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Peak Coal Could Mean Blackouts - Richard Heinberg

Alex Smith | 12.11.2009 05:06 | Climate Chaos | Energy Crisis | Sheffield

Radio Ecoshock interview with Richard Heinberg on his new book "Coal, Climate Change, and the Last Energy Crisis". Known for Peak Oil exertise, (author of "The Party's Over", and "Powerdown") - Heinberg blows up the myth of coal reserves. Will Peak Coal come in time to save the planet?

Audio Blackout with Richard Heinberg - mp3 4.5M


Richard Heinberg is a key to the Peak Oil movement, especially with his books "The Party's Over" and "Powerdown". He's expanded to catalog our over-use of many resources, with his book "Peak Everything". Now he's investigated the myth that coal could keep us going for hundreds of years. Not so, not at all.

Heinberg is also very aware of energy damage to the atmosphere and climate. We discuss whether "peak coal" will arrive in time to save the climate. And the fragility of storing all our knowledge on machines that need electricity (which may become unreliable).

This interview by Alex Smith comes from the weekly 1 hour radio program "Radio Ecoshock". That is broadcast to 16 college and community stations in North America, plus Green 960 AM in San Francisco. Radio Ecoshock is available by broadcast, podcast, satellite and download, from www.ecoshock.org Any non-profit station can rebroadcast (free) any part, or all of, Radio Ecoshock. No copyright claimed, make copies or link to programs. Radio stations: please email Alex (radio [at] ecoshock.org) to let him know. Thanks.

Alex Smith
- e-mail: radio@ecoshock.org
- Homepage: http://www.ecoshock.org

Comments

Hide the following 3 comments

Why wait for a peak?

12.11.2009 12:23

Peak coal is not going to arrive in time to stop climate change just like peak oil wont, many of the theories were concocted before the invention of newer technologies such as oil sands extraction. There's enough oil in the sands of Canada to last for another 100 years easily, by that time it'll be too late.

It's up to us to stop them wrecking the environment, not capitalism.

Eco

@Eco and anone else thinking it's not worth listening...

12.11.2009 16:18

You're right, Eco, that we need to make this resources 'peak' before they actually do - but Heinberg does point this out, and suggests that as activists we can use the information that coal is not even a reliable energy source to underline our arguments that investments (I mean of effort and energy as well as money) in energy should be made in reducing demand and in renewables rather than in coal. He does not suggest we sit back and wait and everything will be alright. Just that the stats on coal are useful to point out what a waste it is to invest in as damaging a resource as coal. It's worth a listen, honest///

Also worth a listen is today's Radio 4 program on Owenstown - a co-operative town proposed for Lanarkshire, not so far from Douglas and Mainshill wood. They had a local from Douglas explaining why the proposed Open Cast mine is a load of rubbish that the vat majority of locals oppose, even if it brings a few jobs (it's not worth their health, and the jobs are few and not-sustainable, was his basic argument). It's a shame that the Radio 4 journo didn't notice the protest camp in the woods though... The Co-op town is basically a decentish version of the Ecotowns idea... the community of 8000 new houses would be cooperatively owned, sell renewable electric from wind to the grid as well as covering it's uses, and it inspired by Robert Owens experiments in Co-operatives down the road. I missed the beginning, but it's worth finding. It was on about 3pm today thursday 12th november

PeterPannier
- Homepage: http://twitter.com/PeterPannier

Re-tool to wind, tidal, and solar power now.

12.11.2009 18:46

Coal, gas, oil and atomic energy are destroying the planets livability, hence the need is to move to the renewables, and sooner rather than later as C02 has past the maximum safety of 350 and now is at 390. That says we are in the harmful danger of amount of global warming gas CO2 which causes the ecological green organic balances of life to crash. We as a specie cannot live on C02 and it already has replaced over 35% of the oxygen needed to live since the inception of the first industrial revolution.

peece now.