West Point Military Academy & Peak Oil

For all those who have snickered at my "sky is falling", "end of the oil age" conspiracy alarmism, check out the Army Energy Strategy for the End of Cheap Oil paper by Colonel Kip P. Nygren, head of the West Point Department of Civil & Mechanical Engineering, Lit. Colonel Darrell D. Massie, assoc. professor in the same department, and Paul J. Kern, a retired four star general. Note that Kern was commanding general of US Army Material Command. Note the world peak oil production dates on page 2. These aren't your average Joe conspiracy fanatics. For more check out the blog Sohbet Karbuz.

IBOT on the Cobert Report

Moving Again

It is offical finally. I will be taking a position in a yet-to-be announced new venture project team for BP Canada starting early December. I have numerous vaction days to use up before losing "expat" status so my last day of work here in Houston will likely be Tuesday next week. The exploration guys threw a great going away party Tuesday night and I will truely miss working for such a unique and exciting group, where big ideas and grand visions trump nickle and dime cost worries.

The last year in Houston has been a great experience that I will treasure for a long time. I never dreamed I could visit Sibera before joining this team. My confidence has been increased substantially by the very supportive people from all over the world that have taken my disability in stride. From the Russians and Scots in Sakhalin Island that help fix up my busted wheelchair to the Brits and Koreans who help lift me on and off the jet planes, the world is so full of wonderful people that really were a pleasure to be around and get to know.

The decision to return to Canada was not easy. I was heaviliy counselled to stay here but in the end I had to be true to myself and follow my own priorities. Life is about more than money, or so I keep telling myself. Calgary, here I come.

Canada's North and the continuing global resource grab

As a Canadian, having grown up learning about the extent of our country's territory in school year after year, it seems surreal to now be told by the U.S. Ambassador that we have all been incorrect. Surprise! Sovereignty depends on the phase of the water between islands. With ice now melting up north for large parts of the summer, the oil, gas and rich mineral deposits are now accessible, not to mention a much shorter shipping route to Asia. The article, The True North Strong and Free? gives a very good summary of the issues. To quote:

"The Canadian Arctic is known to hold within its ancient Precambrian bedrock rich veins of ores and minerals that until recently have been inaccessible to extraction. It boasts a burgeoning $2 billion diamond industry, currently producing 12.6 million carats a year. Other significant resources opening up to exploitation in the Arctic include gold, silver, platinum, tungsten, uranium, petroleum, and natural gas – according to Natural Resources Canada. The Arctic archipelago is currently the most explored area in Canada for new mineral resources. Clearly, northern Canada will play a fundamental role in future resource extraction."

Working for BP over the last year in a group dedicated to studying oil & gas potential in the Russian Arctic, it is no surprise to me that the Canadian Arctic resources are drawing attention. What confounds me is why the American's need to be belligerently seeking national sovereignty in a place that no one in their right mind would claim is not Canadian territory, especially when they could easily gain control through corporate ownership as they have done in the Alberta Oil Sands.

Even the Anglo-American multinational BP-Amoco bought it's way into huge arctic reserves by buying the Canadian Dome Petroleum company in late 1980's. Why does the U.S. need to promote a foreign policy that blatantly pisses off everyone else in the whole world including Canada? I guess it's easier to cruise around the Canadian arctic with their nuclear powered subs than to maneuver the streets of Baghdad....

E-Voting - The Joke called Democracy

Think your vote counts? Depends whose infected machine is counting...