2.5 Watt, that’s nothing! According to the New York Times, Google needs 260 MW to power all these google search requests, youtube video and gmail. So what? That’s 52 of these 5 MW windturbines at a cost of 250 million euro/340 million $, a fraction of google’s yearly profit. The car may be heading for the exit, but IT is here to stay. And if there is no electrical power available use this 20 Watt gadget to power your computer and stay warm at the same time.

[Der Spiegel]

What Gazprom does with fossil fuels, namely pumping huge amounts through pipelines, Google does the same with data, pumping huge amounts of bytes through glass fiber cables. Google has future, Gazprom has not.

Heavyweight world oil supply debate

Video of a spirited debate on peak oil between John Hofmeister (Shell) and Ted Patzek (University of Texas and ASPO-USA).

[EnergyBulletin]

Saudi oil reserves possibly 40% overstated

Leaked diplomatic cables from US ambassy in Riyadh. Official reserves: 716 billion barrels. In reality reserves are 40% overestimated according to senior expert.
P.S. video is one year old.