Gail Tverberg

Latest articles from Gail

• Are High Oil Prices Sustainable?

  Published 21 April 2018 | viewed 19,404 times

  Oil prices are now as high as they have been for three years. At this writing, Brent is $74.14 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate…

• Continuously Rising Energy Costs Will Cripple The Economy

  Published 08 April 2018 | viewed 22,342 times

  The most prevalent view regarding future oil supply, as well as total energy supply, seems to be fairly closely related to that expressed by Peak…

• Oil Markets Should Fear A Demand Shortage

  Published 18 March 2018 | viewed 46,843 times

  It is impossible to tell the whole oil story, but perhaps I can offer a few insights regarding where we are today. [1] We already…

• Increased Interest Rates Could Cause A Drop In Oil Prices

  Published 24 February 2018 | viewed 27,594 times

  Central bankers seem to think that adjusting interest rates is a nice little tool that they can easily handle. The problem is that higher interest…

• How Globalization Will Create An Energy Crisis

  Published 03 February 2018 | viewed 31,159 times

  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…

• Could An Oil Surplus Be A Sign Of Things To Come?

  Published 14 January 2018 | viewed 26,014 times

  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 Geopolitical Video Game

  Published 02 December 2017 | viewed 12,431 times

  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…

• Is China Heading Toward An Energy-Debt Crisis?

  Published 11 November 2017 | viewed 22,013 times

  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…

• The Approaching U.S. Energy-Economic Crisis

  Published 21 October 2017 | viewed 18,125 times

  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…

• Oil Is Unlikely To Return To $80

  Published 09 September 2017 | viewed 45,645 times

  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…

• Are Researchers Underestimating The Cost Of Renewables?

  Published 29 July 2017 | viewed 12,087 times

  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…

• Why 100% Renewable Energy Is Just A Dream

  Published 31 January 2017 | viewed 38,961 times

  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…

• How Misleading Are Solar Yields?

  Published 31 December 2016 | viewed 15,325 times

  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…

• The Dramatic Consequences Of Cheap Energy For The Global Economy

  Published 10 December 2016 | viewed 14,025 times

  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…

• Why Cheap Energy Is A Must For The Global Economy

  Published 30 October 2016 | viewed 13,662 times

  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?…

• The Coming Oil Price Crash

  Published 12 October 2016 | viewed 132,024 times

  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…

• Energy Is At The Center Of Falling Productivity Growth

  Published 25 September 2016 | viewed 13,491 times

    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…

• How Intermittent Renewables Are Harming The Electricity Grid

  Published 03 September 2016 | viewed 41,446 times

  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…

• How Peak Oil Was Misunderstood

  Published 11 August 2016 | viewed 20,407 times

  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…

• Could Peak Coal Really Be Here?

  Published 22 June 2016 | viewed 10,982 times

  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?…