Kurt Cobb

Latest articles from Kurt

• The Hidden Costs Of Cheap Oil

  Published 15 December 2014 | viewed 19,009 times

  As a consumer of oil, you may regard recent sharp declines in the world oil price as a blessing. But... If you work in the…

• How The US Could Beat OPEC But Won’t

  Published 09 December 2014 | viewed 16,029 times

  OPEC has declared war on American oil production with the intention of making the country more dependent on imported oil and on oil in general.…

• Will OPEC’s Decision Lead To The End Of The American Shale Dream?

  Published 02 December 2014 | viewed 11,192 times

  To paraphrase Mark Twain: Rumors of OPEC's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Breathless coverage of the rise in U.S. oil production in the last few…

• Russia-China Deal Could Kill U.S. LNG Exports

  Published 18 November 2014 | viewed 33,369 times

  Russia and China have signed two large natural gas deals in the last six months as Russia turns its attention eastward in reaction to sanctions…

• Why The Current “Oil Glut” Could Lead To A Price Spike

  Published 03 November 2014 | viewed 22,858 times

  Back in March 1999 "The Economist" magazine carried a cover photo of two men drenched in oil as they attempted to close a faulty valve…

• Oil Market Complexity Means Prices Make The Story

  Published 22 October 2014 | viewed 6,089 times

  When the world's business editors sent their reporters canvassing to find out what is behind the recent plunge in the world oil price, they were…

• World War III: It's Here And Energy Is Largely Behind It

  Published 16 October 2014 | viewed 11,579 times

  I've been advancing a thesis for several months with friends that World War III is now underway. It's just that it's not the war we…

• Yergin Wins Energy Security Medal Despite Views On LNG And Peak Oil

  Published 07 October 2014 | viewed 6,888 times

  Where is George Orwell when you need him?It is a supreme irony that cornucopian oil industry mouthpiece and consultant Daniel Yergin should receive America's first…

• Orwellian Newspeak And The Oil Industry's Fake Abundance Story

  Published 15 July 2014 | viewed 17,791 times

  When what you are saying is so obviously at odds with the plain truth, it is useful to choose your words carefully to obscure this…

• We Will Never Run Out of Oil (Which is Entirely Beside the Point)

  Published 21 June 2014 | viewed 13,383 times

  Harvard economist Morris Adelman, famous for saying that we will never run out of oil, died last month. What followed the announcement of his death…

• Throwing Energy Away – From Trash to Electricity

  Published 10 June 2014 | viewed 5,535 times

  Philipp Schmidt-Pathmann wakes up every day thinking about trash. What got him thinking about it in the first place is how much of it is…

• Will the Monterey Shale Downgrade Cause Climate Activists to Change Strategy?

  Published 02 June 2014 | viewed 5,233 times

  There is an important hidden lesson for climate activists in the vast downgrade of recoverable oil resources now thought to be available from California's Monterey…

• Could NAFTA Force the Keystone XL Pipeline On the United States?

  Published 09 May 2014 | viewed 4,727 times

  As the Obama administration puts off once again any decision on authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline, there are whispers of another intriguing possibility. If the…

• Did Crude Oil Production Actually Peak in 2005?

  Published 14 April 2014 | viewed 9,539 times

  "Wait a minute," you must be saying. "Haven't we been hearing from the oil industry and from government and international agencies that worldwide oil production…

• Net vs. Gross Energy: Is it Wise to be Complacent?

  Published 17 March 2014 | viewed 6,278 times

  Everyone knows that when a potential employer makes a job offer, the salary or wage he or she proposes isn't what you'll be taking home.…

• 7 Known Energy Facts which are Actually Untrue

  Published 08 January 2014 | viewed 7,048 times

  Mark Twain once said, "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."…

• Will the Mexican Oil Bubble Burst Before its Even Begun?

  Published 31 December 2013 | viewed 14,883 times

  Recent reforms that would open oil exploration and development in Mexico to major oil companies for the first time in decades has the media all…

• What Does Shell’s Decision to Cancel GTL Plant Say about US Shale Gas Boom?

  Published 16 December 2013 | viewed 18,033 times

  When civil rights advocates grew restless because of President Richard Nixon's right-wing rhetoric on the issue of desegregation, then-Attorney General John Mitchell told them, ''Watch…

• Who is to Blame if the US doesn’t Achieve Energy Independence?

  Published 13 December 2013 | viewed 6,082 times

  Will anyone who is currently predicting U.S. energy independence be punished if the story turns out to be wrong? I ask because the story--and that's…

• Sustainability is Only Achievable if New Systems are Better than Old Ones

  Published 05 December 2013 | viewed 9,041 times

  No doubt you know someone who's told you about his or her great aunt who lived to be 98 and never went to a doctor.…