No more business as usual
ALI SAMSAM BAKHTIARI is a retired "senior energy expert," formerly employed by the National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) of Tehran, Iran. He has held a number of important positions with NIOC since 1971. He is currently attached to the director's office in the Corporate Planning Directorate of NIOC, and specializes in questions related to the global oil, gas and petrochemical industries. This alone ought to pique your interest because Bakhtiari has the ear of the most important decision-makers in Iran. What is he telling them?

Feel The Beat : A Boshian Peak Oil Canvas
With billions now contemplating the imminent peak of oil production and the consequent peak of that spike of human population we are all a part of, each day brings a wider, deeper understanding of what life at the peak means. But the incredible energy, the pace and momentum, the creative/destructive power of this moment of maximum human power is water to fish underappreciated.

The pay zone
Last summer, a new gasoline station opened in South Elgin, an old farming village on the Fox River that's now being swallowed by the westward sprawl of Chicago. As service stations go, it's an alpha establishment. A $3 million Marathon outlet with 24 digital pumps, a computerized carwash, a Goodfella's sandwich shop and a convenience store lit up like an operating room, it sells everything from ultra low sulfur diesel to herbal "memory enhancer" to Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Infrared sensors activate the faucets in its immaculate, white-tiled bathrooms. The coffee kiosk's floor is real hardwood.

Some cities are taking up the issue of "peak oil"
As "peak oil," the inevitable point of irreversible decline in the availability of the substance to which U.S. President George W. Bush has belated admitted the country is "addicted," surges in public awareness, some U.S. cities are rushing to address it, while others are burying their heads in the oil sands (formerly tar sands) and doing nothing. Portland, Oregon, San Francisco, California, and Salisbury, Maryland, are all moving rapidly to consider the implications for their residents of the "peak oil" phenomenon.

Will Coal Replace Oil?
One of the reasons Hitler lost the war is because he ran out of fuel. As Germany had not been bestowed with oil reserves, Hitler was aware of the important part oil would play in his plan for world domination. The eastern front was very much about securing Russia's oil supply.

Mideast violence drives isle gas jitters
With crude oil prices at record highs approaching $80 a barrel, the big question locally is what will happen to island gas prices, which already are the highest in the country. In September, when crude oil peaked at just over $70 a barrel following hurricanes in the Gulf Coast, Hawaii's statewide average for regular reached $3.68 a gallon.

The Peak Oil Crisis: Where is the Washington Post?
If you live around Washington , DC and have much do with the federal government, then you probably read the Post. There are a few exceptions. If you are into finance or securities you reach for the Wall StreetJournal each day. If your politics are more than a few degrees to the right, you are going to be happier with the Washington Times, and if you are a deep thinker, then your day is not complete without the New York Times. As a general rule, however, the tens of thousands who run our nation, or talk frequently to those that do, absorb their world outlook each day from the pages of the Washington Post.

Story left high cost of oil a mystery
"I was disappointed that the AP article you ran on record-high oil prices ("Record high oil prices bring uncertainty," July 14) did not mention the underlying cause: World oil production is at or near its peak. After a century of increasing oil production, the world has pumped out about half the oil available. Pumping out the rest of the oil takes greater time and energy, so production is likely to level off and decline, now or in the near future. As with any commodity that becomes increasingly scarce, prices are likely to continue rising."

Fog of war obscures way ahead for black gold
The price of oil was all over the place yesterday. First Brent crude touched a fresh peak of $78.18 a barrel, territory last explored on Friday, as the conflict between Israel and Lebanon escalated. Then the Brent barrel price subsided down towards $76, apparently on the back of a fleeting shaft of better news from the Middle East.

When fuel is the price of champagne
“What do you do when fuel is the price of champagne?” As a writer who focuses much on issues of Peak Oil, I believe that is an interesting way to ask the question. The last time I looked at the price of decent champagne (not even the high-end stuff), it was selling for the likes of $25 per bottle and up, or the equivalent of $125 per gallon. Ouch! So imagine a bottle of champagne with a fuel hose and nozzle running out of it. Try to envision some very pricey stuff bubbling out of the Dom Perignon-style bottle and into the fuel tank."