Gail Tverberg is a writer and speaker about energy issues. She is especially known for her work with financial issues associated with peak oil. Prior to getting involved with energy issues, Ms. Tverberg worked as an actuarial consultant. This work involved performing insurance-related analyses and forecasts. Her personal blog is ourfiniteworld.com. She is also an editor of The Oil Drum.
Since the late 1990s, globalization has seemed to be the great hope for the future. Now this great hope seems to be dimming. Globalization sets…
Today, we have a surplus of oil, which we are trying to use up. That has never happened before, or did it? Well, actually, it…
The way the world economy is manipulated by world leaders is a little like a giant video game. The object of the game is to keep…
It is easy for those of us in the West to overlook how important China has become to the world economy, and also the limits…
I was recently asked to give a talk called, “The Approaching US Energy-Economic Crisis.” In other words, how might the United States encounter problems that…
Economists have given us a model of how prices and quantities of goods are supposed to interact. (Click to enlarge) Figure 1. From Wikipedia: The…
How should electricity from wind turbines and solar panels be evaluated? Should it be evaluated as if these devices are stand-alone devices? Or do these…
The “Wind and Solar Will Save Us” story is based on a long list of misunderstandings and apples to oranges comparisons. Somehow, people seem to…
The Energy Returned on Energy Invested (EROEI) concept is very frequently used in energy studies. In fact, many readers seem to think, “Of course, EROEI…
Our economy is a mystery to almost everyone, including economists. Let me explain the way I see the situation: (1) The big thing that pulls…
I have been telling a fairly different energy story from most energy researchers. How could I possibly be correct? What have other researchers been missing?…
We have been hearing a great deal about IMF concerns recently, after the release of its October 2016 World Economic Outlook and its Annual Meeting…
What really causes falling productivity growth? The answer seems to be very much energy-related. Human labor by itself does not cause productivity growth. It…
Many people are hoping for wind and solar PV to transform grid electricity in a favorable way. Is this really possible? Is it really feasible…
The Peak Oil story got some things right. Back in 1998, Colin Campbell and Jean Laherrère wrote an article published in Scientific American called, “The…
The world’s coal resources are clearly huge. How could China, or the world in total, reach peak coal in a timeframe that makes a difference?…
$50 per barrel oil is clearly less impossible to live with than $30 per barrel oil, because most businesses cannot make a profit with $30…
For a long time, a common assumption has been that the world will eventually “run out” of oil and other non-renewable resources. Instead, we seem…
There are many who believe that the use of energy is critical to the growth of the economy. In fact, I am among these people.…
Oil production can be confusing because there are various “pieces” that may or may not be included. In this analysis, I look at oil production…