David Hughes on Canada's oil and gas situation

[GliderGuider]

Global Public Media's Julian Darley speaks to David Hughes, Post Carbon Institute Fellow and geologist with Natural Resources Canada, about global and North American oil and natural gas supply issues.

It's a brilliant interview. Hughes definitely "gets it" on all levels. Canada is lucky to have a voice like his at such a senior level in the public service. Hughes is a senior scientist who gave a presentation on the Canadian natural gas situation at the recent ASPO-Boston conference. When I read his slides I had a hard time sleeping for a couple of days - his statistics on the decline in initial gas well productivity are terrifying in their implications.

Download the interview here.

[humus]

1. wake up and smell the carbon dioxide

"There are things that we could and should be doing to reduce our consumption of those resources, as opposed to desperately trying to find more to keep business as usual going. I think we have to kind of wake up and smell the roses, and start doing those things. And that's the only way we're going to manage the greenhouse gas problem, or the long-term energy sustainability problem".

A great interview ( a must read) thanks,
I only wish the interviewer would have followed up on some of the pro-active
steps Mr. Hughes was about to suggest.

here is another article shedding light on the situation
"time to wake up"

http://www.orionmagazine.org/pages/om/07-1om/Kunstler.html


"To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil
is to forget ourselves"
-Mahatma Gandhi

[GliderGuider]

2. My take on why he didn't explore any specific proactive measures

Mr. Hughes seems to have (wisely IMO) limited himself to being descriptive rather than proscriptive.

He seems extremely aware that the root of the problem is with the notions of industrial growth and Business as Usual. It's hard for a government scientist to come out with suggestions for change that are as sweeping as would be required to address those - especially under a government that's as business friendly as Harper's. I've been thinking about the required changes for a while, and all I can come up with amounts to dismantling the underpinnings of our civilization. Nobody will ever agree to that, so even if you recognize the need for it, it could be professional suicide to suggest it.

As far as other less drastic or purely technological measures go, don't kid yourself. There isn't a single thing (or even a combination of things) on the table that will adequately address the problem in the time available. Especially not when it's combined with Global Warming and declining food stocks all within the same time frame.

"Titanic" metaphors seem popular on this issue, so here's one more. We are in the situation of a passenger on the Titanic who has just been awakened by the sea water rushing in through his porthole.