Articles by John McGrath

Jim Baker eyes the oil in Iraq

With the disaster unfolding in Iraq, you'd think the U.S. government might take its eyes off the oil for a moment. There are some 27 million Iraqis who might demand a higher place in our priorities.

Apparently not. It turns out Jim Baker's ISG report is chock full of recommendations about what to do with Iraq's oil. Antonia Juhasz in the L.A. Times gives us the details. Let's just say, if you thought this war had absolutely nothing to do with oil, you need to reexamine your conclusions.

Hybrids connected to the electrical grid could change the energy game

The U.S. Department of Energy has concluded that the existing U.S. electrical grid -- without additional construction for generation or transmission -- could accommodate 180 million cars that draw their power from night-time (off-peak) electricity. That's about 85% of the cars in the country.

The full report is not yet available, but based on the press release, there's lots of good news -- with some bad news mixed in.

It’s not just growth that matters

Herman Daly was one of the first economists to truly grapple with the consequences of industrial expansion -- eventually coming to see a steady state as the inevitable end-point of human population and economic growth. The limited nature of the earth's resources require that we eventually get to zero population growth and zero growth in industrial output.

The enduring attraction of apocalyptic predictions

I'm sure I'll eventually forgive Toby Hemenway at Energy Bulletin for writing -- before I did, and better than I could have -- a cogent and eloquent analysis of the apocalyptic bent of those concerned with peak oil. His piece should be read by environmentalists not obsessed with peak oil as well.

An excerpt: