[teotwawki]

No, really... This is a serious question. I was first introduced to the whole "peak oil" thing back in 2006 when I accidentally bumped into Matt Savinar's LOTAC website while searching for articles on population overshoot. It scared the crap out of me and well from there the rest was history. Like most people on here I read up on as much about Peak Oil and the likes as I could get my hands on.. Joined a couple of Peak Oil forums (including this one) and got banned by an admin or two.. but overall it was all cool and a great experience...

Savinar's site was number one on Google whenever anyone did a search for "Peak Oil" or even just the keyword "oil"... Some politicians and businessmen were taking him very seriously. And Matthew Simmons, basically a dude who read a couple of books and reports on energy, oil and stuff like that then self-proclaimed himself as an insider industry "expert" and started p****** out advice (and doom) to whomever would listen.. Anyway, the going was good, as they say. Michael Ruppert had proclaimed Savinar as his "comrade in arms" and LOTAC was being w***** by a few congressman on the senate floor as the true roadmap to the future.. Those days I tell you, was truly peak oil heaven. That was the peak of peak oil.. and then came the dieoff...

But what the heck happened? What happened?

Text deleted-libelous and Michael Ruppert claimed bankruptcy (that or the secret CIA agent "SALT" woman was after him! ) then he packed up his gear and left the country in a furry. Vowed to be a "citizen of the world" and "permanent goodbye to the United States". What did Ruppert expect? That Venezuelan President would make him his energy advisor? So after a couple of months the dude developed nearly fatal fever and comes crawling back to the United States (somewhere in New York to be more exact) So much for a "permanent goodbye". He even declared United States as his enemy to "burn his bridges" and never look back.. Well so much for being all the too self important. Methinks the CIA had more realistic targets to go after...

So adsense and amazon affiliate revenues weren't doing too well for this lawyer turned JurisDoctorofDoom Mr. "I don't drive a car nomoz" person and after being abandoned by his "comrade in arms "Text deleted-libelous Except, no one bought him up on his offer.. What he planned to ride the "peak oil" wave to riches with LATOC on time as petro climbed to $300USD a barrel? That never happened so the populous interest in peak oil waned and along with it his advertising income revenue streams... all vanished.

Then we hear Simmons simmered out on us in a bathtub, or was it a swimming pool? Must have been the stress from the BP predictions about needing a nuke to stop the leak.. and his bad investments gone sulfuric. Either way all this time the dude was predicting the End was Nigh and yet HIS end came before any and all of it. He should have forgotten about all this bigger picture crap and just enjoyed life.. would definitely have served him better. The irony would be funny if it wasn't so sad..

Wasn't Katrina supposed to be the break up of America? Hey BP spill was supposed to cause some huge doom on epic proportions.. and the North Korea crap was going to start War World III.

Kunstler rants about the s*** hitting the fan every single week. Yeah he might be right one of these days, but I've stopped counting...

And low and behold, Matt abandoned his sheeple and cut lifesupport from this doomer.us forum and did an about face, reverse 180 and into some quackery astrologists pseudo black magic, abracadabra hocus pocus psychobabble.

Meanwhile gas is at $3.00+ again, round two of quantitative easing is being commenced and along with it the demand destruction of much of the third world.. Sure the s*** is hitting the fan at slow motion, but we still gots plenty of coal and even oil left and I fully expect to be here on the Internets even in 2012.... As of now, I'm leaning towards the EIA predictions.

[TheDude]

From Life of Brian:

FRANCIS: Whatever happened to the Popular Front, Reg?
REG: He's over there.
P.F.J.: Splitter!

[americandream]

No, really... This is a serious question.

Their analysis of this one commodity issue failed to take account of the contemporary realities of a rapidly globalising capitalism. I have been on the forum since the early days and have been advising a more analytical look at capitalism and a realistic timeline that will ultimately see it come up against all of it's inherent contradictions.

The canary will be the markets and a flight from risk, which will be inescapably obvious. In addition, regionalism will make a swift return as the various regions seek to protect their interests. In addition, the will be very public brawls over who gets preferential access to the remaining commodities and of course, the rise of regional xenophobia.

However, the globalisation process will have given rise to a culture with it's own momentum and dynamics. We may either slide into worldwide collapse or a more muted form of modernity. Even collapse will have it's own resolution as out of disorder, must arise order.

My thoughts are that we are looking at mid century for the globalisation process to have exhausted much of the surplus still available in the low wage economies. Along with costly oil, this will herald the end of accumulation as we have known it for the past 500 years.

[eXpat]

There´s no such a thing as a peak oil movement, there´s just a group of people that has realized that the substance that moves our society and even civilization is running out and that said civilization is based on it, so as it gets scarce, life gets harder and harder till it goes back to where it was before the oil bonanza, since it cannot be sustained without the black stuff that comes from deep holes in the earth.
That question is either very naive, since browsing in this website will give you the answer, or trolling.

[Xenophobe]

No, really... This is a serious question. I was first introduced to the whole "peak oil" thing back in 2006 when I accidentally bumped into Matt Savinar's LOTAC website while searching for articles on population overshoot. It scared the crap out of me and well from there the rest was history. Like most people on here I read up on as much about Peak Oil and the likes as I could get my hands on.. Joined a couple of Peak Oil forums (including this one) and got banned by an admin or two.. but overall it was all cool and a great experience...

Sounds like the peak oil movement pulled you in exactly as expected. It's SUPPOSED to scare the crap out of you, it's about all it's good for,

And low and behold, Matt abandoned his sheeple and cut lifesupport from this doomer.us forum and did an about face, reverse 180 and into some quackery astrologists pseudo black magic, abracadabra hocus pocus psychobabble.

He did the world a HUGE favor though. He exposed, from the inside, the religious/psycho/fanatical aspects of his group, the largest on the internet (by his claim) and the most popular as you've noted by googling. Other have commented on the resemblance to the peak oil movement to a religion, Matt confirmed it from an absolute insiders perspective, a brother in arms to Ruppert, an original Prophet of Peak. Probably the most honest thing he ever said during his "peak oil profiteering" phase as well.

[Xenophobe]

There´s no such a thing as a peak oil movement, there´s just a group of people.....

Ruppert specifically says that there is. He is a Prophet of Peak, and originator, a man with insight and experience, nerve and pizazz, brains and business acumen.

Until he gets up and disavows his group, other groups, or the Peak Movement itself, as long as he is proclaiming it, it is.

[thuja]

The Peak Oil "Movement"?

2008 was the year the fast crashers lost their momentum and us slow crashers are still here...preaching the gospel the plateauing and imminent decline in global oil production will spell economic calamity and lead to a myriad of problems such as social unrest, riots, revolutions and wars. It will also lead (already has) to extreme oil price volatility and will hasten recessions and depressions.

Goodbye apocolyptic preacher men. Hello rank and file smart people who know that Peak Oil is bad for bizness...

Those who deny that are...idiots...

[Xenophobe]

The Peak Oil "Movement"?

2008 was the year the fast crashers lost their momentum and us slow crashers are still here...preaching the gospel the plateauing and imminent decline in global oil production will spell economic calamity and lead to a myriad of problems such as social unrest, riots, revolutions and wars. It will also lead (already has) to extreme oil price volatility and will hasten recessions and depressions.

Slow crashers rock! Mostly because they can be confused with anyone who thinks that the future won't be as nice as the past. Which is a solid 50% of the population? Maybe more? Hell, Reagan got elected by slow crashers....you guys have been slow crashing for so long....you can get confused with regular people! Which is a good thing I think.

Goodbye apocolyptic preacher men. Hello rank and file smart people who know that Peak Oil is bad for bizness...

Depends on the bizness. Right now petroleum engineers are worth what...$90G/year for 22 year olds with maybe a $20G signing bonus? Rank and file who can pass the basics of that course load aren't doing so poorly!

Those who deny that are...idiots...

Idiots are those who write peak oil books and don't even understand the basis for where peak oil comes from....regular joes know that peak oil happened in 2005 and it was HORRIFYING!! Amazing that the peak oil movement wasn't taken over by slow crashers back when it was being declared by the US government....in 1919! Where were you guys THEN! Internet slow crashers are WAY too late to the party there thuja....

[anador]

We outsourced it to China.....

They have been spending most of their money in Energy commodity investment lately.

[Xenophobe]

We outsourced it to China.....

They have been spending most of their money in Energy commodity investment lately.

Americans are already being sold the solution to peak oil (part of the reason the movement faded away I might add).

The Chinese need to start selling THESE to their citizens!

Go Volt!

[AirlinePilot]

Goodbye apocolyptic preacher men. Hello rank and file smart people who know that Peak Oil is bad for bizness...

Those who deny that are...idiots...

+1

[AirlinePilot]

Geeze, Xeno..not the Volt crap again. Any car that can only go 40 miles on some ridiculously expensive battery pack which you'll have to replace in 5 years and then has a GASOLINE ENGINE in it for the next 350 miles is a stupid science project. Its a failure before it leaves the lot.

At a cost of 41K minus the government credit, I can buy a very fuel efficient small vehicle for about half the price and have enough money left over for gas and DO EXACTLY THE SAME THING with it consumption wise as far as fuel goes and never have to worry about the batteries having to be replaced.

Its no wonder they are only selling a few hundred a month. Any sane thinking person wouldn't begin to think this vehicle is a smart decision. Its nothing more than a monument to Detroit's stupidity and a reminder of how woefully bad battery storage technology currently is. What they need to be doing is finding a way to build and market cars which get 50-70mpg. I want to buy one right now..but cant!

[Xenophobe]

Geeze, Xeno..not the Volt crap again. Any car that can only go 40 miles on some ridiculously expensive battery pack which you'll have to replace in 5 years and then has a GASOLINE ENGINE in it for the next 350 miles is a stupid science project. Its a failure before it leaves the lot.

The Volt forum guys are getting up into the 200mpg range now that they've had a month or more to experiment with them. And the Volt battery warranty is 8 years. While I understand your distaste for every American's personal peak oil solution, the beauty of it is, it cannot be denied! It...is...HERE!

At a cost of 41K minus the government credit, I can buy a very fuel efficient small vehicle for about half the price and have enough money left over for gas and DO EXACTLY THE SAME THING with it consumption wise as far as fuel goes and never have to worry about the batteries having to be replaced.

When peak oil FINALLY gets around to causing that rationing, and shortages, and skyrocketing to the moon prices, those with the Volt shall continue to get to work, and those with the small and efficient cars will last until their tank runs dry. Some Volt folks after nearly 1000 miles are filling up their cars... FOR THE FIRST TIME.

What they need to be doing is finding a way to build and market cars which get 50-70mpg. I want to buy one right now..but cant!

I'll sell you mine. I got 70mpg beat every day of the week and twice on Sundays. Hard to say "can't" when it can be as easy as building your own. What, they don't teach basic "write a check" skills to pilots to collect a nicely efficient automobile nowadays?

[SeaGypsy]

At the very least, Xeno tries; that's why I keep sticking up for him. If the rest of mainstream America was like Xeno the country would be in a much better situation than it is.

[Outcast_Searcher]

Its no wonder they are only selling a few hundred a month. Any sane thinking person wouldn't begin to think this vehicle is a smart decision. Its nothing more than a monument to Detroit's stupidity and a reminder of how woefully bad battery storage technology currently is. What they need to be doing is finding a way to build and market cars which get 50-70mpg. I want to buy one right now..but cant!

Gotta agree, especially on the Volt and Detroit stupidity.

I think Toyota is getting your 50-70 mpg car ready, at least for city driving.

As much as it is maligned, the 3rd gen. Prius seems to be a strong step in that direction, and at $22Kish for the base model (which is plenty fancy IMO), the price is far more reasonable than the Volt. (Plus, I'll take the much maligned Toyota quality WAY over GM's - especially for a new and market-untested GM model with a battery pack costing more than a Yaris.)

Recently, Toyota announced they're planning a small line of Priuses (Prii?), including a plug-in model. Though the battery planned is smaller than the Volt's, I'll bet the price tag and battery life will be better too.

http://www.toyota.com/upcoming-vehicles ... ogram.html

I haven't seem anything official, but the speculation for the plug-in Prius release date tends to point to 2012, and test drives supposedly show mileage around 65 mpg.

Far from perfect, but certainly seems to be a real step in the right direction. And I'll bet Toyota can produce serious volume by say 2015, if the demand is there.

[SeaGypsy]

I don't recall your actually standing up for Xeno. You may not be the brightest bulb in the socket but I gather you have more sense than that.
Xeno's claims (to have either purchased an EV or a bought a prius conversion) are no more than distractions, designed to further his agenda--convincing others that we can continue to burn fossil fuels with impunity. You realize that he is a AGW and evolution denier?
I believe you have been conned.

Na! I don't buy his argument, I enjoy his presence here though. He is kind of the perfect devil's advocate for this site and is often quite funny to read.

[mos6507]

The problem with the Volt from an engineering angle is the charge sustaining mode has horrible MPG compared to a parallel hybrid like the prius. Part of the reason is they used an off the shelf engine rather than atkinson cycle engine for the generator. Plus, they just didn't know how the mileage would turn out. That's partly why they put this expensive gearbox in it that allows the Volt to operate as both a serial and parallel hybrid. It's really an experimental car.

They overpromised the mileage (50MPG was the most often quoted figure) and said the car would be sold for about $30K, not $40K.

Maybe Gen 2 can work out the kinks.

As it is now, a Ford Focus hybrid gets better long-range mileage than a Volt.