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Kurt Cobb

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Freelance Writer and Author, Resource Insights

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Kurt Cobb is an author and columnist who speaks and writes frequently on energy and the environment. He is the author of Prelude, a peak oil-themed thriller, and his column appears on the Paris-based science news site Scitizen. His work ...

Kurt Cobb is an author and columnist who speaks and writes frequently on energy and the environment. He is the author of Prelude, a peak oil-themed thriller, and his column appears on the Paris-based science news site Scitizen. His work has also been featured on Energy Bulletin, 321energy, Le Monde Diplomatique, The Oil Drum, Common Dreams, EV World, and many other sites. He is a founding member of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas—USA, and he serves on the board of the Arthur Morgan Institute for Community Solutions. He maintains a blog called Resource Insights.

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WEB: Prelude the Novel

Aug. 23, 2011

Kurt Cobb and 3 other people answered this question

What is a good source of data for how much power is produced by utilities in the United States?

The single best source of energy data in the world remains the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Separate areas of the EIA site are devoted to electricity and natural gas. And, there is information on worldwide production and consumption for all energy sources as well. ... more

Aug. 5, 2011

Kurt Cobb and 1 other person answered this question

Why is hydraulic fracturing regulated differently in different states?

An exemption from the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) for hydraulic fracturing was inserted into the Energy Policy Act of 2005, a bill carefully shepherded through Congress by then Vice President Dick Cheney, the former CEO of Halliburton, one of the largest oil and ... more

Hydraulic Fracturing

May 25, 2011

Kurt Cobb and 3 other people answered this question

What are signs we have/haven't reached peak oil?

Determining whether we have reached world peak oil production depends partly on how one defines oil. In the past oil has been defined as crude oil plus lease condensate (very light hydrocarbons captured and separated at the wellhead or field). Both of these are easily ... more

May 24, 2011

Kurt Cobb recommends this answer by David Fridley

When will China's energy consumption stabilize?

Assuming business-as-usual conditions, China's energy consumption is unlikely to flatten out until the mid 2020s. China is planning for the urbanization of an additional 300 million people over the next 15 years--the equivalent of the entire US population--and each of these new urban residents will ... more

May 23, 2011

Kurt Cobb and 1 other person answered this question

Keeping NEG in mind, do you think oil sands are the answer to our dependence on Middle East oil?

Oil sands actually yield about 90 percent of the bitumen clinging to them using current techniques. But please note that I said "bitumen" not oil. The bitumen is a very thick hydrocarbon-rich substance that must then be upgraded through various processes such as cracking, desulfurization, ... more

Net Energy Gain

May 17, 2011

Kurt Cobb is speaking at this roundtable

China's Energy Future and the Shale Gas Question

May 4, 2011

Kurt Cobb is now following Andrew McKillop and 1 other person

April 27, 2011

Kurt Cobb and 1 other person answered this question

Is oil procured by offshore drilling considered "conventional oil"?

When people refer to conventional oil, they often mean crude oil and lease condensates (very light hydrocarbons captured and separated at the wellhead or field). Both of these are easily refined into petroleum products such gasoline, diesel, and kerosene by conventional refineries.
Unconventional oil often refers ... more

Conventional Oil

Offshore Drilling

April 26, 2011

Kurt Cobb and 3 other people answered this question

Will a restart of Libyan oil production cause oil prices to drop?

The history of post-conflict oil exporters is not promising. Iraq has yet to return to the peak it reached in production in 1989 just before the first Gulf War. Chronic unrest in Nigeria has been partly responsible for that country's inability to move beyond its ... more

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