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The Net Hubbert Curve: What Does It Mean?
The Oil Drum - Discussions about Energy and Our Future — Cutler Cleveland of Boston University has reported that the EROI of oil and gas extraction in the U.S. has decreased from 100:1 in the 1930’s to 30:1 in the 1970’s to roughly 11:1 as of 2000 (Figure 1). But beyond the fact that society receives currently around 11 barrels of oil for every 1 barrel that it spends getting that oil, What does this mean? Figure 1. Plot of three estimations of EROI for U.S. oil and gas. Well, first, it means that, if the trend of declining EROI continues, society will be spending an increasingly larger chunk of their remaining energy to get more energy. This cycle is positively reinforcing: Declining EROI means that the net energy contained in each unit of energy ...

Roundup: Scientists Write to Obama, Retrofitting Detroit, 3D Printers Under $1K and More...
Worldchanging: Bright Green — ... human waste (which we produce on the order of 2 lbs per day, per person) to be turned into a source of energy via anaerobic digestion. With 40 percent of people globally in need of sanitary facilities, it's well worth imagining a solution that doesn't flush drinking water down the toilet. (JL) The More Oil We Use, The More Oil it Takes to Get Oil... David Murphy at The Oil Drum gave an interesting analysis of the Net Hubbert Curve this week. He bases his predictions on a report from Cutler Cleveland of Boston University about the sharp decline in EROI ( energy ...