Gail Tverberg is a writer and speaker about energy issues. She is especially known for her work with financial issues associated with peak oil. Prior to getting involved with energy issues, Ms. Tverberg worked as an actuarial consultant. This work involved performing insurance-related analyses and forecasts. Her personal blog is ourfiniteworld.com. She is also an editor of The Oil Drum.
In the post-World War II era, the US has been known for its hegemony–in other words, its leadership role in the world economy. According to one…
There is a reason for raising interest rates to try to fight inflation. This approach tends to squeeze out the most marginal players in the…
Most people have a simple, but wrong, idea about how the world economy will respond to “not enough energy to go around.” They expect that…
Many people believe that installing more wind turbines and solar panels and manufacturing more electric vehicles can solve our energy problem, but I don’t agree…
Why is the economy headed for a financial crash? It appears to me that the world economy hit Limits to Growth about 2018 because of…
The problem is hitting limits in the extraction of fossil fuels We know that historically, many economies around the world have collapsed. We also know…
Back in 2005, the world economy was “humming along.” World growth in energy consumption per capita was rising at 2.3% per year in the 2001…
Time and time again, financial approaches have worked to fix economic problems. Raising interest rates has acted to slow the economy and lowering them has…
We usually don’t think about the wonderful service fossil fuels provide in terms of being a store of heat energy for winter, the time when…
No politician wants to tell us the real story of fossil fuel depletion. The real story is that we are already running short of oil,…
It is my view that when energy supply falls, it falls not because reserves “run out.” It falls because economies around the world cannot afford…
Are we headed for very high energy prices? Or, are we headed for a financial system that starts falling apart? The whole economic system may…
The years between 1981 and 2020 were very special years for the world economy because interest rates were generally falling: Figure 1. Yields on 10-year…
Media outlets tend to make it sound as if all our economic problems are temporary problems, related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In fact, world…
Most people have a preconceived notion that there will be a clear winner and loser from any war. In their view, the world economy will…
Russia’s attack on Ukraine represents a demand for a new world order that, over the long term, will support higher prices for fossil fuels, especially…
We have been told that intermittent electricity from wind and solar, perhaps along with hydroelectric generation (hydro), can be the basis of a green economy.…
We live in a world where words are very carefully chosen. Companies hire public relations firms to give just the right “spin” to what they…
A $1.9 trillion stimulus package was recently signed into law in the United States. Can such a stimulus bill, plus packages passed in other countries,…
It seems like a reset of an economy should work like a reset of your computer: Turn it off and turn it back on again;…